St. Petersburg Press announces The Hottest Fires of Hell, a work of historical fiction by Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and director Christopher Ward and illustrated by AM Case.
Set in Nazi-occupied Danzig, Poland, (now known as Gdansk, Poland) during World War II, the graphic novel follows a covert network of lesbian rebels who emerge after Polish resistance forces are decimated by informants. Operating through coded messages, clandestine meetings, and sheer will, the fighters work to dismantle the Nazi war machine from within.
The Hottest Fires of Hell is crafted to honor resistance fighters whose stories have largely been forgotten. The book is described as a historic graphic novel written with “respect, historical depth, and a commitment” to its subject matter.
Ward is a two-time Emmy Award winner whose Holocaust documentary Outwitting Hitler is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. His play The Independents, about the artists impressionist artists Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, ran for four months Off-Broadway. Ward wrote and directed the production. An expert on the silent film era, he has introduced classic films at both the Imagine Museum and the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida. He currently teaches at the University of Tampa.
AM Case is a gifted artist who values exploration, experimentation, and creating through a queer lens. She is an online influencer who has a successful Instagram account and hosts “Lilstarnerd,” a popular YouTube channel. AM is also the creator of an online art course on Skillshare, and has worked with accomplished art brands such as Mossery, Winsor & Newton, and Cricut. This is her first graphic novel.
The Hottest Fires of Hell is available now through St. Petersburg Press, Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers.