The River Witch [Kindle Edition]

Kimberly Brock (Author)

Book Description

Broken in body and spirit, she secludes herself in the mystical wilderness of a Georgia island. Can she find herself in the sweetness of old songs, old ways, and the gentle magic of the river people?"

Kimberly Brock has an amazing voice and a huge heart; The River Witch welcomes the reader to a haunted landscape, authentically Southern, where the tragedies of the past and the most fragile, gorgeous kind of love-soaked hope are equally alive. This is one debut that you absolutely should not miss."

-Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times Bestselling Author of Gods in Alabama

"Kimberly Brock's The River Witch achieves what splendid writing ought to achieve-story and character that linger in the reader's consciousness. Such is the power of Roslyn Byrne, who retreats to Manny's Island, Georgia, in search of herself, only to discover her great need of others. Tender and intriguing, often dazzling in its prose, this is a mature work of fiction worthy of the celebration of praise."

-Terry Kay, internationally known author of the classic novel, To Dance With The White Dog

"There is magic and wonder in The River Witch, but the real enchantment here is the strength of the characters Roslyn and Damascus. Their voices are the current that carries the reader along in this compelling tale of healing and discovery."

- Sharyn McCrumb, New York Times Bestselling Author, The Ballad of Tom Dooley

"With lyrical prose, Kimberly Brock explores the hidden places of the heart. The River Witch is a magical and bewitching story that, like a river, winds its way through the soul. In the voices of her wounded characters, Brock takes us through both the breaking and the healing of a life." -Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Perfect Love Song

Kimberly Brock is a native Southerner, a former actor and special needs educator. Her work has appeared in anthologies and magazines. She lives with her husband and three children north of Atlanta, Georgia. The River Witch is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Can the river heal her?
Roslyn Byrne is twenty-four years old, broken in body, heart and soul. Her career as a professional ballet dancer ended with a car wreck and a miscarriage, leaving her lost and grieving. She needs a new path, but she doesn't have the least idea how or where to start. With some shoving from her very Southern mama, she immures herself for the summer on
Manny's Island, Georgia, one of the Sea Isles, to recover.

There Roslyn finds a ten-year-old girl, Damascus, who brings alligators, pumpkins and hoodoo into her sorry life.

Roslyn rents a house from Damascus's family, the Trezevants, a strange bunch. One of the cousins, Nonnie, who works in the family's market, sees things Roslyn is pretty sure she shouldn't, and knows things regular people don't. Between the Trezevant secrets and Damascus's blatant snooping and meddling, Roslyn finds herself caught in a mysterious stew of the past and present, the music of the river, the dead and the dying who haunt the riverbank, and a passion for living her new life.

From the Back Cover

Broken in body and spirit, she secludes herself in the mystical wilderness of a Georgia island.

Can she find herself in the sweetness of old songs, old ways, and the gentle magic of the river people?

"Kimberly Brock has an amazing voice and a huge heart; The River Witch welcomes the reader to a haunted landscape, authentically Southern, where the tragedies of the past and the most fragile, gorgeous kind of love-soaked hope are equally alive. This is one debut that you absolutely should not miss."

~~ Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times Best-Selling author of Backseat Saints

 "Kimberly Brock's The River Witch achieves what splendid writing ought to achieve - story and character that linger in the reader's consciousness. Such is the power of Roslyn Byrne, who retreats to Manny's Island, Georgia, in search of herself, only to discover her great need of others. Tender and intriguing, often dazzling in its prose, this is a mature work of fiction worthy of the celebration of praise."

~~ Terry Kay, Honored Georgia author of To Dance With the White Dog

"There is magic and wonder in "The River Witch," but the real enchantment here is the strength of the characters Roslyn and Damascus. Their voices are the current that carries the reader along in this compelling tale of healing and discovery."

~~ Sharyn McCrumb, New York Times Best-Selling author of The Ballad of Tom Dooley

"With lyrical prose, Kimberly Brock explores the hidden places of the heart. The River Witch is a magical and bewitching story that, like a river, winds its way through the soul. In the voices of her wounded characters, Brock takes us through both the breaking and the healing of a life."

~~ Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Best-Selling author of Driftwood Summer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 493 KB
• Print Length: 246 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (April 6, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007W5B8NY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,496 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lush, bittersweet, and uniquely Southern April 28, 2012

By TheDrunch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Kimberly Brock wowed me with this, her debut novel. You can read the blurb for a synopsis of the story, but in my opinion, it's less a story than it is an experience. Brock took me to a place I've never been and made me see the mist rising off the river in the morning, let me smell the herbs from the conjure woman's garden and made me long for a taste of the pumpkin bread with cream cheese icing that Damascus serves up from her precious pumpkin patch. I read to escape, and Brock let me escape to a place fraught with loss -- lost children, lost love, lost faith -- yet ripe with possibility. I couldn't put it down.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The River Witch April 17, 2012

By Sigh Ing

Format:Paperback

As I read this book, I was wishing I could hear the music that is described throughout it and streams through the main character's mind when she needs to feel close to home. Then I put two and two together and wondered if the music the congregation was singing in the movie Cold Mountain is the same. It is, and native to Appalachia. I think I like that most about the book, though my heart ached for both the lost "little girls" whose lives the story surrounds. It is memorable from the start and gut-wrenching to the end.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Promising Debut July 4, 2012

By wulfgirl

Format:Paperback

I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes. The review is based solely on my opinion and was not influenced by author or publisher.

Roslyn Byrne hit rock bottom, hard. Three back to back tragedies force Roslyn to seek solitude on Manny's Island, where she's hoping to search within herself for answers. It's not solitude that she finds once she lands on the island. For the summer she has rented a house that is shrouded in mystery and rumors. She reluctantly finds a friend in her landlord's sister Ivy, an admirer in Ivy's son and a ward in Damascus, who happens to be her landlord's troubled 10 year daughter. And then there is Urey, the landlord that is as esoteric as the house itself. Through her relationships with these people, and others on the island she finds that she isn't the only one with problems. Helping the islanders work through their issues may just help Roslyn find the answers that she seeks.

This book was nothing like I expected it to be, which isn't a bad thing. I had a hard time getting through the story at first as it seemed slow moving. I also felt a little confused by certain flashback scenes, I couldn't tell which direction the story was headed. Once I got used to the author's writing style and character dialogue the smoother everything flowed . I really liked the premise of the story and the fact that everything was not always sunshine and roses. Aside from the fact that some of the drama seemed a little overdone, I think the characters were realistically portrayed. I enjoyed the way the characters developed throughout the book, learning more about the kind of people they were by how they managed their situations. There is quite a bit of Southern charm that comes through in Kimberly Brock's writing as well as a Southern way of life. I think this is a debut novel that shows a lot of promise.

More About the Author

Kimberly Brock is the author of The River Witch (Bell Bridge Books/April 2012), a southern mystical tale set against the backdrop of the Appalachian foothills and the Georgia Sea Islands.

"Kimberly Brock has an amazing voice and a huge heart; The River Witch welcomes the reader to a haunted landscape, authentically Southern, where the tragedies of the past and the most fragile, gorgeous kind of love-soaked hope are equally alive. This is one debut that you absolutely should not miss."

~~ Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times Best-Selling author of Backseat Saints

A former actor and educator, Kimberly Brock's work has appeared in magazines and anthologies. She spends her non-writing time enjoying her husband and three children, north of Atlanta where she makes her home.