There were 1,685 press releases posted in the last 24 hours and 414,158 in the last 365 days.

Inspired by Boston Marathon Bombing, Author Spencer Stephens Releases Timely New Thriller “Blood Lily”

Blood Lily Cover

Blood Lily written by Spencer Stephens

With international tensions on the rise, Stephens’ novel explores the world’s authoritarians and their destructive role in today’s politics

BELFAST, MAINE, UNITED STATES, July 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- "Blood Lily," the newly published second novel by Spencer Stephens, is a taut political thriller that tells a complex and timely story of international authoritarians and the innovations they use to arouse violence and chaos. Originally inspired by the Boston Marathon bombing, the new thriller explores the techniques and effects of modern autocrats and raises questions about how we, as individuals and as a society, are to respond.

With powerful characters of deplorables and curiously flawed heroes, the story centers on Norah Saud, the daughter of a Saudi tyrant, sent to America to be weaponized for fear and forcibly married to hapless character locked in a constant quest to dominate her. She is a captivating protagonist, whose life is saturated with the “despair of a self-aware woman anchored to a soggy loaf of a man.” Desperate to escape from subjugation and needing to retain her faith and humanity, Norah tries to thwart a terrorist scheme hatched by the fascist minds of Russian and Saudi Arabian autocrats working in tandem.

The plot rockets the reader past the grisly effects of disloyalty in Saudi Arabia and the terror of suicide bombers who stalk the Washington, D.C., subway. The story carries readers from Maryland and Maine to Russia and Saudi Arabia as the stakes grow higher. Woven throughout the tense tale are moments of clarity and human delight, such as when a remarkable Mainer with a pistol on her hip cleverly puts a misogynist in his place and then invites him in for tuna-noodle casserole. BookLife Review says, “Stephens does a masterful job of setting scenes, especially those in Saudi Arabia—which comes across as vividly dystopian.”

“This is a thriller that exposes the give-and-take relationship that’s developed between the world’s most dangerous authoritarians,” said Stephens. “'Blood Lily' explores the psychology of the tyrants and brings that exploration to human scale with a look inside the heads of those who must contend with them.”

"Blood Lily" is based upon the author’s extensive research, and it confirms the authoritarians’ constant want for affirmation, their faith in violence and intimidation and dangerous lack of self-knowledge. Stephens’ primary sources include "The Authoritarian Dynamic" by Karen Stenner, "The Authoritarians" by Bob Altemeyer and "Authoritarian Nightmare" by John Dean and Bob Altemeyer. The Maine Authors Publishing & Cooperative will release the paperback version of "Blood Lily" on July 28, 2021. The Kindle edition is available now.

"Blood Lily" author, Spencer Stephens, lives in Belfast, Maine. He has a law degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor's degree in English Literature from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. Before law school, he was a news and feature writer for The Capital-Gazette in Annapolis and The Evening Telegram in Rocky Mount, NC. He has extensive experience as a journeyman trial attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Spencer’s first novel, 2014’s "Church of Golf," tells the story of an aging football star who coasts into middle age drunk and broke, hoping that redemption might come through a religious-like devotion to the study of golf.

For more information, visit spencerstephens.net.

###

Editor's Note:
Click the images above or the links below in order to access downloadable versions.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NMC-Clients/Spencer+Stephens/Stephens_Spencer_20210408_02.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/NMC-Clients/Spencer+Stephens/blood.lily.cover.300dpi.jpg

About Spencer Stephens:
Spencer Stephens is the author of Blood Lily, his second novel, published in July 2021 by the Maine Authors Publishing & Cooperative. Paperback copies are $18, including Maine tax and a Kindle edition is available for $6.82 on Amazon. Stephens’ first novel, 2014’s "Church of Golf," tells the story of an aging football star who coasts into middle age drunk and broke, hoping that redemption might come through religious-like devotion to the study of golf. Stephens is a recovering attorney as well as a former journalist.

For more information, visit spencerstephens.net.

Nancy Marshall
Marshall Communications
nmarshall@marshallpr.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook