Ember of a New World (Paperback or Softback)

7500 years ago, at the dawn of the western European Neolithic...

Ember of the Great River people is a free-spirited woman living in a small tribe in prehistoric Germany when a sign from the gods sends her on an epic quest to the end of the world, where the Sun sets. With only her wits and her father's obsidian blade, she faces the vast, untamed wilds of prehistoric Europe.

But these wild lands are far from empty...

One can find love, death, and adventure in the dark forests of tribal Europe, where only the Mesolithic forest people dare to tread.

Well-researched and highly descriptive, Ember of a New World is an inspiring coming-of-age story featuring a non-binary protagonist. Clothing, weapons, rituals, and daily life are described in detail as the reader is transported to the Linear Pottery Culture of the early western European Neolithic.

Themes: LGBTQIA+, Action, Adventure, Female Protagonist, Survival, Prehistory, Non-binary Protagonist, Light Romance, Coming-of-Age

Ishtar Watson is a computer scientist with an academic background in both computer science and archaeology. They live on the eastern coast of the United States with their super-smart spouse and a handful of cats. Ishtar has written several novels and LGBTQIA+ (pre)historic adventure-romance short stories and novellas. Their hobbies include archaeology, especially Neolithic clothing and adornment, astrophotography, model rocketry, weaving and spinning prehistoric textiles, nuclear physics (specifically gamma spectroscopy), mineralogy, archery, artificial intelligence, and writing.Having Autism, ADHD, and Tourette Syndrome, along with many comorbid conditions, such as misophonia and dyslexia, Ishtar enjoys writing stories with neurodivergent characters. Their spouse is also neuro-divergent having ADHD and Autism - this mix of conditions forming the basis for many of the characters' neurodivergence and positive representation in the series. Ishtar and their spouse are both non-binary and proponents of neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ people.They have lived in western Maine, the Navajo Nation in Arizona, along the coast of Virginia, and a half dozen other places. They have traveled from Japan to the UK and many places in between. Their eventual goal is to become a Doctor of Computer Science and work with archaeologists - interdisciplinary collaboration. And yes, they love swimming, eating fish, singing, and dancing... and they loathe bullies.