Raven's Apprentice

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. D. Robert Hardy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

 


Raven's Apprentice

by D. Robert Hardy


GENRE: Autobiography/Memoir



Raven's Apprentice is a compelling true story from the west coast of B.C. that launches you into the world of Raven and our interconnectedness with all living things.


"Suddenly, without warning, they spun on a fin and started charging the boat. My thrill turned to real panic. Killer whales attacking a boat. Had there ever been such a thing? A paralysis gripped me. Now, within striking distance, they slipped into an arrowhead formation just below the surface. If the leader of the pack didn't bring the boat down, his flanks would."


"At about 20 feet off the bow, the frontrunner broke the surface, peeling waves off his rostrum as he continued his commitment to engage. Bracing for impact, my hands squeezed into the railing..."


Travel with me aboard MV Lady Guinevere. Witness being charged by transient killer whales, stalked by wolves and walking creeks so pristine you feel as if you were the first human to experience the wonder of nature.


"You have succeeded in bringing the reader on the voyage with you and into the deeper experience of transcendence and heightened awareness. Some of your experiences are literally skin tingling, many will leave your reader thinking and remembering for a long time to come." - Sid Tafler – Writer, Editorbr.



"Don Hardy’s RAVEN’S APPRENTICE is a great and compelling story, both nuanced and vivid, that will leave readers wanting to head off on adventures of their own."

- Heather Stockard - IndieReader




Read an Excerpt:


Port Neville came up unannounced. I would have missed it if not for a chance glimpse of a faint light coming from deep within the extended anchorage. It was a welcome view after sixteen hours at the wheel, and “my near-death experience” at Kelsey Bay. 


Finding my way into the narrow inlet with my searchlight was an unnerving business. The beam would catch every ghostlike mist in the air and vertical streaks in the water. It was a constant flicking to the left, then right, watching for deadheads and boom sticks that would suddenly appear out of the water like floating corpses. What was this place? I felt as if I was entering Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. It was foreboding, like a black hole devouring all light and sound. 


What was the light I was following? I continued along the night passageway to the light and found a small coal oil storm lamp marking a huge gathering of logs. It was a booming ground, a place where tugs stored their logs before moving them down to the mill. It was creepy, like a morgue for dead wood. Their only movement was the wave action from my boat. 


I was too exhausted to navigate my way past the acres of logs and anchor at the head of the port, so I tied my lines to the boom chains and fell into my bunk. I would repair my steering tomorrow. 


Within seconds I was dreaming. I felt the awareness of all living things seen and unseen; in the watery world below me and the forest cathedrals all around, of creatures, hunting, dying, resting and travelling … and of Raven. This was a mystical world I had entered, and there seemed to be no end of possibilities or danger.


About the Author:


Born in Halifax Nova Scotia. Grew up in small-town Cumberland, BC. but could not wait to get out and make his mark. Toured throughout Canada and the US as a professional musician until he realized he hated touring. Settled in Victoria, BC. Wrote six unpublished screenplays until he had real success with a stage play called "A Garland for Judy." It toured down the west coast from Bellingham to Los Angeles but topped the bill in San Francisco for six months to sold-out shows. Eventually settling into technical writing and developing online courses for most of his working life. Raven's Apprentice is a memoir that captured the imagination of a retired CBC executive who said, "You must bottle up all of this adventure into a book! ...being rescued by transient killer whales encounters with wolves, spirits in the kelp ... it's all too exciting!" And so it is done.


Connect with D. Robert Hardy:


WEBSITE * INSTAGRAM * FACEBOOK


Purchase Links:


AMAZON.COM * AMAZON.CA * KINDLE * INDIGO CHAPTERS * BARNES & NOBLE



Giveaway


D. Robert Hardy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway





Comments

  1. Good morning and thank you for the book description and giveaway.   I appreciate both of them.

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  2. I enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for sharing it.

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  3. I enjoyed reading the excerpt. Sounds like an adventurous autobio

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  4. I like the cover. Interesting topic. Thanks for the chance.

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  5. I like the cover too. I'm trying to figure out how the title and cover fit the memoirs.

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    Replies
    1. Hey Mary I hope all is well with you. The title and the cover are of course meant to pique your interest. How the title and cover came about is a story unto itself which is answered in the book. The cover is art work done by a BC artist called Emily Carr. The commanding presence of the bird represents the sense I had when I had an encounter with a raven before deciding to accept the challenge to go north into the Land of Raven.

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  6. What a great excerpt, sounds like an intriguing read, thanks for sharing with me!

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  7. I love the cover and the excerpt.

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  8. Thank you Literary Gold for hosting. Wonderful presentation!

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  9. I am always interested in learning about new books that I might want to read.

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