Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven, watching "Empire Strikes Back" at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., with her sister and mom. It's a love affair that has grown ever since. As an ardent fan of John Donne, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut and Alexander Pope from an early age, Cerece began exploring her own creative writing through poetry. She earned her master's degrees in social work and international relations at Boston College and Johns Hopkins School for Advance International Studies, respectively, and built a rewarding 15-year career in program development, management and fundraising in the community and international development arenas - all while appreciating the stories of human connection told in science fiction through works like Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed," Frank Herbert's "Dune" and "The X-Files."
In 2011, Cerece experienced her own supernatural event - a vision of her first science fiction story. Shortly after, she began developing and writing what would become the "Order of the Seers" trilogy. Cerece lives just outside of her hometown of Washington, D.C., with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda.
BPM: When did you get your first inkling to write science fiction/speculative fiction, and how did you advance the call for writing in this genre?
I am as surprised as anyone that I am a sci-fi/speculative fiction writer. I have loved the genre from since I was a little girl watching Star Wars on the big screen, but I never thought I could be a writer, much less a science fiction writer. But one day, while washing the dishes I got this vision of a man walking towards me. He had a cataract-like film over his eyes with ash blonde hair and dark skin. Immediately, I knew his name was Marcus and that he was a Seer. Literally within minutes I had this whole world running through my mind and I just knew I wouldn’t let it go. I didn’t even know if I could write the story that was in my head, but I never doubted that I would try. To me, the story of the Seers is a gift. One I am privileged to tell.
As far as advancing the call for writing in this genre, I don’t know that I have done that. There are a ton of talented authors in this genre and I am happy to be among them. But if seeing my work and hearing my story can convince someone who is wavering in their own desire to write to jump in the ring then I am even more honored to be in the position that I am.
BPM: Do you have anyone in your life that was heavily influential in your deciding to become an author?
My sister Monica and my friend Trice Hickman. From since I was a teenager, my oldest sister, Monica, has been telling me that I could write. She was the first person that I ever let read my poems and I know her encouragement helped me believe that somewhere in me was the ability to write these stories. My other big influence was and continues to be Trice Hickman. When I called Trice and told her about this story idea that I had, she was so excited. Immediately, she said “You’re writing a book!” I told her that I hadn’t even written down the first word and she said “Oh, that doesn’t matter. You’re going to write a book!” Watching the sheer determination and professionalism with which she has approached the artistry and business of becoming an author is truly awe-inspiring.
BPM: Introduce us to your books and the main characters. What makes each one special? Do you have any favorites?
The first book in the Order of the Seers trilogy is about a group of people who can see the future and are enslaved for that ability. The story takes you on the journey of how they escape the organization that seeks to exploit them, regain their strength and ultimately fight back. The characters in Order of the Seers are struggling to understand who they are given the extraordinary gifts and situations that they have been forced into. And you see them make some incredible discoveries about life and love as they grow to accept themselves and their abilities.
With the sequel, The Red Order, they take that knowledge further. Now that they understand who they are, the Seers really show you what they can do with that awareness. And all your favorites from the first book are back, Liam and Alessandra, Lilli and Joel, Maura, Tess, Katia and Eric. I think you get to know them a lot better in this book and watch them come together as family with a mission. But unlike in the first book, when they were just fighting for their own survival, each of them understands that they are playing a vital role in something far greater than themselves. You also get to know our villains a lot better in The Red Order, which I think is really fun. If you thought Crane was despicable in Order of the Seers, just wait! His true colors come out in full force in The Red Order.
The Seers face the ultimate challenge in The Last Seer, the third and final book in the Order of the Seers trilogy. When the fall of one nemesis unleashes an even greater danger into the world, Lilli, Joel and the Lost Seers must stand against a new enemy with the means and the will to destroy all of mankind, starting with those they hold most dear.
As the Seers mobilize to confront this new evil, the Guild tries desperately to uphold the crumbling world order on which it depends. When their attempts to manage the crisis fail, the members of the Guild are forced to place themselves at the mercy of an unlikely ally.
But the Guild isn’t the only one interested in maintaining control.
An agreement made in secret threatens to destroy any hope of a peaceful alliance before it can be made and as the betrayals unfold, no one is safe against a power that will stop at nothing to get what it wants. To defeat this threat and ensure the survival of the human race, the Seers must push the boundaries of their abilities beyond any limits they have known and risk crossing the line between life and death. How far would you go to protect what matters most?
