A kick-butt heroine with a heart of gold - CHI WARRIOR - by Vijaya Schartz

Available in Print on Amazon now

Yay! The paperback is now available on Amazon and the novel will be everywhere in print and eBook on November 1st.

This is the beginning of a new science fiction fantasy series with romantic elements, THE PROTECTORS. It is set on a post-apocalyptic feudal planet devastated by a natural cataclysm. There will be three novels in this series, all standalones, with different protagonists for each book, and a few returning secondary characters.

Here is the blurb for CHI WARRIOR:

Anila, peaceful warrior woman, trained all her life in the desert, at the monastery of the Celestial Gate, to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted. But a cloud of black wings haunts her nightmares.

When a barbarian horde invades from the north, Bayor Khan seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

Anila is pulled into the inevitable clash as a prophecy unfolds, blurring the lines between good and evil, testing her resolve. Nothing is as it seems… An ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens to engulf Anila and everyone she loves.

EDITORIAL REVIEW by Victoria Chatham

If you like strong female characters, then you will not be disappointed with Anila, the protagonist in Vijaya Schartz's latest book. Anila is in training at a monastery under the watchful gaze of Master Wang. She diligently practices her Tai-Chi routines and perfects her weapons training as her dearest wish is to join the ranks of the mysterious Protectors. However, she cannot escape the promise and prophecy of her destiny and is drawn into conflicts not of her making. In discovering how she overcomes those who would use rather than celebrate her, we see her grow into a formidable but fair potential leader.

Schartz has splendidly blended fact, fiction, and fantasy into an enthralling, fast-paced story that I could not put down. Fans of this genre and Schartz in particular will not be disappointed.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, Romance with a Kick

Find all my other books on my author pages at:

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Finishing the novel calls for a celebration! - by Vijaya Schartz

COVER REVEAL - NOVEMBER 2025 RELEASE
In the meantime, read my other novels
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The story is complete, revised several times, only needs a few tweaks before I send it to the editor, and the new book cover just emerged from the BWL Art Department. That’s an exciting time for an author. This is the time when I pat myself on the shoulder and celebrate finishing my thirty something novel. I lost track. I’ve been writing for a long time, but this feeling of accomplishment never gets old. Ice-cream sundae with all my favorite toppings (including Kalua) is definitely indicated.

I wanted a kick-butt heroine on the cover to illustrate this story, and boy, did I get one. She is ready to conquer her world. Big thank you to Michelle Lee, at the BWL Art Department. She is a magician who performs miracles with graphics.

At this stage of the process, I proudly post and promote the future release with the cover on Social Media, show the art work to all my friends on my phone, watching their reaction. I’m also lining up a few blog posts and interviews, and a few professional reviews, as well as a small launch campaign when the book is released.

Meanwhile, I’m refining the blurb, trying to say just enough for a hook, while not revealing too much. This is what I have so far:

The Protectors trilogy:

Set a few decades after a cataclysm devastated the feudal planet. An elite of mighty warriors protect the Celestial Gate, expecting benevolent Immortals to return from the stars.

CHI WARRIOR:

Anila, spiritual warrior woman, trained all her life in the desert, at the monastery of the Celestial Gate, to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted. But a cloud of black wings haunts her nightmares.

When hordes of barbarians invade from the north, Bayor Khan seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

Anila is pulled into the inevitable clash as a prophecy unfolds, blurring the lines between good and evil. Nothing is as it seems… An ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens to engulf Anila and everyone she loves.

CHI WARRIOR is scheduled for release on November 1st, but you can find my other thirty-five-or-six-or-seven novels with kick-butt heroines and brave heroes at your favorite online retailer: amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo 

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In my mind, I’m already plotting the next books in the Protectors series. Although set in the same world and closely related, the next novels will also be standalones, with a few returning characters, but a new hero and heroine for each story. I love my characters dearly, but I also like to meet new ones. And readers picking up a book in any of my series at random will not feel frustrated for not having read the previous ones… although I hope they’ll want to read them later, as they can be read out of order.

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, Romance with a Kick

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Are sci-fi authors creating new worlds? Or has every story been written? by Vijaya Schartz

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If every story has been written before, isn’t it the same for the worlds we create in our books? If life is universal, does it develop everywhere in the same pattern? Of course, not. There is also the possibility of worlds and beings so outrageous that they are impossible for us to conceive or imagine. They could even be invisible to us. But then, would they be relatable to the reader?

