Turbulent Times

These are turbulent times. Trying to concentrate while images of Ukraine haunt me, but at least I am safe and warm and not hungry.
I have been working on rewriting a new book, “Fireflower” which I started in 2017. Yes, that long ago!

Fusing the historical story of the Donner Party crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains to California in 1846, with Polish mythology, FIREFLOWER is the story of fifteen-year-old Magdala’s discovery of courage and self.
Reeling from the loss of her mother, a death she believes to have caused, Magdala Babicz convinces her father to leave Illinois and emigrate to California with the Lucas family.
At first, summer weather makes the journey easy and spirits are high. But as days and miles pass, fatigue and hunger set in, rivers overflow, and snow in the mountains impedes their journey.
After encounters with the newly dead and a demon posing as human, Magdala learns there are otherworldly forces at work to prevent their journey to California. She is tasked with keeping eleven-year-old Adele Lucas safe, as Adele is heir to the Goddess.
Magdala battles starvation, blizzards, heartache, and supernatural beings to bring Adele across the mountains to California.