Esperanza’s Way
The Seekers Series Book #2
by Cindy Burkart Maynard
Publication Date: June 13th, 2023
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 262
Genre: Historical Fiction
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.
Over the following months, the young woman and the old Master worked side by side, trying every treatment they could find. They rifled through Master Cohen’s books, desperate to fend off the invader overtaking Johanna’s body. They dressed the lumps with damp cloths infused with black nightshade. Esperanza created a poultice of nettle, mustard seed and moldy bread and laid it against the invading tumors.
Among his books, Master Cohen found an ancient Egyptian remedy - an ointment that combined bull bile, fly droppings, and ochre. They prepared gallons of marjoram tea and forced her to choke it down. They spooned a powerful mixture of heartsease, marigold, and yarrow into her mouth. Nothing worked. By the time the courtyard flowers drooped in their pots, and cold winds stripped the trees of their leaves Johanna’s condition had worsened to a critical stage. She thrashed back and forth on her pallet, insensible to anything but the pain that enveloped her.
“Please, husband,” she rasped. “Please end this torment. You must have something to release me from this agony.” Looking toward Esperanza standing at her bedside she begged. “Esperanza, you once killed a woman with belladonna. If you love me at all, please, please do the same for me.”
Esperanza lifted her eyes to Master Cohen’s. He squeezed his eyes closed and nodded almost imperceptibly, giving her tacit permission to end Johanna’s suffering.
Esperanza’s blood turned to ice in her veins.
Esperanza’s Way – Book 2
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Finding the Way – Book 1:
Cindy Burkart Maynard
Cindy Burkart Maynard is passionate about history, and the natural world, a passion that adds rich detail and context to her historical fiction novels. Her characters come to life on the page as they portray what it was like to live in another time and place. She weaves compelling, dramatic stories based on strong characters facing daunting challenges. She has co-authored two nonfiction works about the Colorado Plateau and the Desert Southwest and contributed articles to Images and Colorado Life Magazines. She has been a Volunteer Naturalist for Boulder County for more than twenty years, and served as a Docent at the Sonora Arizona Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ.
Awards:
Colorado Authors League Award Winner for Western Literature
Women Writing the West Award Finalist
WILLA Literary Award finalist for soft cover fiction.
Readers’ Favorite Five Star Author
Winner of the Marie M. Irvine award for Literary Excellence
Professional Affiliations:
Historical Novel Society of North America
Lighthouse Writers
Women’s Fiction Writers Association
Colorado Authors League
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Authors Guild
Connect with Cindy:
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