Description: What if reality TV met one of our oldest stories of blood revenge, lust, envy, and coming-of-age? Though the story of Salome has been told down through the ages, this new rendition from a woman's perspective portrays mother-daughter forgiveness based on the story of the sensuous young woman who danced for Herod then demanded John the Baptist's head on a platter at her mother's instigation. Lush language and a riveting storyline combine to create this small jewel from debut novelist Patti Rutka. Endorsements: ""Patti Rutka joins the choir of artists, poets, and storytellers who for millennia have been exploring new angles of the biblical anecdote, demonstrating once more that the Bible is not written for children; the strong sexual content and the graphic violence of the account makes this story appropriate for a mature audience only."" --David Trobisch Bangor Theological Seminary ""Painters, playwrights, and composers typically have interpreted the role of Salome as one of dangerous, feminine seductiveness. Instead, author Rutka focuses on the tension between Salome's love for her brother and sister. Here we meet one who's not merely a sultry, dancing girl, but a sensitive artist displaying feelings; no longer a goddess of immorality, but a disciple of forgiveness; not so much a shallow contortionist as a human being caught in a moral twist. It's refreshing "" --Milton P. Ryder Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church of Boston ""Salome is truly a midrashic novel carefully grounded in the biblical narrative. Patti Rutka's way with words leads us into Salome's dance and its consequences and into the world of the Jewish community struggling to find their identity in the Greco Roman world. Salome is a gripping read which carries all the interpersonal and political intrigue arising from the struggles of Herod and Herodias for power and control in a world where men command and women are expected to obey."" --Ann Johnston Bangor Theological Seminary, Emeritus About the Contributor(s): Patti Rutka is a theology student at Bangor Theological Seminary in Portland, Maine. She is the author of the forthcoming novel Jairus's Daughter."