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First, THE EARTH SHIFTING news:

ES COVER ebook

THE EARTH SHIFTER release is on track for December. The target day is presently 12/22/12, just one day after the infamous 12/21/12, which many fear will be “the end of the world” as we know it. “Don’t panic!” as they would say in THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. No one’s about to die on this date, if the characters of THE EARTH SHIFTER have their say! What do I mean, you ask? You’ll find out in just a few short days when the ebook hits digital shelves! So, stay tuned and don’t miss the launch, accompanied by a mega-giveaway! (For more, please read the release update below.)

As many of you know, on 12/21/12 the Earth will align directly with the Galactic Center – an exceedingly rare event, which many futurists and spiritual teachers predict will start a new era, signifying a monumental shift of consciousness on our planet. While the alignment begins on 12/21/12, the actual peak of this event will occur on 12/22/12! According to my sources, on the day of December 22, 2012 many of us will be able to download cosmic knowledge that was unavailable to us previously. Get ready for revelations and breakthroughs on this very special day, dear readers!

I sincerely hope that the release of THE EARTH SHIFTER will play its modest part in the upcoming shift of global consciousness!

12/16/12 Release Update! Dear readers and fans, due to the busy Holiday Season, both my distinguished editor and my fabulous book formatter have requested a bit more time to finesse all the details. Aww, well, since the end of the world on 12/21/12 will be postponed anyway ;), and since the most important thing in any book is quality, I have made a decision to release THE EARTH SHIFTER a little later than originally anticipated. The updated release target date is December 31, 2012. “Just don’t panic, it’s not the end of the world, so to speak,” as my editor so aptly reminded me. 😉

Please stay tuned for more excerpts and awesome EARTH SHIFTING news!

Peace and love to all! (And for more about my predictions for 12/21/12, read my original Year 2012 Predictions.)

THE EARTH SHIFTER

EXCERPT

From the Earth Keepers Chronicles 

Mankind would never know

how close it came to annihilation on June 30, 1908.

Somewhere in the murky depths of the Cosmos,

a Comet of Karma is born.

When all hope fades, it is sent to planet Earth,

its sole mission to wipe out a failing civilization.

It has happened before, and it can happen again.

Except this time, the Earth Keepers would not interfere.


CHAPTER 1

1908, Vatican

On the sunny morning of June 29, His Holiness, Il Papa Pius X, abruptly announced cancellation of his audiences for the day, all except this one—the very last on the list…

A small hunchbacked man in an overly-long monk’s robe with fraying sleeves, complete with a pair of battered fisherman’s sandals wrapped around his bare feet, shuffled meekly after a tall Swiss Guard resplendent in his uniform. The pair passed the Vatican Apostolic Palace’s rich furnishings and priceless Renaissance masterpieces, whose contrast with the old man’s shabby exterior and shy smile was especially striking.

The young Swiss Guard simply couldn’t help but shoot occasional curious glances at the guest. The coveted audience was bestowed upon a simple Franciscan monk named Brother Ignatius, who was apparently in such awe about this amazing opportunity that he kept stroking his unkempt beard with a slightly trembling hand. He must be really nervous, thought the Swiss Guard patronizingly, and probably can’t believe his luck. Just imagine: a private audience with the Holy Father—what an honor for a humble monk like him!

The guard ceremoniously opened the door into the sancta sanctorum, the Pope’s private study, and said, smiling reassuringly, “Please come in, Brother Ignatius!”

“Grazie, mi figlio,” the monk replied quietly, proceeding inside.

The young guard was about to shut the heavy door before assuming his duty in front of it, when he noticed something highly unusual.

“Father Ignatius, thank God! I’m so relieved you could make it! It is such an honor to receive you!”

This inappropriately excited voice belongs to the Holy Father, registered the guard’s brain with great surprise.

“Buon giorno, mi figlio!” The humble monk’s voice, on the other hand, was no longer meek or quiet, but sonorous and powerful.

The young Swiss Guard was so shocked by this unexpected change that his curiosity got the best of him. While shutting the door, he stopped short, managing to leave a tiny crack through which he could hear bits and pieces of the conversation and even glean some action inside.

“Any news?” He heard the Holy Father’s respectfully worried voice.

“The Comet is heading to Earth,” came a quiet response.

“So, it is happening… Did the Keepers… reach… their decision…?” The Pope’s voice now sounded strangled.

“We will reconvene shortly for a final meeting. But as of now…,” Brother Ignatius shook his head, “most are for letting the Comet do its job.”

“So all this will perish… the beauty… art… architecture… libraries… science… people…” With every word, it seemed the Pope’s voice was deflating, as if someone was slowly letting the air out of a balloon. “Father Ignatius, I know there are many sinners, far too many, but…there are good people, too. Don’t they deserve a chance?”

“Everyone deserves a chance. That’s why everything is being weighed thoroughly. Dark times are coming to Earth, Pius. Global wars…weapons of mass destruction that will turn to ruin whole cities, countries. Countless millions will die. The risk of the Earth’s annihilation is more real than ever. And with it, the planet’s souls—all of them—will be lost forever.”

