Turner's Antics: PROMO: Divergent Paths by Holly Barbo

I am sharing with you all today a science fiction fantasy, Divergent Paths by Holly Barbo, check out the excerpt. Plus a giveaway at the bottom!

Title: Divergent Paths
Series: Sage Seed Chronices #2
Author: Holly Barbo
Publisher: Paper Crane Books
Release Date: 28th August 2012
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

A virulent disease sweeps through the Sawblen Province. The source is unknown. As hundreds fall victim, the healers race to contain it and find a cure before it engulfs the realm, but a would-be healer complicates the situation by concocting dangerous drugs.

While the officials are distracted, a counterfeiter takes advantage of the events. Credentials and money are faked, putting several lives in peril and resulting in deaths.

The Great One's council and sage population hurry to track down the sources of the trouble and right the multiple crises before anyone else falls prey to the events. Rare natives of the planet have important information to impart if the sages can decipher their cryptic message.

~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ The Book Depository ~ iTunes ~

Excerpt

Upon Ree finishing her lunch, she stood up and took her dishes to the kitchen. "Leef and I left after that. The guild masters had their meeting the next day. I parted company with Leef just after we crossed the bridge into Sawblen. He continued on to Yerra. I turned northwest following the river. I passed a homestead with a shop, a couple of hours from the bridge. Something made me very uncomfortable and I very much wanted to be away from there. Creepy feeling. It bothered me so much that I couldn't isolate what was disturbing me. It frustrated me a whole lot. I talked it over with Eclaire and Regal, but I couldn't do anything about it. Finally, I got into my bed roll and watched both moons rise and fell asleep. That was last night. I didn't remember the . . . remarkable . . . dream, until I was almost at your garden."

Catri had warmed up a couple of cups. She motioned to Ree to make herself comfortable and poured the steaming, aromatic tea into them. She sat down with Ree and leaned back. "So when I stepped outside and saw you frozen at the approach to my garden, you were remembering."

Ree took a sip and smiled at Catri. "Great tea blend." She closed her eyes and started her narrative that way. "Yes. I think Raow curled up next to me as I fell asleep and started to dream. Raow was there. He seemed to be guiding the course of what was happening and I was inside the dream with him, as a young Lyrix." She took another sip and held the cup in both hands as she met Catri's eyes. "At first he was showing me how to melt into the shadows and move like a Lyrix. It was a unique and marvellous experience. Fun. He gave me a wink and said, 'Follow me.' We stepped into a shadow. When we emerged we were on Launch Hill, in the spring sunshine and watched the Ancients' survey teams disembark on the Sawblen Plain."

Catri's eyes were large, but she made no sound.

Ree took another sip. "He talked of a tragedy that had diminished the Lyrix population and how the psychics among the Ancients' teams had saved our world. He got up and I followed him behind a rock. On the other side of the rock it was night time and we were here, watching you coming out of your front door and walking over to talk to Zephyr, who was sitting atop one of your henge posts."

Catri gasped. "I didn't sense you there."

Ree shook her head. "I'm not sure how to say this. We were here, yet we weren't. It was inside a dream, remember?

"I followed him around a tree. The other side of the tree became grassy dunes and we were back at the homestead, the one that bothered me. Raow suggested that I touch the buildings. I took my paw and did so. I was able to clear up the reason the place disturbed me. The man who lives there is controlled by greed. He was doing something. I couldn't tell what it was, but he hadn't the slightest interest on how his actions could hurt others. It was a hard, cold feeling. Though I couldn't tell any more, Raow was pleased that I could tell that much."

About the Author

Courtesy of Goodreads

Holly Barbo's world is shaped by her love of her family, the beauty of the natural world in Northwest Washington State and an irrepressible creative drive.

Living where the scenery is incredible with a rich abundance of wildlife "is so special and soothing that it feels like a quiet kind of magic," according to Barbo. She is drawn to creating stories where there is just a bit of something unworldly, perhaps it is magic or psychic skills. Her stories are mostly in non-urban settings and usually have some focus on nature, building a discordant drama inside the peaceful frame.

~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~

Other books in the series:

The Founders (Sage Seed Chronicles #1)
The Unraveling (Sage Seed Chronicles #3)
The Reweaving (Sage Seed Chronicles #4) - due for release 15th July 2013