JOAN K. LIPPENS
Setting the scene:
(condensed from the prologue)
Before the time that we now know, meteors showered the sky above the earth, tracing an arcing golden band. A fireball crashed into Bald Mountain, burying its magic deep below. By chance, three brilliant splinters diverged from the main, and new lives began to grow there. As humankind or still as animals, the story here unfolds.
Characters:
Shawa Alae (condensed from pg. 4 )
I puffed up my feathers in pride at my independence, believing I didn’t need a nesting partner. Shaking out my wings to drive off my uneasiness, I leaped from my nest into the waiting arms of the wind. Locks of brown hair fluttered over my shoulders, and a tuft of white above my forehead blew flat against my skull.
Grilsella Manatee (condensed from pg. 24)
There, reclined on a massive flat-topped rock, was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. The soft pink curves of her body were as natural to my eyes as were the clearing and the river. A light spray splashed onto the rock, but I could see that her face held blue oval eyes and a mouth and nose more delicate than mine.
Cougar Woman (condensed from pg.110)
The Cougar Woman leaned over her bonfire. Her laughter rose on a billow of smoke and floated over the trees. Stalking her fire as a mountain lion would stalk his prey, she pulled her hair and kicked the dust. Then the Shaman spat into the flames and cursed as she watched the spittle hiss and dance on the coals.