The Center of
Gravity
By Patricia
Brandon
A young woman is tricked into
service as a food tester for Adolf Hitler in his secret Wolf's Lair, where she
will endure yet another atrocity. A French professor, whose best friend is a
Jew fighting in the Alsatian Resistance, is forced to assist in the Nazi
reconstruction of the priceless Amber Room in the Konigsberg Castle. All hide
dangerous secrets. When their worlds collide, high risk plans for escape are
made, with the unlikely help of the anti-Nazi brother of Hermann Goering. But
will the darkest of secrets remain hidden, or will lives be forever changed
when the truth is finally revealed?
Pick up your copy
of
The Center of
Gravity
Patricia
Brandon
I’m
a South Carolina gal – raised on good home cookin’, crazy family stories,
Southern heat, humidity, and Gamecock sports! Prior to a freak physical anomaly
(a blood vessel in my back decided to kink like a garden hose!) I camped,
hiked, attended music festivals, played tennis, danced, and swam.
While
I’m fighting to get better, I found I had much more sitting time to kill, so I
decided to pursue writing. A high school English teacher once told me she
wanted an autographed copy of my first book, and I never forgot that. Hope
she’d be proud now. First, I wrote a memoir about my entire first year of
paralysis, In the Valley of Achor, which is
available on Amazon, also. I’ve received notes and letters about how candid and
real the book is, that it made a difference for folks, which was the intent, as
well as being an emotional outlet for me, too. It’s also humorous at times –
life’s too short to be otherwise – and I hear that the comic relief was also
appreciated!
The
Center of Gravity is my first attempt at an historical fiction novel. I
received a Carrie McCray Literary award for what became the prologue for this
story, for which I am deeply grateful and proud. I’ve always loved reading
history, especially now when there is so much “fake news’ through which to
wade. My father (94!) is a POW from WWII, and his stories and those of others
inspired part of this tale. The book spans the period from 1933 Europe, when
Hitler and the Third Reich was just beginning to come to power, to 1976 in the
Low Country (coastal) part of South Carolina. Most people are aware of the art
that was stolen by the Nazis, and of the “degenerate” art that was forbidden,
all of which is a part of this story. But sadly, other atrocities abounded, and
those need to be known. So, the Lebensborn project, the Jewish Skeleton
Collection, and the saga of the Wolf’s Lair food testers – 15 women that were
forced to test Hitler’s food for poison – are all a part of this story, as well
as a few other lesser-known events. I did a lot of research, and of course have
tried to stay as close to the historical timeline and descriptions of real life
figures as possible. The food testers were not actually kept near the Wolf’s
Lair until after the 1944 “Valkyrie” attempt on Hitler’s life, so in order to fit
the storyline, I had to alter the time of their stay slightly. Some who have
read it say that they learned a great deal, loved the characters and story, and
even want to see a sequel! We’ll see. I think it’s a tale worth telling and
reading. I hope you do, too!
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx