Color of Light, The

At the American Academy of Classical Art, popular opinion has it that the school's handsome and mysterious founder, Raphael Sinclair, is a vampire. It is a rumor Rafe does nothing to dispel. Scholarship student Tessa Moss has long dreamed of the chance to study at Rafe's Academy. But she is floundering amidst the ups and downs of a relationship with egotistical art star Lucian Swain. Then, one of Tessa's sketches catches Rafe's attention: a drawing of a young woman in 1930s clothing who is covering the eyes of a child. The suitcase at her feet says Wizotsky. Sofia Wizotsky, the love of Rafe's life, was lost during the Holocaust. Or was she? Rafe suspects Tessa may be the key to discovering what really happened. As Rafe finds excuses to interact with Tessa, they quickly discover they cannot deny their growing attraction to one another. It is an attraction forbidden by the Academy Board and disapproved of by anyone familiar with Rafe's playboy reputation and Tessa's softhearted innocence. But what if fate has other plans for Tessa and Rafe? What if they break all rules to succumb to a passion that defies history?

About the Author

Helen Maryles Shankman lived in Chicago before moving to New York City to attend art school. "In the Land of Armadillos" is her debut collection of linked stories illuminated with magical realism, following the inhabitants of a small town in 1942 Poland and tracing the troubling complex choices they are compelled to make. The paperback edition, titled "They Were Like Family to Me," will be published on October 4, 2016.Her stories have appeared in numerous fine publications, including "The Kenyon Review," "Cream City Review,""Grift," "2 Bridges Review," "Danse Macabre," and "JewishFiction.net." She was a finalist in "Narrative Magazine's" Winter Story Contest and earned an Honorable Mention in "Glimmer Train's" Short Story Award for New Writers competition. Her stories, "They Were Like Family to Me" and "The Jew Hater" have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Shankman received an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art, where she was awarded a prestigious Warhol Foundation Scholarship. She spent four years as as artist's assistant and two years at Conde Nast working closely with the legendary Alexander Liberman. She lived on a kibbutz in Israel for a year, spending the better part of each day in an enormous barn filled with chickens, where she collected eggs and listened to the Beatles.Shankman lives in New Jersey with her husband, four children, and an evolving roster of rabbits. When she is not neglecting the housework so that she can write stories, she teaches art and paints portraits on commission.

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