When the choice is between love and life, how can anyone decide?
A girl and a monk, both with extraordinary mental powers, have compelling reasons not to fall in love. But those from whom they expect support are manipulating them both because their choices will have consequences for the rest of the world.
After a stormy youth, Brother Prospero has found comfort and fulfilment in the monastery. That is, until he discovers something that forces him to reconsider his whole vocation. To follow his heart, he’ll have to face his demons again, outside the security of the monastery. Is it worth the risk? Can he beat them this time? Or will they finally destroy him?
Orphaned and mistreated, Leonie has found sanctuary and safety at the abbey. All she wants is to learn how to manage her unusual abilities so that she is not a danger to those around her. When she comes into contact with Prospero everything threatens to spiral out of her control. Whether she leaves or whether she stays, how can she possibly avoid destroying – yet again – those she has come to care about?
Abbot Gabriel is faced with an impossible choice. He can do nothing and watch the world descend into war. Or he can manipulate events and ensure peace – at the cost of two lives that he is responsible for. He knows what he has to do but is he strong enough to sacrifice those he loves?
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strand-Faith-Choices-Consequences-Book-ebook/dp/B07GKZT8LF
http://www.books2read.com/strandoffaith
An Introduction to Some Characters
I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the main characters in Strand of Faith.
First there’s Prospero.
He’s about 6ft 2in tall with short black hair and deep blue eyes, so dark they are almost navy in colour. He’s been a monk for some years now and he finds that both satisfying and fulfilling. He comes across as confident, sure of himself and strong in his faith. He works as a doctor and enjoys everyday clinic work best, just making other people’s lives that little bit better. Like all the doctors where he works he has a specialism. In this environment about a quarter of the population have some degree of mental ability such as telepathy or telekinesis. Prospero’s specialism is dealing with what happens when something goes wrong with that ability.
Prospero himself is very Gifted with such mental abilities. He’s strongest at telekinesis – moving things with his mind – but he’s also skilled in telepathy and teleportation. He doesn’t have any real ability with pyrokinesis (setting fire to things) and just a very little skill in precognition.
He doesn’t think he has a favourite colour, but if he had to pick, he’d say green. He sees food as fuel and will eat whatever is on offer although he’d definitely miss bacon if it wasn’t available. As well as being a doctor, Prospero works in the gardens at the monastery, mainly with the flowers and foliage used for decorating the monastery, hospital and Abbey. As a result he’d say that one of his hobbies is flower arranging. He’s also interested in social and cultural history – where various customs and traditions come from and what they mean.
Prospero’s closest friend is Andrew.
Andrew is also a monk. In fact, they’ve been monks for almost exactly the same length of time, although they were already close friends before that. Andrew is slightly shorter than Prospero and fair where Prospero is dark. He’s quiet and thoughtful, which makes many people think that Prospero is the leader and Andrew just follows him around. Actually, their relationship is much more complex than that.
Andrew is also a doctor and he specialises in the development of the mental gifts, which makes the two of them a very useful team. Andrew is also very Gifted himself. He’s not as good at telekinesis or telepathy as Prospero but much better at pyrokinesis.
Andrew helps out in the stables and he’s good with horses – he’s been looking after them all his life. He’s also skilled with languages, being fluent in most of the common ones in use in the world.
Their world is going to be disrupted by Leonie.
Leonie is a lot of trouble wrapped up in one small package. She’s about 5ft 4in tall, with flaming red hair which curls and tangles at the slightest opportunity. She has honey coloured skin and dark grey eyes which flash with green when she’s excited, angry or simply using her Gifts. Although she doesn’t realise it, she’s more Gifted than either of the other two.
She’s a very private person and life has taught her that it’s best to keep out of the way and try not to be noticed. The problem is that she’s inherently noticeable. She hasn’t yet learnt to manage her Gifts under all circumstances and the thought that she might hurt someone by accident really worries her.
Her favourite colour is yellow and she can’t stand scarlet. She has a very sweet tooth and a particular liking for chocolate chip cookies. Her favourite breakfast is pancakes and bacon with lots of maple syrup. Leonie loves baking, particularly bread, and experimenting with different recipes. She’s also skilled in the use of herbs for medicinal purposes. She enjoys swimming but her favourite hobby is reading. Given the opportunity she’ll curl up somewhere comfortable with a good book.
I’ve enjoyed writing about these three and many others in Strand of Faith – I hope you enjoy reading about them just as much. If you do, let me know on Twitter or Facebook, or leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads – or both. Thank you.
Author Bio
Rachel J Bonner is the author of the four book Choices and Consequences series, the first of which, Strand of Faith, is due out in November 2018.
Getting a degree in engineering, followed by a career in accountancy is probably not a conventional path to becoming an author, particularly in paranormal romance. Rachel says that, although accountancy isn’t anything like as boring as everyone thinks, writing is a lot more fun. When not writing, she can be found walking in the beautiful countryside near where she lives, which has influenced much of the scenery in her books, or shooting things with her local archery club. Target shooting only, honest. Nothing to worry about.
She also enjoys swimming, eating chocolate chip cookies and growing aromatic herbs, especially thyme and rosemary. It’s no coincidence that her heroine likes the same things.
You can find out more about her books and sign up for Rachel’s newsletters at www.racheljbonner.co.uk.
https://twitter.com/RachelJBonner1
Giveaway -Win a signed paperback copy of Strand of Faith, a set of bookmarks (3 styles plus a business card) featuring the cover art, and a canvas print (40cm by 30cm) of the original cover art. Open Internationally
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