Persephone Abbott

Persephone Abbott, poet and author, lives in the Netherlands. Her pandemic project "Idle Opportunities" was released on Amazon in the fall of 2023. This comic novel follows the life of the whacky heroine Cynthia Murray who moved to Paris to become an opera singer and escape her dysfunctional Californian family. The problem is some of the family escaped with her to Europe, and now she’s scrambling to find new ways to take her career to the next level. But will she manage to circumvent the family dramas and create a solid musical foundation for herself? Set in 1992 Idle Opportunities lifts the curtain to reveal the backstage antics of the opera student world and the drama of a blended Californian family that holds a DNA mystery. The story unfolds as Cynthia moves between Paris and the Netherlands, culminating in an opera production of The Magic Flute.

In 2024 Persephone republished Keith Kumasen Abbott's novel "Mordecai of Monterey". She remembers her father telling stories about his friends who were the basis for characters in the book. This comic novel is set in 1973, during the height of the Watergate scandale. From the landscape that inspired "Cannery Row", the hero Mordecai discovers that he has been gifted with melanoia - the opposite of paranoia. Melanoia means that Mordecai actually trusts people and expects good things to happen. Mordecai hooks up with fast talking Alabama born Buck and, through his adventures, encounters a sexy soul mate named Francine Fingers. Mordecai finds out just how far good luck can go. First published in 1985, this retelling of "Mordecai of Monterey" is a testament to the life and times of the author, his storytelling and his friends.

In 2018 her novella "Ein rasch gesponnenes netz" (translated by Günter Ohnemus) was published by MaroVerlag. The novella tells the story of a woman living in a small town in the Netherlands who is slowly distancing herself from her home and marriage.