About Heretic by Clifford Beck:
It is one hundred years after the Black Death and with Europe still in ruins, many continue to die. Now, no longer able to feed their only child, Aiden Selwyn’s parents are forced to give him up and three days walk through the English countryside, they arrive at an isolated monastery. The abbot takes him in without hesitation, but all is not as it seems and after reaching adulthood, Aiden discovers their true intentions.
Having made a daring escape, he wanders the countryside, committed to doing what he believes is God’s work. It is at this point that the course of his life takes a sudden turn when he meets Aelianna, a beautiful black-haired woman living alone in the woods. And after suspecting her to be a practitioner of the black arts, he suspends his judgment long enough to fall in love with her.
For a time, life is idyllic and Aiden has finally found peace. But the evil he has discovered to also be inherent in people finds them out, testing both his strength as well as his deep love for Aelianna. Heretic is a story of the things that can sometimes scar one’s life. It is a story of resolve and transformation, that even the most misguided can be reborn with a new sense of purpose.
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Author Bio:
A native of Upstate New York, Clifford Beck received the bulk of his education at the State University of New York at Albany. His writing began with experiments in poetry, inspired by ancient literature. Later, he attended Southern Maine Technical College, earning a degree in New Media. His work is largely an exploration of human darkness and the dynamics of madness. Having a background in design and illustration, he also creates the cover art for his novels
Now a resident of Portland, Maine, he tends to write what speaks to him the loudest, occasionally relying on music for inspiration. But, ideas have always come to him during the most unlikely of situations, and is always with pen and pad at the ready. During his life, he has been seen as someone in possession of a rather peculiar personality but has come to accept this as a commonality among writers in general and an expression of what makes the mind of a writer tick.