Description, Excerpt, Author Bio, Order
EBOOK ISBN: 1-58749-566-X
GENRE: Celtic Fantasy Romance
AUTHOR: Kelley Heckart Regular price is $4.99
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DESCRIPTION: Of Water and Dragons weaves together the Roman history and Celtic lore of ancient Britain to create an unforgettable story of love and sacrifice. |
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in this untamed land the Romans call Caledonia, lives Nemu (Nay-Moo),
a half- human, half-water faery woman. Soon after the battle ends,
she finds a wounded Roman soldier named Ambiorix. Despite her distrust
of humans, she takes him in and heals his wounds. Though they are
from different worlds, they are mysteriously drawn to each other,
but unforeseen forces keep them apart until their worlds collide
in a fury of fire, blood and darkness. "Of Water and Dragons" weaves
together the Roman history and Celtic lore of ancient Britain to
create an unforgettable story of love and sacrifice. |
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-Reviews-
"This lovely fantasy carries the reader into a world of beauty, magic, and forests, along with the whole visual landscape of Rome that comes to life in the pages, once the battles begin. From the reflections in the water, to the dragons and all the wonderful imagery in this tale, this reader could sense and feel the adventure. Nemu, Ambiorix and Valeria are interesting characters that create a stirring tale. Kelley Heckart embraces romance, battles, and fairies in Of Water and Dragons that make this delightful story a precious treasure to read. She instills a great plot, intriguing dialogue and a well-rounded cast of secondary characters that keep the story flowing creatively and gives good meaning to absence makes the heart grow fonder." Reviewed by Linda L. at Fallen Angel Reviews, 5 ANGELS “This is an incredibly well written book with a good plot that moves along fast enough so you find yourself having to keep reading. You can’t just set this one down. Heckart shows promise of a bright future.” Reviewed by Morgaine of The Pagan Review "Author Kelley Heckart's compelling verbiage and tightly-wrought plot grab from page one with a tenacious intensity evocative of the early classics of fantasy fiction. Of Water and Dragons is an appealing amalgam of magic, erotica, military history, and romance that will leave readers breathless in its wake." Reviewed by Ellen Tanner Marsh, New York Times Best-selling Author "The characters and the story have heavy Arthurian overtones, but the plot does not play out like the legends, or even the Badon Hill version of historical Arthur. This does make for a surprising ending, which is good, and lays the groundwork for future novels following on from this one." Reviewed by PaganNews.com "The riveting novel is authentically set in ancient Scotland and Britain. Conflict and cultural differences affects their relationship adding suspense, surprise, mythic, and historical fantasy to a spellbinding plot...Real Celtic lore and Roman history combined adds synergy to the exciting, soul-stirring story about separation, conflict, love and sacrifice." Reviewed by Lightword Publishing, in The Mindquest Review "...an interesting tale, rich in myth and preserved history. The author has tied the story in with well-known and still not understood happenings in history. This tale is filled with well-written prose, some great dialogue and descriptions. The characters are well drawn and true to the time frame. It also brought the land and the tribal outlook to life in a new way as the historical background rolled forward." Reviewed by Pam, www.loveromances.com "This tale speaks of another time. A time of faeries, soldiers, druids, and magic. Ms. Heckart draws the reader into the pages and enchants them with her words, making them believe for just a little while that they too can call on dragons or control armies. For the time it takes to read this book, we just might have the power to control the universe...a romance to make you believe again. 4 Cups! Reviewed by Karen Magill, Coffee Time Romance "OF WATER AND DRAGONS is an inviting story. Readers will like Nemu and Ambriorix. Themes of destiny and fate are threaded throughout the book, and the secondary characters add to these themes, helping to neatly tie up the story. Yet for all the coincidences that Ms. Heckart offers readers, there are a few surprises...OF WATER AND DRAGONS is a solid read; if you are interested in a story filled with information about Celtic religion and Roman history,...OF WATER AND DRAGONS is for you." Reviewed by Nickole Yarbrough of Romance Reviews Today |
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Nemu now
kept her distance from him, choosing to walk instead of riding behind
him on the horse. She also stopped speaking to him except for a few
meaningless words here and there. After a day of forced silence, he
couldn't take it anymore. He pulled on the reins, halting the horse.
