Beyond Amazon is a mind-bending mystical science fiction novel. It is a book about spiritual awakening, for it goes beyond the fantasy/sci-fi genres.

The story begins in the fictional town of Dropwater, Montana, which is hosting the annual August Arts Festival. Curtis Trueheart, a high school graduate returning after many years, is one of its featured musicians. After his well-received performance, he meets a couple, Randy and Alecia, and their son, Luka, They quickly hit it off, and Curtis is invited to visit their home on Outhere Island, in the Puget Sound, aka the Salish Sea. Looking forward to a relaxing vacation, Curtis finds himself on a trip that will change his life forever.

Unaware that he's being sucked into the adventure of a lifetime, Curtis follows his friends to Outhere Island, where he soon realizes that nothing is as it seems and the island hides wonderful secrets. An evening walk reveals mysterious events, such as an eight-foot tall man who comes and goes into the ethers, and a puppy-like creature who is entrusted to Curtis' care. After demanding an explanation from Alecia, she challenges him to expand his understanding about time-travel, shape-shifting and genetic engineering.

All of Curtis' beliefs and ideas about what is possible are laid bare as he, himself, falls into a transportal and lands in The Beyond, a place between dimensions, protected, where its creator, Dr. Manu Nanda, can conduct his experiments in an attempt to create more peaceful humans. Curtis falls in love with Li, a scientist in the Beyond. They find their way to a life together though it is fraught with dangers and the stuff science fiction is made of. But rest assured, this story has a happy ending, and you will fall in love with how it all turns out

Jesse G Shepherd / Caroleee Shepherd