Among the Lesser Gods

More than a decade after accidentally setting a deadly fire as a child, Elena Alvarez is living a shadow of a life, unwilling to act, expecting her choices to have unbearable consequences on those around her. An unintended pregnancy serves only to paralyze her further. Anxious to put off adult decisions and their consequences a little longer, she agrees to spend the summer in the town of Leadville, Colorado, just down the mountain from her grandmother’s isolated home, to care for two children whose mother has recently died.

Though Elena fled to this remote place to hide herself away, soon the troubled family and the intertwined community begin to draw her out of herself. She finds echoes of her troubles on every side and starts to question her self-imposed isolation. When Elena is confronted with a grim discovery from her family’s past, she discovers the truth of the terrible burdens we take upon ourselves, and eventually, begins to understand how tragedy and redemption are inevitably intertwined?and how curses can sometimes lead to blessings, however disguised.

Thematically rich and beautifully written, Among the Lesser Gods is a timeless coming-of-age story blossoming out of sophisticated prose and nuanced characters?an essential read for the literary audience.

Margo Catts grew up in Los Angeles and has since lived in Utah, Indiana, and Colorado. After raising three children in the U.S., she and her husband moved to Saudi Arabia, where her Foreign Girl blog was well known in the expat community. Originally a freelance editor for textbooks and magazines, she has also done freelance writing for business, technical, and advertising clients, all the while working on her fiction. She is a contributing author to Once Upon an Expat. Among the Lesser Gods is her first novel. She now lives in Denver, Colorado.