A quiet, intimate novel from the dreamtime, Prelude to a Change of Mind is not a book that fits handily into familiar categories. With grace and humor, this tale comes to life in the mountain fastness of a possible recent past – or parallel history – evoking a world in which elves and dwarves burst from legend into life. The "change of mind" of the title belongs to Meg Christmas, firewatcher in the forest ranges of a western sierra. When crisis threatens the strange, small folk who befriend her, she must plumb within herself for abilities to confront, accept, and save a reality previously unsuspected. Part fantasy, part dialogue, part fairy tale for adults, this story from Austin, Texas, poet and artist Robert Stikmanz is one of those small, unique books that signals a genuinely new point of entry into our experience as conscious beings. It may even offer a way to change the world.