M.R. Neer (aka Michael Roy Neer) writes fables, fairy tales, and legends about the quest for the secrets of life. He believes that stories reveal the universal values that we all share. He has enjoyed a long career of organizing words in creative ways as an English teacher, curriculum specialist, magazine publisher, book editor, and long-time teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique. He has won awards for journalism, newsletter writing, and teaching, and makes his home in Fresno, Calif. The Elixir of Freedom is his first novel, and it is the first of six in The Light Finder Legends series.