People of the Bear Mother

Book excerpt: The most powerful shaman of the People of the Bear Mother invites a young woman to take her soul's great adventure by painting a new piece of animal art on the walls in the deepest chambers of the awesome Great Cave. The time has come for Little Bear to make the life-altering choice to overcome her fear of the terrifying old shaman, and in doing so, unalterably change all the lives her soul will subsequently experience even as her "lion eye" reappears in each lifetime to identify her avatar. But before she may embark on her hero's journey, she must be initiated as hunter and then as Seer through trials, ordeals, and the revelations of her people's mythology expressed in the art of the Cave. The tale builds to an unexpected climax as one soul experiences many lifetimes in a hunting culture where being born female or male, homosexual or heterosexual, young or old are equally valid ways of being human. Inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell and the artwork of France's 35,000-yearold Chauvet Cave, the novel takes a fresh look at, and is a new take on, the life-ways and religion of our earliest ancestors through Little Bear's encounters with shamans, hunters, avatars, and painted caves. This story reveals that the spiritual messages hidden within this magnificent, incredibly ancient art are the same metaphysical beliefs of the New Age and the same universal human truths at the heart of every world religion and mystical philosophy. 2011 Book Competition Finalist Awards: USA Best Book Awards for New Age Fiction; IBA for Chick Lit-Women's Fiction; IBA for Gay-Lesbian Fiction.