Theocrats Put Death Mark on Heroine, Punish Father in Fantasy Saga's 3rd Book

Theocrats Put Death Mark on Heroine, Punish Father in Fantasy Saga's 3rd Book

LANCASTER, Texas, July 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Some people just need killing.

Will the ones to die be Helen Andros, outspoken first-generation heroine of the Green Stone of Healing® epic fantasy, and her newly reconciled father?

The astonishing sequel to The Vision and Fallout, The Scorpions Strike debuts today in paperback and e-book. Helen and Lord James Mordecai endure proscription and savage punishment by the state-sanctioned Temple of Kronos.

Under a Temple death mark, Helen learns basic energy manipulation from Maguari the otherworldly Mist-Weaver, and first uses her gem for healing and saving lives. Lord James' political enemies hound him relentlessly and a treacherous ally plots his assassination.

"The Scorpions Strike is fast- paced, action-packed and full of surprises," writes Anne Garber, managing director of evalu8.org. "Just when you think you have figured out where these events might be heading, everything you imagined is thrown out the window."

HealingStone Books today also made available as paperbacks the series' highly praised first two books.

"If you love an intense read, packed with sinister power seekers, grueling heartless characters, yet laced with mystical moments, the lure of peace and healing, and the hope that goodness will prevail, this read is for you," Shirley P. Johnson writes about Fallout in Midwest Book Review.

"Helen is a formidable protagonist," Kirkus Discoveries says about The Vision.

Over several generations of strong female characters, the saga explores what happens when politics and piety collide--how state support for an exclusionary faith leads to worldwide cataclysm that destroys an island nation called Azgard.

Throughout, the heroines and their jewel offer a healing, inclusive alternative to a theocracy that persecutes those who do not look like or share the religious beliefs of those in power.

Author C.L. Talmadge describes the series as, "a blue-state version of 'end-of-the-world' fiction without a traditional religious viewpoint. Instead, it examines alternative spiritual themes and offers a different interpretation of free will and good and evil."

Talmadge’s writing career began in 1976. A political columnist syndicated by North Star Writers group ( www.northstarwriters.com), she has been on staff or freelanced for media including Business Week, the Dallas Times Herald, Forbes, the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and Reuters America.

Public website: www.greenstoneofhealing.com

The Scorpions Strike
Price: $16.95
Pages: 248
ISBN: 978-9800537-5-3

HealingStone Books: www.healingstonebooks.com

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