DAMASCENA: The Tale of Roses and Rumi

Author: Holly Lynn Payne

Paperback: 348 pages
Publisher: Skywriter Books (June 1, 2014)

Book Review:

By: Brittany Perez ( Oh My Bookness)

@ohmybookness

Bperezbookreviews@gmail.com

Review Date: October 15, 2014

Book Description:

Holly Payne's spellbinding tale brings the unparalleled poet, Mevlana Rumi, to life, and transports readers to the enchanting world of 13th century Persia. Simply but elegantly told, the story unravels the mystery surrounding a legendary orphaned girl, who discovers her gift of turning roses into oil. Named after the flowering rosa damascena, the girl reluctantly assumes the role of a living saint for the miracles she performs-longing for the only one that matters: finding her mother. Deeply wounded by the separation since birth, Damascena undergoes a riveting transformation when she meets Rumi and finally discovers the secret of the rose. Imbued with rich historical research and inspired by the devastating disappearance of Rumi's most lauded spiritual companion, Shams of Tabriz, Holly Payne has courageously opened herself to receive Rumi's teachings and offer a timeless love story. Inspiring and magical, the

story of Damascena transmits the wisdom of the heart, inviting us to transform our pain into love ( Amazon ).

Book Review Of:

DAMASCENA: The Tale of Roses and Rumi by Holly Lynn Payne, a historical fiction novelist book will leave you on your toes. Captivating and riveting, Damascena will have you rooted in your seat with a nice cup of coffee or tea, hot chocolate for those who don't Prefer either.

It's rare for a author to successfully covey a range of emotions and feelings and bring the reader into it as if they were experiencing it themselves. Holly Lynn successfully succeeded in this area. Showing compassion and empathy for characters in a novel. Creating a scene, feeling as if you were standing right in monastery, standing within looking in, seeing the dust in the room an leaving your mark as you move around, smell the staleness in the air, the smell of the city and damp grass of the out doors. Damascena is written beautifully, the view of the time it took the author to research, develop the plot, and put it all together shows in a beautifully aesthetic manner.

Where To Purchase Book:

Amazon (amzn.to/1miEoI4)

Barnes & Noble (bit.ly/1yWwWId)

Author Sites:

Twitter handle: @HollyLynnPayne

About The Author:

Holly Lynn Payne is an internationally published novelist in ten countries whose work has been translated into eight languages. Her new novel, DAMASCENA: the tale of roses and Rumi, unravels the mystery surrounding a gifted orphaned girl who meets the great Persian poet and mystic Rumi in the 13th century and discovers the secret of the rose. Dutton/Plume published her first two novels, The Sound of Blue and The Virgin's Knot, her debut novel, selected as a Discover Great New Writers and Border's Original Voices book. Her third book, Kingdom of Simplicity was nominated for a national book award in Belgium and was named to the mandatory reading list in Ghent. It has also published in the Netherlands, Taiwan and soon China, and is the winner of a Marin Arts Council Grant, first place winner of a Benjamin Franklin Award 2010 and won Grand Prize for the Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards 2011. Payne studied journalism at the University of Richmond, where she received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010. She earned a MFA from University of Southern California and has taught throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, serving on the faculty at the Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts and Stanford. She lives in Northern California with her young daughter, and serves the literary community as a writing coach, publishing strategist and volunteer producer for Litquake--the West Coast's largest week-long literary festival held each October in San Francisco. When she's not writing or coaching other writers, she enjoys getting dirty on a mountain bike. You can read more about her coaching and retreats here: http://www.hollylynnpayne.com or follow her on Twitter @skywritertribe.

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