As for favorites, I have to say that I love the Seers. Liam and Joel are my favorites in this book because their sacrifices are so profound, but I think that is true of almost every character in these books.
BPM: Which character or topic in the book can you identify with the most? Why?
I think at its core, these books are about discovering and realizing your own potential and it’s interesting because I didn’t know that when I started writing the books. It was only later that I could see my own struggle to understand myself written between the lines of the page. I think all of us are told who we are - by our parents, our bosses, our communities. Sometimes those opinions are right, but not often. I think it is our work as human beings to find out who we truly are and distinguish between our true selves and who people say we are. Often we are limited by other people’s perceptions of us. Their perspective defines what we believe we can and cannot do. But the real question is always who are you, purely, truly. I think the answer to that question opens up infinite potential in each of us. Answering that question for myself has been a decade long journey and I am still on that path. But I have noticed that the clearer I am about the answer, the more I am capable of.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your books?
First and foremost, I would like them to enjoy the story. I hope that it provides whatever escape or entertainment they are seeking from it. But ultimately, I hope they close these books, look in the mirror and ask themselves, what am I capable of? I would love for the readers of the Order of the Seers trilogy to become really curious about the difference between what they believe about themselves and what is actually true. I hope they begin to rattle the lock of their own perception.
BPM: What are your goals as a writer? Do you set out to educate? Entertain? Illuminate? Inspire?
As a writer, my goal is very simple - to be true to the story that I am trying to tell. What that means for me is keeping in the mindset that allows me to override my own baggage about what I want to say, or am afraid to say and just tell the story. With all of the stories I have in my head, I don’t feel like the originator. I feel like each story line is a gift given to me for the purpose of telling. I chose each word in hopes of being worthy enough to tell the story as it needs to be told. If I have done that, then it is a success. If I do that, I believe the story will do the rest – reach who it needs to reach, inspire who it needs to inspire. For me, the story itself is illuminating, inspiring, educational and entertaining. My part is simply to write the story so that its essence can shine through to the heart that needs it.
BPM: How may our readers follow you online?
Please visit my website at www.crmurphybooks.com to find out the latest information on my appearances and upcoming projects. Links to the Order of the Seers Facebook page can be accessed from my website. I am also on Twitter at @cerecermurphy or you can always email me at cerecemurphy@gmail.com
BPM: Thank you for sharing a little bit about yourself, your journey and your book with our readers!
Thank you, Ella and all the Black Pearl Magazine readers. It has been a pleasure!
Purchase Books by Cerece Rennie Murphy http://www.amazon.com/Cerece-Rennie-Murphy/e/B008G6XXBS Science Fiction; ISBN-10: 0985621028; ISBN-13: 978-0985621025
Topics: Supernatural powers, conspiracy, spiritual development and romantic love
Available book formats: Paperback, Kindle, Nook, iTunes, and Sony Kobo
The Last Seer (B00k 3) by Cerece Rennie Murphy
The Seers face the ultimate challenge in The Last Seer, the third and final book in the Order of the Seers trilogy.
When the fall of one nemesis unleashes an even greater danger into the world, Lilli, Joel and the Lost Seers must stand against a new enemy with the means and the will to destroy all of mankind, starting with those they hold most dear.
As the Seers mobilize to confront this new evil, the Guild tries desperately to uphold the crumbling world order on which it depends. When their attempts to manage the crisis fail, the members of the Guild are forced to place themselves at the mercy of an unlikely ally.
But the Guild isn’t the only one interested in maintaining control.
An agreement made in secret threatens to destroy any hope of a peaceful alliance before it can be made and as the betrayals unfold, no one is safe against a power that will stop at nothing to get what it wants. To defeat this threat and ensure the survival of the human race, the Seers must push the boundaries of their abilities beyond any limits they have known and risk crossing the line between life and death.
How far would you go to protect what matters most?
Praise for The Last Seer "Once enemies the Seers and Guild now have to come together to end a new reign of terror... I can’t say too much as I was already kindly scolded on Twitter for my excitement of the book..., so what I will say is the book series closes with much praise, “That each of us is infinite and capable of wonders.” -- Black Girl Nerd
Excerpt from THE LAST SEER
Prologue
The Cover of Darkness
Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan
The high-pitched wail of the creatures was deafening as their black wings beat against the red sky. From the caves scraped out of the mountainside, the valley looked desolate, a place of ruin. Beasts ruled the heavens as the damned lay broken below.
