The Book of Laney

Category: fiction

+ books, fiction, flash fiction, literary, PANK Little Books, short stories, short story, small press, writers

Hard to Say, by Ethel Rohan

by

I do believe that Hard to Say, a painfully beautiful linked collection of stories by Ethel Rohan, will leave you as speechless as it did me. The book begins with a young woman whose own desire not to speak her family’s many secrets chokes her. It is not until she envisions herself speaking, through a dream of bloodletting, that her stories are set free. Long kept hidden … Read More Hard to Say, by Ethel Rohan

+ books, fiction, Roxane Gay, short stories, storytelling, writers

Ayiti, by Roxane Gay

by

At the heart of Roxane Gay‘s devastating debut collection, Ayiti, is truth. Whether a language is shared or a language divides, what it offers, when spoken with strength and authority, is an opportunity to share the truth. There is a connection to the desire for truth from the title of the book, which is the Haitian Creole for Haiti, to the final words, which … Read More Ayiti, by Roxane Gay

+ books, Engine Books, fiction, short stories, Victoria Barrett, writers

Other Heartbreaks, by Patricia Henley

by

It seems an oversimplification to say that Patricia Henley’s gorgeous new short story collection, Other Heartbreaks, will break your heart. But it will. It will break your heart again and again but you will come back to it, begging for more. You will come back because this is what love it about. The thrill of attraction, the comfort of togetherness, the razor’s edge of disintegration. … Read More Other Heartbreaks, by Patricia Henley

+ books, Echolocation, Ellen Meister, Engine Books, fiction, Myfanwy Collins, novel, Victoria Barrett, writers, writing books

my novel, ECHOLOCATION, available for pre-order!

by

Absolutely thrilled and delighted to announce that my novel, Echolocation, is available for pre-order here: Echolocation here’s the first beautiful blurb: “Fearless, elegant, and accessible, Echolocation is literary fiction at its best. With heartbreakingly beautiful prose, Myfanwy Collins tells a gripping and tender tale of broken souls yearning for wholeness. These are characters who will stay with you long after you turn the last … Read More my novel, ECHOLOCATION, available for pre-order!

+ books, fiction, flash fiction, Kathy Fish, short stories, writers

Wild Life, by Kathy Fish

by

If you’re like me, when you finish the brilliant new chapbook Wild Life just about every other page will be dog eared. From the prodigal brother eating watermelon in the dark, to the Payless shoe store clerk who may or may not be a child abductor, to the couple with the new bed, you will turn the last page of this book and feel … Read More Wild Life, by Kathy Fish

+ Echolocation, Engine Books, fiction, I Am Holding Your Hand, Myfanwy Collins, novel, PANK Little Books, Roxane Gay, short stories, Victoria Barrett, writers, writing books

20 years ago and today

by

20 years ago, I was finishing up my first summer out of college. I was teaching summer school (a miserable experience for both the students and me) and I had much to look forward to. I had finished writing my first novel and my agent at the time was sending it out to publishers. I had a handful of stories upon which my creative … Read More 20 years ago and today

+ books, fiction, novel, parenting, travel

Bad Marie, by Marcy Dermansky

by

Bad Marie is a bad influence. I say this because while reading Marcy Dermansky’s second novel, Bad Marie, I was driven to do something that I, as a mother of a small, active child, never do anymore–and that is stay up past 11PM reading, which should tell you something about how engrossing this novel is if even an exhausted mother will stay up late … Read More Bad Marie, by Marcy Dermansky

+ books, fiction, Nature, novel, storytelling, writers

The Wilding, by Benjamin Percy

by

On the surface, you might consider Benjamin Percy’s chillingly brilliant new novel The Wilding to be a classic tale of man vs. nature. Scratch beneath the surface, and you will find that man’s biggest fear is not the beast without, rather it is the beast within. Commonly, we understand frontier times (and consequently the literature of that time) to be about (white) human beings … Read More The Wilding, by Benjamin Percy

+ books, Ellen Meister, fiction, novel, reading

The Other Life, by Ellen Meister

by

I am extremely fortunate to have received an advanced review copy of Ellen Meister‘s soon-to-be-released and breathtakingly great new novel, The Other Life. I can’t wait for the book to be released and for the rest of the reading public to join me in celebrating this beautiful book. Before I had a child, I often wondered what it would be like to have one … Read More The Other Life, by Ellen Meister

+ books, fiction, literary, New England, novel, storytelling, writers, writing books

Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.

by

I worried through the entirety of my pregnancy. How, I fretted, could I bring a child into this world? How could I protect him? What did he have to look forward to but melting ice caps, tsunamis, wild fires, genocide, floods, hurricanes, drought, war, war, war, serial killers, crazed gunmen in schools, bullies, etc. Now that I am a parent, I realize I can’t … Read More Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.

+ fiction, flash fiction, Kathy Fish, Katrina Denza, writers

new at wigleaf

by

Two beautiful new stories at wigleaf: Peace, by Katrina Denza & Swicks Rule!, by Kathy Fish

+ books, fiction, flash fiction, literary, short stories, small press, storytelling, writers

Big World, by Mary Miller

by

I first encountered the work of Mary Mill when I was guest editor for SmokeLong Quarterly and my friend Katrina Denza suggested I check out her writing. I did and asked her to submit for the issue. She sent us this: A Blind Dog Named Killer and a Colony of Bees. All this is to say that before I even cracked the spine of … Read More Big World, by Mary Miller

Blog at WordPress.com.

%d bloggers like this: