FROM THE PUBLISHER

Told from two perspectives, the new novel by Carol Egmont St. John, Anchors of the Soul, (now available through 1stBooks) is a tale of secrets, lust and intrigue, where life can be seen on a purely physical plane or as a series of magical events. "Call it witchcraft, call it superstition, call it holy, when belief is present, all things are possible," St. John says.

Anchors of the Soul revolves around the lives of Gwen Townsend and Serena Tesorerio. They have been neighbors, loved the same men, but never met. When they do, their outlooks are dramatically changed.Serena is the young, brainy, passionate daughter of a New England fisherman named Whitey. Most of her life has been spent on the sea where she escaped many of the predictable problems of a more traditional life. Gwen has lived a life of privilege but now faces the realities of loss and middle age. She is a disciplined person who worked hard to be the quintessential mother, wife and daughter. Shocked by the disappearance of her husband, and paralyzed emotionally, she meets Serena and slowly falls under her spell. A tenuous relationship evolves despite the disparity between their social status, age and experience. 

St. John transports her readers to Granite Shores, Mass, Key West, Fla, Washington, D.C. and post-revolutionary Nicaragua, as the women's adventures take them down roads leading to broader perspectives.An overt artist and covert poet, St. John discovered that her paintings and her poetry drew upon the same metaphors.  It was then she decided to compile a book of poems, homilies and paintings to demonstrate her creative process.  The result was her first book, Taproots; Where Ideas are Born (Twin Lights Publishers, 1999, Gloucester, MA).

Anchors of the Soul is St. John's first novel. It draws upon her experiences as a painter on the North Shore of Massachusetts and her work with Habitat for Humanity in the Nicaraguan hillsides.