And in between, Ghazal, and what was left of her village, huddled, trapped between two hells.
Whether anyone else in the world was aware of what was happening to them, Ghazal had no way of knowing. With the preparations for her dowry, her family didn't have the money to replace their old TV when it died and the radio they had was gone-smashed to pieces in the rush to escape the creatures that now held them confined in their cave.
Barely half an hour before, while the watchmen were catching their first glimpse of something on the horizon, Ghazal's neighbors had only just entered her home, carrying news of strange sightings from around the world-Geneva, London, Paris-places she had read about, but was sure she would never see.
Though at first their forms were little more than blotches against the setting sun, the screeching sounds that echoed before them erased any question in the watchmen's minds about the nature of what approached. Whatever it was meant them harm. They sounded the alarm. Her betrothed, her father, and all the other men of the valley ran forth to set a perimeter and face the threat head on.
The clerics, the women, and the children were left behind to run and endure as best they could. It was just as in her vision.
At the time, Ghazal had called after the men wildly, telling them it was useless, but no one listened. She had to be dragged away in her grief as she saw her vision unfold-bodies thrown, fires burning, and the sound of bones crushed under the weight of merciless feet.
Clarity came at the mouth of the precipice. She looked back at those who had carried and comforted her up the mountain one last time before stepping out onto the cliff's edge. The blue draping of her burka billowed and soared in the hot air as she leapt off into the unsuspecting clutches of a beast that had no hope of surviving what she could do.
Chapter 1: Set in Motion
They drove back to Geneva in silence, each consumed by the dread of what was to come. Occasionally, you could hear the soft vibration of Joel's thumb tapping his phone screen as he made arrangements for a plane to take them back to London, but otherwise, no one made a sound. Though unspoken, each of them understood that they were listening for the screeching sounds that had been echoing in their ears ever since they left Crane's castle.
"I'm sorry," Lilli finally said to no one in particular as she stared out of the backseat window. Joel tried to bring her closer into his one-armed embrace, but she resisted, feeling unworthy of the comfort.
"You did everything you could, Lilli. Everything," Joel whispered.
"Yeah. Maybe I did too much. Look at what's happened. There are more, you know, so many more. 'Legions', he said, and I can feel them. I know Maura can too, like a
darkness spreading."
"This wasn't your fault," Joel tried again, but his words made no difference.
"He was their leader. He kept them...contained," Lilli continued. "But now...I've unleashed them. They follow no one."
"How do you know this?" Joel asked. He had no choice but to focus on her words. Her mind was moving too fast for him to comprehend.
Lilli turned from the window to face him. For an instant, she wondered why he didn't know the answer, just as she did. But then she felt it, the incongruence in their thoughts.
For the first time since they'd met, she realized that her consciousness had become somehow separate from his, and the new distance hurt her deeply.
"Because I know." Lilli answered with tears burning in her eyes.
As Joel watched them run silently down her cheeks, he understood what she was trying to tell him. From the place she now inhabited, she could sense them clearly. She could see and understand more than she ever had before.
It won't be long, he thought. I will join you whenever we decide.
Lilli nodded her head slightly after shooting a quick glance at Liam in the driver's seat.
Closing her eyes, Lilli willed her thoughts to slow until she could feel her connection with Joel restored.
Yes, she answered in relief, after we tell him. We'll wait until then.
Having resolved at least one of the many problems that plagued her mind, Lilli finally allowed herself the comfort of Joel's embrace. She'd just begun to release the tension in her body when Liam spoke up.
From the driver's seat, Liam had been listening in on their conversation, hoping to glean something that would explain what they'd witnessed. But just as she and Joel had finally gotten to the heart of his questions, they fell silent. As the quiet stretched on, Liam risked an impatient glance in the rear view mirror to find them engrossed in silent conversation.
"Ah, you guys mind sharing with the rest of the class?" Liam asked. "Who or what was that back there? I'd like to know what we're dealing with."
"The demon you saw was Crane," Lilli explained. "I killed him, but in doing that I think I've unleashed something worse. Something that was at least partially under control before, but now...now, they are more dangerous."
"The creatures..." Liam said.
"Yes, they were with Crane. But those were just a few. There are more-many more-that have been unleashed because of me."
Liam squinted at his sister in the rearview mirror. "Why do you keep saying that-'because of me'? Even you have blind spots, Lilli. How could you have known? You were fighting for your life." When she didn't immediately disregard what he'd said, Liam seized the chance to ask one of the questions he really wanted to know.
