 PORTLAND, OR; November 23, 2022— What scares you more? The monster under your bed or the one staring back at you in the mirror? Authors C.M. Chapman and Larry Thacker blur the lines between the kinds of monsters that roam the earth in their latest short story collection, EVERYDAY, MONSTERS.
In twenty-one stories, readers encounter monsters ranging from mythological, psychological, maliciously human, and darkly comical. Monsters creep from the deepest parts of humanity, the kind that we are born with, proving that even those with the best senses can overlook shadowy lurking beasts. Chapman and Thacker execute with skill everyday storytelling that leaves readers in a sense of wonder and wondering if what they know is truth or make believe. About the Authors C.M. Chapman’s work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Cheat River Review, Limestone, Still: The Journal, Dark Mountain Project in the U.K., and the anthology, So It Goes: A Tribute to Kurt Vonnegut. He is the author of the chapbook, Music & Blood, from Latham House Press, and his novel-in-stories, Suicidal Gods, was published by Unsolicited Press in 2019. He is a graduate of the low-residency MFA program at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he served as The McKinney Teaching Fellow for three years and as an adjunct professor. Larry D. Thacker’s stories can be found in past issues of The Still Journal, Fried Chicken and Coffee, Dime Show Review, Vandalia Journal, and Grotesque Quarterly. His stories have been twice nominated for the Pushcart and once for a Best of the Net recognition. His poetry can be found in over 170 publications, including Still: The Journal, The American Journal of Poetry, Poetry South, Tower Poetry Society, Spillway, The Southern Poetry Anthology, Town Creek Poetry, and Appalachian Heritage. His books are Mountain Mysteries: The Mystic Traditions of Appalachia, the short story collection, Working it Off in Labor County, and the poetry books, Feasts of Evasion, Grave Robber Confessional, Voice Hunting, Memory Train, and Drifting in Awe. His MFA in poetry and fiction is from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He serves as adjunct instructor at Northeast State Community College. Visit: www.larrydthacker.com 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. EVERYDAY, MONSTERS is available on November 23, 2022 as a paperback (284 p.; 978-1-950730-88-9) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram.  PORTLAND, OR; November 23, 2021-- Would you be willing to kidnap your child to save his life and set sail in search of a doctor that may hold the key to his survival when everyone else has given up? When it means you may lose everything regardless of the outcome? Pacific by Trevor J. Houser discovers what a desperate father is willing to do to save his son’s life...even if it means braving deadly storms at home and on the run.
On a remote Puget Sound island, police chief Bell navigates his job and marriage in the wake of his son’s near-death brain surgery. When his wife no longer wants to tempt the fates of experimental medicine he takes matters into his own hands. With the help of his spaced-out fisherman friend, Bell kidnaps his boy and sets sail for Guatemala in search of the mysterious Dr. Haas. On the way, they’ll brave the seventh biggest storm, befriend two behemoth fly-fishing Nords, and try to outrun the ex-Navy captain hired by his wife to find them. Advance Praise for PACIFIC “Very heartfelt and amazing story, loved it.” – Gus Van Sant “If you are a father, or know one, Trevor Houser’s Pacific, is a wild, quixotic ride that will challenge your understanding of what it is to be a parent.” -Larry Colton, author of Southern League and Counting Coup “Poetic. Suspenseful. And at times darkly comic. Get ready for an adventure in heartbreak.” —Michael Mazza, author of That Crazy Perfect Someday About Trevor J. Houser Trevor J. Houser lives with his family in Seattle. He has published stories in Zyzzyva, Story Quarterly and The Doctor TJ Eckleburg Review, among others. Three of his stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. 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. PACIFIC is available on November 23, 2021 as a paperback (258 p.; 978-1-950730-84-1) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Trevor J. Houser trevorhouser11@gmail.com Poet Brook Bhagat's ONLY FLYING Celebrates Transformation and Rebellion with Striking Determination11/16/2021
 PORTLAND, OR; November 16, 2021— Unsolicited Press announces the release of Only Flying by Brook Bhagat. Only Flying is a collection of surreal free verse and prose poetry that celebrates transformation and paradox, exploring both the silence of the seeker and the outrageous wilderness of the imagination. Thematic threads like rebellion, enlightenment, risk, courage, love, loss, and triumph dance to life with pictures that swing from dark to light, surreal to whimsical, and strange to familiar. There are intimate goddesses here, black widows, buddhas, alley cats, a kangaroo, and magic pants—blacklight-blue Hendrix flares that hang from a fire escape, just waiting for the right person to jump up and steal them. That person is you.
