From the #1 internationally bestselling author comes a sweeping epic that chronicles the history of humanity as it traces the path of a mysterious blue stone

Three million years ago, a meteorite plunged to earth in a cataclysmic collision, out of which emerged a beautiful blue stone.  One hundred thousand years ago, a girl named "Tall One" discovers the crystal on the African plain and finds her destiny after looking into the mysterious stone.

Thus begins the story of The Blessing Stone, an account of the ways in which the stone changes the lives and reveals the destinies of those it comes into contact with.  The history of the world unfolds as the stone is passed from generation to generation, and across 5 continents from the Jordan River Valley to ancient Israel, from Imperial Rome to Medieval England, from fifteenth-century Germany to the eighteenth-century Caribbean and finally to the pioneers of the American West. Wood's 19th novel is comprised of eight individual books linked by a common thread—The Blessing Stone.

Each story is set in a different country and period of time featuring Wood's trademark attention to historical detail.  This backdrop provides a compelling canvas on which are painted the lives of the book's characters as they search for truth, courage, solace and even revenge, aided they believe, by the mystical powers of a cosmic blessing stone.

In The Blessing Stone, Barbara Wood has created a compelling narrative of the epic sweep of human history. Her fans will find The Blessing Stone is like nothing they've read before new readers will discover a writer to treasure.
 

The Blessing Stone - Title Barbara Wood - Author Wherever books are sold - Availability Fiction - Category Hardcover - Format 35,000 copies - First Print Run 0-312-27534-X - ISBN January 15, 2003 - Pub Date $25.95/$35.95 Can - Price 464 - Pages 6 1/8" x 9 1/4" - Trim

M A R K E T I N G :   $50,000 promotional Budget Selected author appearances, and radio tour. Book Website: www.theblessingstone.com Quest for The Blessing Stone: Online contest for 5 pendants valued at $1,000.00 each (see www.theblessingstone.com for details) National print and consumer advertising, including metropolitan billboard campaign Excerpt in SMP Paperback Edition of Sacred Ground

Barbara Wood is the internationally bestselling author of 18 novels.  Her last novel, Sacred Ground (St. Martin's Press, $24.95, ISBN 0-31227-5374) earned the CORINE 2002 Weltbild Readers' Award, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Europe. In addition to her work as an historical fiction author, Barbara Wood has taught writing courses at the University of California. Ms. Wood lives in California and is currently at work on her latest project.

ALSO AVAILABLE: SACRED GROUND (0-312-98252-6  $6.99)

Engrossing Wood skillfully interweaves the past and the present in a story as vivid and colorful as an Indian tapestry. —TAMPA TRIBUNE

Fans will welcome this engaging tale. —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY