The Last Vestal Virgin~ Lorraine Carey
Alicia Keys sings, ‘This Girl is on Fire’, and I can honestly say that Christina Ciccone, my lead character in The Last Vestal Virgin is on fire—and literally!
I got a chance to visit Rome
a few years ago and was so taken with the Temple of the Vestal Virgins and
their history. I had to learn more and was intrigued enough to write this story
when I returned home.
Imagine you are a normal
teenage girl and all of a sudden you begin to see and feel things that are not
of this world. Visions of an ancient goddess appear telling you that you belong
to the ancient cult of the Roman Vestal Virgins that formed back in 717 BC by
King Numa Pompilius.
Young Miss Ciccone is
troubled and her family and doctors shrug it off as just teenage angst and nerves.
Seems her friends also sense something is amiss when they witness strange
things happening around their friend.
The Vestal Virgins were
chosen to keep the sacred fire burning in the temple, which many believed kept
Rome safe. They were said to possess
magical powers as well and worshiped the goddess Vesta. Their duties were to
tend to the fire and keep wills and testaments of higher dignitaries safe—including
that of Caesar and Mark Antony. They also prepared food for rituals and cared
for sacred objects in the temple sanctuary.
Once a girl was chosen to be
a Vestal, she would be led away from her parents at the tender age of 6 to 10
years old. It was an honor and one she’d keep for thirty years.
The vestals were ordered to
be disbanded in 394, by the Christian emperor, Theodosius. The last Vestal
Virgin was said to be Coelia Concordia and the fire was extinguished forever.
Christina Ciccone’s life was
simple up until high school and her class trip to Rome would be a life changer,
for she would have to choose to let Rome fall into chaos or leave this earthly
plane and her family and walk through the fire that would lead her to a place
she never knew existed.
The Last Vestal Virgin is a
paranormal YA thriller where history meets mystery! Real facts on Rome’s
ancient cult of the Vestal Virgins are woven throughout the story.
Amazon link~ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OOWTQ0U/
Posts
Sounds like a great story Lorraine, I added to my TBR list :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I got this inspiration in Rome. I'm going to do another book on them in the future.
DeleteI admire how you've interwoven history with mystery. The entire "Vestal" premise sounds scary.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was scary if you were A VV and broke your oath of remaining a virgin for 30 years.
DeleteI loved this book! Great story with just the right amount of historic detail!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy! I am really intrigued by this cult. I've added the goddess Vesta into my next book as well.
DeleteIt certainly was a great honour to be chosen. I can't imagine how hard it was to be taken away from your family at such a tender age. Excellent Post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool concept for a story. I like that it's paranormal meets mystery as well. Thanks for sharing it. Definitely going on my TBR.
ReplyDeleteGreat book. I loved the story and the clever mixing of modern day with myths of the past.
ReplyDelete