Happy October!
This time of year has always been my absolute favourite. From spooky season all the way to Christmas – I cannot get enough of it.
To celebrate and get the festivities going, I have released the first book of my new series, Esoterics! Book one is called Soothsayer and is officially out as of October 1st.
What is Soothsayer about?
Soothsayer follows the story of Salomé, a young woman raised in a fundamentalist church in South Africa. She is being courted by the head of the church and has done little more than hold his hand, as prescribed by their rules. She wears their uniform on her body and obeys their rules with all her heart, terrified that any deviation will cause the loss of her salvation.
A chance meeting throws her into the world of the Nephilim where she meets a half demon named Braith, who is the opposite of everything she has been taught. He is beautiful, powerful and empowering. He sweeps Salomé off her feet and shows her that the line between the “faithful good” and those perceived as “decadent evil” is sometimes blurred.
Chances are, this book may make you feel uncomfortable.
To write Soothsayer, I did a lot of research on the occult, religious mythology and current patriarchal faith establishments to ensure that the terminology used in my book was authentically valid at its core before I attempted to unhinge popular perception.
I’ll admit, in this series, I danced a fine line along comfort zones and for this, I remain unapologetic. If my book makes you feel uneasy then I’ve succeeded in obtaining the response I wanted.
Suppression that stems from superstition is never acceptable in my eyes. It shows a lack of intellectual consideration that has nominalised and ostracised those who believe differently for years and it needs to be challenged. As I consider the current time we are living in as one of enlightenment, I felt it was prudent to tackle fundamentalist thinking with a no holds barred rationale.
I could think of no better way to do this than to introduce characters that had an internal make up that differed to their adopted outward persona.
A witch who continues to be a witch but remains a faithful Christian. A Pastor who is blissfully unaware of the true reality of his judgmental, narcissistic soul and half demons who seek redemption more fervently and more deserving than the flocking masses of a fundamentalist church.
I loved the play on opposites in this tale. A non-alpha male protagonist and a female that rises from the ashes as she discovers a new inner power that is both fantasy and strongly metaphorical of her new reality. Any women who has been downtrodden will love her metamorphose of strength.
A month of continued introspection.
With this book being a tale of challenging preconceived notions, we are embarking on a month of continued introspection. Stay tuned to our blog and social media, as we use this month to write about the pitfalls of prejudicial reasoning both now and historically with topics like the Salem witch trials and the celebration of Halloween among others. We even have a post coming from a young woman who practices Wicca.