'Abraham Marilyn Lincoln Monroe' to Be Released in 2015

In a near-distant future, no more dystopian than our present day, in vivo fertilization methods have made cloning easy and common. But after a spot of bother with a Baby Hitler, the cloning of dictators, monarchs and other "crucial" historical figures has been prohibited, punishable by incarceration of both host parents after the fact-and, if caught in time, enforced abortion of the embryo.

As the world's first, only, and completely illegal clone of America's 16th President, Abe Finkelstein grew up with just one wish: to live his life just like anybody else. But when you're a living ringer for one of the country's best known and loved historical figures, privacy is hard to come by - especially when your face is on money. Across town, Norma Greenberg, one of the world's many Marilyn Monroe clones, is wrestling with identity issues of a different sort. It's not easy living as a perfect copy of the beautiful Norma Jean Baker! When Abe is kidnapped by government agents eager to discover the secrets of his illustrious ancestor, Norma could be Abe's last hope of escape - or thanks to her barely suppressed kleptomania, his worst chance of recapture. With only their wits, a cigarette lighter, a bottle of perfume, and the disembodied arm of Richard Millhouse Nixon, can Abe and Norma make it back to safety and anonymity?

Set in Orlando, Florida, where artifice beats authenticity with one animatronic hand tied behind its back, "Abraham Marilyn Lincoln Monroe" features a host of Abe Lincolns, a gaggle of Marilyns, a Segway chase through the secret underground tunnels of the Magic Kingdom, and the answer to the age-old mystery about the dodo bird: what flavor was it? Josh Kilmer-Purcell of "The Fabulous Beekman Boys" called it "a perfect gem with terrifically simple and funny twists."

M.E. Roufa is an award-winning advertising writer and Creative Director living in New York City. Her work has appeared everywhere from the Super Bowl to the sides of shampoo bottles. She is a former Jeopardy contestant, a crochet fiend and a closet rebbetzin. This is her first novel.

"Abraham Marilyn Lincoln Monroe" will be available in paperback and all electronic formats, DRM-free. Advance review copies are available on NetGalley or by direct request from the publisher. A full-service publisher handling both fiction and non-fiction, Bitingduck specializes in books with science or nerd themes. Upcoming catalogs will feature young adult titles (2014) and hard sci-fi (2015). Submissions in all genres are welcome, particularly nonfiction; the submissions guidelines are found on the publisher site.