When we consider Star Trek’s original thinking, it’s about exploration, and the main characters are still human and relatable… like the Vulcans, the Klingons, or the Romulans… even the Borg. Their motivations, although different from ours, are still within our comprehension.

Then, there are entities of pure evil, destructive, without empathy... but although they affect the lives of the crew, they are impossible for us to fathom.

Star Wars main characters are from different worlds, but mostly human as well with human flaws, like the diverse patrons of some outpost bars with weird Jazz music and alien fringe clientele. Even the robots display human feelings.

When Frank Herbert wrote DUNE, he lived in Egypt and took his inspiration from the Tuaregs, a desert tribe of the Sahara. There are so many diverse cultures in this world, that one needn’t go very far to find interesting societies with different sets of rules… especially if you consider the past.

Check out this award-winning universe of mine, Chronicles of Kassouk
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Cultures like the Greeks, the Romans, the ancient Egyptians, the Vikings, the Mongols, the Samurai, the mid-eastern tales of a thousand and one nights, the ancient Silk Road, all can inspire us to create new worlds, slightly similar yet different.

In CHI WARRIOR, Book One of the PROTECTORS trilogy, scheduled for release this November, I created a medieval post-apocalyptic world, where simple communities survived far apart, separated by wide deserts, high mountains, vast steppes, and uncrossable rivers with dangerous rapids.

As for the culture, it would be basic, simple, but lawless, and the strongest leaders would fight for supremacy, oppressing the weak to gain power.

On such a planet, imagine an oasis of harmony, a self-sufficient monastery in the middle of the desert, devoted to the study of martial arts, with fearsome fighters… and some ancient technology left behind by Immortals who came from the stars.

When the fictional world you created is a character in the story, it also must have a past, and this one is no exception. I will not tell you what it is, because it’s an important twist in the book.

CHI WARRIOR is scheduled for release November 2025. Here is the most recent blurb, still subject to change.

Anila, spiritual warrior woman, trained all her life in the desert, at the monastery of the Celestial Gate, to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted. But a black cloud with wings haunts her nightmares.

When a barbarian horde descends from the north, Bayor Khan seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

Anila is pulled into the inevitable clash as a prophecy unfolds, blurring the lines between good and evil. But nothing is as it seems… not even her, or Bayor Khan. An ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens Anila and everyone she loves.

In the meantime, check out my latest epic sci-fi fantasy series, available everywhere online: 

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Happy Reading

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, Epic Adventure

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The agony of picking graphics for a book cover - by Vijaya Schartz

Find it at BWL Here
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An unruly Valkyrie on a flying tiger, a stern angel in love with the rules, and evil pounding at the gate… What could go wrong?

Riddled with survivor’s guilt after Ragnarök, Valka wanders the universe as a bounty hunter. But when hired by angels to recruit warriors for the final battle against evil, she welcomes a chance at redemption.

General Konrad Lagarde, First Mate of the angel ship Blue Phantom, strongly rejects Valka’s methods. A stickler for discipline, he also considers this fascinating woman hazardous to his sanity, as she could make him forget all the rules.

Evil from another universe has infiltrated a secret society of former dictators hungry for power. Having massacred all the angels in his former world, the evil one wants to do the same here. The angels of this universe face their greatest challenge yet… destroy the evil one and avenge their fallen brethren… or the bringer of darkness will enslave us all.

Picking the elements of this cover was easy as the sci-fi background was the same for the entire series, and I only had to choose a big cat fitting that story. But my current project CHI WARRIOR presents bigger challenges.

We authors have images in our heads when we write, and the book cover should reflect these images. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to make suggestions to my publisher’s (BWL Publishing) art department, as I’m the only one who knows the world I created. I fancy myself as an artist, but I’m not a professional cover designer. I understand my suggestions might be rejected if they do not fit the current trends or the marketing needs.

Sometimes, the cover artist will take inspiration from the image I suggested and find something similar but better suited to the project.

What are the colors of the created world? What is the mood? How does it make you feel? The challenge is to create an image to make the reader feel, “I want to discover this world, these characters, I want to spend time in this atmosphere, I want to read this story.”

But it also has to reflect the actual setting, story, and characters. You cannot manufacture a tantalizing cover image and not deliver the same flavor inside the pages.

