Weather Menders
by Debra DenkerGenres: Fiction
Published on November 7, 2017
Pages: 290
Format: eBook Source: Book Tour, From author/publisher
What if Time Travel were real? What if Time Travelers from 300 years in the future told you that there was a chance that you could prevent catastrophic climate change, plagues, and wars by going back in time to key Pivot Points and ethically altering the outcome of rigged elections? What if failure would result in the destruction of the biosphere? Would you go?
In post-plague 2050 Britain, palm trees tower over the rice paddies of Stonehenge. Tara MacFarlane, a weary 96-year-old anthropologist originally from Taos, New Mexico, longs only to finish out her life in peaceful Buddhist meditation, and rejoin the great love of her later years, the humanitarian Scottish-Afghan doctor Xander, in a future incarnation. Suddenly one stifling autumn day Tara, her great-granddaughter Leona, and Leona’s boyfriend Janus are faced with a trio of Time Travelers from a future alternate Timeline where humanity and the eco-system survived and thrived.
The fate of Earth’s biosphere falls squarely on the shoulders of Tara, Leona, Janus, and Tara’s small gray cat, Georgie, who shows a surprising aptitude for telepathy. Time is short to reverse catastrophe that will bleed through into the alternate Timeline, and the Time Travelers must first determine the ideal Pivot Points by reading Time Code vibrations off the great standing stones of Avebury. Unexpectedly joined by the brave and wise cat Georgie, the six plunge into the Time Circle of Stonehenge on their mission. Where and when will they go, and will they succeed in restoring the Earth and humanity to balance?
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There is a lot going on in this book. The Earth has lost most of its population due to plagues and climate change. A group of humans living in the now-tropical area of Stonehenge are suddenly visited by people claiming to be from the future.
The story is told in flashbacks and in the current timeline to show how humans managed to destroy the planet in such a short period of time. The main characters are Buddhists who have invested a lot of their lives into meditation and spiritual practice. They apply what they have learned through that to help try to heal the planet. A lot of this isn’t explained in much detail, if at all. The visitors from the future have a lot of special powers that they are unable to explain. They explain it as using readily available technology in their world but it can come across as sort of lazy story telling like, “Oh, look, she can project holograms of different timelines from her head. How, you ask? Um, technology…” Â
The group needs to go back to key points in history to change things. (They basically need to prevent the 1980s.)Â
There is a cat who plays a vital part in the story and is able to speak mind to mind with his people. He is known forever as Georgie, the first Time Traveling cat. I approve of cats with good communication skills.Â
This book reminds me so much of The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk.  Both books feature a very elderly woman as the main protagonist. She joins forces with her chosen family to prevent a disaster through spiritual/magical means. Â
About the Author
Debra Denker has been writing stories since she learned to read. Although novels and poetry were her first loves, she turned her talent to journalism in the ‘70s and ‘80s, writing about Afghanistan and the refugee situation in Pakistan for National Geographic and many leading newspapers. She has specialized in social documentation utilizing journalism, photography, and film to convey the experiences of people in war torn areas, with the intention of stimulating the empathy necessary for humans to stop violence against people and planet.
Denker is the author of two published books, the non-fiction literary memoir Sisters on the Bridge of Fire: One Woman’s Journeys in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and the novel War in the Land of Cain—a story of love, war, and moral choices set during the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980’s.
Denker now writes for the award-winning conservation media website, Voices for Biodiversity, raising consciousness to help ward off the Sixth Great Extinction.
She currently lives in Santa Fe with her family of cats, Dorjee Purr-ba, Yeshe Gyalpo, and Samadhi Timewalker, but travels frequently in earthly space, and hopes to travel in time and galactic space.
The novel’s website is www.weathermenders.com.
Her personal blog www.mysticresistance.comÂ
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Blog Tour Schedule
Friday, January 25
Review at Locks, Hooks, and Books
Tuesday, January 29
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads
Wednesday, January 30
Feature at Broken Teepee
Friday, February 1
Guest Post at Maiden of the Pages
Monday, February 4
Review at Based on a True Story
Tuesday, February 5
Interview at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, February 6
Feature at Just One More Chapter
Thursday, February 7
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Friday, February 8
Feature at Cheryl’s Book Nook
Monday, February 11
Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective
Tuesday, February 12
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Thursday, February 14
Review at A Book Geek
Friday, February 15
Review at Umut Reviews
Feature at Coffee and Ink
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away two paperback copies of Weather Menders! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on February 15th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US/UK/CANADA.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Click HERE to enter giveaway.
That’s a fun use of stone circles. And, of course, gray cats.