Shadows and Substance

By Sumiko Saulson

In Book Five of the serialized tale of "The Moon Cried Blood, "Shadow and Substance," things really start to heat up when the Lunae witches start to suffer from frightening dreams and visions, and a new threat, the Dark Luna. Who is she and why is she such a danger to all of the Lunae witches?

Tisha and her mother get to know Joy's long lost birth family better. The history, inner workings and complexities of the Lunae power structure are more fully explained as one of the elders, Lucia, instructs her daughter Jessica on how to educate the Unawakened Luna Rita.. The various witches of three Luna lines begin to converge and the hidden fourth line is finally revealed. Shocking supernatural and family revelations abound in the wildest episode of the Moon Cried Blood series yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Iconoclast Productions
• Release date: Sep 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310930928

Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson is a science-fiction, fantasy and horror writer and graphic novelist. She was the 2016 recipient of the Horror Writer Association's "Scholarship from Hell." She is best known for her non-fiction reference guide "60 Black Women in Horror Fiction." Her novels include "Solitude"," The Moon Cried Blood, "Happiness and Other Diseases", "Somnalia", "Insatiable" and the Amazon bestselling horror comedy “Warmth." She has written several short stories for collections and anthologies, including the Carry the Light award winning science-fiction story "Agrippa." She writes for the Oakland Art Scene for the Examiner.com, SEARCH Magazine and horror blogs HorrorAddicts.net and SumikoSaulson.com, which featured a 2013 Women in Horror Month interview series. The child of African American and Russian-Jewish American parents, she is a native Californian who grew up in Los Angeles and Hawaii. She is an Oakland resident who has spent most of her adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Book preview

Shadows and Substance

Book Five of The Moon Cried Blood Series

Sumiko Saulson

WWW.SUMIKOSAULSON.COM

ICONOCLAST PRODUCTIONS

SAN FRANCISCO * OAKLAND * BERKELEY * VALLEJO

Praise for The Moon Cried Blood

Cycles of the moon, Generations of women, a young woman unaware of her incredible gift. A delicate weaving of history, character development and esoteric overlay that makes for an interesting saga. I read it twice, I missed a lot in the first round with all the symbolism. A lot of work went into the background and technical aspects of the writing itself and it shows.

- M. E. Valenzuela

This is not a Twilight or Harry Potter book. In my opinion, it's better. There is a very complex plot that thickens with every page. The characters, and there are many, are quite detailed. You don't know what's going to happen, even as it's happening. That has been missing with many books these days, and I'm glad to see it here.

Lance S. Elliot

Copyright Notice

Shadows and Substance

Book Five: The Moon Cried Blood

By Sumiko Saulson

Published by Sumiko Saulson at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Sumiko Saulson

Third Edition 2014

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living, dead, or undead is entirely coincidental.

www.SumikoSaulson.com

www.IconoclastProductions.com

Introduction

By Buffie Peterson

"I have had the honor of being a beta reader for Sumiko Saulson’s Moon Cried Blood series novellas, and the editor for two of them, Dreams of the Departed and Death Omen. The Moon Cried Blood series is about witches, celestial power, and a young girl’s newfound ability when she arrives at her passage into to womanhood. This story takes you into the awkward time we all experience when we leave behind childhood and face puberty. It chronicles a young girl’s coming of age and coming to terms with her history.

It is said the moon controls just about every aspect of our lives. From the ebbing tides to the seedlings reaching for the sky, the moon plays a huge part in our lives. The Egyptians built pyramids according to the celestial bodies and the phases of the moon. Witches plan their spells according to the phase of the moon. Some folks even go as far as planning their lives around the moon phases. Women can just about tell what phase the moon is in as their cycle is intertwined.

Tisha is a typical thirteen year old girl with an attitude to match. She has no clue what she is about to encounter when a split second accident changes her entire existence. She is bound by the moon herself and finds she is submerged in a vast whirlwind of life, puberty, and just trying to figure out who she really is.

Sumiko Saulson has nailed the preteen angst and teenage anxiety that puberty can bring. She has captured the fear children feel when their life unexpectedly comes to a complete standstill and the emotionally taxing need to be a mature adult when all you want is your teddy bear and your blanket. Ms. Saulson has captured the emotional charge we all feel when we are the tender age of thirteen and the anger we feel when adults do not pay us the respect we feel we deserve. But be warned, what you think about the moon will be changed forever!

Credits

Editor:

Proofreaders & Beta Readers: Brian Mueller, Phillip Cohen, Buffie Peterson, Brenda Wood and Amy Bellino.

Spanish Language Translators: Beth Johnson and M Blau Bockstiegel

Special Thanks To: Christopher Rice, Eric Shaw Quinn, and the staff at the Dinner Party Show. Most of my beta readers and my editor are fans of the internet radio show who I met through their Facebook page.

You can listen to the Dinner Party Show http://www.TheDinnerPartyShow.com

Thanks also to the reader reviewers who offered