MOON IN BASTET
by E.S. Danon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Magical Realism, Jewish Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
A
memoir turned into thrilling fiction; Moon in Bastet is based on the life of
author E. S. Danon. The story follows a fourteen-year-old girl named Eva, an
orphan living in the Negev desert of Israel who is working as a custodian of
Cirque Du Christianisme. Her life is controlled by a volatile drunk named Bella
who favors a group of equally volatile teenage bullies over her and her own
safety or sanity.
Bullied,
neglected, and alone – Eva’s only friends are an odd, thirteen–year–old
Sephardic boy named Jack and a small cohort of Bedouin sister-wives. On the
brink of giving up on life, Eva stumbles upon a mysterious cat in the middle of
the desert. Or really, did the cat stumble upon her?
Together
they must fight to stay alive, win the battles thrown at them, and Eva must
learn to not only lean on others but to trust in herself.
Filled
with mystery, magic, and symbolism – Moon in Bastet is a story of resilience,
survivorship, forgiveness, and women empowerment. This is a work filled with
Jewish mysticism that can be enjoyed by people of all races, ages, and
religions everywhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
A mosaic of
moonlight drifts over the breaking waves. Designs illustrated in silvers
whisper a story by the observant full moon. Anticipation rips through the
midnight air as an assortment of shells wash ashore, decoration for the
celebration at hand.
Several fawn
play inside of a tidal pool, tripping over each other’s hooves, while various
crabs scurry to find cover. The does watch from the spartina covered marshes,
less willing to get involved in the gambol of their children. A lone buck
stands guard near the subtle alchemy of the ocean as the moonlight shimmers off
his bone-white rack.
Soft
pitter-patter echoes towards the beach: red, brown, gray, and white paws scurry
stealthily through the wooded oasis. Streaks of fur can be seen flashing
underneath the breaks in the treetops - Evergreens, Oaks, and Pines say their
hellos as the creatures of the night began to gather at the shoreline.
A menagerie
of insects hurry amongst the mossy forest bottom, following the outlines of
fresh animal tracks.
Worker bees
open their eyes and groggily buzz from the confines of their honeycombs; each
of them carrying a parcel of honey. Together they dance in unison around the
honeycomb, mimicking the sound of trumpets with their wings. The Queen Bee abruptly
emerges to monitor her brood before inspecting herself: Every bristle is in
place, held by honey made gel. Soon, the bees follow a parade of centipedes and
worms traveling below.
A white wolf
breaks through the trees; his body illuminated against the thick wall of forest
at his back. Dozens of wolves emerge from behind him as he lets out a single
howl, just before catching sight of the buck standing guard. Both alpha males
nod in recognition of each other as an amber painted pup runs excitedly ahead
of the pack, all too excited to meet the fawns in the tidal pool. The pup
breaks through the water’s edge before tumbling down a small embankment of
peat.
Flop!
She yelps
with glee as water springs up all around her, turning rocks and snails upside down
with her snout. Some of the does prop their heads up to inspect the noise as
the fawns cautiously approach the pup.
In no time,
the children are engaged in a pretend search and rescue mission with each
other.
What will
they find in nature’s watercolor tapestry?
The white
wolf takes position next to the buck; both creatures now standing guard of
their families.
Dolphins jump
through the churning waves several feet away as a caravan of sea animals emerge
through the crashing surf.
First come
the sea turtles: Moving leathery, black boulders covered in mountainous ridges
march forward, followed by mini, starburst-colored ovals. A single hawked sea
turtle is the last of his kind to emerge, carrying a sand dollar - a token of
appreciation - within his beak.
Next the seal
pups begin wobbling onto shore, their mothers following close behind. Like
watching fireworks in the sky, the pups reflect in awe of the celebration on
shore from their discotheque eyes. Their mothers quickly nudge them forward,
making way for the rest of the cohort.
Within
moments, dozens of horseshoe crabs and whelks begin to make landfall.
Meanwhile, in
the forest, Queen Bee flies ahead of her workers until noticing that her
soldiers are slowing; she calls out to them, ordering them to keep moving.
The time has
almost come.
A group of
squirrels overhear the Queen Bee’s calls, prompting a tizzy among lofty tree
branches. Mr. Snow Owl comes to attention as they frantically collect acorns.
He plucks a feather from underneath his wing before flying past the squirrels
and towards the shoreline.
The time is
near.
