A.M. Dean's highly anticipated latest novel, THE KEYSTONE, is released internationally on 15 August 2013, bringing the realm of Gnostic mystery into the world of modern conspiracies and deadly cults. If you're a fan of global conspiracy thrillers that combine ancient history with modern intrigue, this is the summer book for you!
THE KEYSTONE The Keystone is the next major thriller from A.M. Dean. Following on the action of bestseller The Lost Library, The Keystone takes readers on an adventure that bridges ancient Egypt and the modern world, exposing a terror that has been hidden for centuries. For nearly two thousand years a small carved stone has lain hidden in the Egyptian desert. Now it is about to unleash on the modern world a destruction beyond imagining. Enclosed in a sealed jar and tucked away in an Egyptian cave, an ancient key holds the secret to unveiling a Gnostic mystery lost for nearly two millennia. At its centre stands one of the most important discoveries of the twentieth century: the Nag Hammadi Codices, unearthed from the desert in 1945 and containing a secret scholars have never imagined. A secretive sect is willing to do anything to obtain the ancient key. Beginning with a murder in London, the group’s activities start to spread across the globe, drawing the indefatigable Dr Emily Wess and her husband, Michael Torrance, into a new web of arcane secrets and troubling truths. Claiming to carry on the mysteries of antiquity, the church’s threats begin to grow darker and more ominous. Meanwhile, as preparations are being finalised for an Independence Day parade in central Chicago, the finishing touches are being put on a device that will wreak untold havoc on the city. But the group planning the attack is not chanting the traditional anti-American slogans the FBI anticipates. As Emily and Michael delve into the heart of the secretive sect, the links between events in Egypt and Chicago begin to multiply. Will they be able to intercept the group’s leader before an ancient promise unleashes a very modern curse?
Monkeys in my Garden certainly
lives up to its sub-title “Unbelievable but true stories of my life in
Mozambique.” Valerie Pixley’s gripping account
of her life in the rapidly disappearing forests of Mozambique is often
harrowing but compulsively readable. Starting
with the shocking discovery of armed bandits in her bedroom, we have to wait
until the epilogue to learn the outcome.
Perhaps the saddest part of this true story is the impact of
deforestation on the local wildlife. Valerie witnessed entire colonies of rare
weaver birds being wiped out by the ‘slash and burn’ desecration of their
habitat. She observes, “You can reforest the vast tracks of emptiness but while
it takes five minutes to cut down a tree, it takes between forty and sixty years
to grow an indigenous forest. In the meantime, the habitat is gone, the animals
become extinct, the fauna and flora die.”
Not all the fauna of Mozambique will be missed as much as
the weaver birds. Particularly the Matacena worms, that memorably (and
agonisingly) burrows into the author’s toes, with potentially fatal
consequences. Monkeys in My Garden will open your eyes to the challenges of life in
Mozambique, and raises many questions to which there are easy answers.
About the Author
VALERIE PIXLEY was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and grew up in Namibia and Rhodesia now Zimbabwe . She is married to old Etonian O D Pixley and for the last 17 years has lived in the Nhamacoa Forest which the Pixleys protect and where they grow indigenous trees in their own personally funded reforestation project. She is self-employed, working in wildlife and forest conservation.
For the past ten years, every time something crazy happened at work or I read about a government scandal in the newspaper, I thought to myself, “I should write a book!” At the job where I work, we had a fire, a flood, and a break-in, all within the first year I worked there. While the fire and flood were accidents, I got to thinking…what if they hadn’t been? Would it make for a good mystery? So, one day, I gave it a whirl.
I found writing to be relaxing and I would lose myself in the story. The characters seemed to take on a life of their own and Bonnie just cracks me up. I created the setting of the New Jersey shore area because I love it there so much. Many of my friends and relatives were affected by Hurricane Sandy, so I wanted to acknowledge, in some small way, the devastation the storm had caused to those I care about.
When I finished the book, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven’t felt in a very long time. It was a great feeling to be able to create a work for others to enjoy.
# # #
Red Tape is a mystery filled with crime, government
corruption, natural disasters and a little bit of romance. It’s set in the
quirky little town of Sunshine, a shore community on a barrier island in New
Jersey. In this captivating tale, Municipal Clerk and single mom, Chelsey Alton
gets more than she bargained for when she encounters an irate resident and
loose cannon, Robert Triggers. He has been harassing the employees of the Town
of Sunshine and becomes the prime suspect when multiple attempts to sabotage
the municipal building are made. Chelsey begins to piece it all together and
finds herself framed for a crime she did not commit. She narrowly escapes
several attempts at her demise, only to find herself in a much more precarious
situation. Will she make it out alive or end up a tragic victim at the hands of
a madman?