From the Collection ECLIPSE Night after night I climb out the same window, light a cigarette in the snow and look for home. About Brook Bhagat Brook Bhagat’s poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and humor have appeared in Monkeybicycle, Empty Mirror Magazine, Soundings East, Little India, Prometheus Dreaming, Anthem: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, and other journals and anthologies. She is the 2020 winner of A Story in 100 Words’ nature writing contest and the 2021 winner of Loud Coffee Press’s summer microfiction contest. She and her husband Gaurav created Blue Planet Journal, which she edits and writes for. She holds an MFA from Lindenwood University, is an assistant professor of English at a community college, and is writing a novel. See more at brook-bhagat.com or reach her on Twitter at @BrookBhagat. Praise for ONLY FLYING In this intimate collection of interwoven poetry and prose, the magical and the mundane coexist in an exploration of personal transformation. Whether stealing magic pants off a stranger’s fire escape or unearthing new hands from the soil of a spring garden, Brook Bhagat creates a sensory experience threaded with longing and loss. At the same time, she effortlessly emphasizes the beauty of small things, echoes of ephemeral moments made up of salt and stars, feathers and eggshells. The poet turns inwards in her exploration, folds up like a paper tiger, only to then reemerge transcendent and renewed, unshackled from the gravity of false expectations and desires. In a dizzying dance of imagery and light, Bhagat’s lyricism creates a sense of remembering, a reckoning released on the wings of a wish. --Carina Bissett, award-winning writer and co-editor of Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas. 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. ONLY FLYING is available on November 16, 2022 as a paperback (96 p.; 978-1-950730-83-4) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Brook Bhagat https://brook-bhagat.com/contact/  We are excited to invite you to a reading with Heather Lang-Cassera and Bree Rolfe on November 21. 2021. It will be a virtual reading on Zoom at 6:30 PM Pacific time. You can access the event on our Events page.
 Unsolicited Press is happy to host a reading featuring Brook Bhagat and Frances Badalamenti.
Only Flying by Brook Bhagat is a collection of surreal free verse and prose poetry that celebrates transformation and paradox, exploring both the silence of the seeker and the outrageous wilderness of the imagination. Thematic threads like rebellion, enlightenment, risk, courage, love, loss, and triumph dance to life with pictures that swing from dark to light, surreal to whimsical, and strange to familiar. There are intimate goddesses here, black widows, buddhas, alley cats, a kangaroo, and magic pants—blacklight-blue Hendrix flares that hang from a fire escape, just waiting for the right person to jump up and steal them. That person is you. Salad Days by Frances Badalmenti vacillates between youth-driven cultures of mid-nineties era Jersey and early aughts Portland. As the dual story unfolds, we witness the twenty-something protagonist, Ana, as she takes a crack at being an adult, navigating friendships and searching for intimate relationships, maintaining jobs and managing money. All the while, she does her best to repair a broken moral compass without an owner’s manual. The reading will feature both authors reading and if there is time at the end, a casual Q+A. You can join the event by clicking on the Zoom link listed on the events calendar: https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/events.html.  PORTLAND, OR; November 9, 2021— Within the fifteen short stories of STUMBLING TOWARD GRACE, Rosalia Scalia explores how people who love each other struggle to reconnect their fractured relationships in the face of traumas, personal flaws, and unspoken hurts. Many of her stories explore loss and grief with humor and grace as characters navigate their unwise decisions, unexpected deaths, or their resentments polished into gems. Overall this collection offers readers poignant moments about ordinary people striving to survive and thrive in situations reflective of today’s challenges.
