The Lost Goddess By Tom Knox

From the Author of “The Genesis Secret” and “The Marks of Cain“, comes a thrill ride adventure through the sordid nooks and crannies of our academic world.

“The Lost Goddess” is the story of “civilized” travelers and their journey to discover the truth from the villages and governments who want the world to forget.

The story opens in a remote part of France, where Julia Kerrigan, a young archaeologist, is at the end of a what seems to be a fruitless journey to find a reason behind her prolonged sabbatical. Though even as her hopes dwindle, her tools uncover what could be the find of her life. A trove of undiscovered skeletons, many with strange holes in the heads and ancient arrowheads riddled through their bones.

And in Cambodia, an equally lost soul Jake Thurby, who has been traveling the Jungles as a Photo-journalist, teams up with Chemda Tek, an American educated returning native, as she seeks to uncover the mysteries behind the Plain of Jars, where Pol Pot had knowingly sent many of his educated citizens into a live mind field. To discover the reason behind his motivation, the pair are set upon a deadly course.

Though it’s not long before tragedy strikes all around. Jake and Chemda arrive at their hotel to find a body hung in the doorway over a pool of blood. Back in France, Julia’s mentor is also viciously murdered. A demonic killer, born and breed on vengeance, lurks in the background and weaves the loom that threads together a history of violence that continues to their present.

Tom Knox, is the pen name of author and journalist Sean Thomas. And “The Lost Goddess” is a fictional narrative eloquently spiced with real life events. Knox has spent a career traveling the highways and byways of the Globe and collected more than a few story-ready gems along the way.

In the depths of Cambodia and Laos, Knox gained inspiration for his newest release from his fascination with the history of the communist Khmer Rouge regime, where one of the worst holocausts in history occurred. And of the curious impact of Pol Pot, years after his passing.

The dictator was the head of the Khmer Rouge organization who sought to stomp out religion from their country. Though when Knox returned to Cambodia, he found Pol Pot’s tomb had become a shrine. Thus the man, who intended to stomp out God, had become a deity himself.

Such is the theme that carries Julia and Jake through an unyielding adventure to question the very nature of religion and it’s effect on the human condition.

The Lost Goddess, Tom Knox’s new page turning thriller, hits shelves today. Don’t be the last one on your block to explore the world’s violent history through the eyes of a man who has seen the results.

Somedays, you wake up with a nicotine headache and computer eye strain. You haven’t shaved or showered in a day, maybe two, and your face shows it. There are new pains in your knees, wrist, and vertebrae. John, Paul, George, and the Shining Time Station’s Conductor start to sound groovin.’ NPR has become entertainment. You open up a newspaper, magazine, and the occasional book of nonfiction. You are old, but there is no way to stop it.

Somedays, you should have got a Brooks Brother’s suit and become a social vampire. You should have went to an institution of higher education and allowed yourself to be molded into the cookie cutter. You could have been a marketing executive and set your mind to swindle the general public. The infusion of graven images to public icon is big money, if you can bare to sell a little more of our soul. You could have been something or made something out of your life, but you didn’t.

Somedays, you come to the full realization this is your life; the cluttered desk, bathroom, and kitchen. This is the thing High School prepared you for and you find yourself to be ill equipped. You wake up. The calender says it is Monday. You know Monday is a day, but have fuzzy logic beyond that. Mondays used to mean something, like the start of the week. Now, you cannot fathom Garfield’s frustration.

Somedays, you wonder if it all worth it. You haven’t seen the Ocean in two months Two months is eternity to a sea side life. You miss the small stretch of beach at the end of Winnacunnet Road. Over the seawall and beyond the street light view, where the stars dance to an ocean roll beat and fog horn tune. Celestial bodies collide in meteorite showers to her lullaby.

Somedays, you are faced with the question “So what’s wrong with you, why no significant other?” and you have no answer. You can’t comprehend how someone would want a common face in their life, yours or theirs. Your distrustful of the ones who will have you and you want the ones who won’t. Every horoscope you ever read says work on your craft and the rest will play out. The advice appeals to your Virgo logic and you put trust in the cards.

Somedays, you think Steve is right. We live in 50 years of The Beatles and wonder if the band should still cover the face of pop culture. Every year, new bands are spawned and new voices take the scene. Yet, you hear no love on the radio dial and the Beatles remain important. The music is adapted, while the message is unperceived. No voice to broadcast the meaning and music lost its soul, but its face is printable a million times over. You could be that voice, but there is glitter and pretty lights to distract you.

