The Touchstone Diary: The Red Thread. Book One

Mystery unfolds as Miyah Sinclair shares secrets hidden in the pages of an ancient diary, protected throughout the ages by a generation of healers. Written by women of Miyah’s own bloodline, the diary shares emotional, personal stories as these women lived through some of the most important events in ancient history, offering an alternative point of view from the feminine perspective. Bloodline secrets are also exposed as Michael Wilder travels back in time through a portal in a mysterious cedar box, to discover for himself pieces of history that challenge his own beliefs about spirituality and humanity. Rich in mystery, intrigue and possibilities, the characters weave through a web of international travel to India, France and Scotland, (photographs are included) as answers are sought and truths are discovered. Author, Connie Bickman spent eight years researching this book, which is fiction, based on historical facts and events. She admits that it will no doubt be controversial, as the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is intertwined with alternative healing, rituals, magic and powerful relationships that share the spiritual journey of their ancestors through life, death and the afterlife. “The Touchstone Diary” offers a fresh, enlightening, well-researched, and thought-provoking perspective of the original foundation of spirituality. Book I - “The Red Thread” is part of a three-book saga that will take you on an adventure...and challenge you to believe that anything is possible. You’ll want to read it, share it, and read it again.

Connie Bickman has been a writer and photographer since she can remember and still has the old Brownie camera her parents gave her as a child. She says writing and photography are in her blood, referring to 15 years of owning a portrait studio and a 30-plus-year newspaper career, which began at her hometown newspaper. This includes an eleven year period where she was the co-owner/publisher/editor of Turtle River Press, a publication of spiritual and creative energy. She has been published internationally in books and magazines, and has won regional and international awards for her photography and writing. Her “Tribe of Women” book received the 1999 Jeanette Fair Tau State Minnesota Women’s Writer Award. Connie shares that her passion for travel has brought her to over 40, mostly under-developed, countries. She packed along her journals and camera as these photojournalist-based travels brought her to far corners of the earth in search of adventure and the opportunity to document native cultures, the environment and humanitarian issues. It was through these journeys that she realized misconceptions she had about the foundation of organized religion and how oftentimes people in other countries and cultures had much different perspectives on not only Christianity and conflicting biblical translations, but also on the original concept of the Christ story itself. This began years of research and scrutiny to satisfy her own uncertainties, which brought her to disclose her findings in her novel, “The Touchstone Diary,” a fiction-based-on-historical-events family saga series. Book II of "The Touchstone Diary" series will also be released in 2012, and book III in 2013. Other books by Connie Bickman : · Tribe of Women, published by New World Library, focusing on the spiritual aspect of her journeys, including photography and excerpts from her journals on encounters with bush doctors in Belize, shaman in the Amazon jungles of Peru, witch doctors in Africa, and Aboriginal elders in Australia. · Through the Eyes of Children, published by Rock Bottom Books, Abdo and Daughter, a series of ten educational children's books for schools and libraries on the everyday lifestyles of children around the world, which includes photography from travels to Australia, Tanzania, Russia, Mexico, Israel, Peru, Turkey, Egypt, Nepal and Equador.