The Soul Guide: Book One of the Soul Guide Series
A story about loss and grief, friendship and love, and the battle of light versus dark.
Since the beginning, there has always been a pairing. Bertram is the Caretaker, Mellissa the Soul Guide. Both chosen by the Elders. For decades the pair have lived in relative harmony. Together they ensure light and life remain on Earth. Together they are stronger. That is, until the day Bertram feels Mellissa leave this world for good and everything changes. Despite his pain, he is tasked to help the new Soul Guide fulfil her role, a role he knows very little about, because even though he shared a life with Mellissa, it was a life built on secrets. Secrets that placed a wedge between them both.
Sybil, on a break from her first semester at University, gets stung by a bee in the middle of a winter snow storm. A bee that can travel between the Veil and Earth. She has been chosen as the new Soul Guide, but Mellissa hasn’t made her transition an easy one. Sybil only has a few days to reach the Veil to complete the Passing Over ceremony. If she fails the consequences are too dire to comprehend. Will she make it in time? Does she want the responsibility? Does she even have a choice?
For thousands of years the Master and the Mephisto have been biding their time, waiting for the moment to strike, to put the light out for good and they are getting stronger. And if they are getting stronger, then the Soul Guide is in big trouble.
The Elders, however, will not go down without a fight. Meet Alec, brooding, mysterious, troubled. From the first moment he lays his eyes on Sybil he has the strangest desire to protect her, from whom he doesn’t have a clue, but protect her with his life he will.
Can Bertram, Sybil and Alec work together to reach the Veil before it’s too late? Read Book One of The Soul Guide series to find out.
From the Author
Bumble bees are a significant symbol in The Soul Guide and the story behind this, I think, is an interesting one. Every since I can remember my family have always believed that whenever a bumble bee is near (and it has to be a bumble bee, not an ordinary honey bee) then my nan, Sybil, is visiting us from beyond the grave.
Weird, I hear you say? Well let me explain. Sybil passed away when I was just three years old so, sadly, I don’t remember much of her. But, I do remember the stories about her. My dad and my aunties’ tell me that she was always laughing, always happy and never more so than in the company of her husband, Sydney, her children and grandchildren. She was one of those people who lit up a room and kept everyone smiling.
I have vague memories of nan, sitting on her lap whilst she pushed her false teeth in and out of her mouth was one of them. I used to think it was hilarious. I also remember that she looked slightly different, she had a hair-lip which meant there was a scar between her mouth and nose, and her nose was slightly flattened. But she was always beautiful to me and to those who knew and loved her.
So, where does the bee link come in? Well, firstly my nan loved bees, she wore a bee pendant all the time. Her gardens were always full of bees buzzing around the flowers she’d planted for them. But the real link to bees came later when she passed away. On the day of Sybil’s funeral whilst we were all gathered at a family members house, I am told a rather large bumble bee flew into the kitchen and sat on the window sill. According to family, it just sat there for ages doing nothing, and those present felt as though nan had come to say, ‘hello, I’m still here, watching over you all.’
Then over the years more strange ‘visits’ happened. It was usually whenever something significant was going on, like a birth, or an illness. It was on these occasions when a bumble bee would appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and not always in summer when you’d normally expect to find them.
The first time I became aware of this family tale was when my nan’s sister passed away. I recall that my extended family were all congregated at my parent’s house following my great aunt’s funeral. I was probably around eight or nine at the time. I think it was the first death I’d experienced as a child when I actually understood the concept of death (I was too young to understand this when Sybil passed away).
To me, my great aunt was my nan. My brothers and I called her that. She lived near us in Barnes and she babysat us often. I remember feeling terribly sad when all the grown-ups were talking, so I went upstairs to my bedroom. Earlier that day I’d thrown my coat on the floor and remembering that my mum had asked me to keep my room tidy I decided to hang it up. When I lifted the coat up there was a bumble bee happily sitting there, none of the windows were open and I couldn’t understand how it got into my room. At the time I hadn’t been told about the significance of bees to our family, but having run downstairs to tell my mum I was soon filled in.
On another occasion, long after nan passed away, my own dad woke up one morning with a bumble bee sitting on the pillow next to his head. A few days later dad was taken seriously ill and rushed to hospital. It was touch and go for a while and dad went through a long road to recovery after an invasive operation on his brain. It was as though nan had come to warn him.
Since then, there’s been lots of similar experiences. My most memorable was when I was pregnant with my son and due any day, I woke up one morning hearing a muffled buzz and felt something on my leg. I threw back the covers to find a bumble bee merrily crawling up my shin! Two day’s later my son was born.
There are many more stories that every member of my family could tell you about, each of them personal and individual to them. So, when I began writing The Soul Guide, I knew I wanted to include two things. I wanted bee’s to play a part in the story and I also wanted to use my nan’s name, Sybil.
Interestingly, when I began to research the bee and its symbolism I found out that in quite a few cultures the bee symbolises a link in some way or other to the ‘afterlife’. For example, in Aegean culture the bee was a sacred insect that bridged the gap between the underworld and the natural world. They are also known to be a symbol of love, and in Renaissance paintings could often be found near or around Cupid! I came across another traditional European custom of ‘talking to the bees’ where beekeepers would tell their bees about significant happenings in their lives; births, deaths, marriages and so on. Bees are also symbolic of hard work and family; (they live in colonies, and to survive must work together and look after one another, each having a role to play) their honey is a natural antiseptic, it promotes health and well-being.
I knew very little of this before researching and it all seemed fitting given my family’s own personal story. Take a look for yourself, the symbolism goes on and on. Unsurprisingly enough, finding out all this information was perfect for my story, and all the references to bees in The Soul Guide are both a nod to all the strange bee stories my family have and also, in particular to the Aegean belief.
Take from this what you will, but for my family, whenever we see a bumble bee we always say hi, because we know Sybil’s come to call.
About the Author
Born and bred in London, UK, Kelly is a 38 year-old multitasking mum, wife, colleague, friend, daughter, sister and lastly, but by no means least, writer.
Her love of writing started when she began her Creative Writing degree at North London University in 1999. She hasn’t always wanted to be a writer, her first job of choice was a Vet, but that dream died when she realized she was allergic to most, small, furry animals. But, she has always loved to read, and that’s where her passion for writing began.
After finishing her degree in 2002, she didn’t put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, until thirteen years later. Life, in all its wonderful glory got in the way. Then when her youngest went to school full-time she had precious time on her hands. It was during this time that Bertram, Sybil, and Alec were conceived and her first novel, The Soul Guide was born.
In her spare time you can find Kelly, reading, bringing up her kids the best way she knows how, and trying desperately not to make a fool of herself on social media.
The Farm is the second book of The Soul Guide Series, expected to be released in Autumn 2017.
Blog: kellystockauthor.wordpress.com
Instagram: instagram.com/kstockauthor
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/16427559.Kelly_Stock
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Categories: Urban Fantasy / PNR
Tags: author Kelly Stock, Creative Writing degree North London University, Kelly Stock, Kelly Stock Soul Guide, London writers, North London University writers, soul guide book, soul guide novel, soul guide series, soul guide series book one, the soul guide, writer Kelly Stock, writers in London