Alien Mentor Teaches Heroine Life-Altering Energy Skills in Paranormal Epic's 4th Book

Online, September 30, 2009 (Newswire.com) - First Novel Helps Woman during Husband's Health Crisis

LANCASTER, Texas (Oct. 1, 2009) - Beware of treachery from false allies.

Outcast, fourth in the Green Stone of Healing® speculative epic, is now available from HealingStone Books. The multigenerational saga, set in the lost island nation of Azgard, combines action-adventure, alternate history, the paranormal-mystical, palace intrigue, and undying romance.

And a Canadian reader credits The Vision, the first book in the series, with helping her cope during her husband's recent health crisis.

In Outcast, first-generation heroine Helen Andros is exiled to avert civil war, and takes shelter with the family of her true love in Southern Alta Province. Maguari, the alien Mist-Weaver, warns that the life of Helen's father, Lord James Mordecai, could end soon if he does not avert disaster.

Concerns about betrayal prompt Helen to move again to a remote lodge, where she takes in the children of the Sin-Eater, and makes friends with their father.

Maguari teaches them life-altering advanced skills in energy-manipulation. The wise otherworldly being also teaches Helen to use the green gem with its chain for more powerful healing and self-protection.

Lord James faces more strident political opposition while a presumed ally advances a plot to slay him. The second in command of the Temple of Kronos hatches a scheme to abduct Helen.

As Outcast ends, the treacherous plot against Helen's parent reaches its tragic climax. She and the Sin-Eater use their newfound abilities to fend off unknown assailants and flee, uncertain if help will reach them in time.

"This must read adult suspense/mystery/romance kept me coming back for more with each turn of the page," Glenda Lee Davis, author of Force Recon: Eagle, writes about Outcast. "Talmadge again portrays the struggles of the modern world with her unique twists and turns that keeps you anticipating the next move of Lord James' enemies."

"C.L. Talmadge continues to weave this intriguing tapestry of a human tale that shows many facets of human nature," Camellia writes about Outcast at Long and Short Reviews. "The design, woven with dark and light, vivid and subdued tones with varying shades of color mixed in, captivates the imagination, heart, and mind of the reader."

Catherine McDiarmid-Watt found the first book, The Vision, equally compelling reading. She carried it with her recently when her husband, Rob Watt, was taken by ambulance to a hospital in southern Ontario.

"For a day that could have left me crumbed in tears and fear, I was so grateful to have this book to lose myself in," McDiarmid-Watt says. "Perhaps the magic of the story even helped me to emotionally and spiritually heal from our scare of possibly losing him."

At first, the doctors thought Watt had suffered a heart attack, then a stroke. "I had long hours ahead of me, sitting and worrying," says his wife, who founded the website Frugal-Freebies.com. "I needed something to occupy my mind other than worrying."

She opened The Vision. "Upon reading the first page, I was swept away by the story of Lt. Helen Andros," McDiarmid-Watt says. "With a touch of romance, a dose of action and adventure, a dash of paranormal and a whole lot of palace intrigue, the story kept me involved and reading all day long.

"It's been a very long time since I have read a whole book in just one day," she adds. "I was surprised at how quickly the day passed and how the story gripped me and compelled me to keep reading. I have always been attracted to stories of the future, science fiction, fantasy, past lives, reincarnation, spirituality and healing. And this book series certainly fit them all!"

Her husband, since recovered, ultimately was diagnosed with transient global amnesia that lasted 24 hours. His tests for heart problems and stroke were all normal.

Other books in the series have drawn high praise, too. "The Scorpions Strike is fast-paced, action-packed and full of surprises," Anne Garber, managing director of evalu8.org, writes about the third book. "Just when you think you have figured out where these events might be heading, everything you imagined is thrown out the window."

"If you love an intense read, packed with sinister power seekers, grueling heartless characters, yet laced with mystical moments, the lure of peace and healing, and the hope that goodness will prevail, this read is for you," Shirley P. Johnson writes about the second book, Fallout, in Midwest Book Review.

A political columnist for the North Star National (www.northstrnational.com, Talmadge began her writing career in 1976.

Outcast

Paperback ISBN: 978-9800537-8-4
$16.95; 256 pages
eBook ISBN: 978-0-9800537-9-1
$6.95; 256 pages

Series website with video: http://www.greenstoneofhealing.com
HealingStone Books: http://www.healingstonebooks.com