“But what if it’s a mistake? What if there is hope?” whispered the Pope, clutching at his heart.

“Yes, there is hope,” Ignatius said significantly. “The original consensus may still change.”

“But…how?”

“Some of us saw the new Key being born,” replied Ignatius enigmatically. The young guard couldn’t understand what this meant, but for some strange reason, the mysterious phrase made him listen even more intently than before.

“Where? When?”

“It is remote, almost a century from now. Still, there is a good chance.”

“But that means the disaster can still be averted!” exclaimed the Pope.

“It all depends on whether those of us who believe can convince the rest.”

“What can I do?” Pius’s voice was hardly audible.

“Pray and hope…”

“How much time?”

“Till tomorrow.”

“Bless me, Father!” To the Swiss Guard’s shock, the Pope dropped to his knees in front of a simple monk!

“Peace be with you, my son…peace be with all of the Earth’s children,” pronounced Brother Ignatius, laying his shriveled, slightly trembling hands on top of Pius’s lionesque head. After that, leaving the overwhelmed Pope in the kneeling position, he directed his steps toward the door, on the other side of which the young man hastily resumed the position expected of a dignified member of the Vatican’s Swiss Guard.

The door opened and Ignatius stepped outside, and as he did, his huge brown eyes looked up. The unusual guest peered straight into the guard’s soul and the monk knew: the young man had heard the conversation. For a moment, Ignatius hesitated, but then, apparently deciding that no harm was done, he proceeded along the corridor toward the guest quarters. They moved in silence, and the guard no longer led the monk; now the monk walked purposefully up front, with the guard following meekly in his footsteps.

“Grazie, mi figlio,” Ignatius murmured distractedly, and with surprising strength tightly shut the heavy door into his room. The guard knew he was dismissed, but something inexplicably rooted him to the spot. Despite his best judgment, he quickly looked around to make sure that the corridor was deserted, then crouched down in front of the door and peered into the keyhole.

Inside a modest guest room, Brother Ignatius disregarded the ascetic-looking bed and the wooden chair in the corner, and sat with his legs folded straight on the carpet. He placed his—no longer trembling—hands on his knees palms up and closed his eyes. Then, to the young man’s astonishment, a golden glow started emanating out of the monk’s body in expanding waves that enveloped him whole, and he floated upwards off the floor just as he sat, without opening his eyes or moving a finger.

The guard tried to silence an involuntary gasp by covering his mouth, but it was too late. Without changing position, Ignatius opened one eye. The next thing the young guard knew, that eye was staring from the other side of the keyhole straight into his. Another moment later, some kind of invisible force pushed him away from the door and he landed on the floor, hitting his head on the opposite wall. Mad with pain, shame, and confusion, he jumped to his feet and sprinted away from the guest room door as quickly as his feet would carry him, bump on the back of his head throbbing, ears burning, and a pledge forming in his head to never, ever again succumb to a terrible sin of frivolous curiosity!

Brother Ignatius shook his head with a small smile and re-closed his eye. The glow around him intensified, and as the boundaries of the guest room dissolved into nothingness, eight vibrating golden rays extended in different directions from his body. At the end of each ray, wrapped in the same golden glow, appeared eight different figures, each sitting in the same lotus pose, and each emanating eight golden rays of their own, connecting all nine figures together in one intricate network. The rays kept expanding until all nine floating figures were completely covered in a shimmering golden cocoon.

“Good day to all,” said a deep voice belonging to a tall, wise-eyed man dressed in a roomy Russian peasant shirt.

“Good day, Lev,” responded several voices.

“The final emergency session of the Earth’s Council is open. All nine Earth Keepers are present,” continued Lev. “Nikola… Deva… Isabella… Usaama… Ignatius…Tengis… John… Ling… and Lev. It is our duty to make the ultimate decision about the fate of this human civilization.” Lev gazed at each member of the Council. “I remind everyone what’s at stake and trust that all of you were able to carefully weigh your decision. The last vote stands thus: three—for letting this civilization continue despite all the horrors we foresee ahead, six—for letting the Comet of Karma do its job. The new vote and final debate start now. Pro or con?”

“I also saw the Key,” announced Ling, the Keeper of China and East Asia. “However, I disagree with Lev and Ignatius. The Key to be born is male, not female, and he will be Chinese, not Russian. Yet I do agree, there is hope. I have changed my vote to pro.”

“But the evidence is conflicting and inconclusive,” chimed in Nikola, the Keeper of North America. “We all saw the same thing: world wars, cruelty and destruction brought on by new technology and man’s arrogance. Yet only a few saw a sign of hope. My vote remains con.”

“I agree with Nikola,” said John, the Keeper of Australia, Oceania and Antarctic. “It is too dangerous to let it go on. This civilization has failed to demonstrate good judgment in situations of conflict. I still vote con.”

“If we let this civilization go on,” said Deva, the Keeper of India and the Middle East, “I fear we’ll lose all of the human souls on planet Earth.”

“True,” agreed Usaama, the Keeper of Africa. “We have to let the Comet do its job. Besides, the Key may be too late. After all, one hundred years is a long time. I am against protecting this civilization.”

