Beacon in the Badlands

By Leonardo Ramirez

Science fiction and fantasy author and screenwriter Leonardo Ramirez takes us on a personal journey of faith and restored hope. From his humble beginnings in Bronx, New York, he's bootstrapped his way into the hearts of readers young and old alike. His heart and motive have always been for people who are hurting. These can be kids who have had to grow up with a missing parent as was the case in The Jupiter Chronicles. It can also be young girls who have suffered an assault like Haven did in Haven of Dante. Those are the kids and adults he wants to speak to because he's been through a tumultuous life filled with hardship that included poverty, abuse and homelessness from a very early age.

 

But there is hope. And Leonardo Ramirez shares that hope in Beacon in the Badlands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beyond Books
• Release date: Nov 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781386839101

Leonardo Ramirez

Leonardo Ramirez writes books for readers of all ages, including children’s steampunk and young adult fantasy. Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that has a historical setting and typically features steam-powered machinery such as steam-powered robots, rockets and more! From his humble beginnings in Bronx, New York, he’s bootstrapped his way into the hearts of his audience—young and old alike. This is truly a man who understands that life is for the living and he helps every one of his readers live life to the fullest through the wonderful adventures of his written worda! His heart and motive have always been for people who are hurting. These can be kids who have had to suffer through child abuse or neglect or an absent parent which can be equally torturous as was the case in the popular Steampunk Kids Series, The Jupiter Chronicles. It can also be young girls who have suffered an assault like Haven did in Haven of Dante. Those are the kids and adults he wants to speak to because he’s been there. His parents were divorced when Leonardo turned ten years old and what followed after was a tumultuous life filled with hardship that included poverty, abuse and homelessness. But there is hope. And Leonardo Ramirez shares that hope through his body of work. Leonardo Ramirez lives with his wife Kristen, their daughter Mackenzy and their two dogs, Duchess and Tinkerbell in a small suburb of Nashville, Tennessee.

Book preview

The Nerve

I’m a science fiction author. Aside from spending time with my family, making stuff up is what I have the most fun doing. I’m also a geek. I grew up on Star Trek, comics, and all manner of sci-fi interests that later spilled over to my wife and daughter. As an author, I love to attend conventions.  As I’ve traveled from one convention to another sharing my work, I’ve met some of the most fun and interesting people. I love to spend time with them and listen to their personal stories - the ones that make up who they are. 

As I’ve traveled from one convention to another sharing my work, I’ve met some of the most fun and interesting people. I love to spend time with them and listen to their personal stories - the ones that make up who they are.

Because our time in conventions is limited, I don’t always get a chance to share some of my personal stories. So, for now, let’s pretend that we’re sitting in a coffee shop, having a casual chat. And even though we may not know each other, we both share one thing in common: life hasn’t always been easy. Yes, we’ve had our highs but at other times, it’s been pretty tough.

SO, IN A MOMENT OF openness, you ask me about any given time when I have felt betrayed, angry, hurt, alone or (to balance things out) happy. Something that changed the fabric of who I am. You’re asking for specifics because you want to know if there is anything you can relate to.

There probably is. We’re both human, right?

When I was about five years old, my parents had a huge fight. There was shattered glass everywhere and my mom had passed out under the dining room table. I remember turning to my dad and asking, Is she dead? He grabbed my hand and simply said, No. She’s asleep.

Some time passed and my father moved out of the house and away from my two sisters, my mother and I. In a short period, we went from having all of our needs met to living on hand-me-downs and food donations from wherever we could get them. Visits to the Salvation Army for canned goods were a common occurrence. At one point, we were even homeless. My mom had suffered emotional stress as a result of the divorce. In turn, this fueled the physical, and mental abuse that was inflicted on me and my sisters. The father figure I had was gone and I wore abandonment around me like a warm blanket. It became the fabric of who I was.

My sweet wife had it worse. Her grandfather abused her repeatedly. Then, as an adult, she was kidnapped and assaulted by three men at gunpoint.

You may have not had that same exact experience. Yours may have been worse. But like me and my wife, you have felt alone or even abandoned. Because abandonment is such a deep wound (or at least it was for me), that is the hurt I want to address.

What brought me through those times where I felt abandoned?

My faith. A faith in a God that cares about me. Before you stop reading, please know that I’m not trying to shove God or religion down your throat. But if I had a huge piece of chocolate cake sitting in front of me (chocolate is my favorite food in the world) and you were sitting in front of me salivating over it, I would be rudely selfish not to offer to share.

Through trials, circumstances and people, he’s delivered me from what life had to offer, to a place of healing.  That’s why I have the nerve to write this. Because I care enough to share with you my faith and hope. And maybe, just maybe, you may want that for yourself. A hope beyond hope for healing. A love like you’ve never known.

A love that will never let you go no matter how hard you try to push it away. And yes, God does love you. Very much.

That is what keeps me going every day. That is what I hope to share with you in the short time that we have together. So, in the following pages, I’d like to share some thoughts with you, my friend.

Then you can decide for yourself if this is something you can really relate to.

God’s Love

Feeling abandoned was something I carried with me for most of my life. To add insult to injury, the shame of poverty and living in a single-parent home, shredded whatever confidence left over from early childhood. Growing up on food stamps and welfare did not help. Back then, wearing hand-me-downs was not a thing to be proud of as it can be now. As a Hispanic who grew up in Florida, I can also remember classmates spitting on my desk and calling me a refugee. The beatings that I endured under my mother’s bitter hand were also scarring to my soul.

I remember being told that whenever I walked into a room it was in my nature to assume that no one wanted to talk to me. That’s been a difficult habit to break, even as an adult. But looking back at my life, there had always been some moment of rescue.  This rescue may have been in the form of a friend or a relative, who was a small beacon in the badlands. Someone who reminded me that someone cared.

When I was a teenager, I did some spiritual soul-searching. At the time, I was visiting with my father in Puerto Rico over the summer. This was after his marriage with his second wife had ended.  He was a very paranoid man who lived  by himself behind his restaurant. Because there was quite a bit of theft there, it was common for people to have burglar bars on their windows. My dad had them on the door frame inside of the house as well. Yes, that included the bathroom.

Isaiah 41:10

Don't be afraid, for I am with you.

Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

ONE NIGHT, MY DAD APPROACHED me and said that he was going out to be with his girlfriend and would not be coming back that evening. He also told me that his girlfriend had a daughter and thought I should go with him to be with her. I said no. I was in the beginning stages of the aforementioned soul-search and didn’t want to muck that up by doing something stupid.

Dad didn’t take my answer very well; he began a tirade of shouting bouts against what I was beginning to believe for myself. He even mocked me. Then he locked me in the bedroom behind the bars and left. I could not use the restroom or escape if there was a fire. Because of hurricanes, most homes there were made of concrete walls. There was no way out of that room. No phone.  Naturally, I was terrified.

Who does this? I asked myself.  

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

PANICKED, I SAT DOWN on the bed and prayed that no one would break in, or that a fire would not start. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep. Early the next morning, my aunt showed up out of