The life of an artist is hard, but being a vampire is even harder ... Vincent van Gogh fakes his death. Ellis Spenser longs to paint. Holly Carter conceals a famous lineage. Theo van Gogh gains his health, but loses the woman he loves. Mimi Calais says she's a vampire. Tom Spencer hatches a plan. Ellis and Tom Spencer oversee the drug safety organization in one of the world's largest and most respected companies, Pratt Pharmaceuticals. Tom's deviant plan for their future begins to splinter when Ellis meets Holly Carter, a lonely Southern woman who has come to New York to pursue art while furthering her pharmaceutical career. Holly lives in a Greenwich Village apartment building owned by Mimi, a mysterious young woman whose claims of being a vampire remind Holly that life goes on. As Ellis pursues Holly, the past and present begin to overlap. Dark secrets emerge amidst Mimi's bizarre apartment bookstore, strip clubs, galleries, brownstones, corporate boardrooms, and Starbucks ad nauseam, while this diverse cast of characters struggles to carve out unique identities in a world where middle age is the beginning of the end; corporate puppets and dreaming immigrants rub shoulders in the hallowed burning halls of Ellis Island; and forever takes on new meaning. Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime. Based on extensive research, CENTERPIECES explores the miraculous explosion of Van Gogh's work shortly after his suicide and the death of his brother, Theo, six months later. Join Vincent in a journey of self-discovery, friendship, betrayal, fantasy, corporate intrigue, and love. Find out what he sacrificed for art. "CENTERPIECES is an amazing, powerful, and deep trip inside the human condition Strong and impressive " Jean Marc Calvet, internationally renowned artist and subject of the feature film, CALVET "CENTERPIECES is a bold story filled with dramatic scenes--one of the most striking of which is the 1897 burning of the Ellis Island Immigrant Station by quite unexpected hands. Highly recommended to those who enjoy their historical fiction with a twist." Barry Moreno, Historian, Ellis Island Immigration Museum and author of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ELLIS ISLAND "Penelope Przekop has keen insight into the human condition." Terri Cheney, author of MANIC: A Memoir, and THE DARK SIDE OF INNOCENCE: Growing up Bipolar "What a clever novel I was so drawn in by Przekop's characters. She is terrific at creating distinct personalities and voices. And her plotting is spot on. The different story threads were so compelling and she tied them all together in such a satisfying way. I found the writing to be the most amazing aspect of all. There is so much poetic beauty here. She truly captured the artist sensibility. Boy, this lady can write " DeAnna Cameron, author of THE BELLY DANCER "Penelope Przekop writes with gorgeous imagery, quirky characters and deep storytelling." Melissa Walker, author of LOVESTRUCK SUMMER and VIOLET IN PRIVATE