Synopses & Reviews
With
Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, Diana Marcellas crafted an incredible first novel that explored what it means to be different, to value that difference, and what happens when one trusts in true love.
The Sea Lark's Song is the second in this achingly beautiful triptych of tales about a most extraordinary woman who holds the power to reshape an entire world . . . buy if she has the courage.
Young Brierley thinks she is the last shari'a witch in the world. The Shari'a people were an ancient race-a gentle and proud people who knew how to harness the powers of the world for the benefit of all. When the seafaring Allemani tribes came to their shores, the two races lived side by side for generations, but something went horribly awry and the Shari'a people were suddenly and brutally slain by the new settlers who feared the shari'a and their powers. The pitiful remnants of this people were scattered and any that held the knowledge of the old ways were proscribed to be hunted to death.
Brierley saved the life of a nobleman's wife-a nobleman sworn to obliterate any trace of witchery-and stumbled into a web of deceit and power struggles more deadly than anything she had ever faced. Her decision led her to danger, banishment, and near death. But she survived in spite of it all and wonder of wonder, found true love in the bargain.
So now her journey begins. Her way will be hard and filled with peril. But there is hope too. For Brierley has discovered two things that will change her world forever: that the power of love is stronger than most of the world's magic.
And that she is not the last. . . .
Synopsis
Praise for Diana Marcellas's
Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea"Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea is a beautifully written, often lyrical novel. The textures of myth and fantasy are firmly interwoven to support very realistic characters. Combining witchcraft with healing, although in an otherworld setting, is true to earth's own ancient traditions of witchcraft. The relationship between Brierley and Megan in particular will draw in the reader who remembers the prickly path of parent-and-child. Having created such a believable world Marcellas leaves the door open for further exploration. I, for one, look forward to it eagerly."-Morgan Llywelyn
"Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea is a compelling tale. . . . Marcellas has crafted an often poignant, wholly mesmerizing fantasy that is captivating in its depth of language and emotion. Readers will immerse themselves into a new land that will be hard to relinquish at the end of the book."-Romantic Times (4 1/2 stars)
"A hauntingly beautiful story, rich in texture and language, with a fascinating mythos and well-drawn, compelling characters. Marcellas weaves a tapestry of words, blending the legends of an all-but-forgotten power with the political intrigue of the seaside realm that sought to obliterate it, against the ever-darkening backdrop of the Beast in the depths waiting to consume them both. Riveting!"-Elizabeth Haydon
Synopsis
Young Brierley was a healer, until she was betrayed by one she trusted, and her secret heritage as a Sh'ari healer was exposed. On the run from those who would destroy her as they did the rest of her race, Brierley discovered the shocking truth about what really happened to her people... and fell in love. Now Brierley hides in the mountains, working her way through a tangled nest of secrets and lies in an attempt to bring her people, and their power for good, back into the world.
While she does this, her true love has a daunting task: it is up to him to convince his countrymen to find their way past centuries of hate and distrust. For if he cannot do so, not only will Brierley and her dreams for the future be lost to him forever, but his own people may well face the same sort of destruction they wreaked upon the Sh'ari...
About the Author
A native of Oregon, Diana Marcellas lives in a small resort town, Pinetop-Lakeside, in northeastern Arizona. She recently left her dayjob as director of Legal Aid for the White Mountain Apache to reenter private law practice, and continues to teach history and legal advocacy part-time at the local community college. A fan of SF and fantasy since sixth grade, she began writing SF and fantasy during law school over twenty years ago, published several science-fiction novels in the early 90s, and is currently writing fantasy forTtor. Her first book in "the witch of two suns" series,
Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea, appeared in September 2001, and the second book,
The Sea Lark's Song, was published in December 2002, with the third book,
Twilight Rising, due out in August 2004. She is currently working on the next book in her series as well as other writing projects.
"My life is an interesting combination," she says, "of the very prosaic and people-oriented practice of law and the more solitary daydreaming of writing fantasy. My Apache friends are often after me to write "Apache Tony Hillerman" mysteries, but my first love is fantasy and SF, which I began reading as a girl and have never stopped. I first thought up my shari'a witch, Brierley Mefell, while in college, and she has lived in my imagination for over thirty years, much beloved, always fascinating. Other characters have appeared over the years to join the collection of people in my head, but Bri has been with me since the beginning and hers is a story I always wanted to write. Now, thanks to Tor, I have the wonderful privilege of living in Brierley's world, as least vicariously, as I write her ongoing story."
Diana's interests include medieval history, practicing Wicca as a solitary witch, Apache tradition and culture, Zebra finches (she has a flock of fourteen), and needlework.