Book Giveaway! The von Strassenberg Saga

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~3~

My life is hard. No one would rob me of that. The clothes I am wearing came out of a knotted up black plastic trash bag from a resale shop downtown. And not the downtown where shiny cars wink at you in the sunlight. If a car winks at you in this area it’s being driven by a person you would be best to avoid.

My side of downtown is crumbling and skirted by chain link fences.

Kevin’s out of work again. Staying sober for eight hours out of the day was too much for him.

It always is.

So I work here, at Dobson’s Market, fifteen hours a week during the school year. That’s my Friday, Saturday, Sunday job.

Since Dobson doesn’t want to get in trouble for overworking a minor we worked it out with his younger brother that I would work the rest of the week at the family restaurant. Fifteen hours here. Fifteen hours there. No benefits anywhere and crap pay everywhere.

But for now, it’s holding us. We’ve been in the same place for three months now. I’ve opened my own bank account, that Kevin knows nothing about, and I’m paying the bills as they roll in.

And we’re finally making it.

Eventually, though, he’ll come out of his stupor and realize things are getting comfortable and he’ll want to know where the money is.

But maybe by then I’ll be gone.

(c) 2010 by Gwenn Wright

Available for Kindle and in Paperback

Prologue

FILTER: Book One of the Von Strassenberg Saga

Prologue

Vienna, Austria 1866

“That monk is a doddering fool.”

He remained bent over the microscope, speaking more to his Petri dish than the imbecile who had come to question him.

“Yes Doctor, but what you’re working on…” “Will ensure Austria’s power for eternity.” The man scoffed. He had heard of the scientist’s maniacal zeal. His mother had warned him

that being intelligent was admirable and, if utilized properly, profitable but there came a point

when it was nothing but a detriment. Genius was often followed by madness, she had said. Looking at the frenzied younger man, Dr. Rochenstein fully appreciated the wise woman his mother had been.

“The University,” he continued. “Needs more assurance of the potential success of your work.”

A bitter laugh resonated within the form hunched over the microscope. “You mean they would like to know when my work will begin repaying their generosity.”

It was not a question.

Everyone knew of the lavish expenses of the professor, but no one was certain of what the money was being spent on. There was gossip and speculation that perhaps he was building some great invention, but this was circulated only among those who did not know his particular field was biology.

****YA THRILLER ROMANCE, Rated PG-13, well maybe PG-15

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