From the Book THERE WAS A fourteen-year-old Black boy. There was a twenty-one-year-old White woman. There was a whistle. There were two White men. There was a Crow named Jim. There was a kidnapping. There was a seventy-five-pound cotton gin fan. There was a lesson in colors, meaning that there were two White men who thought they’d teach the Black boy about a lesson in Money, Mississippi. There was a shed. There were cries in the shed over a lesson in colors, meaning the Black boy who whistles—who probably never ever kissed a girl, who called for his mama—learned a hard lesson in color. You just learned how to whistle to call your dog, Champ, but you don’t want to call Champ anymore because the Crow might come instead. Praise for Rosalia Scalia These stories are like a diamond, and Scalia's prose is a fine cut. Her debut sparkles with the energy of its characters -- all of them radiate their hopes, their tragedies, their humanity on the page. Reading this collection is like being given a close, multi-faceted look right into the heart of a city and its people." — Susan Muaddi Darraj Rosalia Scalia is Baltimore’s Flannery O’Connor. She inhabits her disparate characters, warts and all. Not an easy task considering the bigots, religious fanatics, hoarders, alcoholics, drug users, and damaged lives presented here. And yet, like the fictional Father Brown, she refrains from judgments, allowing each a generous shot at redemption. —Richard Peabody, editor/publisher, Gargoyle Magazine About Rosalia Scalia Rosalia Scalia’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in The Oklahoma Review, North Atlantic Review, Notre Dame Review, The Portland Review, and Quercus Review, among many others. She holds an MA in writing from Johns Hopkins University and is a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artist's Award recipient. She won the Editor's Select award from Willow Review and her short story in Pebble Lake was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Baltimore with her family. 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. STUMBLING TOWARD GRACE is available on November 9, 2021 as a paperback (254 p.; 978-1-950730-82-7) 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. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Rosalia Scalia rscalia1@yahoo.com  PORTLAND, OR; November 2, 2021--As your family is bright, so is it dark. Sure, the love and laughter of family lingers in your heart, yet it’s the secrets, pranks, and punishments that haunt your soul. The mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons in Functional Families all seek only love to cure their familial ills, but they often go about it in strange ways. To come to terms with his father’s past and encroaching dementia, Reynold Vasquez takes his father out for one last fancy dinner in “Bird Dog,” while in “Bat Out of Hell,” Margaret abandons her mother at a Tijuana gas station hoping to move on with her life. In “My First War,” young cadet Gilbert Fernandez goes AWOL from a pretend battlefield to be with his pregnant girlfriend on the verge of an abortion, and in “Wheel of Fortune,” Hillary Clinton visits a homegirl fortune teller in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the end, these disparate souls resolve their desperate actions to return to their nuclei, the only places they can call home.
Families. You can’t pick them, but you can keep them. Or not. About Taylor García Taylor García is the author of the novel Slip Soul, and several short stories and essays. He also writes the weekly column, “Father Time” at the Good Men Project, and holds an MFA from Pacific University Oregon. García is a multi-generational Neomexicano originally from Santa Fé, New Mexico now living in Southern California with his wife and children. 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. FUNCTIONAL FAMILIES is available on November 2, 2021 as a paperback (188 p.; 978-1-950730-87-2) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. Trevor J. Houser lives with his family in Seattle. He has published stories in Zyzzyva, Story Quarterly and The Doctor TJ Eckleburg Review, among others. Three of his stories were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His novel Pacific is about a father who is tested to the limits to save his son. Copies can be purchased HERE. But before you buy a copy, get to know Trevor through this quirky Q+A: If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?
