The Penitent: Hallow's Heart, Book I

Hallow's Heart #1

by D. Alexander Neill

Trinka Walker is new-come to the isle of Windhaven, a penitent seeking silence and solace - a chance to live in peace, to ply her trade as a herbalist and healer, and to atone for grim and grievous sins in hopes of one day finding redemption. Windhaven, however, is not the placid, rustic backwater that she sought, but rather a den of intrigue; the beating, poisoned heart of a conspiracy that threatens to shatter a centuries-old peace, and unleash a power that could sunder the very foundations of the earth. Tormented by her past, and drawn to trouble like a moth to a flame, Trinka, shorn by the decree of stern and wary gods of the powers that once were hers to wield, must plumb the depths of a mysterious colloquy of ancient families: to ferret out the secrets they are willing to kill to protect, and to secure the prize they seek before it can be used to feed their dark and damnable desires.

395 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2016

About the author

D. Alexander Neill is the nom-de-plume of Donald A. Neill. A retired Army officer and strategic analyst, Don is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada (D.E.C. 1986 and BA 1989), the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (MA 1991), and the University of Kent at Canterbury (Ph.D. 2006). He began writing fiction as a creative outlet in Grade 6, managing to overcome devastating reviews of his first novel, which he wrote in 2H pencil in seven taped-together college-ruled notebooks. He initially chose the fantasy genre because he was sucked into it at the age of 11 by the irresistible double sucker-punch of The Hobbit and Star Wars, never managed to escape, and eventually gave up trying. He intends to branch out into other fictional fields of endeavour, but will always return to Anuru, where – Allfather willing – there will always be at least one more story waiting to be told.

Don has been married for 20 years to a Valkyrie, and has two children, both of whom resemble her in temperament and, fortunately, looks.