"And how did you kill him, by the way? You didn't even lift a finger. You just...spoke to him. I've never seen you do that before. When did you learn that?"
As Liam was talking, Alessandra turned in her seat to look back at Lilli. She had seen the difference in Lilli as soon as they broke down the castle door. In the heat of the moment, Alessandra hadn't given it any thought, but looking at her now, even the feeling of Lilli's presence in the Collective was different. Brighter, but somehow more dispersed.
Don't say anything! Please! Not yet.
Alessandra heard Lilli's pleading words in her mind clearer than she ever had before. Not spoken through the Collective, but directly into her thoughts.
Why? She asked silently.
Because I am becoming something different...
Alessandra eyed Lilli and Joel suspiciously, but said nothing as she processed the warning in Lilli's words-the clear notion that "different" was not a good thing in this case. Liam, she realized. This is about protecting Liam.
Yes, Lilli answered while keeping her outward attention on her brother.
Alessandra hesitated for only a moment before turning back around in her seat. Whatever Lilli had to say would hurt Liam and as far as Alessandra was concerned, there was no need to do that now.
Before her silent exchange with Alessandra was over, Lilli answered her brother aloud, as if theirs was the only conversation taking place.
"No, I didn't know this would happen, but I should have tried to see it. I was just so focused on him not hurting me or you guys that I just wanted him gone."
Liam was quiet again, considering the few facts he knew with the guilt he could still hear in Lilli's voice.
"Listen, you did what you had to back there. Demons, flying creatures, whatever-this whole thing is crazy. Crazy. I don't think any of us could have imagined how deep this thing really is. We still don't even know exactly what we're into now, so let's just try to make it home, regroup with the others, and figure this out. We're going to figure this out, Lilli. Don't worry."
As Liam watched her from the rearview, Lilli made sure she gave him the small smile he was looking for even though she wasn't at all sure that what he said was true.
Satisfied that Lilli seemed a little more settled, Liam shifting his attention to the shaken man directly behind him.
"What about you, Christof?" Liam asked. "Should we drop you somewhere or are you coming with us?"
Christof turned his weary gaze away from the blurred landscape outside his window to meet Liam's eyes in the mirror.
After a surprise defeat in Chicago, the Guild creates The Red Order, unleashing a new weapon against those who dare to challenge their authority. To survive, a band of renegade Seers, led by Joel Akida and Lilli Knight, must fight against their own kind to protect a truth so powerful that it will destroy the very foundation upon which the Guild is built. The Red Order continues the epic battle for freedom which began in Order of the Seers, revealing the secret motives behind an organization that exists to exploit and a movement that seeks to usher in the next phase in human evolution.
Chapter 1 Excerpt: The Defeated
The fact that Crane Le Dieu had barely escaped with his life intact less than ten hours ago did nothing to humble his demeanor as he stormed out of the steel-glass elevator, as bold and arrogant as always.
“You!” Crane shouted, pointing his finger at the middle-aged Asian woman who sat at the far side of the room. “Did you hear what happened? How could you let this happen?”
As he cut across the sea of cluttered work stations that made up the office level of the Guild’s lead research facility in Geneva, Dr. Ming Jhu seemed all but oblivious to Crane’s approach. In contrast to the crackling tension in the room, Ming looked utterly detached as she took a long draw from her cigarette and stared at the email message on her laptop. As head of Research and Development, it was bad form for her to just be sitting there, so indifferent to her superior while the other scientists around her froze in terror at Crane’s presence. But she’d been like this for at least an hour. Even with the Guild’s lockdown protocol, which had them sequestered in their offices at 11 o’clock at night, Crane bursting into their facility yelling demands at her was nothing new. What felt refreshing was that for the first time, Ming didn’t give a damn.
It would have been nice, she thought, to have had this objectivity twenty years ago, before she had bartered her life away while most of her colleagues were being killed. In the early days of the International Science Team’s research on Seers, Eli Tanner, Gerard Morrow, Willem Knight, Neeva Patel, Hasaam Al Attar, and the other lead scientists had been such good mentors to her that she had considered them family, or so she thought, before she choose self-preservation and advancement over them. By the time the Guild had asked for her allegiance, she knew Willem Knight and Gerard Morrow were dead because of their refusal to cooperate with the Guild’s new agenda to catalog and harness new Seers against their will. Back then, she was just another eager, twenty-nine year old junior researcher, but she had shown tremendous promise, and the Guild made their interest in her known as soon as it was clear that most of the Seer Project’s lead scientists would need to be replaced. With the gift of hindsight and twenty-three years of experience behind her, Ming could almost laugh now at the fact that she had been naïve enough to be more flattered than frightened when Crane came to her apartment to recruit her. It was only later that she learned how much blind ambition and stupidity had in common.
