Naples, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/06/2015 -- While comparatively few people will ever travel to New Mexico, many visiting this Southwestern hidden gem find their lives changed by the philosophies and native Navajo wisdom that run deep throughout the State. Author Sandi Badash now calls the region her own "holy place"; inspiring her to use it as the setting for a powerful new novel that will uplift women from coast to coast.

'Ancient Rights: A Woman's Journey' melds modern romance, Native American teachings, fiction and metaphysics into a novel unlike anything else on the market. It comes with a fierce message for women to stay true to themselves as they seek out the love and happiness they deserve.

Synopsis:

Ancient Rights, a Woman's Journey, is written as a novel because Author Sandi Badash has used the freedom of the genre to facilitate the reader's own discovery of their motivational and metaphysical wisdom. Merrill Darwin, the main character, embarks on a personal journey to find answers to her immediate situation of a faltering relationship and a chink in the success of her art career. Her journey takes her far from her daily life in The Florida Keys to Abiquiu, New Mexico, whose topography and philosophy of life by its ancient inhabitants infuses her with a new outlook.

An unexpected meeting complicates what she thought was an open and closed decision, making her impending return to her home less straight forward than she thought it would be. The reader's journey takes them deep into Merrill's core where she overcomes negative influences by individuals not in tune with her authentic sense of self. While the characters and the tale are of the author's imagination, the words and wisdom are authentic to the Southwestern setting. Enjoy and Namaste!

"While women are making their mark on our nation and the world in so many different ways, millions still make wrong choices when it comes to love; believing they are not worthy of the men and happiness they actually deserve," explains the author, who splits her time between New Mexico and her home base in Florida. "Every woman has a right to share her love with an appropriate man. By lowering their standards, they transcend their relationships to eventually hamper all areas of their lives."

Continuing, "I urge women to better themselves by staying true to their core. Fiction is a powerful vehicle for this kind of empowerment and, by shaking the message up into a cocktail inspired by the magic of New Mexico, I hope to get the message across with gusto."

The author and her work have garnered much praise. Lynn Mark comments, "There are some places where the spirit world shines through the mundane, and one of those places is Northern New Mexico. As I read this book I felt Sandi's deep connection to the landscape and light of this beautiful countryside. She spins a tale that can be read on different levels - on the surface, it is the story of a woman breaking out of her comfort zone to explore parts of herself that could not flourish where she lived. On another level, it is the story of the melding of two spiritual realms, underscoring that, despite different cultural practices, we are much more alike than we are different."

Cheryl O. adds, "This book builds up until you are captivated and want to read to the end. It has a very important message about caring for our Earth and is done in way to remind us of how the Indians viewed Mother Earth."

'Ancient Rights: A Woman's Journey' is available now: http://goo.gl/auazLD.

About Sandi Badash
Sandi Badash has a Masters Degree in Art Education, teaching in high school, College, and Adult Ed. Today in addition to her writing, she continues to paint and design what she calls custom "neckart". Badash's novel "Ancient Rights" is set mostly in Ghost Ranch NM, Georgia O'Keefe's former home and now a well known location for summer seminars. Her novel comes out of her experiences as an award winning painter, jewelry maker, lecturer and art instructor. While painting the incredible scenery at Ghost Ranch, she also fell in love with Abiquiu, Santa Fe and the Native American culture so pervasive in that area. But her artist background isn't all that prepared her for this artistic mystery romance set in the mountains of New Mexico, and the Florida Keys where she was a resident for many years. While living in Santa Barbara, California, Badash experienced other worldly events in a home she rented built on Chumash burial grounds. These events opened her eyes to the Indian spirit world and fed her more material to eventually add to her novel. Badash's protagonist, Merrill Darwin, doesn't live a conventional life and neither does Badash. In addition to having solo art exhibitions in Europe and the United States, she has lived on a sailboat, traveled on a small powerboat and recreational vehicle for months through the canals and roads of Holland, Belgium and France, as well as through Germany, Italy and Spain; has lectured on cruise ships on four oceans, and competed as a body builder for eight years winning the title of Ms. West Palm Beach over forty. She is currently working on her next novel set in Southern California.