Berlin hatmakers threatened by a veil-wearing Nazi known as the “stealer of faces” must use the god Hermes’ “wishing hat” to teleport out of Germany during Kristallnacht. They won’t be safer in America, however, unless they break the curse that has trapped them in the hat business for sixteen centuries. Set in the Jazz Age, Nazi Germany, and World War II Detroit, Book One of the Life Indigo series is a family saga about the fluidity of tradition, faith, and identity. It will appeal to fans of Everything is Illuminated and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
Excerpt
Klaus circled behind her chair. Isana set down the glass and sat stock-still. Only her growling stomach and the electric whine of the overhead lights broke the silence. Suddenly, an empty leather glove landed on the table. Seconds later, cool fingertips touched her neck and gently worked into the base of her skull.
“You are tense.”
“I wonder why.”
Klaus pressed harder into Isana’s flesh. His fingertips warmed, radiating heat into her muscles. As much as Isana resisted, she couldn’t deny his deft touch felt good. The stiffness in her neck melted in seconds.
No, she told herself. Don’t relax. Don’t let your guard down.
Isana tried to clench her muscles, but Klaus’s heat had already penetrated deep into her spine. He seemed to have latched onto her nerves, holding them like a marionettist would grasp puppet strings. Isana should’ve felt panic, relinquishing her volition to this monster, but his touch had suppressed that reaction as well. She was sleepy and light. Her body had lost substance. She had dissolved into the hot, stale air, or evaporated into the overhead lights. She was nothing at all.
When Klaus unhanded Isana, her corporeal nature returned. In her bewilderment, she momentarily worried her chair might give way under the weight of her body.
Keith is a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Before graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, he toured with a professional comedy troupe, writing and performing sketch comedy at colleges in the Mid-Atlantic States. His short story, Non Compos Mentis, was recently published in The Stonecoast Review and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His short story Exodus was just published in the Running Wild Anthology of Stories.
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Giveaway
Keith R. Fentonmiller will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
