K. B. Laugheed, author of The Spirit Keeper, on tour November/December 2013

About The Spirit Keeper

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Plume (September 24, 2013)

In 1747 Pennsylvania, a trading post on the American frontier was an unsettling place, allowing little opportunity for a woman’s happiness.  This is truest perhaps for seventeen-year-old Katie O’Toole, the thirteenth child of an unhappy Irish immigrant family.   Yet, Katie dreams of a different life, unaware that someone far away was dreaming of her.  Evocative of Geraldine Brook’s Caleb’s Crossing, K.B. Laugheed’s extraordinary debut novel, The Spirit Keeper (Plume Original / October 2013 / $16.00) is Katie’s engrossing first-person account, as she leaves behind her painful past in order to accept a new identity and the great love that comes with it.

When savages raid the O’Toole home, Katie is taken captive by two strange Indians who claim they have been searching for her.  Protected by his companion Hector, Syawa is a gifted holyman who can see the future through dreams.  Syawa claims he has seen Katie in his vision: a Creature of Fire and Ice who will bring a great gift to his people.

Despite her flaming red hair and ice-blue eyes, Katie looks upon him incredulously, but faced with the alternative of returning to her abusive family, she agrees to join them.  Soon, their travel westward takes an irreversible turn.  Katie discovers that to fulfill Syawa’s vision, she must become his Spirit Keeper, embarking on an epic journey that will change her life—and heart—forever.

The Spirit Keeper captures the soul of a young woman on a quest to discover herself during a remarkable adventure across the New World.

“Katie’s extraordinary journey and her unconquerable spirit haunt me.” –New York Times bestselling author Sandra Dallas

“A tale as bighearted as its trailblazer heroine, Katie O’Toole… by turns mysterious, raw, funny, and sensual.  A moving story of adventure, self-discovery, trust and loss, and a testament to how cultures as separate as continents can be bridged by love.”–Barbara Kyle, author of Blood Between Queens and The Queen’s Lady

“Remarkable… a powerful and compelling tale.”–Mary Jo Putney, author of The Bargain

About K. B. Laugheed