* 2013 Readers’ Favorite
International Book Awards Finalist *
* 2013 Beach Book Festival
Honorable Mention Award *
Michele Lynn Seigfried is an award-winning novelist, a
children's author and illustrator and a public speaker who was born and raised
in New Jersey. Her background as a communication major and art minor, and her
15 years of experience working in government mix together to bring you creative
and fun novels and books. Connect with her on her website www.michelelynnseigfried.com and find her on Twitter @micheleseig
What kind of knowledge
do we hope to derive from reading novels, which tell us stories we know are not
“true”? One traditional answer to that
question is: knowledge of the human heart, or mind. The novelist has intimate
access to the secret thoughts of characters denied to the historian, the
biographer or even the psychoanalyst.
The novel, therefore, can offer us more or less convincing models of how
and why people act as they do.
Not my words but those David Lodge, one of my favourite
authors, in his thought-provoking book The
Art of Fiction. Organised into fifty
short chapters, starting with ‘beginning’, David Lodge uses well-chosen
extracts to illustrate almost every aspect of fiction. One of those rare books that you can open at any
page and start reading; I guarantee that both readers and writers of fiction
will learn something every time.
For example, I just opened it in the section on ‘an
unreliable narrator’. David Lodge
observes that, "The point of using an unreliable narrator is to reveal in an
interesting way the gap between appearance and reality, and to show how human
beings distort or conceal the latter." I
recently struggled with a historical fiction novel with a very unreliable
narrator but now appreciate that it made me really think about the events being
described.
The Art of Fiction rounds
off with ’endings’ and a nice point from another of my favourite authors, Jane
Austen, that a novelist cannot conceal the timing of the end of their story
because of the tell-tale compression of the pages. Lodge ends a consideration
of the resolution (or deliberate non-resolution) of questions raised in the mind
of the reader by the narrative with an observation on the limitations of the
English language: “A novel is a Gestalt,
a German word for which there is no exact English equivalent, possessing qualities
as a whole that cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts.”
Some people come into your life and make a big impact, some
not so much. However, when a twin
soulmate/flame crosses your path, trust me, your life will never be the same.
My passion
for writing only happened a few years ago.
I had never written anything in my life! However, that changed the day my path
crossed with the man I believe to be my twin soulmate. This encounter has
changed my life forever. And for the better I must say. Everything really does happen for a reason!
For the
first couple of years I didn’t even know that he was my twin soulmate; I had
never even heard of the word until a medium I visited a couple of years later
told me about it. I had already started on my spiritual path but after I met my
twin my spiritual journey escalated. I had already learned how to read the
tarot cards, and I was having fun with it.
My connection with my guardian angel which had always been strong got
even stronger.
I hadn’t had
much luck in love and had never really been in love before. Of course, I had
had my share of fun over the years and a few major infatuations - but nothing
compared to the feelings I had for this man. At first, I didn’t understand why
I felt the way I did, this certainty and knowing -ness that came from so deep
within my soul. He was on my mind 24/7. I was consumed by him.
There were many
times I thought I was losing it, because apart from our first date he was doing
nothing to encourage me. In fact he was pushing me away. Although, I knew he
had strong feelings for me and that was what was so frustrating. I was driving
myself and everyone around me crazy. I had to find an outlet to express my
feelings as the angst and frustration of not being with him was taking its
toll.
My sister was the one who
suggested that I should write down my feelings; she thought it might help me. I
wasn’t very good at writing but then I thought… what the hell no one was going
to see it, or so I thought. J So I channelled my energy to
the keyboard and I started writing down my story… and the words just poured out
of me. I started to think it could even be turned into a good little novel.
Then I started to receive messages from my angels telling me… “You have to write this book.” I didn’t know why they were continually
telling me to do this as I was NOT a writer.
Well my angels knew better - as
they always do. I discovered that I did have a talent….a creative one! So with
the help of an editor I ended up writing my book called I Listened To My Heart.
It is a fictional novel although it is inspired by encounter with my twin
soulmate. And it didn’t stop there. I also started to write lyrics to love songs
and have written over 50 songs and many have received high acknowledgement in
various worldwide competitions; one has even been selected for consideration
for a top country artist which I “coincidently” wrote about in my book (page
341). A couple of other “surprising occurrences” have happened since I have
written the book. I am hoping I may have written my own reality!
I Listened To My Heart follows the life of Rose O’Carroll who at the age of 40 leaves her life in
Melbourne to embark on a new life in London, all under the guidance of her
angels. Rose is a likeable and funny character with great friendships, gorgeous
interactions with her angels, and a twin soulmate to throw her life out of
whack! It is one woman’s story of what
can happen if you truly listen to your inner voice and believe in love. It’s fun, light, quirky and heartfelt.
I may have
lost myself for a while in my twin, but through losing myself… I also found
myself. He has given me the greatest gift of all: ME. And maybe that was one of
the reasons he came into my life - to help me to find my life’s purpose and
become the woman I am today. If so, he has done his job, and I thank him from
the bottom of my heart.
Never in my
wildest dreams did I think at the age of 50 I would have given up the corporate
world - written a book, be reading tarot cards professionally – and be writing
lyrics to love songs - Never say never!
Aussie born
and bred Rosemary Gallagher is a novelist, lyricist, tarot consultant and angel
intuitive. Rosemary has been living in London since 2000. Recently she left the
corporate world to concentrate on her creative pursuits and spiritual development. I Listened to
My Heart is Rosemary's debut novel - it’s an uplifting story of faith,
love and friendship. Rosemary is passionate
about life and all things spiritual, with a strong interest in twin soul
connections. You can visit Rosemary's website on www.rosemarygallagher.comand find her on Twitter @rosemarysangels
Max Gate is just outside Dorchester in Dorset and was the
home of author and poet Thomas Hardy.
Originally trained as an architect, Hardy designed the house in 1885 commissioned
his father and brother (both master masons) to build it. The house was built on a one and a half acre
plot which had been the site of the cottage and tollgate of a ‘turnpike
keeper’ called Mack, hence the name ‘Max Gate’. (It was later found that the house was right in
the middle of a neolithic stone circle and an early Roman cemetery.)
Hardy lived at Max Gate for most of his working life and it
was there that he wrote his most famous novels, including Jude the Obscure, The Mayor of Casterbridge and my own
favourite, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Many famous
writers were regular visitors to Max Gate, including Robert Louis Stevenson,
Rudyard Kipling, H G Wells, Robert Graves and George Bernard Shaw.
Thomas Hardy's Study
I was disappointed to realise that almost all the contents
of Max Gate were sold before it was acquired by the National Trust but largely
thanks to the ‘encouragement’ of the Thomas Hardy Society, they have tried their best to recreate the
‘feel’ of the place with similar furniture of the period. All is not lost, however, as under a
condition of his will the entire contents of Hardy’s study was relocated to the
Dorset Museum, where it can be seen today. The display includes Hardy’s collection of
over four hundred books, many of which are his own first editions. (Interestingly, Hardy moved his study at Max
Gate to a different room with every book he wrote.)
It was particularly poignant to climb the narrow twisting stairway
to the attic rooms of Hardy’s first wife Emma.
She asked Hardy to create her a private space where she could retreat
from the world, and he was happy to do so.
Unfortunately, Emma became something of a recluse, spending most of her
time in these small rooms until her death in 1912 at the age of 72. After Emma died, Hardy searched her attic
bedroom and found her writing, a small book she had written about her early
life called ‘Some Recollections’ and a notebook
entitled ‘What I Think Of My Husband’. (After
reading it he carefully burned the notebook in the garden, then spent the rest
of his life full of remorse for the unhappiness he had caused her.)
Thomas Hardy lived in the house from 1885 until his death on 11th January, 1928. His youngest sister Kate bought Max Gate when it was auctioned
in 1938 and bequeathed the house to the nation when she died in in 1940. Her
wish was that income could be generated to pay for the purchase and upkeep of
the old cottage at Higher Bockhampton where her brother had been born 100 years
earlier. (See Visiting Thomas Hardy's Birthplace.)
Anyone who had
tried writing historical fiction will tell you how challenging it is to find
the right balance between carefully researched facts and the fiction necessary to
‘fill the gaps’. The Queen of Last Hopes achieves this perfectly – and really makes
you want to find out more about Margaret, who shines through as a strong woman
with the same vulnerabilities we all have.
I’d been saving this book to read on my recent holiday, as my current
work-in-progress is set during the reign of Shakespeare’s ‘She Wolf’, Margaret
of Anjou, and I needed to learn more about the real woman behind the caricature
we so often read about. Susan
Higginbotham’s book proved to be a great place to find that new perspective, as
she is up there with the best historical fiction authors and has a refreshing attitude
to rule breaking. When did you last read
a book where the narrator switches to a different character who proves to be
writing from the grave, having described their own death? Susan has chosen to apply her creative
licence to the character of the Duke of Somerset, Henry Beaufort, as Margaret's lover - but the book
is better for it – and I am sure he would have approved!
The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou on Amazon UK and Amazon US
