The Witch of the Isle

Ancient and powerful gods have been in a cold-war stalemate since the Earth was formed. Can Lysiane, faith-healing traiteur of the Isle Brevelle, tip the balance? More importantly, should she? It's not every day that a goddess approaches Lysiane Fontenot. Nor is it often that she has visions of Natchitoches decimated into nothing. When both happen in the same week, her first inclination is to walk away and let the world meet whatever fate is coming. Yet when she learns her brother Luc has once again fled the Pecanier Plantation, a crime that could cost him his one remaining ear, Lysiane must try to save him - and the goddess Devanshi may be the only card she has.The god Dhanush has been trying to cleanse the irredeemable earth for a millennium. Only Devanshi's strength has stayed his hand, but he may have found a way around her. The goddess of many worlds can only focus for so long on a single one and is far too busy experiencing the world to understand the interconnectedness of it. He's confident in his assured victory until a faith-healer wanders into the conflict.Plagued by doubts about helping the Isle Brevelle, a colony of formerly enslaved people who built their wealth by purchasing and working slaves, Lysiane must reconcile her hatred of the planter class with her practical goals of self-preservation and providing safety to her kin. Walking the tightrope between Devanshi and Dhanush, this self-exiled woman, whom many in the Isle call a witch, holds the key to the destruction or salvation of all of humanity. What will she decide to do with it? The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms meets Isle of Canes as the realm of gods and goddesses descends upon the Isle Brevelle in Louisiana, wreaking havoc on the locals. Alliances are formed, dissolved, and remade as cultures clash, and the age-old question is debated: who lives, who dies, and who decides? A page-turner from start to finish, The Witch of the Isle will have you rooting for Lysiane against impossible odds in the hopes that somehow she can overcome the odds, living through a tragic history that we all know too well. Andrew Sweet is an author, social activist and equality advocate, and software engineer who uses his writing, in science fiction and other genres, to explore the dynamic of power in an ocean of ever-changing technological advancement.