Dead Heat to Destiny by J.B. Rivard Read an Excerpt

Publisher: Impressit Press
Publication date: February 7, 2023
Format: Ebook and paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction - Adventure, World War I

Synopsis

Destined for success in the booming world of high fashion, young Adrienne Boch deflects the romantic pursuit of Will Marra, an American student in Paris. Her cousin, Gregor Steiner, completes his training as an officer in the Imperial German Navy. They, like the entire world, are unprepared when World War I begins. As the invading German army threatens Paris, Gregor advances to captain a U-boat, Will becomes a pilot in the U.S. Army, and Adrienne’s family flees an overrun Belgium. In Central America, a spy is recruited to defeat the United States. At the climax—during which love hangs in the balance—they meet in a thrilling and emotionally riveting clash.

Spanning 1903-1917, this cinematic novel transports the reader to a variety of stunning locales. With his dedication to historical accuracy and his immersive writing style, Rivard offers readers a front row seat to the early twentieth century’s most compelling events.

Excerpt

1903

CHARLEROI, BELGIUM

Fifteen-year-old Adrienne Boch leaned into the tall window that fronted Boulevard Defontaine. Her breath formed a fogged patch on the cool glass. With the nail of an index finger, she instinctively drew a small image in the condensate—a curly-headed girl’s face with tiny circles for eyes.

She laughed, then turned her attention to the street, three stories below, where she knew her father’s cab would soon appear.

At the sound of a horse’s hooves, she was eager with anticipation. The cab passed on. Where is he? She turned quickly and dashed to the rear room, where her mother was seated, reading. “Is it not time, Mother?”

Dominique Boch consulted her watch and nodded. “Perhaps there was a delay. Sometimes there is a clog—a snarl near the bank.”

“Oh, I am so anxious. Papa promised he would bring me the latest—oh, there!” Adrienne rushed back to the window from which again came the sounds of a horse. She was in time to see her father step from a cab onto Rue Tumelaire. He strode past Maison Dorée toward the Boulevard entrance to their apartment and disappeared from sight. She turned and loped down the stairs as her mother called behind her, “Adrienne! Slow down, you’ll—”

“Papa!” Adrienne cried, as Jean Boch set his valise upon the entrance bench. The maid closed the entrance door, excused herself, and left.

Adrienne smiled at her father. “I can’t wait!”

“Yes, yes, I know, Daughter. It’s not for the loved one, or the father, you can’t wait.” He removed his hat. “It is for the magazine.” He smiled, tossed the straps of the valise aside, and withdrew a magazine. He held it over his head—too high for Adrienne to reach it. “What is the proper saying, Adrienne?”

“Thank you, Papa. I love you.”

“That’s better,” he said, as his light coat slid off his shoulder. He handed Adrienne the May issue of Les Modes, and folded the coat over his arm. “Your mother, she’s upstairs?”

“Oh look, Papa, at this gown! It is—” She glanced from the cover of Les Modes to her father. “Yes, Mother is upstairs—on the third.”

Adrienne’s father frowned at the cover. “That is extreme, don’t you think?”

“The colors—aren’t they glorious? This deep blue, accented by the dark flowers . . . and the light green.”

“Oh, the colors. I was remarking on the rendering of the woman—her exaggerated . . .”

“That is the style, now, Papa. The latest trend.”

“Mmm. You are so observant of the colors. Reminds me of your Aunt Anna.”

“The painter. Yes. But I like to draw and color the fashions. And to sew, too.”

“You have the Boch eye. I did not inherit any of the Boch artistic talent. My only talent is in the dreary business of banking. It is humbling. But Anna, she has a following—she is well-regarded.”

“Aunt Anna favors the ‘fevered’ palette, like that Van Gogh painting she bought—La Vigne Rouge. I prefer the soft colors—like that sketch I showed you yesterday. Do you remember?”

Her father raised his eyebrows. “The lady’s face and hat. Yes, that was beautifully done.”

“Do you think, Papa, that when I finish school, I can attend art classes? I want to learn to draw these ladies, like this man deFeure. In Brussels, there is—”

“We shall see. Right now, I must see your mother.” Jean Boch excused himself and headed toward the stairs.

Adrienne hurried to her favored pillowed bench in the corner of the library, where she quickly became lost in the pages of Les Modes.

Where to Purchase

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Meet the Author

J.B. RIVARD believes words can create pictures. His readers agree; one said, “I was right in the biplane cockpit with Nick,” referring to pilot Nick Mamer, the 1929 record-setting aviator in Rivard’s nonfiction book “Low on Gas – High on Sky.” A writer of historically accurate fiction and nonfiction, J.B. knows readers want the past to blaze up and enthrall them. His commitment to compelling and convincing writing derives from four years in the military as well as his technical career on the staff of a U.S. National Laboratory. A graduate of the University of Florida, he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, and is an award-winning artist and author. His latest novel is “Dead Heat to Destiny,” in which the lives and loves of three people are imperiled during the cataclysm of World War One. To learn more about J.B.’s life and work, visit www.illusionsofmagic.com.