Henry Miller. Cassoulet. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? Not having enough time. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? Lady Brett Ashley from THE SUN ALSO RISES. What books are on your nightstand? WHY DID I EVER, Mary Robison THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, Norman Mailer SPEEDBOAT, Renata Adler THE ART OF FICTION, John Gardner Favorite punctuation mark? Why? A question mark can feel surprising, sometimes even interactive. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? I was supposed to read The Grapes of Wrath, but I remember we read it so slowly I think I just gave up and skimmed the back half. And I really like Steinbeck. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? My pillow. I do my best writing with my head on it. If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? You found something you love. Does writing energize or exhaust you? It’s both. I’m energized in the moment and exhausted when I think how far away the last page is. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Wanting too much to be like your heroes and thinking it will happen the same way it did for them. What is your writing Kryptonite? Time. Also movies. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? When I’m in the middle of writing something I find myself reading very little. I look at books for inspiration, but I don’t really enjoy them. They become little more than blueprints or maybe talismans. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? I’m not sure. Camus and Tao Lin convey very little emotion and they are two of my favorites. Of course, that doesn’t mean they didn’t/don’t feel emotions strongly as they wrote/write. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? Out of college I worked at a Little, Brown where everyone wanted to be a great novelist or playwright. When people you know are working on something it makes you want to be working on something, too. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? I’d like each book to stand on its own, but that’s not to say there aren’t connections I’m making subconsciously. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? I’m not sure it changed my process although it probably made me write with less desperation. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Whatever a used paperback of On the Road cost. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into? I wanted to hate Dave Eggers after reading the title of his first book, but that didn’t last long. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? Probably my dad giving a speech. All the references and word play. The topic wasn’t exactly exciting, but he elevated it through language. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? Paradise by Donald Barthelme As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters? How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? A very sad number. What does literary success look like to you? I want readers, critics and especially other writers to think it is good work. What’s the best way to market your books? Great reviews seem like the best bet. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? I can trust my instincts with male characters. With female characters I need to tap into something that is mostly outside of myself. What did you edit out of this book? I mostly edit as I go so rarely do I have to cut out huge chunks once I’m finished. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Winemaker  PORTLAND, OR; October 31, 2021-Crawl Space and Other Stories of Limited Maneuverability addresses how the problems of space reveal disturbing aspects of human nature. It uncovers their realities in city apartments, college campuses, the basements of orphanages, under bridges in Mexico, through miracles in hospital rooms, inside a bullring, at urinals, in the closed world of a Biblical drama, in high chairs, inside the lives of a pearl family, and in the actual crawl space underneath a wood frame house. These are stories that their author had little choice but to write.
About Richard Krause RICHARD KRAUSE'S collection of fiction, Studies in Insignificance, was published by Livingston Press, and Unsolicited Press published his second collection, The Horror of the Ordinary. His epigram collection, Optical Biases, was published by EyeCorner Press in Denmark, and Propertius Press published his second collection, Eye Exams. Fomite Press will publish another collection of his epigrams, Blind Insights into the Writing Process, in January 2022. Krause grew up in the Bronx and on farms in Pennsylvania. He drove a taxi in NYC for five years and taught English for nine years in Japan. Currently, he is retired from teaching at a community college in Kentucky. 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. Crawl Space & Other Stories of Limited Maneuverability is available on October 31, 2021 as a paperback (310 p.; 978-1-950730-81-0) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram.  PORTLAND, OR; October 26, 2021--Salad Days vacillates between youth-driven cultures of mid-nineties era Jersey and early aughts Portland. As the dual story unfolds, we witness the twenty-something protagonist, Ana, as she takes a crack at being an adult, navigating friendships and searching for intimate relationships, maintaining jobs and managing money. All the while, she does her best to repair a broken moral compass without an owner’s manual. "Salad Days is the gritty, moving portrait of a young woman who completely upends her life trying to figure out who she is and what she wants, set against the gray, grungy background of Portland, Oregon, at a time when the city was also in flux. Badalamenti perfectly captures the alluring and maddening impenetrability of Portland for the East Coast transplant."