An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life ...

He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One wolf is evil — he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, jealousy, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority and ego. The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

— Author Unknown



A simple birthmark. That’s all that connects Taryn to the ancient evil in her blood — or is it? Does evil mark its own? Taryn Simons can’t believe that’s true, even when the heroes — and the monsters — invade her troubled dreams. How long will it be before they come for her? Who will reach her first?

Every teen battles to reconcile the darkness and the light inside them, trying to find balance, trying to decide who they are, which path they will follow. Taryn’s story is one of true struggle and temptation, of walking that fine line between positive and negative, good and evil. Sign of the Crescent is magical, fulfilling, exciting, full of action — and it also makes readers think, wonder, hope and worry.

Sooner or later, everyone must face one choice: follow the darkness, or strive for the light. Taryn’s struggles are those of a real person thrust into a fantastic situation, a real person who must come face to face with her own capacity for evil. Taryn isn’t perfect, in looks or in body. Her limitations present real obstacles she must overcome — and she doesn’t always triumph. Sometimes her questions come so fast she simply can’t find the answers. Are the sins of a parent the sins of a child? How far does a child have to go to distance herself/himself from the wrongs of those who gave them life? What amends do children owe for the evils of their elders?



The idea for Sign of the Crescent first came to me in a dream. That dream developed into the need to tell Taryn’s story: the saga of a teen fighting a wickedness that threatens to consume her, while at the same time she’s trying to save her own world as well as the one she has been drawn into. The image of a young woman brought to the brink of destruction by her heritage and her own power simply wouldn’t leave me alone — much like how Taryn’s dreams refuse to give her peace. Like Taryn, I finally had to speak my truths.

Will Taryn succumb to the darkness of the power that lies dormant within her? No one knows. No one trusts her. If she faces facts, she doesn’t trust herself. At least she has one person who believes in her, and that’s Erick of Oldworld. She loves him as fiercely as he loves her, but deep inside, she’s afraid she’s not worthy of his support. Worse than that, she’s afraid she will follow family tradition and betray him in a way that destroys him forever.

Sign of the Crescent is an unusual story told in an unusual fashion — first person, present-tense. The action comes at the reader fast, immediate and urgent. Readers ride the rollercoaster of Taryn’s trials with her, flying high and dropping low with no outcomes assured, not even the narrator’s own survival.