"Believing in reincarnation is so much kinder, you know." I was pressed into a window seat on a DC Metro train screaming along the Red Line from Montgomery County to downtown when Mick dropped his bombshell in my ear. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and glanced around. Was anyone else hearing this conversation? Was anyone staring?

So begins a magical journey of self-discovery and coming home that transcends the ordinary to include a gang of quirky guides, insightful Spirit Animals, passionate ancestors, and a karmically connected cast of friends and family members whose lives appear to be simultaneously rattling apart.

The narrator of the story, a woman plucked by the Universe from the cubicles of Corporate America and plopped into the mystical crease between this world and that, is numbed by an existence that's not fulfilling and befuddled by a grief that she can't explain. Plagued by strange dreams that seem to point toward a long-forgotten mission, she sets out to unravel the mystery of a tragic past that has stolen her joy and muted her voice.

Nudging the narrator along on her journey is Mick, the wise mentor with gentle attitude who's inserted himself into her daily commute. Driving the SUV into adventure is Neil, her quick-witted buddy from work with an aching void of his own to fill. With their heads together and Neil's foot on the gas pedal, they hurtle into the future by way of a wild trip through history.

Part parable, part imaginative adventure, part historical romp, Giving Voice to Dawn is a fast-paced and frequently hilarious spin through awakening that speaks to every seeker who's ever asked, "Why am I here? What's holding me back? And why is that crow looking at me?"

L. S. Gribko was born in coastal Oregon and raised in rural Maryland-in the middle of nowhere, but just twenty miles from the art galleries and museums of downtown DC. After roaming the American West and Ohio, she settled in Morgantown, West Virginia-in the middle of nowhere, but just ninety miles from the art galleries and museums of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Naturally drawn to nature, art, and writing as a child, she chose natural resources as her early career path while pushing art and creative writing into the hobby closet where they languished for decades. On the educational front, she earned a B.S. in wildlife and fisheries and a Ph.D. in forestry science, but didn't quite work out a plan to use them. Never feeling like she fit in and always struggling to stay afloat while searching for the elusive "something else," she tried out government service, simulation modeling, academia, garden design, restaurant management, computer coding, landscaping, medical billing, and retail sales before eventually landing on a corporate position that should have marked the end of her search. However, on January 4, 2014, a meteor flew over her head and wagged its tail as she proclaimed to the stars that she was the Universe. There was more to it, of course, but that's the interesting, magical bit. Three months later, she had quit her job and was raiding the hobby closet for all the loves she'd left behind. There she found the makings of Milkweed Rising Studio (her artistic outlet) and Giving Voice to Dawn, her debut novel published in November 2016.

Her current works-in-progress include a set of meditation cards based on the wisdom shared in Giving Voice to Dawn. She also writes a blog, Hawk Finds Her Wings-a GV2D prequel of sorts that keeps the sky burning bright as Crow and friends provide theme music. Keep up with L. S. Gribko's doings and read Hawk Finds Her Wings at http: //www.MilkweedRising.com