As an added challenge, except for specific historical period novels with costumes, the BWL Publishing covers no longer portray the main characters. Actually, this is a good thing. It’s almost impossible for a writer to find the perfect picture of their hero or heroine in stock photos. And if by miracle you find it, you might soon find another book out there with the exact same picture on the cover. It happened to me once, and I found it frustrating. It also must be confusing for the readers who saw your cover once in passing and are looking for your book.

Looking for these images can also be time consuming, even with the fancy search words and filters. I spent many hours looking at thousands of images… and I am still not happy with what I found.

But I was reminded of deadlines. The art department needs my suggestions now, so I sent what caught my attention so far. I also suggested bright red Asian letters for the main title. I hope the talented Michelle Lee who supervises the cover art, will make something wonderful with it... she always does.

The book, CHI WARRIOR, Protectors series Book One, is scheduled to be released November 1st. Now, back to the finishing, editing, and rewrites… if my kitty cat lets me see the pages.

Happy Reading.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author
Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats
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The agony of writing the cover blurb - by Vijaya Schartz

The Blue Phantom glows like a beacon in black space, appears and vanishes,
and never registers on scanners. Rumors say it will save the righteous, the oppressed,
and the downtrodden… and slay the unworthy without mercy.
The space pirates fear it. Their victims pray for it… but its help comes at a price…

The art of the cover blurb is to give a taste without revealing too much.

When I am half-way through writing a novel and I know my story and my characters better, I like to take the first stab at the cover blurb, a short paragraph of about 100+ words, to let the reader know what the novel is about.

First, I need to set the stage. What kind of world is it? In the case of my current WIP the feudal planet was almost destroyed two decades ago and is starting to reorganize itself. Many nobles covet the throne.

Writing the blurb also helps me refocus on the main themes, motivations, and conflicts of the characters in the story. It forces me to reconsider, and to pinpoint the larger scope of the novel beyond the step-by-step sequence of events. Is it about revenge? Thwarting evil? The challenges of doing the right thing? Resisting temptation? Never trusting appearances? Overcoming unsurmountable obstacles? Finding your true self? Coming of age? Seeking salvation for past mistakes? Is it about greed and corruption? Ambition? Intrigue?

Usually in my novels, it’s several of these, but I have to determine which theme dominates this particular story. Then, I can reinforce that theme throughout the book.

It's also time to define my characters in a few words for the reader. In my current project, I define my heroine as a “spiritual warrior woman.” I often have warrior women in my stories, Samurai, soldier, bodyguard, Avenging Angel, Valkyrie, bounty hunter… but this one is different. She adheres to a pure code of conduct, lives in a monastery, and practices meditation and Tai-Chi as well as lethal weapons. She respects all life, loves animals, never took a sip of a fermented drink, and is a strict vegetarian.

Avenging Angel

Bounty hunter

 

Samurai heroine

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The other side of that pure heroine is that she lacks life experience. Believing everyone is basically good and worthy is dangerous for a warrior confronting pure evil. That naivety can be her undoing… or her salvation.

But there are other constraints in writing the blurb. Usually, online shoppers on a retail site like Amazon can only see the first one or two lines of the blurb. So, the challenge is to hook the reader with the first words, hoping that he or she will want to click on “more” and read the full book description.

Here is my first try at the blurb for CHI WARRIOR, book 1 of the Protectors series. Look for it releasing from BWL Publishing in November 2025.

Blurb for the entire series, called: The Protectors

A few decades ago, a cataclysm devastated the feudal planet. Today, as simple life returns, an elite of mighty warriors protect the Celestial Gate, expecting benevolent Immortals to return from the stars. But they struggle against alien races with advanced technology, who covet their natural resources, and plan to enslave the defenseless population.

Chi Warrior – Book 1 

A spiritual warrior woman faces a fearsome barbarian with a wolf, a double-edged prophecy, and a black cloud with wings.

Anila trained all her life in the monastery of the Celestial Gate, ready to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted.

When a barbarian horde descends from the north, Bayar Khan, their leader, seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

But in the inevitable clash, nothing is as it seems… blurring the lines between good and evil, an ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens Anila and everyone she loves.

In the meantime, you can find all my available novels with strong heroines and brave heroes on my author page at:

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"Phenomenal world building, characters the readers care about, and an intriguing mystery... all the elements one expects from a Vijaya Schartz story! Easily recommended!" Debbie - CK2sKwipsandKritique
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Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, author

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Has our timeline been reset? by Vijaya Schartz

The Byzantium series is set on a space station and includes telepathic cats.
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Recently a new theory emerged to explain the slew of discoveries of ancient ruins from civilizations we never knew existed. We are all familiar with the stories of the Great Flood that erased ancient civilizations, and with the extinction of the dinosaurs, but there is another theory.

