The Jaguar Princess

Book excerpt: This historical novel set in the Aztec Empire blends “mysticism, shape-changing” and “a deep sense of time and place” for a truly “unusual fantasy” (Publishers Weekly). Mixcati’s people are descended from the Olmec Jaguar Gods and she is fated for great things—both wonderful and dangerous. She can, unexpectedly and without warning, turn into a living, wild jaguar, just as her ancestors have done since time immemorial. Once stolen into slavery, she must struggle to survive and to learn to fulfill her destiny in an Aztec culture that understands her strength, fears her power, and wants her dead. She must face destruction at their hands—or come into her true power as the Jaguar Princess.