Metaphysics  /  Shakespeare  /  Cosmic Horror

Iago’s Penumbra

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🪙IPPY AWARDS GOLD WINNER, VISIONARY/NEW AGE FICTON

🪙COVR AWARDS SILVER WINNER, VISIONARY FICTION

🪙AMERICAN BOOK FEST BEST BOOK AWARDS FINALIST, VISIONARY FICTION

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An award-winning novel that takes you on a spiritual journey through the lens of a paranormal romance between a ghost and a clairvoyant.

Everybody loves a good ghost story, yet poor dead Vee feels anything but “good” being stuck upstage in the heavens of her own afterlife. She can peek in on Val, who's "downstage" with the living but haunted by ghosts. Then there's Julie, stubbornly stage left but longing to be downstage with Val. And finally, poor Peter remains solitary in his stage-rightness with the sneaking suspicion he might be dead wrong. Trapped at center stage lurks the demon Iagowilling to bridge heaven and hell to exit this cursed performance once and for all. Just as Good Omens revamped the Book of Revelation and His Dark Materials reimagined Milton’s Paradise LostIago’s Penumbra is a modern love story about the darkness that redeems us, rooted in the works of William Shakespeare—with a little philosophy, physics, and cosmic horror thrown in, just for fun.

You've Found the Murderer's Ghost Egg!

Praise for Iago's Penumbra

"...the most unusual book I’ve ever read. From the beginning line, 'My death was a catharsis, not a calamity,' I was hooked. Rose Guildenstern has created a bewitching novel, which caused me to experience such intense thoughts and feelings, I had to take breaks at times, to internalize the depth of the questions posed. Thinking about humanity in such a penetrating fashion while reading was new to me. Considering the forces of good and evil, the enrapturing pain of love and loss, I was captivated, not only by the story, but at the depth of emotion it triggered in me. If you are looking for a novel that delves into the complexities of humanity, both in our physical and spiritual beings, you will both love and at times be disturbed by this story. We all seek redemption from our agony, long to love again even after devastating heartbreak, and continually search for answers to the overwhelming questions which plague us during our lifetimes. This book provided me with much-needed enlightening, and I thoroughly appreciated and loved reading my first metaphysical novel. 

"Rose Guildenstern has written a startling debut novel of heart and intrigue, along with a magical world you'll want to inhabit, even if it's just for a short while."

--Claudia Whitsitt, author of the Love and Loss Series, the Kids Like You Series, the Samantha Series, and The Wrong Guy

Take the characters and world of the novel beyond the printed page with...

Iago's Penumbra Tarot

A Major Arcana Deck

A 22-card tarot deck that features the characters, main environments, and literary themes of Iago’s Penumbra as they correlate to the Major Arcana. Made and printed in the USA, this deck is available for the purchase price of $10 in the contiguous USA directly from the author.

Enjoy this brief video explaining metaphysical fiction and Iago's Penumbra: