Novels
- Inside the Walls of Troy (1996)
- Dance for the Land (1999)
- Waiting for Odysseus (1999)
- Aphrodite’s Blessings (2002)
- Dance for the Aina (2003)
Novels Book Covers
Clemence McLaren Books Overview
Inside the Walls of Troy
Two women, one war. Helen, at age twelve, is not prepared to deal with her famous beauty: to have the face that will launch a thousand ships, kill fifty thousand men, and cause the fall of the world’s greatest city. But when she is kidnapped by Theseus of Athens, she begins her journey into womanhood and finds passion strong enough to start the Trojan War. Cassandra has the gift, or curse, to predict the future. When she forsees the ruin of her family and city that Helen’s arrival in Troy will cause, she is outraged. Yet she cannot help being drawn to Helen. As the war rages around them, Helen, the woman who started the conflict, and Cassandra, the one who foresaw it, develop a deep friendship. And through their eyes we see the Trojan War in a fascinating new way.
Waiting for Odysseus
From the moment she first sees the cocky warrior Odysseus, Penelope knows that one day she will be his wife. What she doesn’t know is that Odysseus’s pride will take him away from her to fight the Trojan War. Penelope must become an expert at waiting, and it is this waiting that proves to be the ultimate test of her courage, patience and love. The sorceress Circe has been Waiting for Odysseus to land on her island so she can seduce him with her spells, just as she has countless other men. She never expects to fall in love with him, though, or that he will be the first man capable of resisting her charms. Odysseus has always been the goddess Athena’s favorite mortal, for he, like she, is famous for his wiles. As Athena guides Odysseus through his many trials, she waits with compassion and love to see if he will learn to temper his desire for fame and discover the truth of his own humanity. Finally, his nanny, Eurycleia, has watched Odysseus grow from a mischievous child into a great hero. As she waits for her beloved master to return home, she keeps loyal watch over those he has journeyed twenty years to see again. In this innovative retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, Clemence McLaren, author of Inside the Walls of Troy, presents the story of Odysseus’s epic journey through the hearts of four women who loved and waited for him.
Aphrodite’s Blessings
The goddess Aphrodite was adored and feared by gods and mortals alike; none were immune to her power. Young lovers offered gifts and prayers to her, the goddess of love and beauty, in hopes of receiving her blessings…
. Content as one of the best athletes in her father’s kingdom, Atalanta rebels against attempts at an arranged marriage. What she doesn’t know is that Aphrodite has given her blessing to a race that will change everything. Then there is Andromeda whose beauty rivals that of any goddess. She is devastated by her father’s choice of a husband but Aphrodite has another plan for her too. Finally, nobody wants to marry the beautiful Psyche. A mysterious suitor is finally found, but Aprhrodite decrees that Psyche must descend into Hades to earn his love. In three love stories spun from Greek myths, Clemence McLaren, author of Inside the Walls of Troy and Waiting for Odysseus, presents these new retellings with all their longing, hope, fear, and love from the woman’s point of view.
Dance for the Aina
Hapa Haole Kate Kahele feels like an outsider in her new home. Her father and her brother, David, are eager to start their new lives in Hawai i. As an attorney, her father hopes to defend the water rights of the Hawaiian people, while David can t wait to surf the famous waves. If only it were as easy for Kate. Dance for the Aina is Kate’s personal voyage into the realm of her Hawaiian heritage, where she finds her place with the help of her ohana, her new friends and hula.