Excerpt from Ravenwolf:
Despite the threatening storm, the cavalry rode like the wind,
hooves pounding like the flapping wings of a thousand ravens.
Ambiorix felt a sense of urgency and refused to halt the unit.
He knew they were close.
The soldiers dutifully followed him, as did Cavarinus and the
other native warriors from the Great Glen hillfort.
Ambiorix did not know how he knew where to go, but
something deep inside guided him to Nemu. The sun had just
set, cloaking everything in darkness, but the flashes of
lightning acted as mystical torches lighting the way.
They rode into a clearing and a flash of lightning revealed a
group of people and horses up ahead. Ambiorix ordered the
squadron leaders to fan out with their men in case it was the
enemy they faced.
His horse seemed to have wings as Ambiorix sailed through
the air, approaching the group head on. The courageous
native warriors followed him into the unknown.
What he saw in the next flash of lightning chilled his heart. A
dark-winged creature carried Nemu away as she lay lifeless in
its arms. He watched helpless as she faded into the dark
flickering clouds.
Nechtan, Conall, Caoilte, Nechtan's warriors, and a strange
woman with blond hair stared in horror at the dark flashing
skies. The blond-haired woman wept, calling out a strange
name--Becuille. Another flash of lightning revealed large
amounts of blood splayed on the still dry earth.
Ambiorix dismounted and knelt next to the blood, dipping his
fingers into Nemu's life force. 'It cannot be true, she cannot be
gone,' he thought. "Who did this?" he roared.
"I...I saw a dark man dressed just like you." The flaxen-haired
woman looked at him with distrust in her eyes.
"Marcus!" Ambiorix's heart turned black with vengeance and
he would spare no mercy for his former 'brother in arms.'
Ambiorix turned to the strange woman, and was startled when
he saw that the left side of her face was disfigured. He tried to
hide his shock. "What carried her away?"
She had seen his sudden shock, and turned her left side away
from him in shame, pulling her hood over the left side of her
face. "It was my sister, Morrigan, who carried her off." Grief
filled her voice. "I was too weak to stop her."
The raven had taken her lifeless body, but to where and why?
****
Despite the threatening storm, the cavalry rode like the wind,
hooves pounding like the flapping wings of a thousand ravens.
Ambiorix felt a sense of urgency and refused to halt the unit.
He knew they were close.
The soldiers dutifully followed him, as did Cavarinus and the
other native warriors from the Great Glen hillfort.
Ambiorix did not know how he knew where to go, but
something deep inside guided him to Nemu. The sun had just
set, cloaking everything in darkness, but the flashes of
lightning acted as mystical torches lighting the way.
They rode into a clearing and a flash of lightning revealed a
group of people and horses up ahead. Ambiorix ordered the
squadron leaders to fan out with their men in case it was the
enemy they faced.
His horse seemed to have wings as Ambiorix sailed through
the air, approaching the group head on. The courageous
native warriors followed him into the unknown.
What he saw in the next flash of lightning chilled his heart. A
dark-winged creature carried Nemu away as she lay lifeless in
its arms. He watched helpless as she faded into the dark
flickering clouds.
Nechtan, Conall, Caoilte, Nechtan's warriors, and a strange
woman with blond hair stared in horror at the dark flashing
skies. The blond-haired woman wept, calling out a strange
name--Becuille. Another flash of lightning revealed large
amounts of blood splayed on the still dry earth.
Ambiorix dismounted and knelt next to the blood, dipping his
fingers into Nemu's life force. 'It cannot be true, she cannot be
gone,' he thought. "Who did this?" he roared.
"I...I saw a dark man dressed just like you." The flaxen-haired
woman looked at him with distrust in her eyes.
"Marcus!" Ambiorix's heart turned black with vengeance and
he would spare no mercy for his former 'brother in arms.'
Ambiorix turned to the strange woman, and was startled when
he saw that the left side of her face was disfigured. He tried to
hide his shock. "What carried her away?"
She had seen his sudden shock, and turned her left side away
from him in shame, pulling her hood over the left side of her
face. "It was my sister, Morrigan, who carried her off." Grief
filled her voice. "I was too weak to stop her."
The raven had taken her lifeless body, but to where and why?
****
Reviews
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Ravenwolf ordering info, excerpt,
reviews and interviews
reviews and interviews
Heckart's work offers beautiful, poetic
descriptions rich in detail. Reading this book is a
sensual pleasure. It is especially a joy to read
about the idyllic agrarian lifestyle, and the sense
of people's connection to the land, to the tribe,
and to the spirit world. The richness of detail in
descriptions create a powerful aura that
positively fills this work.
Reviewed by Snapdragon at the Long and The Short of
It
descriptions rich in detail. Reading this book is a
sensual pleasure. It is especially a joy to read
about the idyllic agrarian lifestyle, and the sense
of people's connection to the land, to the tribe,
and to the spirit world. The richness of detail in
descriptions create a powerful aura that
positively fills this work.
