Today is publication day for SMFS list member Sylvia
M. Warsh’s new book, The Orphan. Published by Auctus Publishers,
the read is available at Amazon
and other vendors.
Publisher Description:
Washington DC 1844: When his mother is found drowned in the
Potomac, 15-year-old Samuel Evans is devastated and falls gravely ill, saved by
an experimental drug given to him by the gruff Dr. James Pyper who developed it
from an Amazonian plant. The drug makes Samuel so sensitive to his environment
that he can communicate with animals. He sets out to prove his mother didn’t
commit suicide, helped by encounters with numerous animals.
The
doctor’s childless wife, Martha, convinces her husband to adopt Samuel. He
discovers that their house is a stop on the Underground Railroad and that
Martha helps runaway slaves.
While
investigating his mother’s murder, Samuel’s life is threatened, he falls in
love, he dispatches a bee hive to punish the man he suspects, and tragedy
ensues. He is kicked out of the Pypers’ house, with nowhere to go. During this
painful time, he uncovers lies and betrayal from people he trusts before
learning the truth about his parents.
The Orphan is set against the backdrop of slavery and the 1844
presidential election that determined whether Texas would enter the union as a
slave state.