The new theory, based on the principle that time is not linear and all timelines exist at the same time, is that time travelers from the future are constantly monitoring our progress and resetting the timeline when we go off-course.

The recent discovery of Gobekli tepe baffled scientists
Who built it? and who buried it?

When we cross the line, go overboard, threaten to destroy the planet, these time travelers have the technology to take us back to the point where things were still on-track, or erase us all together and start from scratch. No memories of the erased civilizations remain, except their engineering achievements in stones. Although buried under millennia of dirt, thanks to lidar technology and drones, they eventually resurface and leave the scientists scratching their heads.

Intriguing subject for a science-fiction author.

Puma Punku in Bolivia defies everything we know about our past.
These perfect blocks interlock like a puzzle with a precision and smoothness
we would find challenging today, especially in such hard stone.
They also wear traces of machinery (drill holes)

On one hand, it’s reassuring to think that we will not be allowed to destroy ourselves or our planet… and on the other, it’s frightening to realize we do not know anything about these future humans or their agenda. If they wanted to destroy us, they would have the technology to do so… and maybe they did in the faraway past.

In the meantime, you can read my award-winning Epic Science Fiction Fantasy novels. There you will find strong heroines, brave heroes, a few intelligent cats, a little romance, and a lot of action, on alien planets and in space.

Here are a few for your perusing. Enjoy!

Azura Chronicles
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Blue Phantom trilogy
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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author
Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats
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AI – Where is the intelligence? – by Vijaya Schartz

 

This award-winning novel deals with an AI character.
Find it on my author page on
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I recently noticed a slew of posts in my Facebook feed that are obviously AI-generated. Although I am not opposed to giving life to old portraits of historical figures, I draw the line at computer generated images of the Sphynx and other famous archeological treasures, that are inaccurate at best, if not completely made up and wrong. Other times, the picture has no connection whatsoever with the title, the text, or the information in the post. Why not use a real photograph relevant to the post?

As for the monotonous AI voice, completely devoid of emotion, I have come to hate it. How can anyone relate to information delivered in such a boring manner? I remember the passion in the voice of my teachers when I was in school. They were the ones who communicated to me their love for literature, history, science. All because they cared, and it showed in their voice, their body language, and on their faces. I could feel the energy coming from them and touching me deeply. They made me want to learn more.

AI-generated royalty-free image

Nowadays, we are witnessing the takeover of the machines. Not only the voice is devoid of emotion, but it also misreads the words because it doesn’t understand the meaning of the sentence, only the structure. It pauses in the wrong places, sometimes expressing the opposite of the intended meaning. In a recent post, the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet became a “segment” in the narrative. Worse, AI is also turning the voice into text for subtitles, and the subtitles also said “segment.”

And I don't need an AI detector to spot AI generated comments. Probably an attempt to start a debate, they are all similar in structure. Coming from different accounts, they start with an introduction, three bullet points, and a conclusion, as if directly copied from an online textbook. Who on Facebook comments like that? Who is AI trying to fool?

Now that AI will become the center of learning for many students, I shudder at the idea that future generations of intellectuals, philosophers, scientists, writers, explorers, and rulers will be groomed by non-emotional entities in the cold, detached style of what we call AI.

Royalty-free AI generated image

Isn’t intelligence supposed to be self-aware, with the ability to comprehend and relate emotionally? To me this new invasion is not AI, but dumb computers relying on search engines and limited logic. As we used to say in my days, “Erring is human, but to really mess things up, it takes a computer.”

So, here we are. We didn’t react when autocorrect changed the meaning of our texts, laughing because it was “cute.” And now we are letting the same computers take over control of our lives, influencing our ideas, thwarting our knowledge, trying to replace free thinking and real intelligence.

As a science-fiction author, I am appalled. There is no AI intervention whatsoever in my novels. They are pure passion, pure imagination and human intelligence, and I hope you’ll enjoy them.

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

https://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Do you know how to breathe to be happy and energized? Most people don’t. - by Vijaya Schartz

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I learned from Tai-Chi that proper breathing technique not only makes for a more enjoyable life, but it can also help you through stress, fatigue, and challenging emotions.

