THE SUMMONING is Released

The path of love is fraught with many perils of the heart, and author Hemenway Stephens portrays these perils, and the journey through this path, in The Summoning. The tales in her book weave human dramas centered on themes of desire, love, and the drive to reach beyond one's spheres of safety to change one's life, as well as the undeniable need to quench forbidden cravings within one's very being.

Stephens' work is a pairing of two novellas celebrating the astonishing transformation of character when boisterous, fanciful and sometimes comic eroticism is fully embraced. The Clearing introduces us to Anna, daughter of the owner of a vast estate in England in the 19th century, and her partner Guillame. Guillame procures clients (from field hands to noblemen, diminutive acrobats to nervous lawyers) for raucously sexual appointments with Anna. This audacious money-making scheme has surprising repercussions for Anna and Guillame, as well as for future generations, as seen through the adventures of modern day Melissa Marley, heroine of The Awakening. In this second novella, set in contemporary Ohio, Melissa defies her spinsterhood to engage in a brave new world of sex, passion and romance together with William Caulder, a brilliant but exceedingly debauched theatre director. Melissa's sudden and determined reinvention also has life-changing consequences for those around her and poses the intriguing possibility that the two stories may be more connected than first supposed.

Both stories portray the life and times of very human characters, and the universal need for intimacy. The overall theme that connects both tales of The Summoning is described by the author as: "The courage it takes to transform oneself, regardless of the constrictions of one's history and society's expectations."

The distractions of the modern world, with the emphasis on so much economic, societal and economic gloom can distract from the things that are most important in life, substituting being virtuous for being happy. The Summoning is about the courage to live the life one is meant to live, and ultimately, Stephens hopes that her readers will find joy in her stories.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.

About the Author
Hemenway Stephens lives with a charming man on her own small estate in Pennsylvania.

The Summoning * by Hemenway Stephens
Publication Date: March 13, 2013
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 246 pages; 978-1-4797-7632-0
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 246 pages; 978-1-4797-7633-7
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4797-7634-4

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (812) 355-4079 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.

For more information on self-publishing or marketing with Xlibris, visit http://www.Xlibris.com. To receive a free publishing guide, please call (888) 795-4274.

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