The Steam Room

TSR Welcomes Barbara Edwards.  This week's format is a little different.  Instead of an interview, Barbara is going to tell you a bit about the story behind her book, Ancient Awakening.

So let me tell you about Rhodes End, a small New England town. The setting for Ancient Awakening, the soon to be released Ancient Blood and the next book in the Rhodes End Series, tentatively titled Ancient Artifacts.

Rhodes End was born in a nightmare I had about the cemetery next to the house I grew up in. It had tombstones dating from over two hundred years ago up to the 1930s. I slept huddled under the blanket most of my childhood because it waited in the dark. From that cemetery to the eerie town is a short step, and the people followed quickly.

Rhodes End rarely appears on maps due to boundary and settlement disputes. Less than an hour from Hartford, Boston or Providence, major highways cut through the hills less than a mile away.

On the surface, nothing distinguishes Rhodes End from a thousand other small towns. More than half the population works at regular jobs, have normal families and lives. Farmers, shopkeepers, teachers and other townspeople are unaware of the ‘different’ ones. The dark undercurrents never touch them.

An ordinary tourist tooling up the scenic road may tell friends of the charming village, but only the harmless or the expected find it easily. The basic rules of space and time seem the same, but magic can occur along with paranormal activity. In fact, those with paranormal senses find them stronger, more reliable.

Rhodes End is located on a confluence of magnetic ley lines that draws magic and paranormal activity. Rhodes End dog-legs the Northeastern corner of Connecticut, the hip pressing against Massachusetts while the paw scratches into Rhode Island.

The ley lines are the same lines that pass under Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, Machu Pichu and Anasazi ruins in Arizona. Their mystical power is recognized by ancient religions. The power existed before the Caucasian influx chased away the small tribes who used the site to call their spirits. Nothing is noted of the even older pictographs in the deep caves.

Contest: I’m giving away an e-book copy of Ancient Blood on May 27th.  Just go to one of my blogs and comment and or comment on this blog or any other where I’m a guest between May 1- May 27, 2011. Please include an email so I can notify the winner. The winner will be randomly drawn on May 27.

Thank you for having me as a guest and giving me the opportunity to talk more about my stories.  I’m on Facebook, twitter as Barb_Ed, and two blogs

Read more excerpts at www.barbaraedwards.net

Catch me on www.Facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author/