From the bestselling author of Time’s Legacy and Lady of Hay comes a thrilling new novel, River of Destiny, an epic story that spans Anglo Saxon Britain, Victorian Suffolk and the present day. Perfect for fans of Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth.
In a custom-built boat, Jeffrey Tayler traveled some 2,400 miles down the Lena River, from near Lake Baikal to high above the Arctic Circle, re-creating a journey first made by Cossack forces more than three hundred years ago. He was searching for primeval beauty and a respite from the corruption, violence, and self-destructive urges that typify modern Russian culture. His only companion on this hellish journey detests all humanity, including Tayler. Vadim, Tayler's guide, is a burly Soviet army veteran whose superb skills Tayler needs to survive. As the two navigate roiling white water in howling storms, they eschew lifejackets because the frigid water would kill them before they could swim to shore. Though Tayler has trekked by camel through the Sahara and canoed down the Congo during the revolt against Mobutu, he has never felt as threatened as he does on this trip.
Growing up in the small town of Destinybay, Sara, Alex and Diana were as tight as the Three Musketeers, bound by a friendship forged in childhood and made complete by their vow to escape their hometown someday to find love, adventure and their own true destiny. Never once in those young dreams did Sara believe shed end up back here in the middle of her life, a divorced mother of her own rebellious teenager, with no job, no home and no future in sight. With Alex stuck in the same sinking boat and Diana ready to weigh in, Sara resigns herself to living with her mother. But time is not always kind and Sara discovers her hometown has been dying in her absence with many of those historic buildings now abandoned and whispering regrets around every corner. Faster than she can rewrite her own life, Sara is opening a coffee shop downtown while navigating the stormy waters of rebooting her childhood friendships and fending off her childhood beau Sam, who is running a charter fishing business on the bay. Just as she and her friends begin to find their safe harbor, will secrets and jealousy create waves that threaten to destroy the future they are working so hard to build? Sara, Alex and Diana will discover the power of childhood promises and regrets amidst the waves of change and loss that life holds. Can they recapture the strength of their bond in time to turn those regrets into grace and unlock the knowledge that its never too late to define your destiny and discover where your True North lies?
Children and younger adolescents in todays world are bombarded with information from the electronic media and, in particular, the internet. Much of what they see and read has little redeeming social value. Computer games are particularly violent and teach the lesson that, in order to have your way, it is okay to resort to strength and violence. Robert Ruiz, Jr., in writing Destinys Journey, sought to provide children and youth with an imaginative adventure story rooted in the values of family and friendship that stand the test of time: love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, faith and patience. Inculcated in the story are the concepts of a Creator and a plan of life that is greater than any individual or group of individuals on earth. There is, indeed, a divine plan for all living things. The author, in developing the Chiles family, was particularly interested in engaging Mexican and Hispanic American children and youth, many of whom have been raised in the produce fields of Mexico and the United States. Thus, Chiles family characters serve as the vehicle to share values that make any society strong. The interdependence of the characters in this story clearly demonstrates that no man is an island, entire of it self. All of us need each other, regardless of race, age or background in order to not only survive but thrive in todays world. And above all, we must recognize that there is a higher power at work in each of our lives.
Many obstacles stand in the way of baronet’s son Warrick Synclaire being with his best friend, Thomas Smythe. Same-sex love is illegal in early 20th Century England, and Warrick is heading for Canada while Thomas is destined for the military college at Sandhurst. Warrick isn't sure he can bear the separation. However, the day before Warwick leaves, Thomas persuades him to see a fortune teller. The old gypsy woman’s warnings fail to scare Warwick, but another gypsy, Nicolae, by turns intrigues, arouses, and terrifies him. That night, Nicolae breaks into Warwick’s bedchamber, bedding then biting him. Warwick, unable to process the encounter, convinces himself it was just a bad dream and sails off to Canada to start a new life. In Canada, Warrick renews his acquaintance with Fox Sullivan, who he first met during the war. Soon the two become lovers, but for Warwick, the relationship is purely physical. Thomas still owns his heart. When he can stand their separation no longer, Warrick returns to his ancestral home in Kent, determined to reunite with Thomas, who now has a lover of his own. But the encounter with Nicolae years earlier changed Warwick considerably. Every full moon he turns into a ravenous creature, which seems able to rule Warwick’s life even during the daytime. Determined to win over Warrick, Fox sells his medical practice and sails to England. But is he too late to save the man he loves?
Desy was part Organic, part Genetic. She had been created in a lab, and looked nothing like her family. She hated the fact that she looked different from her brothers. She grew up listening to her brothers tell a family legend that had been handed down through many generations. The legend promised that someday a brilliant orb of light would appear. And, on that day a mystical transformation would take place. A selected ancestor of days long forgotten would find a special person, and together they would travel to a place beyond tomorrow. Now, Desy's world was about to come to an end. It had been abused for too many generations, and there was no longer any hope for a future. As Desy sat and cried under a scraggly tree, she unknowingly wrapped her fingers around a shiny stone fragment. Suddenly, her world spun and disappeared, leaving her swirling inside a purple mist. When she stopped spinning, she found herself just beyond tomorrow.