We have entered a time of great change. The ancient Mayans marked it by the end of their long count calendar, where one cycle spans 5,250 years. December 21, 2012 is the end date when the sun's elliptical path crosses the serpent's mouth (a black hole) in the Milky Way. This cosmology is the backdrop for my novel, IN LA KESH, where climate change fueling hurricanes, earthquakes, global warming and oceans rising drives the spiritual journeys of two women, Mesa in the fall of 2012 AD, and Daughter in the spring of 153 BC, as they travel in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Mesa, a young woman at the crossroads of her life and purpose, is pulled between the ways of her fundamentalist Christian mother, Grace, and her wise woman healer grandmother, Willow. With her grandmother's sudden death, Mesa is given the task of returning 4 articles of her grandmothers to their place of origin, before the multimillion dollar estate can be distributed to her financially strapped mother and uncle. Mesa finds direction and new purpose in her life when she travels to Mexico with her childhood friend, Silas. . Guided by synergistic connections, circles of stories, ritual initiations and traditional healing, Mesa returns 3 out of the 4 objects to the ancient ruins, caves and islands of the Mayans. When a series of hurricanes threaten to cut short Mesa's ability to complete the task, she and Silas catch a ride to higher ground where Mesa discovers a deep secret in her mother's past. The surprise ending brings all the puzzle pieces of the story together and sets Mesa on a new course for her life. Daughter, a young mother, is separated from her tribe because of her refusal to believe the shifting of the Big Dipper in the night sky, the tribe's symbol of stability and orientation, is a dark omen of betrayal. With her twins born and the visions of her dying grandmother to guide her, she travels across the saddle of the land joining with others to create a new tribe. Bringing two different cosmologies to the twin volcanoes, Daughter and Brother become the new stargazers for the Mayan tribe at Itzapa.
About the Author: Libby Outlaw lives and works on a small organic fruit, vegetable and cut flower farm with her husband Ken Dawson in Cedar Grove, North Carolina. She has been a somatic body worker, healer and teacher in Chapel Hill, NC for 36 years, helping clients embody their spiritual journey using the same voice heard in this novel. As an artist and writer, she uses her creative abilities to express the spiritual journey that is primary in her own life. This is her first novel. You can read more about the farm on the website www.maplespringgardens.com, about the somatic work on the website www.fascialconduction.com, or email her at libbyoutlaw@gmail.com