But Ming’s desire for advancement wasn’t the only thing that kept her with the Guild. She had also just met Thea Case and was only starting to learn what it meant to find the one person you would do anything for. In the years that followed, Thea made most of the despicable things Ming had done bearable, if not quite worth it. The irony of what Ming now knew made the rims of her weary eyes burn with the need to cry, but she refused to do that here. Instead, she squinted at her computer screen while flicking the ash from her unfiltered Dunhill on the floor before taking another long deep drag. And it’s all for nothing now. It’s all for nothing, she thought as she exhaled the smoke from her cigarette and read the email in front of her for the 47th time.
M – Got your message and saw the news about the lockdown. Wish I could have told you this in person, but since I don’t know when you’ll be home, I think it’s better to get this out now. Just came from Dr. William’s office. I’ve gone into stage four of my cancer. There’s nothing left to do. I think it’s time to start letting go.
Love,
Thea
“Do you hear me talking to you? Are you suddenly deaf? I know you’ve heard what happened in Chicago. Andreas and I were lucky to escape with our lives!” Though Crane was now standing directly behind Ming, his voice had not descended one octave from when he began screaming at her from across the room.
“Pity,” he heard Ming say softly.
“Excuse me?” Crane sneered. He wasn’t sure which part of what he said made her respond so inappropriately, but the insinuation of indifference only made him angrier.
He reached for the back of her chair and spun her around with such force she would have made a complete 360-degree turn if she hadn’t jammed the left 3” heel of her boot into his foot.
When she finally looked up to meet his gaze, she noted that he looked more surprised than in pain, as if he really thought that she had, for a moment, gone deaf.
Disgusted, Ming flicked her ash in Crane’s direction before taking another drag. Though she had heard about the events in Chicago, she had received the news shortly after Thea’s email and as a result, it fell into the same category as Crane’s presence – nothing she cared about anymore. The calmness she felt now was in sharp contrast to her demeanor two hours ago when she’d first received Thea’s email.
No one, including Crane, moved a muscle as she exhaled her smoke and finally responded to his question.
“I said, what a pity you escaped with your life.”
Watching the shock flash-freeze Crane’s entire expression was the best present she’d received all year. Ming settled back in her chair to enjoy it, letting a satisfied smirk spread across her full, heart-shaped face.
Recovering slowly from Ming’s brazenness, Crane could not help but smile as he saw the hate Ming had always tried to hide from him on full display. While he preferred fear, hate from those he considered to be truly powerless was also something he enjoyed, and his mood lightened at the thought of watching Ming attempt to spar with him. Clearing his throat, Crane rearranged his amusement into a stern expression.
“You failed,” he began. “You should have known about their true potential. It was your job.”
“Oooh,” Ming responded, as her eyes went wide with mock curiosity, “Now you want to know about potential. That’s funny. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. We don’t do science here,” she explained calmly with a wave of her hand around the room. “We only do what you tell us. So what can I say? I guess we’re all just as limited as your imagination.”
Crane hadn’t expected her to cut to the chase so quickly, to turn the tables and blame him for what happened. His enjoyment was gone as quickly as it came and Ming knew it. She arched her brow in anticipation of his response.
“What’s gotten into you? You know better than to test me.” Crane bent down toward her slightly and lowered his voice to a hiss before adding, “I will have her ki-“
“Yeah, see, that’s the thing,” she interrupted. “I hear you. I really do.”
Ming turned from him and put out her cigarette on the edge of her desk while keeping her heel firmly dug into what she believed was his big toe. Why isn’t this hurting him, she wondered in passing as she turned back to Crane with a new cigarette dangling from her lips and a matchbook in her hand.
“Except, you’re a little late – which is unusual for you, I’ll admit,” she began while looking down to light her cigarette. “This just hasn’t been your week.”
The corners of Crane’s eyes trembled with the effort it took for him to refrain from reaching out and strangling her where she sat. Though she was focused on lighting up her new-old habit, Ming didn’t miss the twitching of his hands as he waited for her to finish. It made her proud to see him so out of control. It had been a long time since she’d had this much power over anything.
