"...a grand novel of ideas disguised as a charming animal fable..."
K.R. Wilson
An animal adventure set in the transition from the ice age to the present epoch. Shadowshine, with all the philosophical musings of its quirky yet remarkable characters, is a story of self-discovery and of perseverance, of the battle between good and wickedness, and of strong and lovable players who never give up. By an open-minded, intellectual approach, these players known as the forest-folk, begin to uncover a dangerous flaw in the human species, the absence of its own identity in the face of nature.
Check out JJ Barnes' interview with author Johnny Armstrong about his work in conservation, how it inspired him to write, and the creative process that went into his book Shadowshine: An Animal Adventure.

A Timely Message from the Forest-folk

Shadowshine’s message, humanity’s absence of self-identity in the face of nature, means that in a general sense, we humans don’t know what we are—not realizing that we are merely one species among many. This lack of self-identity allows us to become disconnected from the natural world and in doing so, we relegate nature (Earth’s biodiversity) to something separate and at a lower level from ourselves. This is dangerous because it turns nature into something remote and expendable and, consequently, easy to exploit and destroy. That is exactly what is happening today:  the global destruction of ecosystems and species at an ever-increasing and alarming rate.

Shadowshine’s animal players, the forest-folk, explain to us that they are truly our siblings in the diverse family of life on our planet. The need for the explanation, they feel, is that humans have lost cognizance of what they are, setting themselves apart from the rest of the family of life. The forest-folk see the danger in this and they want to set the record straight. These animal players are correct in recognizing that they, along with every single organism now living and those locked away far into the past, are indeed the kin of humans. Humans, like the forest-folk, are merely an animal species in the family of life, as humanity shares genes with all life on Earth (microbial, plant and animal) through the internal structure of the amazing molecule, DNA.

This should not be a very difficult concept to grasp because it is, after all, old science. On the contrary, I believe that it should be a concept that doesn’t necessarily need to be worked through by logic and science. Rather, it should be intuitive. Homo sapiens should “feel” connected with nature every waking moment.  We should all embrace the nature-human connectedness and kinship so well expressed and celebrated by the Native Americans. They get it.
“Hello Mr. Armstrong! I wanted to let you know that I received your book today and appreciated the personalized message you took the time to write to me. I look forward to getting to know the forest-folk.” AH (Facebook Message)
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"In this charming debut tale, Armstrong adeptly blends classic storytelling with the usual genre tropes of literary fiction, creating a timeless, brilliant story of an animal kingdom. . .The forest folks (animals) are sketched with great skill and understanding...Filled with memorable characters, excellent worldbuilding, and witty dialogue, Armstrong’s superb tale brilliantly speaks to the environmental issues of today. It’s as much a story of perseverance, courage, self-discovery, and friendship as it is of the battle between good and evil. Fans of Richard Adams’s Watership Down will feel right at home."
The Prairies Book Review