The Spy Lover by Kiana Davenport

Johnny Tom, a Chinese immigrant, and his beautiful Creek Indian wife, and daughter, Era, live in Shisan, a Chinese settlement along the Mississippi River. Their life is simple and idyllic, until Confederate soldiers invade the town, kidnap the men and force them into service, fighting for the South and slavery. At the first opportunity, many Chinese soldiers defect to the Union Army.

In revenge, the Confederates return to Shisan to rape and torture their wives and daughters. Defiled and half-mad, Era sets out to find her father and is plunged into the full savagery and horror of the War. Lured by Union officials to pose as a nurse while spying on the Confederate army, she falls in love with a wounded Confederate cavalryman, and her loyalties become divided between her beloved father in the North, and the gallant soldier who sustains her in the South.

*****

“Deeply Moving. You can’t read Kiana Davenport without being transformed.”
⎯Alice Walker on SONG OF THE EXILE

“A powerful and moving experience.”
⎯The Washington Post on HOUSE OF MANY GODS

*****

Kiana is the author of the internationally best-selling novels, SHARK DIALOGUES, SONG OF THE EXILE, and HOUSE OF MANY GODS. She is also the author of the collections, HOUSE OF SKIN PRIZE-WINNING STORIES, and CANNIBAL NIGHTS, PACIFIC STORIES VOLUME II. Both have been Kindle bestsellers. She has just published her third collection, OPIUM DREAMS, PACIFIC STORIES, VOLUME III.

A graduate of the University of Hawaii, Kiana has been a Bunting Fellow at Harvard University, a Visiting Writer at Wesleyan University, and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Her short stories have won numerous O. Henry Awards, Pushcart Prizes, and the Best American Short Story Award, 2000. Her novels and short stories have been translated into twenty-one languages.

To learn more about Kiana, please visit her website.