Reviewed by Snapdragon at the Long and The Short of
It
| Available in Trade Paperback or Ebook |
Do you like a bit of history mixed in with a touch
of spellbinding romance? In Ravenwolf Kelley
takes you into a time and place where all is
magical and amazing.
Reviewed by Angela McCarthy at TCM Reviews
of spellbinding romance? In Ravenwolf Kelley
takes you into a time and place where all is
magical and amazing.
Reviewed by Angela McCarthy at TCM Reviews
| Journey to an ancient land filled with magic... |
Back cover text from Ravenwolf (Historical Celtic
fantasy romance)
Ambiorix, once a commander in the Roman army and now a
traitor to the Roman Empire, must stay hidden in Caledonia.
After Nemu gives birth to their son, Bran, they live among the
mysterious Caitt of the northwest highlands where Ambiorix is
known as the legendary Ravenwolf. To protect his family,
Ambiorix puts down his sword, but the restless heart of a
warrior still resides inside of him. Nemu, now mortal, also has
restless feelings about her time as a faery and druid.
Their idyllic life is shattered when spiteful goddesses seek to
destroy Nemu. Her only ally is a mysterious white she-wolf
who is more than she seems. These goddesses join forces
with a renegade Roman legion led by Ambiorix’s old friend
Marcus. The Romans need his help to stop Marcus who is
wreaking havoc on the northern forts and stirring up the
native tribes. To protect his family from harm, Ambiorix has no
choice but to join the Roman Army, once again commanding a
cavalry unit, and torn between the soldier inside and being a
husband and father.
Nemu must confront a past life that is filled with betrayal, loss
and revenge. As her past life collides with her present life,
she finds herself trapped in the Celtic Underworld by a god
who was once obsessed with her when she was known as
Becuille.
Can their love survive the wrath of the goddesses and an
obsessed god? Can Ambiorix save Nemu from her
Underworld prison without forfeiting his own soul?
fantasy romance)
Ambiorix, once a commander in the Roman army and now a
traitor to the Roman Empire, must stay hidden in Caledonia.
After Nemu gives birth to their son, Bran, they live among the
mysterious Caitt of the northwest highlands where Ambiorix is
known as the legendary Ravenwolf. To protect his family,
Ambiorix puts down his sword, but the restless heart of a
warrior still resides inside of him. Nemu, now mortal, also has
restless feelings about her time as a faery and druid.
Their idyllic life is shattered when spiteful goddesses seek to
destroy Nemu. Her only ally is a mysterious white she-wolf
who is more than she seems. These goddesses join forces
with a renegade Roman legion led by Ambiorix’s old friend
Marcus. The Romans need his help to stop Marcus who is
wreaking havoc on the northern forts and stirring up the
native tribes. To protect his family from harm, Ambiorix has no
choice but to join the Roman Army, once again commanding a
cavalry unit, and torn between the soldier inside and being a
husband and father.
Nemu must confront a past life that is filled with betrayal, loss
and revenge. As her past life collides with her present life,
she finds herself trapped in the Celtic Underworld by a god
who was once obsessed with her when she was known as
Becuille.
Can their love survive the wrath of the goddesses and an
obsessed god? Can Ambiorix save Nemu from her
Underworld prison without forfeiting his own soul?
It might be easy to categorize this book as
fantasy because of its supernatural elements or
as romance because of the explicit sexual
content and story of lovers in jeopardy, but the
lovely writing and incorporation of well-
researched Celtic history and mythos elevates
the book to something beyond either clichéd
genre. Below the sensual surface, the book
seems to touch on themes of balance and unity
between genders. Women are empowered in the
story with the depiction of powerful female
goddesses, but Heckart carefully avoids the trap
of choosing one sex over the other by
emphasizing the need of each to come together
as a balanced whole.
The story will be entertaining to most and
fascinating to anyone interested in Celtic history
and myth. -– Reviewed byAmanda Yesilbas at HNR
Entire Review of Ravenwolf on Historical Novel
Reviews Online
fantasy because of its supernatural elements or
as romance because of the explicit sexual
content and story of lovers in jeopardy, but the
lovely writing and incorporation of well-
researched Celtic history and mythos elevates
the book to something beyond either clichéd
genre. Below the sensual surface, the book
seems to touch on themes of balance and unity
between genders. Women are empowered in the
story with the depiction of powerful female
goddesses, but Heckart carefully avoids the trap
of choosing one sex over the other by
emphasizing the need of each to come together
as a balanced whole.
The story will be entertaining to most and
fascinating to anyone interested in Celtic history
and myth. -– Reviewed byAmanda Yesilbas at HNR
Entire Review of Ravenwolf on Historical Novel
Reviews Online