Then somedays, everything works out. The birds chirp out a tune and the universe begins to make sense. You fear the other foot’s fall as calm waters lead to stormy weather. In this moment, you reach for clarity. You strive for perfection and keep back it’s ugly form of self molestation. You keep in mind your choice to get out of bed, your choice to become responsible. The streets are littered with the humans who gave up or gave into a holy life. You could be one of their numbers and the choice is your only freedom.

The introduction of cable into my own home drove the final nails into the coffin of my procrastination. Flesh of living dead burned by the light of day.

Yet, the fall happened much earlier in defeat, a white flag waved and aimed at an unjust world view. Far too large to fail and broken at the core. Life intrudes upon intentions and reality dissolves into wavy, hazy, tones of acid colored chaos.

The hounds chase the fox in patriotic colors. The Pied piper leads the rats past the sewer and into the great race, for God, dog, and country. Blind leaders storm the valley of Cyclopes, where the two eyed man is destine for striped shirts and cafeteria style meals.

The point shines as Tinker-bell’s light, it scurries from here and there. Avoiding, escaping, and always just beyond reach. Rain falls upon the windscreen, as the wipers bolt too and fro. Miles to go into pitch blackness with drivers asleep at the wheel.

Veering into on coming traffic, back to the point shone brightly through the droplets of water splattered over a plane of glass. Words and metaphors collide as warriors clash across a battlefield.

Stand not far from the fray. A slow jaunt back into the swing of axes and ring of swords printed across the front page in thick black fonts. No direction maps out the path and wooden signs point in all directions.

The mighty stand at the way side, with eyes of hawks and motivations of greed. The meek walk in the shadows with eye pointed down and feet kicking rocks. History revolves as planets move around a bright ball of heat.

Souls cast into a fiery pit of third-world, cracked, baron earth. Green is the color of the Emerald city where the grand Wizard is nothing more than the long con played out on a city of Dwarfs. More than hot air fills the balloon that carried him over full spectrum of color cast against tones of blue sky.

Past the mirrors reflection and into the wonderland of tea parties and games of croquet. The hand cover the face and spin, in a race with one constant turn. Daylight blinks nighttime and a traveler sits.

Though every ride reaches a destination in the form of conclusion. Change become the fulcrum stationed at each set of crossroads. To ponder, to plot, and on to a path.

In the modern age, we have a multitude of choices on how to acquire the food we crave. However through the many choices of flavor emerges two categories that encompass the whole.

Delivery or Drive*?

The question is simple and reflects a crossroad of choice. Do you have the energy or will for a trip to the grocery store or would you rather have someone else drive to your door? While the question may invoke lazy regrets, both options are perfectly reasonable.

The option of delivery is a simple no stress, no mess solution. You can pick up the phone, call up your local restaurant of choice, and gladly tip the delivery driver for his time.

The option of drive is a bit more active and takes up more of your time. However the added amount of activity upon your part is shown through a lower cost to your budget and more objects placed into your pantry.

While a trip to the supermarket can easily total hundreds of dollars, in the constraints of this article we shall keep the example drive option relative to the cost of delivery. We estimate the cost of most delivery to be about 20 dollars for a household of 2 or fewer.

Below we will explore a couple of recipes than can result from a trip to the supermarket for about $20 worth of groceries.

As a mini-disclaimer, the area which I live has some of the highest grocery prices in the county and the numbers are estimated from my own Hollywood experience. Keep this in mind as you may be shocked at the price difference from your own region.

Grocery List

1 Whole Chicken – $7 pre-cooked $6 cooked
1 Bag of Baby Carrots – $2
1 Bulb of Garlic- $ .50
1 Onion – $1
2 Bags of Frozen Vegetables (mix of corn, peas, or whatever your preference) $3 for both
1 Package of Bay Leaf $2
1 Box of Dry Noodle Soup Mix $2
3 Potatoes $1.5
1 Bottle of Italian Dressing $2
1 Roasting bag $2
Total -$23

While our shopping list is not an end all be all, it does assumes a couple things about your pantry. I assume that you may have a semi-filled spice rack, with at least salt, pepper, maybe even some Thyme.

There is also no room for drinks in our example budget. However the cost of liquidation amounts to no more than $2. While this brings our total to $25, the extra $5 is about what you might pay in tip to the delivery driver.

