title: The Taste of Smoke: Stories About Africa
author: Stacy J. Tuthill
description: Tuthill's first work of fiction is based on her 30 years experience as an American in Africa, and each of the stories reads like a personal account of modern life there. Although Tuthill describes the scenery and customs of Africa, she concentrates most on the people, their hidden fears and their anxieties. Africans facing a new world are eager for progress and ``success,'' but at the same time are wary of letting go of their heritage. Americans, despite good intentions, bring their Western values and disquietude with them. Several of the stories include references to the Americans' guiltily held escape plans. One woman resorts to a secret return plane ticket when her boyfriend becomes overbearing during a visit to a village where women do most of the work and are frequently beaten by their husbands. Women are not the only Africans caught in the middle: ``Why Francis Kicked the Telephone'' is the often humorous account of a young man waiting for his break in the world of business who sees a group of Maasi men on a visit to town, ``trying to look `at home' among the frightening roar of automobiles, the rush of people, and the black smoke and pollution of trucks.'' Although the barrier between African and American cultures is not easily breached, Tuthill skillfully illuminates universal human emotion. Photos. </P><P>Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</P>
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  # Wife
  
  
  ### Betrothed #1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Penelope Sky
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hartwick Publishing
  
  
  **Wife**
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Penelope Sky
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Prologue
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Hades
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Marrakech, Morocco
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The bazaar was on fire.
  
  
  Black cobras hissed at their masters when they heard the sound of the whip,
  men bravely shoved blades down their throats for entertainment, and gypsies
  danced for coins. When your donation wasn’t generous enough, they slunk behind
  you and picked your pockets—taking what they deserved.
  
  
  It was one hell of a place to celebrate my twenty-first birthday.
  
  
  Damien walked beside me, a cigar resting between his lips