blackout

About the Book

Tarak wanted his girl-boy child Condharthi to live a bucolic life caring for horses at his blacksmith shop near the holy Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. His wife Dawa dead at childbirth, he raises Condharthi with the regimentation of meditation training, secluding Condharthi from rumors about the mysterious green glow of her birthmark. A Mongolian attack on their village upends his hopes for Condharthi, and he reluctantly whisks her away for protection.

Challenged to live a secret identity at a monastery, Condharthi retreats into meditation practice and becomes confused by night visions. Is she dreaming or awake? Who are the strange people she sees? More mysteries entrap Condharthi, thrusting her toward destiny…in a time and place more foreign and sinister than she could have imagined.

About the Author

Ms. Benevich lives in Austin, Texas. BLACKOUT is her first novel.