Paul M. Hedeen's Historical Novel THE BUTTERFLY Now Available

LIVONIA, Mich. - Feb. 21, 2019 - PRLog -- Inspired by an acquaintance's collection of Eva Braun memorabilia and the wealthy people who buy and sell Nazi, Soviet, and Holocaust-related items, Professor Paul M. Hedeen explores the landscape of jeopardy and catastrophe in his post-World War II novel The Butterfly.

What if Eva Braun did not die in Berlin in 1945? What if the evil impulses of her time still lived and could draw us into their grasp?

We begin in the fall of 1963, a few weeks before President Kennedy's assassination. An obscure émigré Russian professor dies of a stroke—or so it is believed. The professor's eccentricities and complicity create both mystery and jeopardy as his documents lead his student backward into a century of famine, political terror, and war and forward into a bewildering underworld of malevolent opportunists, unstable identities, and improvised histories.

When the student falls in with the troubled daughter of the Nazi elite, she becomes his lover, guide, and tormentor as both are irresistibly drawn into the dark aftermath of World War II. Memoirs, fairy tales, fiction, and scenarios interweave and reveal the postwar fate of Eva Braun and secrets concerning the famous Holocaust photo, "The Last Jew in Vinnitsa."

"I chose to write about Eva Braun because she is a lightning rod for interesting energies and attractions. For that reason, she is a good subject for fiction. She is erotic. She is controversial. She slept with the devil, perhaps sold her soul to him, too. In my novel, she sleeps with several devils," says author and professor Paul M. Hedeen. "On the other hand she was almost desperately ordinary and in many ways a victim. She is a person of contradictions and speculations. Along with her obvious defects, mostly tied to her vanity, she had virtues. She was loyal, even adoring, unto death. Like so many women, she became the plaything of men who exploited and destroyed her," he continued.

The Butterfly will have readers asking themselves if they dare hope without peril. Some of this comes from the author's past. He graduated from high school in 1971 and attended Kent State University the year after the shooting of four student protesters. He learned much at Kent about literature and writing. But he also learned about the precariousness of life, the authoritarian nature of governments, and the ways that wars reveal a culture's underlying contradictions. The murder of innocence and unmanageable institutional violence that, like a pool of blood, gather beneath the easy lies and generalities of national ideologies stayed with him and are themselves part of the energy in his writing.

Readers and fans of historical fiction, including Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer will enjoy reading The Butterfly. Published by BHC Press, The Butterfly is available in hardcover (978-1-947727-33-5, 380 pages, $26.95), trade softcover (978-1-947727-34-2, 380 pages, $16.95), and ebook (978-1-948540-60-5, $7.99) at fine booksellers everywhere. Order direct from Ingram, Overdrive, or the publisher's website.

Advance Praise for The Butterfly

"…fascinating…sheds light on a difficult period in human history…" —Fred L. Holmes, director of the film Dakota

"…engaging…as packed as an ammo train and almost as threateningly explosive…" —Gary Eller author of Thin Ice and Other Risks

"…life changing! This book opened my eyes…" —Adriana A., NetGalley Reviewer and blogger at Books With Adri

About the author: Paul M. Hedeen is an award-winning professor and writer and a Fulbright scholar. His critical and creative writing has appeared in numerous magazines and journals including The North American Review, Confrontation, Rosebud, Philosophy and Literature, and many others. He resides in Monroe, Michigan.

About BHC Press: BHC Press is an award-winning independent publisher of general fiction and nonfiction hardcover, softcover, and ebooks for YA and adults. To learn more about Paul M. Hedeen and BHC Press, visit https://www.bhcpress.com/