Title: Night of Pan
Author: Gail Strickland
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Publish Date: November 7, 2014
Series: Book One of The Oracle of Delphi Trilogy
Description:
The slaughter of the Spartan Three Hundred at Thermopylae, Greece 480 BCE—when King Leonidas tried to stop the Persian army with only his elite guard—is well known. But just what did King Xerxes do after he defeated the Greeks?
Fifteen-year-old Thaleia is haunted by visions: roofs dripping blood, Athens burning. She tries to convince her best friend and all the villagers that she’s not crazy. The gods do speak to her.
And the gods have plans for this girl.
When Xerxes’ army of a million Persians marches straight to the mountain village Delphi to claim the Temple of Apollo’s treasures and sacred power, Thaleia’s gift may be her people’s last line of defense.
Her destiny may be to save Greece…
…but is one girl strong enough to stop an entire army?
Guest Post
Hi! My name is Gail Strickland and my first book, NIGHT OF PAN, first book of THE ORACLE OF DELPHI TRILOGY just launched this week! (Sigh) Happiness is… Thank you Kayl for inviting me to talk with you and your book-loving followers!
I have a question for all of you: Did you know that a simple village girl helped save the cradle of democracy?
You undoubtedly know about the movie 300 and the brave Spartan soldiers who withstood the largest invasion the ancient world had ever seen … one million Persians led by King Xerxes. The Spartan hoplites were amazing! In a narrow pass known as The Hot Gates or Thermopylae they stopped the Persian army and held them off for four days. In fact, it was only when someone betrayed the Spartans and told the Persians about a back mountain path that they were surrounded and defeated.
Though the largest invasion the ancient world had seen is in my book, my story isn’t about the kind of courage where someone picks up a sword and chops off heads. My book is about the courage it takes to know who you truly are.
Let me explain. Most people don’t know where the massive army went next. The victorious Persians marched a day’s march to the tiny village Delphi high atop Mt. Parnassos. Delphi, sacred center of the ancient world. Gold and silver and countless treasures filled clay amphora and the treasuries leading up the sacred path to The Temple of Apollo. Treasures amassed all because of a young village girl known as the Oracle of Delphi. Pilgrims traveled from far-away lands to ask the girl to talk with the god Apollo and to deliver answers to questions about war and births and deaths. In truth, she was the most powerful Greek of all.
Now many modern historians ….even The History Channel … say that this girl wasn’t powerful. They say she was high on the fumes seeping from the crack in the earth beneath her sacred tripod seat. They say that she was talking nonsense and that all the prophecies were told in truth by the men priests who knew the political pulse of the day.
I disagree! If we look at the four prophecies we know from the historian Herodotus declared by the girl about the Persian invasion, they all came true. And most of them had to do with acts of nature that occurred just as the girl predicted. Storms and winds and earthquakes that destroyed Persian ships and warriors and helped save the Greeks.So, I wrote NIGHT OF PAN, a story told by my fifteen-year-old Oracle of Delphi named Thaleia. Though Thaleia is fictional, she is based on the real Oracle. She defies her father who arranges a marriage for her to a revolting man twice her age. She defies the priests who deny her destiny as Oracle … she even defies the gods to speak her truth.
A young girl claimed her destiny, spoke from her heart and an entire world listened.
Find Night of Pan Online:
Goodreads| Amazon US| Amazon UK
Find Gail Strickland Online:
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