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"Through the Glorieta Pass is like no other collection I've read before. Conceptually, the book is a union of voices: Adams's straight forward and lyrical one, and the voices of women who braved the journey across the Santa Fe Trail. In poem after poem, Adams lets the dead speak to us—and their stories are harrowing. Deadly winter storms. Men crushed by wagons. A woman's breasts carved away by an Indian's knife. It's an apocalyptic view of the Old West where disease was rampant, the innocent were scalped, and buffalo carcasses rose from the landscape 'like trail markers.'"
Published by Pearl Books, 2009 |
At Home in the Land of Oz: Autism, My Sister, and Me Anne Barnhill
Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007 |
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Anne Barnhill
Filled with humor and tenderness, Barnhill has written an enormously entertaining group of stories. Whether she is describing country women telling their stories in “The Quilting Bee,” or introducing a little boy in love with his best friend’s beer-drinking mother in “Kings and Damsels,” Anne Barnhill creates unforgettable characters who feel like people you have encountered in your own life. She describes the interior life of women, in particular, with honesty and wonderfully real details from ordinary life. Simultaneously erotic and down-to-earth, What You Long For, is bound to become a Southern classic.
Published by Main Street Rag, 2009 |
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George Bishop
On the eve of her birthday, fifteen-year-old Elizabeth runs away from her Baton Rouge home. Her mother Laura blames herself and seeks reconciliation by setting down in a letter “everything I’ve always meant to tell you but never have.” In recounting her own troubled adolescence, she reveals why her parents sent her away to a Catholic boarding school, how her long-distance love affair with a boy in Vietnam ended in tragedy, and finally, the meaning of an enigmatic tattoo she still wears below her right hip. “Think of this letter as my birthday present to you,” Laura writes. “Something which my mother never told me, but which I’ll endeavor now with all my heart to tell you: the truth about how a girl grows up. The truth about life.”
forthcoming February 2010 from Random House |
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The Mariner's Wife & How to Recognize a Lady
"The poems in How To Recognize a Lady seem more than twelve in number because they are not neat little poems tied up with a bow. They bite. They push the reader to pay attention to what drives us to do what we do." —Kyes Stevens for Alabama Writers' Forum
The Mariner's Wife published by Finishing Line Press How to Recognize a Lady, published as part of Edge by Edge, the third in Toadlily Press' Quartet Series |
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Michelle Boyajian
Katie Burelli is living a wife's worst nightmare. Her husband, Nick, a speech therapist, has been killed, shot at point-blank range by Jerry, one of his mentally handicapped patients. Now, she sits in the courtroom, playing and replaying the events that led up to the murder. As the trial progresses and Katie searches her own recollections for answers, she begins to confront the truth about her marriage and her own responsibility for its dissolution. In chapters alternating between the past and present, Lies of the Heart unravels the truth behind the mourning widow's grief. Katie- long overshadowed by her beautiful, successful sister-pinned her emotional well-being on Nick, whose unpredictable rampages only fueled Katie's destructive insecurities. As the cracks in their relationship began to appear, both welcomed Jerry into their family, hoping that by fixing him they could fix themselves. A powerful debut novel and a rich tale of psychological suspense, Lies of the Heart masterfully dissects a marriage and explores the path of self-discovery that can sometimes be found in grief.
forthcoming from Viking Adult: April 15, 2010 |
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Brian Devido —Carlo Rotella, The New York Times Book Review
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2004 |
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—People Magazine —Luis Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter
Published by Algonquin Books, 2008 |
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Nina de Gramont
“Acute perceptions and an intelligent voice are evident throughout De Gramont’s collection. You need not be a cat-lover to appreciate it.” —Newsday —The Washington Post Book World
Published by Dial Press, 2001 |
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"In Falling Room, Eli Hastings moves beyond mere anger to write with a passion that fuses pain and tenderness, anger and sympathy. I emerged out the other side of this immensely readable book bruised but full of wild hope.” —Sebastian Matthews, author of In My Father’s Footsteps
Hastings, a 2004 graduate of nonfiction, has taught creative nonfiction and English courses at UNCW. His work has appeared in many journals, including Cimarron Review, The Seattle Review, and the Tulane Review. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won the Alligator Juniper nonfiction contest. His story “Out of the Blue” is in pre-production as a short feature film by Westbound Films.
