Fusing the adventure of Indiana Jones with the introspection and wisdom of Eckhart Tolle, One Great Year takes readers on an epic journey through history, following characters who are born and reborn as they struggle to triumph over evil.
One Great Year Excerpt
Sartaña waited tentatively to see who would enter at such an unexpected
time. The familiar face of her guard came around the edge of the door.
The guard stepped aside and Inti, squinting in the dim light to make out the figure,
came eye to eye with Sartaña. She was awful, an ugly old crone. Her filthy black hair was
streaked with grey and the knobby, ridged scars that patterned her face made her distressing
to look at. The guard backed himself out of the chamber and, clicking the door
behind him, left them alone. Inti was slightly alarmed to be locked in, even briefly, and he
did his best to ignore the overpowering smells that accompanied life in that awful place.
Sartaña gasped with astonishment. She did not move, and more than ever she was
tormented by the loss of her tongue. Her inability to speak at that moment was exactly
the reason the cruelty had been perpetrated.…
“Who are you?” he asked finally, searching her face.
She took his young hand in hers. He allowed it and did not mind the dirty, cracked
frailty of her grasp. Her mind screamed out to him. My son! Theron! She sent all of her
energy desperately into his. He doesn’t know me! Sartañathought in anguish. Theron doesn’t
know me! her Marcus-brain acknowledged painfully. Sartañamaintained her composure
and calm demeanor, afraid to scare him away.
…
Suddenly, Inti reached out with his free hand and pushed up her ragged sleeve to
expose her shoulder. His recognition was immediate. He looked from the flower symbol
on her skin to the rock and back at her disfigured face. “No!” he croaked, barely able to
breathe. “It’s you!” Inti’s mind raced. How is this possible? What does it mean? The colors
around them were frenzied as his conscious emotion joined his unconscious.
Sartaña nodded emphatically, bringing his hand to her lips. Her tears poured freely
down her ruined cheeks. Her face was luminous and filled with love.
Inti embraced the frail ghost, and their souls danced and bubbled as their auras mingled,
sending pleasant shock waves through them. She felt like a skeleton in his arms, and
his concern and sadness for her condition welled up in him. “I thought you were dead.
They told me you were dead!” he cried, his tears flowing down his face.
Sartaña just shook her head and held him until the most violent of his sobbing
subsided.
“Why?” he asked angrily. “What happened? Why did he send you here?”
Sartaña’s joy turned to heartache as she once again imagined her young son mourning
her.
“I need answers!” he shouted toward the door. The guard re-entered, unsure that he
had done the right thing. He was further alarmed by the vision of the young man before
him, so distraught and wild-looking. “You! Guard!” he said, grabbing the man with his
free hand, the other hand still tightly clasping the flower-carved stone. “Tell me everything
you know!”
“The high priestess is of royal, sacred lineage. Your father claimed her and killed her
husband and your half-brother when he conquered this city. You were born one year later.
When you were five, your father took over your care and your mother was brought here.”
“Who knows this? Who knows she lives?” Inti demanded through gritted teeth.
“Only the three of us and the high priest,” the guard answered. “He disfigured her
and cut out her tongue so that she could never speak against him. I nursed her the best I
could, but you see what a mess he made.”
“It is your tongue I should have cut out,” interjected Katari’sdeep menacing voice
from behind the guard. In a flash, the point of Katari’s spear burst through…
What happens when two passionate writer-artists fall in love and decide to make an uncommon life together? The award-winning novel
Born and raised in the Vancouver area, Rene DeFazio is an actor, screenwriter and producer with numerous film and television roles to his credit, as well as countless commercials and print ads. After spending many years backpacking and filming, Rene drew upon an abundance of unusual and exciting experiences to create
. His tireless research and firsthand knowledge of exotic locations, customs, sights and smells helped to bring this epic story to life.
Tamara Veitch is a writer, artist and mother. She also grew up in the Vancouver area, and attended Simon Fraser University to study English and psychology. Tamara worked as a special education assistant for the Vancouver School Board, and later opened her own mural painting business.
took three painstaking years to complete. Within months of its independent release,
was optioned to become a Hollywood blockbuster film trilogy. Rene and Tamara have also partnered with Greenleaf Book Group for their literary debut and U.S. release, in October 2013.
series, filming a documentary, embarking on a book tour, and offering free seminars called POD Parties (Plain ol’ Discussion about monumental topics), where they discuss the ancient history, modern science, and inspirations layered throughout
