Authorpreneur Dashboard – Jessica Crawford
The Sentient
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book I of The Sentient Prophecy When a patient at the birth center begs her to take her baby and keep him safe, Anna finds herself swept up into the affairs of the mysterious Dorn family. The Dorns belong to the Sentient, a clandestine group whose study of alchemy has granted them near-immortality, along with other powers. Anna finds herself at the mercy of the Dorns. The patriarch's health is rapidly deteriorating even though his kind can supposedly never fall ill. The daughter has borne a child to a human man in spite of the prophecy foretelling that such a half-breed will bring about the end of life as the Sentient know it. The sexy younger son can be just as infuriating as he is charming, and the older son thinks Anna knows too much and should be silenced. When her world collides with theirs, nothing will ever be quite the same for Anna, or for the Sentient.
Book Bubbles from The Sentient
Reza Hakim
Let me just put this out there: I love Reza! In this book's first incarnation back in 2006 there was no Reza, no extended Hakim family (and, in fact, Victor was married to an Anastasia.) That first rough (and I mean VERY rough!) draft got put aside for 7 years before I decided to rewrite it. This time, I thought to include some characters to represent the various fields and aspects of alchemy that sprouted up in all different places around the world. Many contributions to the discipline throughout its history came from the Islamic world. And so came the Hakim family to the world of the Sentient. One of my beta readers made a comment to the effect that everybody needs a Reza Hakim in their life. What do you think?
Willow Glen Manor
When writing about Willow Glen Manor, home of the enigmatic Dorn family, much of my inspiration came from the 19th century mansions of the Vanderbilt family. Most influential were Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, and what is now know as the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. I have toured both in person. They are breathtaking, and not only because they are lovely to look at, but because they fuel the imagination in regards to of the family history that has played out within their walls.