Published by Bison Books, 2006 |
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"Band of Sisters is one of the few truly revealing books written about our military in the past decade--and one of the most fascinating to read. This overdue account of the combat actions of the women who wore our country's uniform in recent wars reads as swiftly as a thriller, but the thrills here come from the real sacrifices and valor of America's fighting women. Author Kirsten Holmstedt earns a salute for honoring these all-American heroes." —Ralph Peters, author of Never Quit The Fight and Wars Of Blood And Faith
Kirsten A. Holmstedt graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1985 with a BA in Journalism and from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2006 with a MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing. Over the past twenty years, Ms. Holmstedt has written for newspapers, business, academia, and magazines. She has won awards for her writing at the regional and national levels.
Published by Stackpole Books, 2007 |
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While writing her first book, Band of Sisters, which told the amazing true stories of women on the battlefield, Kirsten Holmstedt developed an unrivaled relationship with female service members. In The Girls Came Marching Home, she follows America's women warriors as they come home from Iraq and explore the other side of war—its painful aftermath, including post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor's guilt, physical wounds, and other challenges. |
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Nancy J. Jones
"A beautifully crafted first novel that explores the deep passions of youthful friendship and the dark entrapment of the innocent by a misbegotten love. A moving book, written with rare grace." —Philip Gerard, author of Cape Fear Rising
"Molly is an evocative coming-of-age story between two young girls, one the narrator, the other, Molly, an imagined Lolita. What the story says about friendship, loyalty, the strangeness of young girls is both compelling and disturbing." —Susan Richards Shreve, author of Plum & Jaggers |
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Millions trekking from the near and far ends of the Earth to Los Angeles every year head straight to the heart of Hollywood, with vain hopes for a close encounter of the celebrity kind. And despite the mid-90’s billion-dollar facelift of the "Entertainment District," many are still shocked by Tinseltown’s lackluster façade, finding the Walk of Fame’s slabs of cement displaying imprints of Groucho Marx’s cigar, Betty Grable’s legs, John Wayne’s fist, and R2D2’s feet a little disappointing. But have no fear: entrepreneurial souls live here, so visitors can still go home with one-of-a-kind portraits of themselves with their favorite superhero or movie character. Never mind that some consider these street performers to be panhandlers, or that local businesses have described them as a nuisance. Everyone who comes to Hollywood feels like they really could be somebody. In the meantime, it might just pay better to be somebody else.
Published by Mark Batty Pub, 2007 |
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"Lighthearted but fascinating...her spunk and enthusiasm leave a clear, fiery impression on her readers." —Bust Magazine —New Times Los Angeles
Shawna Kenney authored the award-winning memoir, I Was a Teenage Dominatrix (Last Gasp), which has been translated abroad and optioned for film. She has written for Juxtapoz, Swindle Magazine, Transworld Skateboarding, Alternative Press, The Florida Review, the LA Weekly, and Herbivore, among others. Her latest essays appear in anthologies Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class (Seal Press) and Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer (Avalon Publishing Group).
Published by Last Gasp of San Francisco, 1999, 2002 |
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"The spring's most promising memoir." —Entertainment Weekly —Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors
"Brad Land's talent as a writer is his ability to be completely vulnerable on the page, yet command absolute control over his language. " —Terry Tempest Williams
Published by Random House, Inc. 2004, 2005 |
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Pilgrims Upon the Earth: A Novel Brad Land
"Brad Land dials up a dazzling teenage wasteland. Sure, the scenery can be harrowing -displacement, violence, drugs, etc.- but the author paints a beautiful nightmare. Land’s kaleidoscopic minimalism echoes that of two of his idols: Denis Johnson and Cormac McCarthy. Although the structure is sparse, the lyrical sensibility is copious." —UpstateToday.com
"Land does a fine job of evoking the trapped quality of adolescence, its oppressive air of alienation and despair. But as the title of his novel suggests, he's after something larger, a more profound statement about humanity—how we are all lost, adrift in the universe with no compass other than our instincts, our own subjective sense of wrong and right." —Los Angeles Times
Published by Random House, 2007 |
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“All one could ask for in a biography—an engaging and intricate subject, thoroughly researched; a panoply of riveting interviews; and, best of all, the author’s own passion for lyrics, music, and life.”
“Robert Lurie has written the definitive account of the Church and the life of its main protagonist, the ever creative and artistically complex Steve Kilbey. This is more than just a band biography; it’s also the personal journey of one Church fanatic, a journey to which we can all relate.”