In today’s busy life, sitting at computers, driving to work, taking elevators, getting food delivered, not only don’t we get enough exercise, but it seems we have forgotten how to breathe.

Lung and breathing problems are the most common ailments among mature adults. Even for someone who never smoked, a lifetime of shallow breathing deprives the blood of much needed oxygen, which weakens the entire body, including the immune system.

But there is hope. Healthy breathing at any age increases serotonin levels (which makes us happy). It increases energy levels, boosts the brain power, and benefits the muscles, and all the organs in our body.

Most people breathe from the top of the lungs, lifting the shoulders, or worse, hunched over. Little do they know that the lungs are very narrow at the top, and wide at the bottom. If you only breathe from the top of the lungs, you only use 10% of your lung capacity. But if you breathe from the diaphragm, filling the bottom part of the lungs, you are using 90% of your lung capacity, significantly increasing the amount of oxygen going into your blood.

Simple exercise to train your body to breathe from the diaphragm: 

Lie down on your back (on the floor, a bed, a couch…). Place a hefty book on your stomach. As you inhale, try to make the book rise, and watch it fall when you exhale. If you do this at night before falling asleep, eventually your body will get into that healthy rhythm and keep it all night. In time, your body will relearn to breathe more deeply, and it will become your new normal.

Simple principles:

Breathe from the diaphragm. It provides more oxygen to your blood. If you are not used to it, it might make you dizzy at first. Just sit down. Your brain will quickly welcome the extra oxygen.

Always breathe through the nose. Mouth breathing doesn’t filter the air of impurities, nor does it change the air temperature before it reaches the lungs. And exhaling through the mouth might be too fast for your system.

Never completely empty your lungs. A small amount of carbon dioxide is still needed in the lungs to carry the oxygen to the blood. People who exhale too fast and too completely can go into panic attack mode. In that case, the doctor will tell you to breathe inside a bag. Guess what’s in the bag? The carbon dioxide you just exhaled.

Keep your back straight and shoulders down. You cannot fill the bottom of your lungs if you are hunched over.

These principles only apply to everyday life, they do not apply to special breathing exercises, like prana-yoga, and various meditation methods using the breath to achieve a specific state of consciousness.

And if you need feel-good books to place on your stomach, don’t forget these epic science fiction fantasy series.

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Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

https://www.vijayaschartz.com

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Little health miracles of everyday foods and spices - by Vijaya Schartz

There is a phantom ship that glows like a beacon in black space,

appears and vanishes, and never registers on scanners.

The space pirates fear it. Their victims pray for it... but its help comes at a price...

Find my books on the BWL site HERE

For the longest time, particular foods and spices have been known to have healing or preventive properties.

My mother always told me to eat my carrots for rosy skin.

Blueberries are good for your eyes.

A spoonful of peanut butter a day will keep children (and adults) free of warts.

Chicken noodle soup will help cure a cold.

Garlic, a natural antibiotic, is good for the heart and will kill worms in the digestive system.

Honey is a natural antibiotic.

Blue cheese (the stinky kind) is also a natural antibiotic.

Chamomile tea will calm your stomach and help you sleep.

Warm milk before bed will help you sleep.

These old-wives remedies have proven in time to be not only effective but medically sound.

The modest myrtle plant

Even our universal aspirin, salicylic acid, now synthesized and produced chemically in pharmaceutical labs, comes from nature. Myrtle is a humble flower European people steeped and consumed as a tea to ward off headaches. In antiquity, the same substance (salicin) was extracted from willow leaves and bark.

But spices in particular are still regarded as potent remedies in many parts of the world. Here are a few interesting ones:

A pinch of Cayenne Pepper in your morning coffee is good for your heart and blood.

Curry is a gentle laxative, especially with vegetables.

A concoction of turmeric, fresh ginger, cinnamon and milk will ease arthritic pain.

Moroccan spice (blend of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and cayenne) taken daily will prevent herpes flare ups.

Cinnamon lowers blood sugar.

Sage can help brain function, even in Alzheimer’s patients.

Turmeric is all the rage, hailed as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiparasitic remedy (but beware of contraindications like gallbladder disease, blood clotting disorder, liver disease, diabetes, blood thinners, antiplatelet medications).

Wishing you all a healthy and energetic life.

And don’t forget that reading feel-good science fiction for entertainment is also healthy, so check out my novels on these retail sites: 

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, cats

https://www.vijayaschartz.com

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