Kevin D. Raphael Fitch wrote Celestial Configurations of Africa and the Caribbean, which has been described, by world-renowned astrologers and university professors, as "a master work of unparalleled breadth" --- "an extremely well researched book" --- and "an important reference to sch.... more
Kevin D. Raphael Fitch wrote Celestial Configurations of Africa and the Caribbean, which has been described, by world-renowned astrologers and university professors, as "a master work of unparalleled breadth" --- "an extremely well researched book" --- and "an important reference to scholars".
Fitch's "ready made classic..." is presently making greater inroads into Europe and Africa, in addition to here, in the U.S. Most recently, he has written The End Zone: An Ahmad Jones Novel, the first of a 12-book action-thriller series, features New York City cop, Ahmad Jones, who lives a double life as an adept in the real-world application of astrology.
Off-duty in his New York apartment, with Skippy, his Siberian Husky keeping him company, Jones charts a celestial event four days into the future. Four days later on field training duty, with a rookie fresh out of the academy, Jones is confronted by several knife-wielding thugs, a couple of international assassins, and a strange woman, all which corroborate his earlier astrological deductions. As a cop, Jones has no choice but to step in, bringing tons of experience, while making his peace with an uncertain result.
Fitch was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. In 1979, while engaged in biblical and comparative religious and esoteric studies, at an African-based cultural institute, he was introduced to astrology by a member of the Brotherhood of Light: who possessed the degree of Hermatician. He did not train with him, yet other members of the cultural institute did and they assisted Raphael in grasping the basics of chart calculations, by hand. He got more facile in mastering the mathematical foundations of chart rendering that he had learned from his fellow brothers on the path, on his own.
He was mentored by two Mount Vernon-based astrologers; one was a Uranian astrologer who had a successful home-based consulting practice. The other, an accomplished generalist astrologer, who owned an astrological store, where he taught astrology and computers --- in the heart of the city of Mount Vernon. Raphael's mentor also advised police departments, and had an uncommon facility predicting the likelihood of future trends.
Fitch studied for years, while working for advertising firms, corporations like AT&T, Sprint, and IBM; built a secure foundation in natal, horary and mundane astrology. And almost 30 years later, Fitch authored, what noted astrologer, John Townley called, the "definitive book on the astrology of African nation-states."
Regarding his latest book, below is an interview with Kevin Fitch, author of the action/thriller:
The End Zone An Ahmad Jones Novel
Part One, Transcribed
Q: When did you decide to write?
A: Your question reminds me of a conversation I had with David Bradley over dinner in White Plains, New York. He's the author of The Chaneysville Incident, South Street and numerous essays. He was a friend of the family, and I was lucky to be sitting at dinner with him. So, I asked him when he decided to write. He took a moment to answer, and as I thought about that moment years later, I felt that he sensed that I was interested in writing and desired to encourage me and at the same time, desired to prevent me from making the mistake so many beginning writer's make, which is to procrastinate. The essence of what I got was that he didn't recall when or if, he even decided to write, but rather, he wrote.
Q: Is that what you did with your first book?
A: Yes, for many years I had decided that I was going to write and never got past that decision, funny.
Q: I gather then that you just wrote.
A: Yes, I wrote without deciding to write, you know, I just did it; and managed to complete a book in four years, please understand, I had never written a book before; it was all uphill. I was paying my dues to what I call the angel of writing.
Q: Ha ha, so are you still paying dues?
A: You bet, I have to stay current by writing everyday, learning the language, you know, the fine points. As I talk with you, I remember my high school English teacher. She loved Shakespeare and the great poets, and I just didn't dig it back then. Now, I go back in my imagination to those times in class when she read in Iambic Pentameter. She infused so much life into those words, and I endeavor to do the same in my writing.
Q: So, this new book you've written called The End Zone: an Ahmad Jones Novel, how did it come about?
A: The Ahmad Jones character emerged with my first book, Celestial Configurations of Africa and the Caribbean. It was out my desire to weave a narrative throughout the 626 page book, to give it some dramatic flair, you understand. Jones appears in the Prologue, the Interlude, and the Epilogue.
Q: Now, he has his own novel.
A: Yes, I like the Jones character. He's fun to work with. I just call them in, the other characters, and allow them to take their places, then I say action; Most times the things they do are a surprise to me. I am so excited about presenting it to readers who love suspense-thrillers.
Q: Including astrology.
A: Indeed.
Q: Can you say where it takes place?
A: Libya, Cleveland, West London...just to name some."