Promoted to the position of foreign war correspondent by The Illustrated London News , Brandon Jonathan Stewart has moved his family to the seat of the Civil War—Charleston, South Carolina—in the summer of 1861. In this second novel in the Absence of Light series, the Stewarts are facing unexpected challenges amidst the swelling tide of conflict, shortages, and sociopolitical upheaval. Amidst the backdrop of North versus South, the war draws closer to home. Will Brandon be able to keep his family safe, and will he and his colleagues survive their coverage of wartime battles? As black wreaths mount on Charleston door fronts, their uncertainties grow all the more difficult to overcome. About the Author As a longtime member of SD-PEN, Marsha J. MacDonald has co-authored and edited a wide range of novels and short stories. The inspiration for writing Absence of Light—Charleston and Marsha’s first novel in the Absence of Light series, Absence of Light—Crawford Hill , came from the years she lived in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Because her first novel ranked among the top three books in both the 2011 San Diego Book Awards and nationwide Mensa Creative uRGe contests for unpublished works, and, when published, received exclusively five-star ratings, she was inspired to continue writing the Absence of Light series. Since childhood, Marsha was told she should be a writer. As years went by and she became a molecular biologist in the field of biomedical research, she co-authored and edited a wide array of biomedical research articles and scientific user guides, but her first love is writing fiction drawn from real-life experience to inspire others to persevere—no matter what life brings.