Nemu turned around when she realized he wasn't following her anymore. "Why are you stopping?" He dismounted. "We need to talk." "Why? What is there to talk about?" "I know we have to keep our hands off each other, but why can't we still talk to each other? Why can't we still be friends?" He immediately regretted saying the last sentence. Suddenly, she was right up in his face, her eyes blazing like a wild forest creature. "Friends? You want to be friends? You beast!" Tears glittered in her eyes. He tried to reach for her, to give her comfort, but she backed away. "I didn't mean it that way. I…I just can't stand it that you won't even talk to me. I miss your company. I promise not to touch you anymore, but please don't shut me out completely." She wiped at her eyes. “You don't know how hard this is for me. I want to be near you, but I can't. And the thought of you marrying someone else rips my heart out. The closer I get to you the harder it is for me to accept. And it doesn't help that all you do is joke about it! How would you like it if I were to marry another?" He reached for her again and this time she allowed him to hold her. "I am so sorry that I hurt you." He gently kissed the top of her head. "I couldn't stand the thought of you marrying another. We will be together soon. I promise you that. And I promise to keep my hands off you if you will promise to talk to me." She looked up, a faint smile on her lips. "I promise to talk to you. If you keep your promise, I will keep mine." But there was still a haunted look in her eyes and Ambiorix new that she still kept something from him. He decided now wasn't the time to pressure her for information. Holding her in his arms, he gently turned her around to face the mountain. He stood behind her with his arms still wrapped around her, gazing at the awesome scene. "Isn't it beautiful?" she exclaimed, resting her head against his chest. "Aye, it is." He gazed at the mountain and then down at her, treasuring the moment. |
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Author BIO: The author lives in Arizona with her husband, Michael, and their two dogs, Hercules and Xena. Kelley was born with a vivid imagination and a fascination with ancient history and the supernatural. Though she resides on the earthly realm, she always has one foot firmly planted in the otherworldly realm of mystical creatures and magic. She has written numerous short stories and song lyrics. This is her first novel. In addition to writing books, she also enjoys playing and writing music, and designing crosses out of driftwood. Currently, she is working on a sequel to "Of Water and Dragons." A Note From the Author: You might be interested in how this story came to be. This story started out as a short story set in a mythical land. When I turned it into a novel, I decided to change the setting to ancient Britain. I tried to stick to actual history to create this believable world, but there isn’t a lot of documented evidence and most of it is based on speculation. When in doubt, I wrote what I thought could have happened. The most important thing to remember is that this story was born of my own imagination and not meant to be historical. The battles referenced in this story are real and there is archaeological evidence of the hillforts, Roman fortresses and stone circles. The only written history we have of the Celts is from the Romans. There isn’t a lot of evidence on these tribes because Rome never conquered Scotland so I was given some freedom in my portrayal of these fascinating people. I based the actions of my characters on what archaeological evidence there is on these ancient tribes. I refer to the ancient Scottish tribes as “Celts” even though the Romans referred to them as “Picts” meaning “Painted People” because they dyed their skin blue. They are believed to be of Celtic descent so I thought it would be less confusing if I used “Celt” as a general term for the northern tribes. I do, however, use the term, Caledonians, which is derived from the Pictish tribe called Caledonii that the Romans also used to refer to all the tribes of Caledonia. I used Roman Legions that were supposed to have been in Britain at that time. The Ninth Legion was written out of Roman history and it is thought that Celtic tribes massacred the Legion and captured their battle standard. This would have been a great embarrassment to Rome so it would make sense that they didn’t want to include it in their historical records. There is another account that the Legion disappeared and then reappeared later in Judea. This fit perfectly into my story. I saved the best for last--the dragon or the Loch Ness Monster. There is a written account from St. Columba in AD 565 that a monster killed one of his men in the River Ness. There are also 1500-year-old carvings in the Scottish Highlands that resemble a sea monster. When I found this information it gave me all kinds of ideas. Are faeries real? We may never know, but I will leave it up to you, the reader, to decide what is real or not. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed creating it. Please feel free to visit my website and contact me at www.kelleyheckart.com. Blessings
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