A little bit of magic!

If you've ever walked up a steep hill, or climbed a mountain, or run a marathon, or triumphed over seemingly impossible odds, you'll know about the moment. It's hard to define, but it's a silent sense of wonder and awe and relief and inner joy all rolled into one.

My mountain, which became a steep hill and then, finally, a playful gallop, is the path to publication for my novel Covenant. Yes, it's here at last - first and an ebook and then shortly to follow as a paperback. And just in time for Christmas...

In many ways, Covenant's journey is a reflection of my journey as a writer. How it looked at the beginning bears little resemblance to the finished product, but there are elements still in there that harken back to the soul of the original. The characters ended up going in different directions to how I expected, and I have to admit that the book is better for it.

So I'm taking a little breather now before the next ascent. No book is ever created in isolation and I'd especially like to thank the following people, who'd kept faith with the project and continue to keep me on track:
Nancy Zilch, Villayat Sunkmanitu, Warren Stevenson and Sarah Wiles.

Cue music!

Okay, here's the back cover text:

Isca has followed the faith since childhood, taking her from the Settlements and into the City States. Now, as a priestess, a prophecy bears fruit; she receives a stone tablet to liberate her people and reveal their spiritual homeland.

In order to preserve the faith, she must be willing to teach the path of True Will to a heathen, whatever the consequences. When a stranger appears in the city of Tarsis, he uncovers the truth about the tablet and the boy chosen to protect it. But what if the long-awaited Righteous One isn't so righteous after all?

And here's the foreword:

Covenant is a fantasy, inspired by the Western Mysteries. It can be read as a magical quest without any specialist knowledge, and will also be appreciated by those readers with an interest in meditation, mysticism, the tarot, path-workings and the Tree of Life.

The archetypal landscape still calls to us in the language of visions and dreams. It’s a realm dimly remembered, and eagerly sought, where the light of our True Will shines strong amid the shadows of the Unseen.

"Serve the Many through the One and Serve the One through the Many."

The ebook version is available through Amazon here:

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Covenant-ebook/dp/B009Y60CZO/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1351497361&sr=1-2

Amazon outside the UK

http://www.amazon.com/Covenant-ebook/dp/B009Y60CZO/ref=sr_1_1?_encoding=UTF8&al_rs=&keywords=covenant%20derek%20thompson&qid=1351497299&s=digital-text&sr=1-1#al_rp

More news on the paperback soon. Meantime, I'm available for interviews aplenty, about Covenant, about why I decided to self publish, and about what I'm working on now!