Nodding her understanding of his restraint, she continued. “You see, Thea is dying. I got the email two hours ago,” she paused to fully exhale before adding, “So there literally is no one left for you to kill except me, and as you can see, I’m suddenly feeling up for a fight.”
Crane responded with a loud and mirthless laugh. Ming fought to keep her back straight as the ice-cold sound made its way down her spine. There is nothing more he can take from me, she reminded herself as she continued to smoke her cigarette with a slightly less than steady hand.
When his laughter finally died down, Crane returned his gaze to Ming and smiled at her, almost lovingly. “Ming,” he cooed, “You’re always so articulate. It’s one of the things I like about you.”
And in less time than it took for Ming to pull the cigarette she had just inhaled from her lips, Crane was over her like the pitch black cover of night as he grabbed the hand that held her cigarette. Though he was not a particularly large man, Ming was shocked that he still managed to block out all the light from the overhead flood lamps and ceiling-to-wall reflective windows that were meant to inspire greatness from the scientists that worked there. But Ming couldn’t see any of her colleagues as they stood by passively, couldn’t see anything beyond the charcoal of his herringbone suit as he pushed her chair against the edge of her desk while his face, smooth and pallid, hovered close enough for her to smell the 100 year-old scotch he’d consumed an hour ago.
“And I do like you, Ming, but not enough to keep you alive if you’re not willing to cooperate,” he said softly. The dulcet tones of his voice contrasted sharply with his vise grip on her left wrist and hand. Ming turned slightly toward her twisted fingers to see her cigarette drop red ash on the backside of his hand. He didn’t flinch.
Even through the pain in her hand, her inquisitive mind could not shut down. Something is wrong here, she thought. Her heel was still buried in the fine leather of his shoe and the flesh of his big toe and he had yet to react to it.
By the way he shifted the bones in her hand, she knew he wanted her to scream. But as frightened as she was, she knew she was stronger than the breaking of her wrist. Though her courage had waned, her resolve held firm. Not trusting her voice to remain steady, Ming did the only thing she could as she forced her gaze upwards to meet Crane’s and exhaled the smoke she’d been holding in her lungs into his face.
If she could have predicted what would happen next, she would have tried to hold her breath forever. But by the time Crane leaned in closer, it was too late. She watched in growing horror as Crane’s eyes fluttered closed just before he leaned into the smoke she’d exhaled, and breathed in as if savoring a lover’s caress. The intimacy of the gesture made her stomach spasm with revulsion. When Crane opened his eyes to meet hers, he was pleased to find the fear he’d been waiting for. He finally had her attention.
“I love the taste of something burning,” he whispered, just before Andreas Menten interrupted them.
Cerece Rennie Murphy lives and writes just outside of her hometown of Washington, DC. In addition to completing the Order of the Seers trilogy, Ms. Murphy is also developing a children’s book series titled Enchanted: 5 Tales of Magic in the Everyday and a book on understanding marriage/relationship advice for single women entitled More than the Ring. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, visit her website at www.crmurphybooks.com.
Order of the Seers: Book 1
What would you do if you held infinite power in the palm of your hand?
Order of the Seers poses this question within a story that fuses action, mystery, romance, and adventure in a science fiction novel that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
Part one of the thrilling Order of the Seers trilogy will take you on a journey that fuses action, mystery, romance and adventure in a science fiction novel that keeps you at the edge of your seat. The story begins with the journey of Liam and Lilith Knight, a brother and sister who are hunted by The Guild, a ruthless world organization that seeks to capture and exploit Lilith’s unique ability as a Seer to envision the future. Soon after they are forced to leave their home, Lilith and Liam discover that she is not alone. Others Seers like Lilith are routinely kidnapped and enslaved by the Guild for the purpose of consolidating wealth and power around the world. But from within the organization, Marcus Akida, a captured Seer with powerful visioning capabilities, quietly plots his escape and revenge against the Guild with the help of three other Seers and a group of outlaws whose commune in Iowa provides a refuge for them. When Liam, Lilith and the escaped Seers meet at the commune, they combine their resources and skills to begin rebuilding their lives.
As the escaped Seers recover from the drugs used by the Guild to control them, they learn that their visioning abilities have expanded beyond their former capacity. Knowing the Guild will continue to pursue them, Marcus, Lilith and the others devise a plan to prevent the Guild from acquiring a pair of Seers whose powers will threaten their own safety. In the process of executing their plan, they encounter new Seers who are mysteriously drawn to the commune and their cause by an unknown hand.
