California Writer and Mental Health Counselor Pens a Book on the Engine of Anxiety in Everyday Life

PORTLAND, OR; October 19, 2021— SEPARATION ANXIETY is a stunning short story collection that shows how pervasive the disorder can be in everyday lives. In eighteen stories, Coshnear paints separation anxiety as an engine of change while being careful to tend to the delicateness of the disorder's consequences. Readers become intimately acquainted with the captain of a SWAT (team), a mental health case worker who falls deeply in love, an elderly man who is driven to rage when his wife is buried in the wrong hole, and many more.

From the Book
At quarter to seven, he has one more hour of sunlight. He wanders the beach and the strip and returns to the beach. His skin, shrunken from the burn, shrinks more now in the cold. His lips look blue in an arcade mirror. The sky bleeds into twilight. There seems to be only one choice. He walks the long, flat, two-lane road back to the highway. He should’ve snatched a towel from the beach to keep warm, but he assures himself that it only takes one ride if you’re lucky, and he must be lucky, because the alternatives are too terrible.

He imagines the perfect ride: Mrs. Hagner in her bra. Mrs. Hagner not in her bra. Her brown nipples pointing the way home. He doesn’t need to ponder on this long before he has an embarrassing lump in his shorts, and no one’s going to pick up a boy with an erection. Or maybe someone would, and that could be worse. He forces himself to imagine other perfect rides. Bruce Springsteen in a souped-up Charger with a double order of fries. He sings as he walks and surprises himself, because he knows all the words to “Born to Run” and most of “Thunder Road.”

Praise for Daniel Coshnear’s Work
“Daniel Coshnear’s stories are glimpses of peoples’ lives, thoughts, relationships…the facts of their lives. He manages to give a clear view of a character’s reality by looking just into ordinary incidents. His characters’ realities are multi-dimensional, and the characters themselves are complex. We perceive their thoughts, their needs and their circumstances through their eyes.”
—Anastasia Tsolaki
 
“As a physical object, the book is well-crafted. The stories are not just well-crafted (though they certainly are that) but illuminating and lyrical invocations of hopes and failures.”
—Stephen O. Murray

“The simplicity of the stories in Dan Coshnear's Occupy and Other Love Stories is deceptive. These are layered, complex stories, many of which examine the angst and the joy endemic to parenting. His narrators and protagonists are Everymen, each making his or her way the best they can through our crazy times. Life and parenting are often perplexing and Dan's careful storytelling and lovely prose, particularly phrases such as "sweet black sleep" make their challenges immediate and real.”
—P. Porter
 
“A well-balanced collection of short stories that will sit on my favorite shelf in a permanent position, I have no doubt. While reading, I had this feeling of honor - to be privy to such emotional openness and with such a deft hand.”
—Stephanie Freele

About Daniel Coshnear
Daniel Coshnear lives in Guerneville, California with his wife and two children. He works at a group home for the homeless and mentally ill and teaches writing classes through UC Berkeley Extension. He is the author of Homesick, Redux (Flock 2015), Occupy & Other Love Stories (Kelly's Cove Press 2012) and Jobs & Other Preoccupations (Helicon Nine 2001) winner of the Willa Cather Fiction Award.

About Unsolicited Press
Unsolicited Press was founded in 2012 and is based in Portland, OR. The press strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning authors. Learn more at  www.unsolicitedpress.com.
 
SEPARATION ANXIETY is available on October 19, 2021 as a paperback (244 p.; 978-1-950730-65-0) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking opportunities, interviews with the media, and readings. Electronic review copies are available upon request.
 
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Press only, Unsolicited Press
Eric Rancino
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For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts:
Daniel Coshnear
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