--Cari Luna, Author of The Revolution of Every Day  Frances Badalamenti was raised in Queens, New York and Suburban New Jersey, but she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and son. Her essays, stories and interviews appear in The Believer Magazine, Longreads, Vol.1 Brooklyn, Entropy and elsewhere. Salad Days is her second novel. Interviews Growing the Courage, A Conversation with Frances Badalamenti, The Rumpus, 2019 An Interview with Frances Badalamenti, Author of I Don’t Blame You, Entropy, 2019 Praise For Previous Work "Frances Badalamenti proves to be a talented and evocative writer. I Don't Blame You is a powerful, heady, debut novel, gorgeously interweaving the story of grief, acceptance, and love. A must read." - Chloe Caldwell, author of I'll Tell You in Person and Women "I Don't Blame You is a raw, irreverent, wrenching exploration of the trauma and joy of being a daughter and a mother." - Michelle Tea, author of Black Wave, How to Grow Up and Modern Tarot BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 978-1-950730-39-1 290 pages Fiction October 26, 2021 Paperback: $17.00 Distributor: Ingram Book Group MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION Publicity Contact: Heather Brown Mind the Bird Media heather@mindthebirdmedia.com Brooklyn Bound Q She enters, takes a seat on the crowded bench opposite him, meets his gaze distractedly, and then peers into her handbag. He looks down and then across the car to the left and the right of her. He lets his eyes roam and return to settle upon her glossy paperback. Is he brave enough to read the title? Sure, he is. He’s interested in the book, in books, in what people are reading… Not in her. She adjusts her glasses, scans the car quickly for another open seat as if to say, I don’t want your attention. He averts his eyes as if to say: Don’t flatter yourself. Now, he’s interested in footwear. He smiles approvingly at the feet, of an old man in purple high-top sneakers as if to say, I have many interests. I value novelty, surprise, and risk. She is amused by her book, lets out a sigh and briefly smiles as if to say, I don’t even know you’re here. The train stops. Two men in suits depart and two teens, a girl and a boy with backpacks and hoodies and baggy black denims shuffle into the space between him and her and take hold of the overhead railings. The teens commence a conversation. “I read it,” the boy says. “All right. Who Nick?” “He the one that telling the story.” “Who Daisy then? “She the white chick that the other one is all hot for.” “All right. Who that other one and where he from?” He looks up. She looks up. She smiles briefly, as if to say, I remember the book. Or I remember high school. Or Doesn’t this seem ironic? These kids, in this time, speaking in those terms about that time. He smiles too as if to say, Isn’t the subway a magnificent experience? Or Isn’t it better when we don’t hide from one another? As if to say, you and I – we – are of the same background, the same class. We understand each other. The boy answers, “His name Jay. Just like my man, Jay Z.” “You don’t know shit,” the girl says. He grins. She grins. The train stops, and the teens depart. Her eyes revisit her book, dart back to him, and back again to the pages in front of her. He permits his smile to linger and allows his gaze to settle on her, in an unfocused way, as if to say, I’m at ease. I’m pleased. You’re safe. I’m interested. She brushes her bangs with the back of her wrist as if to say, I know you’re watching. As if to say, I’m not uncomfortable. As if to say, I don’t know what to say. She closes her paperback, and with unusual care, she puts it back into her handbag. She is saying that her stop is next. He bends to pull up his socks as if to say, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Or Now you can look at me. Or This is my stop too. Maybe? She stands, turns to face the front of the train, turns her hips towards him, and pulls down the hem of her skirt. She looks down and up and back to the bench where she had been sitting. Then she finally risks a glance in his direction as if to say: Are you going to follow me, you creep? Or It’s now or never. Or simply Goodbye. He sets his hands on the bench beside him as if to steady himself for when the train slows down. Or perhaps to say, I’m getting up. Give me a sign, his face pleads. His eyes implore. Eight and a half million people here, and I won’t likely see you again. I’m not a creep, but… The train comes to a full stop. People exit; people enter. A crackling sound comes, and then a weary voice fills the car. “Next stop is Times Square. This is a Q train bound for Brooklyn. Change here for the N, R, S, 1, 2, 3, and 7 trains. Stand clear of the closing doors.” As if to say, Stand clear. The doors are closing. California Writer and Mental Health Counselor Pens a Book on the Engine of Anxiety in Everyday Life10/19/2021
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. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Daniel Coshnear coshn@sonic.net  PORTLAND, OR; October 14, 2021— Unsolicited Press announces the release of the moon won’t be dared a poetry collection by award-winning author Anne Leigh Parrish that features artwork by Lydia Selk. In this momentous debut collection, the poet harnesses language to give readers a new vision of nature, the impossible plight of womanhood, love, aging, and beauty. Being a woman in a male-dominated society affords Anne Leigh Parrish the space to witness the world on an uneven keel. Parrish pays tribute to beauty, but also weaves the harsh truths of betrayal and brutality into the filaments holding the collection together.
