Seekers (Maynard)

A coming-of-age journey along the Camino de Santiago in medieval Spain. Book One in the Seekers Series In 1250 AD, in an obscure corner of northeastern Spain at the foot of the Pyrenees, ancient Basque traditions collide with the onslaught of Christianity. Amika, a young Basque girl on the brink of adulthood and her mother, a healer, awake in the night to the howls of an angry mob approaching their hut. Torches fly and their hut goes up in flames. The rabid throng drags her mother away to be burned at the stake as a witch. Amika flees in terror into the forest. A Wise Woman of the ancient tradition rescues her and initiates Amika into the Old Ways. Soon they too are hunted down and jailed, doomed to suffer the same fate as Amika's mother. A sympathetic priest frees Amika, but as the price of her freedom he sends her on a quest to walk the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain. Along the way Amika encounters danger, hardship, and fear before she meets the man and child with whom she will share her future.

Book Two in The Seekers Series Motivated by the memory of her mother dying in her arms, Esperanza resolves that she will one day walk the halls of the Scola Medica at Salerno and train to become a healer. Fate brought Amika, a talented herbalist, into her life and helped Esperanza take her first steps toward gaining the knowledge that would fulfill her dream. Unfortunately, a tragic accident forced Esperanza to flee Amika's home. Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stumbling blocks, some more difficult to avoid than she expected. *****Advance Praise for "Esperanza's Way" "Esperanza struggles to achieve her dreams despite the setbacks she encounters. Set in Europe during the Middle Ages, the plot conforms to the historical accuracy of the era. A varied cast of well-developed characters move the drama along at a brisk pace. The subplots of romance, acceptance, and the gradual passing of the torch between generations are balanced and individually interesting, especially considering how fluidly Maynard weaves all of them into one storyline. Esperanza's Way provides immersive entertainment with a high degree of realism brought to life courtesy of Maynard's engaging style of storytelling." - Reader's Favorite Review