Genre: Fiction/Alternative History
Release Date: October 18, 2012
Digital ISBN 13: 978-1-939217-09-7, ISBN 10: 1939217091
Print ISBN 13: 978-1-939217-10-3, ISBN 10: 1939217105
Purchase link: www.5princebooks.com/buy.htm
Birthright Bestowed
Ilona the Hun trilogy, book one
Ilona is an emergency room doctor, born into an ancient Hun
tribe which still exists hidden amongst us with its strict and fiercely
enforced rules. She doesn’t know much about her Hun heritage besides legends,
customs and rituals that she continues out of respect for her parents whose
sudden death ten years before devastated her. She plays her tune on her
birthday given to her by her grandmother.
Elza – Ilona’s housekeeper - explains, the purpose of the tune is to let
the elders know she had come to age. Her mother didn’t have a chance to explain
her inherited powers, but after her 29th birthday when she is
considered as an adult by Hun standards, she begins to remember the forgotten
instructions concealed as rhymes her mother was teaching her since she was a small
child. Ilona discovers she can heal with her bare hands; she can rearrange the
human body to its healthy state. This ability is exciting as well as
frightening. She is conflicted between having confidence in her intelligence
and inherited abilities while having no confidence as a woman. Her insecurity
created barriers which keep others out, and I also keep her caged in. She’s
been in love with her unsuspecting best friend Bela, when a dashing stranger
explodes into her life. The sudden magnetic feeling frightens her and
discovering evil in him doesn’t help either. A sinister dark man appears, Ilona
connects his presence with the series of mysterious deaths around her. Zoltan
saves her life by jeopardizing his, which prompts Ilona to start fitting the puzzle
pieces together and discovering the ancient tribal secrets that not only can
change her future but the future existence of the Huns as well.
Bio for Erika M Szabo:
Erika M Szabo is a Hungarian born American; she lives in the
beautiful Catskill Mountains. She has a PhD in Alternative Medicine; she
published a few books in this subject. Erika loves the art of healing; however,
writing about dry medical facts doesn’t satisfy her thirst for storytelling.
The ancient history of the Huns always fascinated her, it is full of holes,
mysteries and speculations; there are only a few written facts about them
besides their legends. Erika used her fertile imagination to fill the
historical voids in the story of Ilona. She raises questions such as - What if
healing by touch could be possible? - What if we could find a soul mate no
matter the obstacles? - What if we could visit our ancestors on a whim? - What
if our destiny is not written in stone and we can create our future?
Author Contact Info:
Excerpt from Birthright
Bestowed:
I was holding Teddy deep in thoughts, absentmindedly stroking his
soft artificial fur. He was my favorite childhood toy, stuffed to perfect
softness. Suddenly I felt something piercing the side of my neck. The sharp
pain made me jump, and I let out a muted cry. I touched the skin over my
carotid artery and I felt warm wetness. A drop of blood glistened on my
fingertips when I looked at my hand. I almost dropped Teddy feeling alarmed
when I noticed that my fingers begun to glow as if a bright red light was
turned on from the inside. At the same time I felt something scurrying from the
side of my neck toward my chest. I reached up and swept my neck and chest
jumping up in disgust. Crap! It must have
been a bug or a spider. The damned thing bit me! I looked down on my chest
and kept sweeping my clothes frantically looking for the bug.
A sudden swirling sensation took me by surprise and I grabbed the
side of the ottoman to steady myself while everything began to fade around me.
I tried to find a focus point to decrease the sudden vertigo, and then brought
my eyes down to Teddy. I noticed with climbing alarm that his eyes took on a
strange red glow. His eyes seemed alive; they bore into my insides and the
intense glow kept me frozen. I’m hallucinating ran through my mind. I
tried to turn away, yet I couldn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t even blink. I was
scared, never having felt such primal fear before. I felt my heart racing and my
breath came in little puffs as I felt cold beads of sweat on my forehead. I
knew it was adrenaline flooding my body triggered by the sudden fright, but I was
afraid it might have been some poison from the bite as well.
The strange sensation and hallucination stopped as quickly as it
started. My hands felt and looked normal and I became rational in an instant
and sat there, feeling obtuse, wondering what had just happened. The whole
sensation lasted only for seconds, yet it frightened me a great deal not
knowing what caused it.
I came in here
hoping to find answers, and I found more questions. I didn’t find out anything! I thought
angrily.
The only insight I got was being scared out of my mind. I couldn’t sit there anymore. I felt
suffocated; I had to get out in the open. I left Teddy on the ottoman and
opened the door carefully, peering out. Something seemed to pull me back, a
vague feeling, as if I was missing something. I fingered the Turul bird
medallion absentmindedly, feeling its smoothness and warmth. I realized I had
searched everywhere but inside the ottoman. I grabbed the seat and tried to
pull it up. There was a soft metallic click and then the top opened abruptly.
Thank you Bernadette and the dedicated work of the publishing staff at 5 Prince Publishing for making my book the best it could be, Erika
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