I'm pleased to announce the release of a debut novel, The Language of Water, by Elizabeth Clark-Stern, in both print and e-book editions. It is available now at www.aqueductpress.com.The
dawn of the twenty-second century finds women in a new world where
water—the lack of it or the over-abundance of it—shapes their inner and
outer lives. Sara turns eighteen and longs to join the all-women’s
Kurdish army to wrestle control of the headwaters of the Euphrates River
from the grip of Turkiye’s first woman President, who calls herself
“Ataturka.” These two women share a common enemy that has infected the
globe: climate despair. And yet, in the darkest hour there is cause for
hope. A new technology born of the secret substances of the Earth could
transform the planet. Only the power structures of humanity stand in the
way. Can Sara and Ataturka help one another create a new form of power
defined by the depth and scope of their hearts, or will the Water War
bitterly divide them? Will their passion for life, for love, for a world
where all living things can flourish pull them down into the darkest
cavern of the human soul or catapult them to the stars?
Read a sample from the book here: http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/samples/978-1-61976-234-3.pdf
"Elizabeth
Clark-Stern has created a marvelous adventure that takes us into a
mysterious future where the climate is out of control. Her characters
vibrate with creativity, passion, and imagination as they bring an
evolving world to life."
—Beverly Olevin, Kirkus Award-winner for The Good Side of Bad
"I
found this novel's complex characters and the richness of their
relationships—in love and in war—tremendously compelling. Sara, Kethuda,
Ruqia, and the rest of the cast are skillfully drawn. A story about the
future devastation wrought by climate change has the potential to be a
grim read, but instead Elizabeth Clark-Stern has written a gripping
feminist tale exploring love and power, violence and forgiveness,
despair and hope. The Language of Water is a page-turner and a paean to
resistance."
—Gwynne Garfinkle, author of Can't Find My Way Home
"The
diverse ensemble of characters in Elizabeth Clark-Stern’s debut novel
includes royalty and subsistence farmers, teens and the elderly, fierce
warriors, and dedicated pacifists. Each character is compelling,
complex, and struggling with the types of difficult decisions that can
shatter souls. But the core protagonist in the novel, the only one truly
powerful, is the natural environment.
The action takes place in
2100, when climate change has created extremes in the global
distribution of, and access to, water. The divide between Haves and Have
Nots is an ever-widening chasm. Regional conflicts sparked by
dwindling natural resources are rampant. Agriculturalists have developed
a plant, the pea cactus, that grows in harsh environments and can be
processed into a variety of goods, but worsening floods and periods of
drought make this, at best, a last-gasp measure.
It is a world
severely out of balance, but not quite out of hope. Clark-Stern captures
the inflection point toward which we are barreling at break-neck speed,
the moment when humans—having contorted ourselves to our limits in a
desperate effort to maintain life as it was before climate change—are
forced to decide if we want to die clinging to old ways or give up
illusions of power and embrace something new.
The Language of
Water is a balm for nerves frayed by the fear of impending environmental
disaster and a bracing vision of how balance might be restored to our
off-kilter world."
—Kate Boyes, author of Trapped in the R.A.W.
