Circus of the Queens: The Fortune Teller's Fate

by Audrey Berger Welz

Overview

From Imperial Russia to Savannah, Georgia and beyond, a circus family, a once aspiring ballerina, and a scorned lover set the stage and then draw the curtain to this saga of identity, fate, and the steps we take to find who we are in this world.

Donatalia dances at the Winter Palace just as the Russian Revolution tears apart the life she thought she would have. Forced to leave her dreams behind for her own safety, she must move to a new world and begin a new life. Having lost family, fortune and country, she unexpectedly finds herself reuniting with Vladimir, heir to the most celebrated Russian circus, dazzling high-wire walker, and object of a long-forgotten crush she harbored as a child.

Both struggling to let go of the past, they reconnect and share an intimacy only they can understand. Donatalia follows Vladimir and becomes the circus fortune-teller, and it is through her eyes that this story is told.

A poetic adventure of revenge, love, and loss Circus of the Queens: The Fortune-Teller’s Fate is a stunning debut from an exciting new talent and begs the question: how does one define herself when her whole world is lost?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945572968
Publisher:	Rare Bird Books
Publication date:	12/19/2017
Series:	Circus of the Queens Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Audrey Berger Welz earned a degree in Aesthetic Studies from the Universityof California, Santa Cruz, worked in film in San Francisco, then moved to New York City to pursue music, where she collaborated with composers on projects for television, film, and live production. An avid photographer, she sings nightly to her husband and immerses herself in writing every day.

Raised in Akron, Ohio by a salesman father who serenaded the family on violin and brought home stray animals, and a mother who taught kindergarten, Audrey lives in Manhattan with her husband and two very naughty shelter cats. Circus of the Queens: The Fortune-Teller's Fate, is her debut novel. She is currently writing a sequel titled Circus of the Queens: The Shadow of Lillya.

Editorial Reviews

"Circus of the Queens is a sweet, satisfying tale of one woman’s determination, heart, and love."
—Santa Barbara Independent

"Circus of the Queens is a big story, with big, restless characters who leave one big country, revolutionary Russia, for another, an America just coming into its own with the first World War. Berger Welz’s characters perform on Russian theater stages and under American big tops, and like all immigrants, they must make peace with their pasts before they can determine their futures. Circus opens with a fairytale and ends with a kiss, as all most pleasurable sagas do."
—Adrienne Sharp, author of The True Memoirs of Little K

"Berger Welz weaves an incredibly nuanced and wonderfully rich tale in her latest novel, Circus of the Queens: The Fortune-Teller's Fate. The depth of her characters, the insight into bygone society, the incredible location descriptions and the overall arc of her heroine make me wish that she would write screenplays…for me!”
—Scott Ross, film producer and executive, LucasFilm Digital Domain

"Berger Welz takes us down a path that leads directly to the heart with her delicious words, creative phrasing, and beautiful pacing. Who knew there would be so much between these pages?"
—Peter Buffett, writer, composer

"This imaginative fictional memoir of an aristocratic young ballerina who becomes a fortune-teller in a circus after her world falls a part swallowed me. I couldn’t put it down. Audrey Berger Welz is an extraordinary writer and Circus of the Queens, simply put, is wonderful! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves language, history, magic, and the joy of being swept into the life of a complex and riveting female character."
—Sara Driver, writer, producer, director

From the Publisher