After a stressful divorce, Alice Waterston is finally getting her life back together and her career on track. As curator of exhibits at a large history museum, she has just succeeded in booking an international exhibit of Australian Aboriginal art, important for her personally as well as for her budding career. She feels a special tie to Australia because her father, who died shortly before she was born, was an Australian artist. But shocking accidents begin occurring around the exhibit, and Alice's research into the history of an old landmark church near her house reveals more than she ever wanted to know about who built the crumbling structure and why. Suddenly her life and that of her 11-year-old daughter are drawn into an unexpected spiral of danger and fear. What malevolent force seems to have invaded the museum, and why has the history of a small rural church become a conduit for evil? Are these two events somehow related, or even triggered by something Alice has done? The moment Alice makes the connection, forces from the roots of myth emerge into the daylight, compelling her to extremes of courage she never thought possible. This is a trade paperback original.
Writer, editor, publisher, anime/manga addict. Tastes run toward the dark side.
Anne Petty (Ph.D. in English, Florida State University) has over 30 years' experience in the wordsmithing field as teacher, author, editor, and publisher.
Anne explores myth, legend, and the world of J.R.R. Tolkien in her online blog and her published non-fiction writing--Tolkien in the Land of Heroes (2005, a Mythopoeic Society Award Finalist), Dragons of Fantasy (2nd ed. 2008), and One Ring to Bind Them All (2nd ed. 2001). Chapters in anthologies include contributions to Modern Critical Views (2000); Tolkien Studies (2004); More People's Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien (2005); Tolkien and Shakespeare (2007); Good Dragons Are Rare (2009); and Light Beyond All Shadow (2011).
Anne also writes dark urban fantasy/horror fiction. The first novel in her Wandjina series was Thin Line Between (2005), and the follow-up novel, Shaman's Blood, is due out later in 2011. Recent short stories include "The Veritas Experience" published in The Best Horror, Fantasy, & Science Fiction of 2009 (Absent Willow Review). Another story, "Blade," received Honorable Mention in AWR's 2010 Best Horror, Fantasy, & SciFi competition.
Anne is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, the Mythopoeic Society, and the Tolkien Society. She is a founding member of the Tallahassee Writers Association and is a regular presenter at writers' conferences and pop-culture conventions such as Dragon-Con in Atlanta. In 2006, she founded Kitsune Books, a small press specializing in literary novels, short story collections, book-length poetry collections, and literary criticism.