Gifts begin
to pile around a mound of mud within the chasms of the tidal zones: a sand
dollar, the owl’s feather, and now randomly placed acorns. A garden snake
slides through the mess, shedding his skin - followed by the molting of a
lobster nearby.
A shadow
crosses the moon then, just before various species of birds clatter to the
ground below. A swan lands last with a bellow of her song, and in unison, the
wolf pack returns the call. The dolphins respond to the melody by becoming more
calculated in their movements, smoothing into a perfect rhythm with the songs
now being sung by the ever-growing crowd of Mother Nature’s tribe.
It’s as if a
drum is being played:
Boom.
Boom Boom.
Boom.
Boom Boom.
A heartbeat.
The expanding
mound blooms into a large circle consisting of multiple sections. The inner
circle holds the gifts, the middle circle shelters the juvenile animals
surrounded by their mothers, and the outer circle consists of the older
animals.
The time is
almost here.
Queen Bee
breaks through the woodlands and is met by a breeze. In response to her
arrival, the congregation pauses briefly… only to erupt in song. The guardians
at the shoreline bow their heads, kneeling onto their two front legs in order
to greet the Queen Bee.
After kissing
both guardians on their foreheads, she signals to her crew to make their final
descent. A cloud of buzzing wings hums as they approach the middle of the
circle with caution, then the inner circle. The Queen Bee ferociously shakes
her wings and immediately, her workers dive down to smother the exposed mud in
honey.
It is almost
done.
The animals
steadily move in a counterclockwise circle.
Tick.
Tick.
Tock.
The rhythm of
the creatures becomes increasingly sonorous.
Off in the
distance, the figure of a goat and her kid can be seen approaching.
Tick.
Tick.
Tock.
Mother goat
and her child meticulously walk through the outer circle of churning animals.
They are meandering through the middle circle when the wolf pup howls in
excitement. Startled, the young kid topples over the hill of trinkets and
slides into the patch of honey-soaked mud. Mother goat follows, spilling a drop
of milk at her kid’s annoyed squeal.
Everything
stops.
Even the air
seems to have come to a halt.
Mother goat
nudges her kid back over the trench of gifts and into the middle circle where
they wait.
Everything
waits.
Minutes go by
before even the faintest touch of a breeze can be felt. The Queen Bee’s wings
twinge at the coolness; she gazes towards the inner circle’s center. The white
wolf and the buck move to stand beside the Queen when enervated rumbles
suddenly upset the milk and honey-soaked patch. Something is trying to break
through the surface…
Without
warning, peat erupts from the patch: then two budding leaves climb their way
through the film.
Swan sounds
her horn, signifying that the deed has been done.
The Moon
child has been born.
Finally.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Elizabeth
Danon received her B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University before
working as a Marine Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. She
traveled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico: collecting data aboard
commercial fishing vessels and dredges.
When
that didn’t pan out to be the glorified job that she expected, finding herself
covered in shark snot and fish scales daily, Elizabeth became a technical
writer. In her spare time, she began doing standup comedy after taking comedy
bootcamp with the Armed Services Arts Partnership. At this time, she married
the most wonderful man who also provides most of her joke writing material.
Unfortunately, because he’s Indian he has also enabled her Maggi addiction…
Like she needed that on top of her already long-standing iced coffee issues.
Her
favorite show is Schitt’s Creek, as she feels a special bond to her fellow
comedians - and Sephardic brethren. Growing up half-Jewish herself, Elizabeth
eventually converted to being full-Jewish with Temple Israel as a student of
Rabbi Panitz.
Her
enriched, but complicated, heritage has been an inspiration for most of her
creative writing. Being an Aries, she has always felt like a leader and has
therefore integrated her feminist beliefs into her work, albeit dropping every
women’s studies course that she ever elected in college.
Additionally,
her writing has an unmistakable international presence. Elizabeth wanted to
discover as much as she could about her Sephardic Heritage and went on
Birthright, followed by her independent travels to over ten other countries…
carrying nothing but a red bookbag.
Website:
https://linktr.ee/esdanon
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/esdanon
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/DANON.ELIZABETH.BOOKS/about/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/esdanon_
Buy
Links:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Bastet-S-Danon-ebook/dp/B086LLL4T8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0
BN:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-in-bastet-es-danon/1137305185
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for helping us celebrate the debut novel, Moon In Bastet by E.S. Danon! We’re excited for the official release party tonight and you’re more than welcome to join us online at 7pm (EST) on the authors Facebook and/or Instagram socials. We appreciate you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the share! I’m still pinching myself that the release is finally here.
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