“But you are forgetting,” interjected Ignatius, the Keeper of Europe, “that the Key can only be born if there is enough goodness left in mankind! My vote remains pro.”

“Why wouldn’t it appear now, then,” objected Deva, “why in a hundred years? Remember Buddha? Remember Jesus? They appeared and unlocked human potential during the time of great need. This is different. My vote is con.”

“Some of us think,” said Lev, the Supreme Keeper of the Earth, “that what is to happen in the twentieth century is only the prelude to the disasters and possibilities of the twenty-first. That’s when the Key will be truly needed. My vote is pro!”

“All of you are correct,” said Tengis, a small Asian-looking man with white beard, the Keeper of Russia and the Arctic. “Humanity’s record speaks loudly against it. And if it is bad now, what will happen after they’ve perfected the existing relatively crude weapons, and figured out how to make nuclear ones? We are running an extremely high risk of the ultimate self-destruction of all Earth’s souls—that’s true, too. But the prophecy is clear: the Key will be born, and that can only happen when all is not lost. And as to whether it will be a male or a female, Russian or Chinese…” Tengis eyes acquired a far away look, “it will be both.”

“What do you mean? How can it be both?” exclaimed several voices at once.

“This particular Key is unlike any before it. It’s dual—both male and female, yin and yang, receptive and assertive. And it’s bound to unlock a new and most exciting era for humanity, more important than any prior…if the Council,” Tengis’s thoughtful eyes probed each Keeper in turn, “allows it to be born. I vote pro.”

“So far we have a tie—four pro and four con. Dona Isabella…your final word?” Lev’s wise voice addressed the olive-skinned shamaness wrapped in a warm poncho. The ancient woman, who was the Keeper of South America, puffed her pipe, silently absorbing the exchange.

“Yes, I also see the dual Key being born,” she started slowly. “And I too foresee this Key being able to open a new era for humans. Yet…great horrors lie ahead, born of mankind’s greed and aggression. And our final responsibility is to carefully weigh all the risks.”

“It all comes down to your vote, Dona Isabella,” said Ignatius quietly, while the rest of the Keepers held their breath.

“My final decision,” pronounced Dona Isabella with great reluctance, as if the weight of the entire world made it hard for her to move her tongue, “…is against protecting this civilization.”

No one moved a muscle, absorbing the finality of the moment, and only the golden cocoon around the Keepers kept pulsating and shimmering in the absolute silence.

“So be it,” said Lev’s voice sadly. “Four—pro, five—con. I, Lev Tolstoy, the Earth’s Supreme Keeper, hereby declare that the Council of the Earth Keepers agrees not to interfere when the Comet of Karma collides with the Earth, so this civilization would reap the consequences of its past, present and future actions.”

As Lev finished speaking, all Keepers inclined their heads in agreement—some solemnly, some reluctantly, some sadly—and closed their eyes in a deep, silent meditation. As they did, the golden cocoon around them started expanding upwards, higher and higher, until a column of brilliant light broke through the Earth’s atmosphere and reached straight into Outer Space.

There it was, a rugged rectangular piece of icy rock, about twelve kilometers across,  a little smaller than the size of the island of Manhattan. The haloed comet resolutely cut through space, looking quite meager next to the major planets it passed one by one: Neptune…Uranus…Saturn…Jupiter… It didn’t look impressive even next to a relatively small planet of this solar system called Earth, the only one with fully developed flora and fauna, the only one populated by a thriving human civilization.

Although the icy rock appeared insignificant and completely innocuous, the Keepers knew: if it crashed into the Earth at its current speed, it would end all life on this little planet. For a moment, the rock hesitated, as if feeling an irresistible pull to the Sun, as if unsure that it should continue to its original destination. But then, something else caught its attention, and it became clear just where the comet was really heading. It was heading toward the Earth, aiming into the very heart of Europe, somewhere between southern Germany and Austria…

End of excerpt 1 – stay tuned for more!

You can also read the first 2 chapters of THE EARTH SHIFTER by downloading the top rated CATHARSIS (LEGEND OF THE LEMURIANS) on Amazon ($.99) or Smashwords (FREE!) Check it out!

Read THE EARTH SHIFTER: Excerpt 2 + Moscow Christmas

Also, check out: THE EARTH SHIFTER Magical Setting: Lake Baikal, Siberia images

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ANNOUNCEMENT 1/2/13:

Join the epic EARTH SHIFTER quest, and enter a new world!

PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Yes, it’s finally here!

Priced at an affordable $2.99, THE EARTH SHIFTER ebook is now live at:

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Amazon US   UK   CA   DE   ES   IT   FR   JP   BR  

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It will be up on B&N Nook in a couple of days. It is also coming shortly to all other ebook retailers. All buy links, as usual, will be posted here and at my official website LadaRay.com. For those who have asked me, paperback is planned for 2013, date TBD.

Join the quest: 

THE EARTH SHIFTER Launch and ARCHOS TABLET Mega-Giveaway!

P.S. Want to become one of THE EARTH SHIFTER’s first reviewers? Email @ Lada at LadaRay.com, or leave a comment with your email!