Published by Verse Chorus Press |
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Catherine McCall has done regular commentary for regional public radio, and her writing has been published in the New York Times, Louisville Courier-Journal, Wilmington Star-News, and The North Carolina Literary Review. In addition to writing, she is a psychiatrist in private practice. |
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We Call This Thing Between Us Love
"We humans may have difficulty forging the romantic and familial intimacy we so desperately desire, but these poems sure don't. They create an intense connection between poet and reader that counteracts the weakness, fear, resentment and loneliness that undermine our failed relationships. Formally varied, but singular in their conversational music, Mott's poems reflect the richness and range of his emotional life; like the redbird in "Imagery," they sing the aria of that universe trapped inside. And they sing beautifully." —Mark Cox author of Smolder and Natural Causes
forthcoming in December 2009 from Main Street Rag |
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"Nikitas' stellar first novel isn't just one of the best genre debuts of the year, it's one of the best releases—period." —Chicago Tribune
"This is a polished first novel. ...A heartbreaking coming-of-age story and a gripping psychological thriller." —Booklist
"I've long been an admirer of Derek Nikitas's unusually engaging, subtly rendered short fiction....Any subject Derek handles, channeled through the lens of his unique sensibility, is likely to be of unusual worth and interest." —Joyce Carol Oates |
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The Long Division
An Atlanta housecleaner flees her nowhere life to reunite with the son she gave up for adoption. The teenage boy joins his long-lost mother on an unlawful road trip that proves how much they both have to lose by finding each other. Elsewhere, a deputy must track down the shooter in a drug-related double murder before other investigators discover the deputy's illicit ties to the case. The killer is an unbalanced college kid hunted by vengeful drug dealers and the police, haunted by loves both dead and forbidden. When the renegade mother and son arrive, past sins and present gambits will ensnare them in the violent endgame between the deputy and the desperate killer. |
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Dawn Evans Radford
Dawn Evans Radford holds master’s degrees in Creative Writing and English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She was the recipient of the prestigious Sherwood Anderson Award in 1993. Published and recognized in a variety of genres including poetry, short story, essay and scholarly research, she has taught in educational, literary, community and professional settings. Her poetry has been translated to Russian and published internationally. Ms. Radford lives on the Florida Panhandle where she is currently at work on a second novel. Published by Pottersville Press, 2007 |
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Boys of the Battleship North Carolina |
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Flirting with Ridicule & You Should Get That Looked At
"Reading the poetry of S. Craig Renfroe, Jr. will do things to you. Before too long, you'll be smiling and despite your best attempts at self control, laughing. This voyage into the land of the ridiculous begins with a dedication that is worthy of quoting..." —Terry Lowenstein
S. Craig Renfroe, Jr. is a professor at Queens University and a frequent open-mic participant at Jackson's Java in Charlotte. Works published by the Main Sreet Rag. |
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Not Anything is a powerful debut novel about a girl living a not-so-glamorous life in a city that’s all about glamour.
"Any girl who's ever fumbled her way through changing friendships, first love and real loss will find a friend in Susie Shannon." —Melissa Walker, author of Violet on the Runway
Published by Berkley Trade, 2008
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The House On Dream Street is both the story of a country on the cusp of change and of a woman learning to know her own heart.
Born in Memphis, TN, Dana Sachs is a freelance journalist. She has written for magazines and newspapers, including Mother Jones, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Philadelpia Inquirer. She has translated Vietnamese novels into English and co-directed the award-winning documentary, Vietnam Which Way Is East. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the MFA program at UNC Wilmington, she now teaches journalism and Vietnamese literature and lives in Wilmington.
Published by Seal Press, 2003 |
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Dana Sachs
"A highly touted debut." —Library Journal
Published by William Morrow, 2007 |
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Garden Perennials for the Coastal South Barbara Sullivan
"A fundamental volume for gardeners in that hot and humid stretch from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Tidewater Virginia. This attractive and authoritative guide covers everything from companion plantings to 'fail-safe' perennials." —American Gardener
Published by UNC Press, 2003 |
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Stevens Poetry Manuscript Winner
"The language of this stunningly accomplished debut collection is more haunting than the images of the dead in war that it captures. The formal control; the Civil War iconography; the dates, time, and locations are apparitions behind the emotion at the center of these poems. Don't be fooled by the look back into history; these poems are relevant today and resonate with us. Terry's images will burn on your retina like film developing in a dark room and we will remember these poems like we remember the fallen figures it commemorates. Indeed, holding Capturing the Dead in my hands, I echo the words of the poet: 'I cannot look at you and igonore this/light....'" —A. Van Jordan (author of M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A and Quantum Lyrics)
Published by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press, 2007 |
| Forthcoming: |
Nina de Gramont |
Jay Varner |
