Kindred (The Birthrite Series, #2)
by Tiffany Apan
SYNOPSIS/BLURB:
It is the summer of 1933 and nearly two years since that fateful
Halloween night in Plains, New York.
Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, eighteen-year-old Cletus Blake
spends his days working to help his family through the massive economic
recession spreading throughout the United States and many other areas of the
world. As society struggles to accept that the economic surge of the 1920s are
long gone, Cletus also clings to the memory of his last phone conversation with
his cousin Dorothy. Having formed and maintained a relationship with two of her
close friends - the recently married Reginald and Gail Carr Johnson - the three
find solace in regular communication with one another.
Like Dorothy, Cletus possesses supernatural abilities inherited
through his bloodline. His vivid dreams and visions - including ones of a
beautiful young Romani woman and twin baby boys - continue to increase in
strength. Meanwhile, Reginald and Gail begin falling prey to dark adversaries
that have been lying in wait.
Evil surrounds at every turn, old friends race to help, and
ancient evil re-emerges. A war between worlds brews beneath the surface,
threatening to rip the protective seams that keep the portals sealed.
Then in the midst of it all, Cletus happens upon a caravan
traveling through his Ohio town. The very familiar Romanichal family's history
ties not only to his own past, but to all the kin of the four men that
experienced worlds outside of their own on that summer solstice in 1844. All
are linked to a future that will reunite the Blakes and the Livingstons, two
families that at one time, shared a very unlikely friendship.
Kindred is the second full-length novel in The Birthrite Series.
Picking up from where Descent and Sacred Atonement: A Novelette left off, the
story continues to challenge all that is known about light and dark, good and
evil. Passion, intrigue, and secrets abound as history unravels. Revelations
uncovered in previous installments are given new perspectives, taking the
reader on a thrilling ride into a world where nothing is ever what it appears
to be.
EXCERPT
from Kindred:
His eyes darted about and
breath hitched when he saw the property of the Fleming Orphanage surrounding him.
The summer breeze turned into a crisp, autumn chill as the song flowed with the
wind that carried it. Leaves fell from their branches, blanketing the ground, seeming
to undulate with the notes being played.
He was compelled toward the
woods, feeling Dorothy's presence and the grave danger she was in by being here.
Confused and disoriented, he looked around, calling out to her, but she was
nowhere in sight.
His voice was getting lost in
the wind stirring up as it carried DeBussy's song. The woods and empty buildings
of the former orphanage took on menacing shapes, as if they were alive and
mocking him. Every fiber of his being wrenched when he heard a distant howling
from somewhere in the woods. His breath grew rapid as his lungs took in the icy
air. The song to the moon faded and the sound of someone humming another
familiar tune took over.
All the
Pretty Little Horses...
Cletus tried moving in the
direction of the hill, knowing that it would take him away from the property,
but the wind increased in strength and invisible arms seemed to hold him back.
He heard the howling again, only this time, it was much closer, sounding unlike
any animal he knew of. A foul stench started crawling out from the buildings as
the windows radiated a deep red glow.
(Like blood...)
The glow pulsed, spreading
throughout the property as the stench of death and decomposition engulfed him.
His body stiffened upon hearing a bloodthirsty growl closing in behind him.
He tried to run, but his feet
were planted to the earth. He could sense it inching closer, crunching over the
cold, drying leaves. The creature's rancid breath assaulted his nostrils before
it let out a deafening roar. Then the creature pounced, pummeling the young man
forward…
READ
FROM THE BEGINNING:
DESCENT
(THE BIRTHRITE SERIES, #1)
Visions of infant twin boys, clouds, a young woman taking
her own life, and a collision of space, time, and realms...
On the eve of Summer Solstice in 1844, four men in different areas of the world share an experience that impacts not only their own lives, but those of the future generations. The first man is Nicolae Ganoush, a young Romany fugitive from a slave village in Wallachia. The second is Jonathan Blake, an eighteen-year-old Irishman in the American Midwest who finds himself falling in love with a young woman from a nearby Sioux village. The third is James Livingston, a prominent figure in colonial America, and the fourth is Hector de Fuentes, a sixteen-year-old from Tuxpan, Mexico with special gifts and visions enhanced by a mysterious and wondrous cave. Each man carries his own inner battle, unbelievable ancient truths deep within their lineages, and demons that are much closer to home than any of them would like.
On the eve of Summer Solstice in 1844, four men in different areas of the world share an experience that impacts not only their own lives, but those of the future generations. The first man is Nicolae Ganoush, a young Romany fugitive from a slave village in Wallachia. The second is Jonathan Blake, an eighteen-year-old Irishman in the American Midwest who finds himself falling in love with a young woman from a nearby Sioux village. The third is James Livingston, a prominent figure in colonial America, and the fourth is Hector de Fuentes, a sixteen-year-old from Tuxpan, Mexico with special gifts and visions enhanced by a mysterious and wondrous cave. Each man carries his own inner battle, unbelievable ancient truths deep within their lineages, and demons that are much closer to home than any of them would like.
SACRED ATONEMENT: A NOVELLA (THE BIRTHRITE SERIES, #1.5)
"He wondered how she would react to seeing him. Not just
his physical appearance, but seeing him for the first time since what happened
between nearly a year ago. And what would happen once she found out what he
really was?"
MADE IN HEAVEN (A BIRTHRITE SERIES SHORT)
It has only been two and a half months since Reginald and Gail
returned from that fateful night, a strange set of circumstances, and world
they never thought could exist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tiffany Apan grew up among the thick forests of the Appalachian
Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was there she began honing artistic
abilities and received much of her creative inspiration. A misfit among her
peers (she was the only one in her fifth grade writing class obsessed enough
with Vikings and Norwegian mythology to write poems about them), Tiffany was
highly active in the artistic community in Wilkes-Barre, PA, involving herself
in all music, theater, visual arts, and writing. Eventually, she settled quite
comfortably into a role as “that artsy kid in black” who sits in a coffee shop,
drinking endless amounts of coffee and tea while writing furiously in a journal
or sketchpad.
After graduating high school, she left the
Northeastern PA ghosts for the Southeastern PA zombies (Pittsburgh). Upon the
move, Tiffany became involved with the indie film scene, landing supporting
roles in a couple films. This also gave way to the release of her music with
partner in crime, Jason English. Since then, she has gone on to act in several
films and theater productions with starring and supporting roles, release music
to critical acclaim, and receive accolades for her writing and producing.
The Appalachian Mountains serve as a backdrop for many of
her stories, including The Cemetery by the Lake and The Birthrite Series. You can check out more of her work (writing,
music, film, etc) on her website, blog, Amazon, and other social media.
AUTHOR
& BOOK LINKS:
My music projects are available at CDBaby
"The Birthrite Series" and other books at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
Tiffany on Goodreads
Support great authors and independent bookstores at Smashwords and Indiebound