With our grocery list from above, we will now show two recipes that can be accomplished from our choice of drive. The first is a roasted chicken, that I like as it leads to our second recipe. Chicken Soup for our Rockin’ soul, where we will turn leftovers into an all-day meal.

In our grocery list, there was two prices for the different chicken choices. Many supermarkets sell both a roasted chicken in their deli section and an uncooked whole chicken in the meat section. Why the cooked chicken is cheaper than the uncooked version, is beyond me.

If you chose to get a cooked chicken than forgo the onions and carrots. Bake a potato, simmer a bag of vegetables and you are good to go. If you enjoy cooking then follow along with us.

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
1 Whole Chicken
2 Cups Chopped Carrots
1 Cups Chopped Onions
4 or 5 Chopped Cloves of Garlic
1 or 2 Potatoes
¼ Cup Flower
1 Roasting Bag
1 Bottle of Italian Dressing
1 Bag frozen Vegetables

Step 1: Preheat Oven

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Step 2: Mix the Vegetables

In a bowl mix the Carrots, Onions, and Garlic. Then shake the bottle of Italian dressing and pour over the mixture of vegetables to your own preference. I use anywhere from a ½ cup to a cup. This will be used to stuff the chicken.

Step 3: Stuff that Chicken

First unwrap the chicken and be sure to pull out all the innards, commonly found inside the bird in a plastic bag. Then use cool faucet water to wash off the outside and inside. Now spoon the vegetable mixture inside the bird until the cavity is full.

Extra bonus if you run a stick of butter over the outside of the bird and add a liberal dash of salt and pepper to the skin.

Step 4: Flour the Bag

Open the Roasting bag and add the ¼ cup of flour. Then close the bag and shake to coat the inside with flour. Then place the bird, stuffed from step 3, into the bag and put it all on a baking sheet. Use a knife to poke a couple holes into the top of the bag to release steam. Now you are ready to cook.

Step 5: Make the Chicken Roast

Place your ready to go chicken into the oven and let it go for 20 minuets at 425. After the 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 350, and let it cook for the remainder of the time noted on the cooking instructions that came with the chicken. Normally this is about an 1½ hours.

Step 6: Make the Sides

When you have about 40 minuets left until the chicken is done, grab a potato or two. Use a fork to stab into the potato three times on each side. Coat the outside with a bit of olive oil, with salt and pepper to taste, then place the potato into your oven. Next to or on a rack below your cooking chicken.

Also start the water to boil or simmer the 1 bag of frozen vegetables. Then follow the instructions on the bag to completion.

Step 7: Golden Brown Chicken Skin

When you check the chicken and the skin has turned a nice golden brown, you are ready to pull it from the oven. Let it sit for 5 minutes, carve, and enjoy with sides of Vegetables and Potato.

Leftover Chicken Soup

Ingredients
Leftover Chicken Carcass
1 bag of Frozen Vegetables
Remaining Garlic Cloves
Remaining Onions
Remaining Carrots
Remaining Potatoes
2 Package Noodle Soup Mix
3 or 4 Bay Leaves

Our second recipe is a nice next-day follow up for the leftovers from our roasted chicken. The soup takes hours to cook but the many hours are far from labor intensive as most of the time the boiling pot will do the work for you.

Step One: Fill the Pot

Place the remaining Chicken Carcass into a pot and fill with water. Add half the bag of Frozen Vegetables, half of your remaining Garlic Cloves, some onion, and Carrots to the pot of water. Place the pot on your burner at medium heat. Cover and let cook for about 2 hours.

Step Two: Strain the Bones

There are a couple ways you can do this. I have a stainer that I place on top of another pot and pour one pot into the other, letting the bones and stewed vegetables stay in the strainer. Place the pot, full of chicken broth, back onto the stove at medium heat. You may also season to taste, I even add a healthy dose of chili powder to give my soup a kick.

Step Three: Let it Cool, Daddio

Let the strainer, full of the chicken carcass and vegetables, cool. Now you can add the remaining ingredients to the recipe into the pot. Be sure to cut the potatoes into cubes. Once the strainer is cool, you can remove the bones from the chicken and toss that into the simmering pot as well. Cover and cook for another hour or two.

Step Four: Please Sir, May I have Some More?

There you go and ready to go. Fill up a couple of bowl and be pleased as you took one night’s meal and made it into two. Do you feel like Jesus? We know we sure do.

*Drive as in the inner core ability to commit acts and not a trip by car. We at ANF promote the use of Green technologies to propel us in this world.