From the Book pulled back around circle or line? round or straight? what did einstein stay? the universe bends in on itself, or relates only to itself i don’t know but even a lizard remembers and is pulled back around and the memory held in my larger, more deeply folded brain cries to visit its hinterland, its former place as easily as the world circles from one day to the next Advance Praise for Anne Leigh Parrish Anne Leigh Parrish’s poems in the moon won’t be dared are an extended meditation that weaves through time and humanity, injustices and struggles, but with an eye towards love and beauty. These captivating poems carry an underlining ache of loss—past and future—but they are grounded in the present, in beetle and spider, in river and forest, in the windows that look into the yard. Parrish writes we can only burn slowly over time, and we see this book is full of light—fire, streetlight, smokelight, garden light, twilight, starlight, and in fact, darkness/becomes light when the world bears us/along. This is a voice willing to convey what isn’t working in the world, but also to always acknowledge what is—a child of the night/who lived on moonlight and cold sparkle stars. Parrish’s poems feed us, and they will hold us long enough/to tinge the dawn with hope. --Kelli Russell Agodon, author of Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press). About Anne Leigh Parrish Anne Leigh Parrish is the author of nine previously published books: A Winter Night (Unsolicited Press 2021); What Nell Dreams, a novella & stories (Unsolicited Press, 2020); Maggie’s Ruse, a novel, (Unsolicited Press, 2017); The Amendment, a novel (Unsolicited Press, 2017); Women Within, a novel (Black Rose Writing, 2017); By the Wayside, stories (Unsolicited Press, 2017); What Is Found, What Is Lost, a novel (She Writes Press, 2014); Our Love Could Light The World, stories (She Writes Press, 2013); and All The Roads That Lead From Home, stories (Press 53, 2011). About Lydia Selk Lydia Selk is an artist who resides in the pacific northwest with her sweet husband. She has been creating analog collages for several years. Lydia can often be found in her studio with scalpel in hand, cat sleeping on her lap, and a layer of paper confetti at her feet. you can see more of her work on instagram.com/lydiafairymakesart. 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. THE MOON WON'T BE DARED is available on October 14, 2021 as a paperback (150 p.; 978-1-950730-80-3) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Anne Leigh Parrish anneleighparrish@comcast.net If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?
