Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind

Synopsis

Product Description History is storytelling. But some stories remain untold.In fifteenth-century Italy, Paolo Uccello recognizes the artistic talent of his young daughter, Antonia, and teaches her how to create a masterpiece. The girl composes a painting of her mother and inadvertently sparks an enduring mystery.In the present day, a copyist painter receives a commission from a wealthy Chinese businessman to duplicate a Paolo Uccello painting. Together, the painter and his teenage daughter visit China, and in doing so they begin their escape from a tragic family past.In the twenty-second century, a painting is discovered that’s rumored to be the work of Paolo Uccello’s daughter. This reawakens an art historian’s dream of elevating Antonia Uccello, an artist ignored by history because of her gender.Stories untold. Secrets uncovered. But maybe some mysteries should remain shrouded. About the Author Anne Charnock's debut novel, A Calculated Life, was nominated for the 2013 Philip K Dick Award and the 2013 Kitschies Golden Tentacle Award (Debut Novel). Her writing career began in journalism. Her articles appeared in the Guardian, New Scientist, International Herald Tribune, and Geographical. She was educated at the University of East Anglia, where she studied environmental sciences, and at the Manchester School of Art. She travelled widely as a foreign correspondent and spent a year trekking through Egypt, Sudan, and Kenya. In her fine art practice, she tried to answer the questions What is it to be human? What is it to be a machine? Ultimately she decided to write fiction as another route to finding answers. Anne is an active blogger and reviews fiction for the online magazine Strange Horizons. She contributes exhibition reviews and book recommendations to the Huffington Post. She splits her time between London and Chester and, whenever possible, she and her husband, Garry, take off in their little campervan, traveling as far as the Anti-Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco.Heather Wilds is an award-winning actress. She trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and has appeared in numerous plays on the London stage to great critical acclaim. Heather has performed in award-winning films, appeared on TV, in commercials, and enjoys regular work as an audiobook narrator and voice actress.