The Cantora

"The Cantora," American Book Fest Best Book of the Year--Historical Fiction

It all began with a rumor: An Indian girl who sang with the voice of an angel. A tiny girl, perhaps only nine years old. No one believed it at first, but the rumor persisted. Finally one day a runner arrived bringing news... And so the journey of the woman and the girl--Sister M e da Do ura and Yema, the Caet Indian child acclaimed as The Cantora--begins to unfold as perilous circumstance compels them to become agents of fate, changing the destinies of all who cross their path.

The setting for The Cantora is coastal Brazil during the early 1500s, in the colonial town of Lu s, a shipping port for the brutal and lucrative dyewood trade. Many Indians and Africans are enslaved at the port, and the Indians, afflicted with European diseases, are perishing by the hundreds.

A village priest discovers an Indian child with a magical voice, and he allows her to sing the Latin Mass. The regional bishop assigns the girl to Sister Do ura with the intention of making the child singer a ward of the Church. The child is also treasured by her tribe as a mystical Tuguy Ku (Blood Woman).
The bishop summons The Vatican's Consilium de Virtutibus (The Council of Miracles) to certify Yema as a The First True Miracle of The New World, but when an Indian rebellion breaks out, the Council accuses the nun and child of heresy and condemns them to death as Do ura and Yema are forced to flee for their lives.

Early Praise for Paul Cohn's The Cantora

"If You Enjoyed The Book Thief, You Will Fall In Love With Cantora" --Hailey Zwanzig, Illustrator, Left Hand Tree by Jay Gunter"

"A Lyrically Stunning Novel... A 16th Century Jackie Evancho. 5-Stars " --Justin Haldeman, Author of the forthcoming novel The Duke's Jubilee

"The Cantora, an utterly transporting reading experience. ...immensely skilled setting and scene building... Brazil during the 1500s--a vivid life for the reader." --Carina Guiterman, Editor, Little, Brown & Company Publishers

"The Cantora, Remarkable Story, Breathtaking In Scope, A Cadre Of Unforgettable Characters" --William T. Goodman, Author of Desert Sundays

And From The Cantora:

"Yema's voice filled the church, and some felt it filled the world... An ecstasy upon the ear, a vital singing, the honeyed perfume of song." --Page 23, The Cantora

Extraordinary Praise for Book I of The Cantora Series, S o Tom

"S o Tom A riveting work of historical fiction. ...vivid portrayal and character descriptions. ...powerful, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and joyous. Impossible to put down." --Michele Jones, The Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh

"S o Tom (Rapto em Lisboa) ...The ideal historical novel... thorough, persuasive, vivid and uncompromising... A classic of the era." --Paulo Nogueira, EXPRESS (Lisbon)

Author: Paul D. Cohn
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Paul D Cohn
Published: 08/16/2018
Series: Cantora Series, Book II #2
Pages: 416
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9780692862612
Audience: Young Adult

About the Author
Cohn, Paul D.: - In addition to the first novel of The Cantora Series, São Tomé, Paul Cohn is commercially published overseas with the Portuguese edition Rapto em Lisboa by Medialivros/DIFEL in Lisbon. His short stories have appeared in the Huffington Post, The BoZone Monthly, The Big Sky Weekly, and Writers of the Gulch. He authored The Toolbox, a children's adventure radio series (Treehouse Corner), broadcast on KGLT Public Radio in Montana. His short story, São Tomé, won Honorable Mention in Moment Magazine's Karma Short Story Contest He has also been a guest speaker at several adult-education writing classes. His career began in nuclear engineering where he managed projects for Rockwell and Battelle Memorial Institute, and ran his own consulting business, Energy Engineering Associates. Mr. Cohn has a B.S. in chemical engineering, and an M.S. in nuclear engineering, and is the author of over 50 technical papers, journal articles, and book chapters.