Plagueman The Conflict Between The Mystical And The Barbarian In All Of Us Lt. Kierkive was a Kipchak Tartar warrior in the army of the Western Mongol Horde. Theresa was a beautiful young girl from Siena, Italy, preparing to take her vows as a nun in the Dominican order. Their lives cross in the mid-14th century, as the Black Death begins its sweep westward into Europe. Pope Clement VI sits on the papal throne in Avignon, France, surrounded by the cunning and conniving College of Cardinals and the secular Court of King Charles IV. It is a time of desperation and madness. For Theresa, Kierkive is a soul in need of compassion, mercy and salvation; yet at the same time this mysterious stranger from the east stirs within her passions of which she dare not speak. To him, she is an angel of mercy, opening his barbarian's heart and helping him discover the true meaning of love and sacrifice. "K. D. Kragen is incredible-drawing his reader inside medieval bedlam. He has an intimacy with all of the characters in this classic tale. I felt transported to the colorful, yet bleak 14th century world, to see and sense the devastating plague, to witness barbarians leaving their prey stripped of dignity and will. How amazing that love could flourish amidst so much chaos-to see the spark of mystic spirit arise in the "Plagueman." Kragen has an instinctive abil-ity to understand our past and put the correct language and elements into his narrative, to serve up to us the succulent suspension of disbelief." Venera Di Bella Barles Author of They Was Holdin' Hands
K.D. Kragen (kdkragen.com) is a philosopher, writer, teacher, editor, husband, father and grandfather. Somehow he actually manages to be all those things while still pursuing interests that include practicing Aikido and Iaido, riding his motorcycle (Veronica), and running.
A third generation San Franciscan, K.D. grew up in the Italian District of the city. As a child he developed a passion for classical music, especially the works of Katchatorian and Mendelsson, his love of music later included jazz, folk and rock-n'-roll. At 13 he began playing guitar, learning the songs of Joan Baez and Woody Guthrie. Eventually with his friend Lenny, they played at Italian parties and weddings with plans to later travel through Europe. But their plans were short-lived as the Vietnam War was on and K.D.'s number came up. He was drafted and served 4 years in the U.S. Coast Guard doing SAR (search and rescue) and ATON (aids to navigation).
After the service he married the love of his life, Janet, who helped him gain an appreciation of classical literature and he helped her gain an appreciation of classical music. Despite all his education, many are surprised to learn that K.D. hadn't learned to read until the fourth grade, and hadn't read a full novel until he was in high school. His first favorite writers were Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Jules Verne, which is where his love of science fiction and horror began. With his Veterans benefits he went to college and got a B.A. in Philosophy from Azusa Pacific University, an M.A. in Philosophy of Religion from Denver Seminary, and finished his graduate studies in Philosophy at Syracuse University. It was during his college years that he began writing. He completed his first short story "The Chairs" in 1984.
In 1989 K.D. and family moved to Bainbridge Island, WA where he got a job washing dishes at the Streamliner Diner, joined a local writers group, and started his first novel titled Creatures of the Heart. (Note: he worked at the diner until his wife told him he's no longer allowed to work outside the home; after that his writing output increased dramatically.) Since then he's finished seven novels, five sci-fi and two historical fiction. In 2001 K.D.'s daughter Colleen married Eric von Foerster; at present they reside just outside Chicago with their son Dante Shalom von Foerster.
K.D. is currently working on his eight novel, the third in the series of The KillWare Chronicles (killware.com). Plagueman (plagueman.com), his fourth novel, was released in December 2005 through ArcheBooks.ccom and is available for sale online at amazon.com as well as from your local bookstore. The KillWare Chronicles is now available in Amazon Kindle.
