The novel doesn’t feature every incarnation’s story, just the ones of the line’s final champion, Honey, and the incarnations that sit on her ‘Soul Council.’ Here’s a brief run-down of whose stories you’ll discover inside the book.
- Sekhmet: An Aspect of the One, of the Lion-Hearted Lyrans. Sekhmet hails from the planet Vega and is on Earth to wage battle with the Brotherhood of the Snake in this current and future soul journeys. She is known as the Egyptian goddess of war and healing. In later Egyptian mythology, there are two versions of what became of her. Both versions involved Sekhmet becoming a ‘domesticated’ goddess after being subjugated, or ‘tamed,’ by love.
- Filomela: An incarnation of Sekhmet’s soul that lives during ancient Grecian times (~900 BC). She is royalty, yet badly mistreated by her brother-in-law. To guarantee she cannot tell anyone the truth of her situtation, he cuts out her tongue. But she manages to weave and smuggle out a tapestry that tells the truth. She appears in Greek myths as Philomela.
- Forach: An incarnation of Sekhmet’s soul that lived in tribal Ireland ~700 AD. A member of the Deisi tribe, her abduction and rape by the High King’s son and subsequent rescue provoked the exile and persecution of her people. They wandered through Ireland harassed by the High King until Dread Ethnui manages to sue for peace. Ethnui is rumored to have gained her strength by drinking the blood of infants. Her husband, Oengus, became known as the first Christian king of Ireland, and their descendants included Brian Boru, the legendary High King of Ireland.
- Juana: An incarnation of Sekhmet’s soul that lived in Mexico City from 1648-1695, Juana was a nun who became known for her erotic, passionate poetry and proto-feminist writings. She possessed a great library and knowledge of everything from astronomy and physics to Latin, Greek and philosophy. One of her closest friends was the great polymath Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, who delivered the eulogy at her graveside. She died shortly after her books and scientific instruments were confiscated by the Church.
- Honey: The last of Sekhmet’s line, Honey is a middle-aged woman who is pushing fifty and lost her sight seven years before the start of this novel. She’s birthed two children and weathered fifteen years of marriage. She lives in the woods and is the least likely candidate anyone can think of to combat the forces of darkness and win. The Song of Lyran is as much the story of how she uncovers the strength she needs to face her demons as it is the story of how Sekhmet’s soul evolves from its first to final incarnation.
Want to read more? You can peek inside the book and read the first few verses of the Song of Lyran on Amazon.com. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply