The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky

by David Litwack, Lane Diamond (Editor)

Overview

A thought-provoking look at the line between faith and fantasy, fanatics and followers, religion and reason.

WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award - Best Fantasy

WINNER: Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein

Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena's plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions.

These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena's home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom.

But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever... and perhaps their world as well.

"...a fully imagined, gripping read...." ~ Kirkus Reviews

"Author David Litwack gracefully weaves together his message with alternating threads of the fantastic and the realistic.... The reader will find wisdom and grace in this beautifully written story." ~ San Francisco Book Review

Evolved Publishing presents the literary saga of a young girl plucked from the sea under mysterious circumstances, from the award-winning author of The Seekers series and Along the Watchtower.

Books by David Litwack:

• The Children of Darkness (The Seekers - Book 1)
• The Stuff of Stars (The Seekers - Book 2)
• The Light of Reason (The Seekers - Book 3)
• The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky
• Along the Watchtower

More Great Literary Fiction from Evolved Publishing:

• The Atheist and the Parrotfish by Richard Barager
• Hannah's Voice by Robb Grindstaff
• Enfold Me by Steven Greenberg

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781622534319
Publisher:	Evolved Publishing
Publication date:	04/12/2014
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

AUTHOR: The urge to write first struck David at age sixteen when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the wild night when lightning flashed at sunset, followed by the northern lights rippling after dark, or maybe it was the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean, but he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic. Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned. David now lives in the Great Northwest and anywhere else that catches his fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day, and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.

EDITOR: Lane Diamond has over 190 published books to his editing credit, including many multiple award-winners, across many genres and styles - with more to come.

Editorial Reviews

2014-06-04
Litwack’s (Along the Watchtower, 2013, etc.) latest novel tells the story of a mysterious child who abandons her homeland in an effort to achieve spiritual forgiveness in a neighboring, hostile nation.When star-crossed lovers Helena Brewster and Jason Adams save a child from drowning after her boat is dashed against the rocks, they are captivated by her ethereal nature, her vague and prophetic responses, and her insistence on referring to herself as “The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.” The two are shocked to discover the child, Kailani, has left The Blessed Lands and a faith-based way of life to venture into The Republic, a land dedicated to reason and knowledge andher own nation’s fierce opponent in a series of bitter wars. The government of The Republic, under the direction of chief examiner Carlson, is quick to sequester Kailani and keep her under observation to determine if she is there on an evangelical mission—an illegal action that could lead to her incarceration. Carlson eventually releases her into the custody of Helena and Jason so she can stay with them in an art colony in the Northern Kingdom until her fate is decided by a tribunal hearing. Once there, Kailani becomes the object of obsessive interest to Benjamin, a fanatic who encourages a cult following to grow up around her, placing her legal status and her own safety at risk. Litwack artfully makes use of strange and familiar aspects of our own culture to eerie effect (Jason is helping establish a communication network obviously based upon the Internet, and The Northern Kingdom reads like Vermont). There are some points of weakness within the plot. It’s unclear, for instance, why it takes Jason, who is a communications engineer, so long to discover that a technically unsavvy individual is sending messages on his own machine.A few weak plot points may appeal to the reader’s blind faith rather than their reason, but this is a fully imagined, gripping read nonetheless.

Kirkus Reviews