A work of magical realism, the Cursed Hat tells the story of Jewish hatmakers threatened by a veil-wearing Nazi known as the “stealer of faces” who must use the god Hermes’ fabled hat to teleport out of Germany during Kristallnacht. They won’t be safer in America, however, until they break the curse that has trapped them in the hat business for sixteen centuries. Set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, Nazi Germany, and World War II Detroit, the novel is a fantastical family saga about the fluidity of tradition, faith, and identity.
Catherine Bell, author of Rush of Shadows (winner of the Washington Writers’ Publishing House 2014 Fiction Prize), called the story “[i]ncredible, overwhelming, compelling.” Terence Hawkins, author of American Neolithic (named one of the Best Indie Books of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews), says, “This is an amazing debut novel—wildly imaginative, powerfully written, funny, and deeply humane.”
When not wearing my fiction writer hat, I practice consumer protection law in Washington, D.C. Rest assured your tax dollars are hard at work as I battle marketers of “modern miracles” like weight-loss earrings and penile-enhancing herbs. (Please let me know if you spot an ad for penile enhancement earrings.)
I graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in philosophy, which, surprisingly, did not qualify me for gainful employment. In short, it was on to graduate school. Well, almost. I spent a year touring with a professional comedy troupe, writing and performing sketch comedy at colleges in the Mid-Atlantic States. After that frolic and detour, it was a blur of law school, falling in love, cats, marriage, a dog, children, a fish, more dogs, another fish, a chinchilla, guinea pigs, and an assortment of uninvited rodents that have since burrowed through the foundation. Storybook.
I live in Kensington, Maryland with my wife, Laura, and two children, Stoney and Bay. Among my current menagerie of furry critters are a silver lab, Gracie, and a Boston Terrier, Beanie.
http://www.keithfentonmiller.com/
