By: Teresa Nikas
From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.
A gunman walked into an economics exam at Brown University on Saturday afternoon and opened fire, killing two students and wounding nine others—and as of this morning, he’s still out there.
For parents everywhere, this is the nightmare that never quite leaves the back of our minds. We send our children to school expecting they’ll come home. We trust that classrooms are safe places for learning, not targets. And yet here we are again—the 76th school shooting in America this year.
I won’t pretend to have answers this morning. Anyone who claims to have simple solutions to this particular darkness is either lying or hasn’t looked closely enough. What I do have is a question that’s been turning in my mind since I read about the vigil held Sunday evening in Providence.
Rabbi Sarah Mack stood before a grieving community and said this: “No matter what our faith tradition, no matter what we believe, each and every one of us can share that light. We can use our light to kindle other lights, to care for one another, and that is how we get through this dark moment.”
It’s a beautiful sentiment. But here’s my question: Is it enough?
Not whether it’s theologically sound—I believe it is. Not whether it’s comforting—surely it offers some comfort. But is the sharing of light enough to push back the kind of darkness that walks into a room full of students taking finals and starts shooting?
I don’t ask this to be cynical. I ask because it matters how we answer.
In Cedar Valley, we’ve learned something about light and darkness over the years. We’ve seen what happens when fear takes root in a community, and we’ve seen what happens when people deliberately and persistently choose to kindle light instead. It works. Slowly, imperfectly, but genuinely—it works.
But it requires more than sentiment. It requires showing up. It requires knowing your neighbors. It requires the hard, unglamorous work of building relationships before crisis arrives.
The families in Providence are facing weeks and months of grief. The students who survived will carry this moment for the rest of their lives. And somewhere, a man who committed an unspeakable act is still walking free.
We can’t fix that from here. But we can decide how we live in response. We can choose to know the young people in our own community. We can choose to notice when someone is struggling, isolated, slipping toward the margins. We can choose to build the kind of town where darkness has fewer shadows to hide in.
Rabbi Mack was right. Light kindles light. But someone has to strike the match.
This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.
It’s free, live, and fresh! Quiet Echo—A Cedar Valley News Podcast is live on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4nV8XsE, Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hdNHfX, YouTube: https://bit.ly/48Zfu1g , and Podcastle: https://bit.ly/4pYRstE. Every day, you can hear Cedar Valley’s editorials read aloud by the voices you’ve come to know—warm, steady, and rooted in the values we share. Step into the rhythm of our town, one short reflection at a time. Wherever you listen, you’ll feel right at home. Presented by the Publication Consultants: https://publicationconsultants.com/
Author Campaign Method (ACM) for Authorpreneurs
This is Publication Consultants’ motivation for constantly striving to assist authors sell and market their books. Author Campaign Method (ACM) of sales and marketing is Publication Consultants’ plan to accomplish this so that our authors’ books have a reasonable opportunity for success. We know the difference between motion and direction. ACM is direction! ACM is the process for authorpreneurs who are serious about bringing their books to market. ACM is a boon for them.
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Cortex is for serious authors and will probably not be of interest to hobbyists. We recorded our Cortex training and information meeting. If you’re a serious author, and did not attend the meeting, and would like to review the training information, kindly let us know. Authors are required to have a Facebook author page to use Cortex.
Correction:
We take the quote by Marcella Smith, Small Press Business Manager, Barnes & Noble seriously: “The author is essential to the success of the book, giving energy behind the book to make it something that a customer will come in and ask for. That is what makes the difference in a book that sells, that develops legs, and has a life of its own. Otherwise the book goes on the shelf and stays there for three months. Then it gets returned.”
This is Publication Consultants’ motivation for constantly striving to assist authors sell and market their books. ACM is Publication Consultants’ plan to accomplish this so that our authors’ books have a reasonable opportunity for success. We know the difference between motion and direction. ACM is direction! ACM is the process for authors who are serious about bringing their books to market. ACM is a boon for serious authors, but a burden for hobbyist. We don’t recommend ACM for hobbyists.
We’re the only publisher we know of that provides authors with book signing opportunities. Book signing are appropriate for hobbyist and essential for serious authors. To schedule a book signing kindly go to our website, <
An Author Page on Amazon Author Central is a serious author ACM requirement and desirable for the hobbyist. Author Central is a free resource designed to help authors become more active participants in the promotion of their books. In Author Central you can manage an Author Page, update information about your books, and view Customer Reviews and sales information for your bibliography. If you don’t already have an Author Page on 
We hear authors complain about all the personal stuff on Facebook. Most of these complaints are because the author doesn’t understand the difference difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook page. Simply put, a profile is for personal things for friends and family; a page is for business. If your book is just a hobby, then it’s fine to have only a Facebook profile and make your posts for friends and family; however, if you’re serious about your writing, and it’s a business with you, or you want it to be business, then you need a Facebook page as an author. It’s simple to tell if it’s a page or a profile. A profile shows how many friends and a page shows how many likes. Here’s a link <> to a straight forward description on how to set up your author Facebook page.
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Mosquito Books has a new location in the Anchorage international airport and is available for signings with 21 days notice. Jim Misko had a signing there yesterday. His signing report included these words, “Had the best day ever at the airport . . ..”
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