Love, Murder, Myth & Magic - New Novel Spins Tale of Conflict & Intrigue on Small Caribbean Isle

    /24-7PressRelease/ - WASHINGTON, DC, August 25, 2006 - "PROMISES on a Ring of Stone" lifts the mask of polite smiles and friendly faces to expose deep-seated rifts in the society of an emerging nation in the 1970s. Set on the imaginary island of Grand Kirkmuir, it is the story of the struggle and mistrust between rich and poor, black and white, set against a backdrop of resurrected pagan rites and enduring voodoo beliefs.

David Llewellyn, a white American writer, becomes infatuated with a young black woman while vacationing on a small Caribbean island. But love is not all he finds in Paradise. Llewellyn becomes enmeshed in a battle between groups on the island struggling for control of an old plantation that is key to their aspirations, and absorbed with the dark legend of a Victorian heiress reputed to have ritually killed young children in her search for eternal youth.
Llewellyn's own ambitions and desires become blinders. Even as strange events and ghostly warnings abound, he is unable to see a plot to recreate an ancient Celtic ceremony in which his own life will be the crucial blood sacrifice.

"The Caribbean is a very spiritual place," Campbell said. "From the moment you set foot in the islands, you feel an almost supernatural connection to other places and times. Everywhere around you are living reminders of the past, lingering as relics in the language, beliefs and legends of the people."

The Caribbean has long been a crossroads of peoples, cultures and ideas. There's a strong attachment to nature, and a feeling that it will overwhelm you. Each ethnic group that came to, or was brought to the Islands, inevitably blended into the mix. "The islands slowly grow on you and over you," added Campbell, "drawing you in, embracing you as a part of its history."

"PROMISES on a Ring of Stone" is an engrossing mix of romance, mystery and intrigue, with strong overtones of the occult. Much of the story plays out on a societal level, asking us questions about ourselves and our attitudes towards other people and their values. The island's sense of identity as an independent, multicultural nation is just beginning to develop at the time of the story.

The author, J. R. Campbell was born and raised in England. His parents emigrated to the United Kingdom as part of the 1950's wave of Caribbean immigrants from Britain's overseas colonies invited there to help rebuild after the Second World War. The family later crossed the Atlantic Ocean, moving to the United States where he attended University in Boston, Massachusetts. Many of the background events in Promises are based upon his first visit to Jamaica, a decade after Independence from Britain.

Available now in paperback, "Promises on a Ring of Stone" ($14.95 ISBN: 0-595-39202-4) can be ordered from the Ingram Book Group, Baker & Taylor, and online from iUniverse, Inc.

# # #