Lost Eden
Series: The Soulkeepers #5
Author: G.P. Ching
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Available from:
Synopsis
Rules. Balance. Consequences. War.
When Fate gave Dane the water from Eden to drink, she did more than save his life. She changed his destiny. Since the beginning, a compact between God and Lucifer has maintained a tenuous peace, balancing Soulkeepers and Watchers and the natural order of things. Dane upset that balance the day he became a Soulkeeper. Fate broke the rules. Now, Lucifer is demanding a consequence, requiring Fate to pay the ultimate price for her involvement. God intervenes on the immortal’s behalf but in order to save her soul must dissolve the compact and with it the rules, order, and balance that have kept the peace. A challenge is issued. A contest for human souls begins. And the stakes? Earth. Winner take all. The Soulkeepers are at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell, and this time, nobody, anywhere, is safe from Lucifer’s reach.
Excerpt
God approached him, the air crackling with her presence. The back of Lucifer’s head glowed brassy in her light. “Very well. What is your suggested price?”
“My price is Fate. She has been in her position far too long. I will choose her replacement, and she will step down.”
“No!” Fatima yelled, her hands flying to cover her foolhardy mouth. Why had she allowed her true feelings to show? Now he’d be even more likely to use those feelings against her.
He turned the force of his stare on her, laughing through a toothy half smile. “Oh yes, Fatima. Perhaps, I will not only choose your replacement but take your soul as my own.” In a blink, he was in her face, his hand on the small of her back. Her skin squirmed beneath his touch. “You are a beautiful sinner. Hell, could use an ornament such as you.”
“Let her go.” A wash of cool light poured through the room, and Lucifer retreated, joints folding unnaturally in his haste for the shadows. “The Watchers who reside on Earth negate your ability to make such a demand. You are in breach of the law, Lucifer. You must return your minions to Nod or Hell.”
“Or what?” Lucifer carefully slithered into the shadow of a bolt of fabric where his eyes could open fully.
“Or the compact is rendered null and void.”
“War.” The word rolled off of his tongue, smooth as melted butter.
About the Author
G.P. Ching is the author of The Soulkeepers Series, Grounded, and a variety of short fiction. She specializes in cross-genre paranormal stories, loves old cemeteries, and enjoys a good ghost tour. She lives in central Illinois with her husband, two children, and one very demanding Brittany Spaniel.
Author Links
Malini’s Favorite Things by G.P. Ching
‘Tis the season to give thanks, readers! With the release of book five in the Soulkeepers series, Malini won’t stop talking to me about all of the things she wants you to know. Today, she made me promise to gab about a few of her favorite organizations, the ones she thinks are doing a lot of good in the world.
See, as Healer, Malini is the charitable sort. She’s interested first in helping others. So, for today’s guest post, I’m featuring three charities that Malini endorses as effective Healers of our non-fictional world.
Compassion International: This organization connects sponsors with needy children across the globe to provide basic needs, education, and health care with the goal of lifting them from the cycle of poverty. I know what you’re thinking. How much REALLY gets to the kids. Well, in the case of CI, most of it. The organization has earned the highest rating from Charity Navigator for twelve consecutive years for being one of the most efficiently run charitable organizations out there. Beyond that, I was privileged to have two close personal friends travel to Africa this year to see the results first hand. You can read about their journey here. (The Ching household is privileged to sponsor Juan Daniel from Peru.) http://www.compassion.com
The Carter Center: Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife help lead the Carter Foundation, a charitable organization guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.* What I love about the Carter Foundation is they have very specific and obtainable goals and the foundation is achieving measurable results. Take the guinea worm. This parasite once infected 3.5 million people in Africa in 1986. Thanks to the Carter foundation, there were only 542 reported cases in 2012. The Carter Center does not duplicate the efforts of other effective charities and also has the top rating by Charity Navigator. http://www.cartercenter.org/index.html
The Conservation Fund: Malini would certainly be concerned about our planet and I think she’d love what The Conservation Fund is doing. This highly rated charity finds ways to preserve the environment while balancing economic development for sustainable results. The fund has protected 7 million acres across America. http://www.conservationfund.org
Okay, okay. *Slaps Malini’s hands back from the keyboard* Geesh, characters can be so bossy! Malini would also like you to know that anything you do for others, even on the smallest, most personal level, is a form of Healing, and she thanks you for your help. As Mother Theresa once said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Thank you for visiting today. Malini and I hope you enjoy Lost Eden.
Author Q&A
- How did you come up with the idea for the Soulkeepers?
- I was talking to a friend about creation stories one day, the one with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and I questioned how the serpent was able to get to the woman. It was supposed to be the safest, most perfect place created by God. When I started to research different interpretations of the creation story based on this questioning, another story started to play out in my brain, one of a boy who didn’t believe in God but would come to play a pivotal role in the battle between Heaven and Hell. That was the birth of the Soulkeepers series.
- Tell us about Lost Eden
- In Lost Eden, the agreement between God and Lucifer is dissolved as a consequence of Fate making Dane a Soulkeeper. A challenge ensues for human souls. When Lucifer and his Watchers unleash Hell on Earth, the Soulkeepers use Eden as their safe house while attempting to recover Abigail, who is abducted by Lucifer, and help God win the challenge. Unfortunately, new rules mean that even Eden isn’t safe from Lucifer, and it’s just a matter of time before he destroys their last safe haven.
- Some reviewers have accused you of trying to manipulate young readers’ belief systems with your books. Is the Soulkeepers an evangelical series?
- Absolutely not, although you might call the series religious in the same way the DaVinci Code is religious. There’s nothing wrong with Christian books. I am Christian and proud to be. But when it comes to the Soulkeepers, while the books are based on Judeo -Christian history and mythology (Angels, Watchers, Garden of Eden) and have some Christian themes, they are not prescriptively Christian. The books are about faith in general, friendship, loyalty, redemption, and the power of doing the right thing even when it is difficult.
- What do you hope readers take away from your novels?
- First and foremost, I want them to be entertained. I write novels to give people a mental break from a stressful world. Beyond that, the story is meant to be life affirming, to give a sense of hope, and to encourage acceptance of self and others.
- You took some knocks after the fourth book, Soul Catcher, because it featured a homosexual main character. Do you regret the route you took with that book?
- No I don’t regret it. I did receive some hate mail and reviews after book 4. What’s important to me is that I remained true to my story and my characters, their individual triumphs and challenges, and true to myself.
- Lost Eden is book five in the series. How many books will there be?
- Six. The Last Soulkeeper, will end the series and will be released first quarter 2014.
- How does it feel to be wrapping up the series?
- I have mixed emotions. When I self-published the Soulkeepers in 2011, I said I’d be happy if I sold one hundred copies. Two years later and I’ve sold hundreds of thousands of copies of the books in this series. The Last Soulkeeper ends the story arc as I imagined it. I believe it will be a complete and fulfilling ending for my readers. However, I’ve lived for two years with these characters in my head. I imagine the release of the sixth book will be like a death in some ways. This book, then, is like the beginning of the end.
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