In the midst of the Seers’ fight for survival, Liam and Alessandra, one of the Seers who escaped from the Guild with Marcus, struggle to find a way to share their love within the uncertainty and danger of their circumstances. The book climaxes with a final battle as the escaped Seers return to the Guild’s US headquarters in Chicago and mount an attack and rescue mission that ends with heartbreaking sacrifices and shocking revelations.
Throughout the course of the series, Order of the Seers explores the strength of familial ties, the conflict between personal freedoms and the greater good, the limits of human potential and our connection to a higher power as the key to reclaiming the gifts that lie dormant in every human. Books II and III of the Order of the Seers series will also examine the corrupting nature of power, how to cultivate individual potential in a world that is dependent on hierarchy and the true meaning of leadership. Part II of the series, Order of the Seers: The Red Order, is currently under development. See the Power Within!
"With masterful storytelling and a brilliant plot that holds you in suspense from page-to-page, Order Of The Seers, is a well-written, gripping tale." –Trice Hickman, Bestselling Author of, Playing the Hand You're Dealt
“Order of the Seers is an interesting take to just what our world might be like with people who could see the future, complete with action, romance and thrills that will appeal to science fiction fans of supernatural powers. I look forward to reading the sequel to see what happens next.” – S.J. Wist, Author of The Dragon Aster Trilogy
Excerpt Chapter 4: Run
As they cleared the restaurant doorway, Liam took in their familiar surroundings, looking for an escape route. Every corner of Chinatown was dense with colors, people, hot food carts, vendors, and a million other things he’d barely registered when he entered the restaurant twenty minutes ago. Liam and Lilli had come all this way, 4,458 miles total, and the Guild had finally found them. The two men who had come to destroy what was left of the Knight family were less than fifteen feet away.
In his peripheral vision, Liam could see the excitement growing on Jason’s face as he and Miguel remained locked in their stare, assessing each other as prey and hunter. Miguel knew enough not to underestimate Liam. Without any real experience, this young man had managed to elude or kill everyone they had sent to find them. In the course of his pursuit, Miguel had learned that Liam had become an exceptional marksman, with advanced training in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. Liam looked at Miguel with all the bravado of a young man ready to be tested and determined not to lose. If Miguel didn’t know his own strengths, he might have been intimidated, but the emotion just wasn’t in him. Liam was a boy; Miguel was a killer. In Miguel’s mind, there was no comparison.
Feeling confident, Miguel finally broke Liam’s gaze to assess the girl holding his hand. He noted with appreciation that Lilli had grown-up significantly from the pig-tailed photos he and Jason were able to piece together. Though her body had remained small and somewhat boyish for a girl of fifteen years, she had lost most of the plumpness in her cheeks. Her features had become sharper, but still lovely. Her hazel eyes were lighter than the pictures told. Wider, he thought, and hardened from a combination of time and loss. The dye that covered her long, naturally dirty blonde hair in shades of hot pink and pale yellow, along with the multiple rings and cuffs she sported on her hands and wrists suited her, he thought, in a punk-rock kind of way. Though he assumed she was afraid, he noted with curiosity that she was not holding her brother’s hand as tightly as he would have expected and that disturbed him. She’s only fifteen. Can she see the outcome? He wondered as he took in the lack of tension in her face. She feels safe, even now.
What they didn’t know was that she hadn’t seen them coming, couldn’t see a damn thing beyond her brother out of the corner of her eye. But she didn’t need to see more than him to know that this was the safest place that she could be. Whatever happened to them now, they would be together. They would either escape and survive, or fight and die. She would not be taken away from the only family she had left. Liam’s grip was light and gentle as their fingers intertwined. They had practiced this. As soon as his pinky moved down the inside of her own, she knew what that meant. Run, Lilli. Run left.
“Now!” Liam shouted as he cinched Lilli’s hand tightly and sprinted left into the crowd. As they ran into the opening that Liam had been looking for, he could feel Lilli already beginning to lag behind. Though her heart and mind were willing, trying to keep up with him, her feet were slow, her legs incapable of matching his speed. As they cut right into the farmer’s market, Liam risked a glance behind him. He could feel panic spreading through his chest as he realized that if they kept their current pace, they would be caught within seconds.
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