Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out

So happy to announce the publication of my collection of stories Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out by WhiskeyPaper Press (due out April 2015).

Here’s a synopsis: A great storm and its effect on a young family; a woman with a rifle in a barren landscape; boys discovering the world of possibility in online sexuality; a couple at a scenic overlook, their relationship at the verge of dissolution. Each story in Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out is a sliver of time pulled from the life of a young man, each a fragment of feeling, each a pivotal intersection of relationships. They are stories about the desperation of trying to fit in and find a kindred, to understand the elusive essence of love in all forms, to fill a void of solitude that only seems to grow as we do. They navigate the mysteries of relationships between men and women, of family and geography, and find a recurring theme of abject longing throughout.

Some authors I really greatly admire (Amber Sparks, Ben Tanzer, Adam Schuitema, Jared Yates Sexton, Sara Lippmann, Aaron Burch, Gerry LaFemina) were kind enough to read it in advance and say some nice things about it. Really means so much.

And I’m floored to be the first book put out by WhiskeyPaper Press! WhiskeyPaper (the journal) is a tremendous publication, and Leesa Cross-Smith, who runs it, and is a helluva writer and I’m floored to be a part of WP’s universe.