Anne Carson. I wouldn’t cook. I would make my boyfriend do the cooking. He is a much better cook than I am. I’d probably have him do a charcuterie board, a salad with his homemade dressing (he makes the best dressing), and seafood chowder, with lobster of course. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? That I don’t have the self discipline to sit down and ever actually finish anything substantial. I wouldn’t say this fear has been combated. It’s alive and well. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? Vasya Petrovna from The Winternight Trilogy What books are on your nightstand? “Adventures in Tandem Nursing” by Hilary Flower “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer Favorite punctuation mark? Why? The em dash. It helps make sense of the way my mind works—too many thoughts going on all at once that are constantly interrupting one another. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? Too many to count. I’ve always been a slow reader. I like to take my time. As with every aspect of my life, I abhor being rushed. I started most of the books I was supposed to read, but never finished them as quickly as I was expected too. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? Coffee Does writing energize or exhaust you? Both. Writing something new is always exhilarating. Revising it is exhausting. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Believing that nothing you write is, or will ever be good enough. Which is what I feel about my writing all the time. I don’t really have a solution, except to just keep writing anyway. What is your writing Kryptonite? Having my phone anywhere near me. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? For sure. The human brain can only process so much input. When my life feels calm, I like to read books that are dense and complex, and require all of my attention. But when I’m stressed out and have a lot going on, I like to read books that are easy, and don’t require a lot of effort. For example, when I was studying abroad in France my sophomore year of high school, I felt so tired all the time trying to learn and process a new language everyday all day. This is super embarrassing, but my host family had the Twilight Series in English, so I read all four of them in 3 weeks. I’d read them back in middle school, so there was absolutely no reason for me to re-read them except for the fact that I was homesick, and they were a nice little getaway for my brain. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? I suppose they could be a writer, I just don’t know that they would be one I would have any particular interest in reading. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin. Maybe it’s not underappreciated, but absolutely everyone should read it, because it’s one of the best novels ever written. What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters? Nothing. In the words of Anne Lamott, “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should’ve behaved better.” How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? I have one half-finished novel that I’ve been working on, on and off for the past ten years. Parts of it appear in this collection. I hope to finish it someday. What does literary success look like to you? J.K. Rowling. Stephen King. I set the bar low for myself. What’s the best way to market your books? I have absolutely no idea. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? Wanting them to feel authentic, but knowing that they probably never will. What did you edit out of this book? Things I was embarrassed about having written. Things that didn’t need to be there. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Well, right now I’m a full time mom with a one year old boy, and a baby girl on the way, and that’s a whole lot of work. I think I’d like to teach writing classes some day, if I ever get to go back to school. I’d also like to do a lot of my own writing. Writing is really the only thing that makes sense to me to do, as far as having a career goes.  PORTLAND, OR; October 12, 2021-- We're set loose, untended, like beings from a menagerie of sorts, one day cooped up, the next fending for ourselves out in the oddness of the world. This is the motif pursued in GATELESS MENAGERIE. We intersect with the wild as well when out roaming, reacquainting with the animal kingdom and it with us. We are one in the same: gateless and viewed. How do the animals see us? How do we appear to them? Are we in harmony or only tolerating one another?
About Larry D. Thacker Larry D. Thacker’s poetry is in over 150 publications including Spillway, Still: The Journal, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Poetry South, The Southern Poetry Anthology, The American Journal of Poetry, The Lake, Illuminations Literary Magazine, and Appalachian Heritage. His books include three full poetry collections, Drifting in Awe, Grave Robber Confessional, and Feasts of Evasion, two chapbooks, Voice Hunting and Memory Train, as well as the folk history, Mountain Mysteries: The Mystic Traditions of Appalachia. His MFA in poetry and fiction is earned from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Visit his website at: www.larrydthacker.com 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. GATELESS MENAGERIE is available on October 12, 2021 as a paperback (102p.; 978-1-950730-79-7) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities. ###  Imagine sailing around Cape Horn in an effort to wrestle some of the world's most treacherous waters and the haunting memories of war. Author Stephen O’Shea and U.S. Navy veteran Taylor Grieger do just that -- the documentary HELL OR HIGH SEAS (https://www.hellorhighseas.com/) follows their journey. But this isn’t the only time that Stephen O’Shea has come face-to-face with a veteran looking for solace. O’Shea, inspired by the impact of war and military life on veterans, wrote From the Land of Genesis (a 2020 Pen Faulkner Award nominee), a profound collection centered on veterans whose lives have been permanently affected by the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq. Based on research and interviews that O’Shea conducted himself, these interwoven stories offer insight to the struggles that veterans face upon returning home. However, the stories also feature glimpses of hope amidst the despairing truths that make for beautiful stories veterans can relate to, and for civilian readers to experience vicariously the extremes of the human condition. Stephen J. O’Shea is a writer, documentarian, and (now) sailor, who tells stories to stay alive. His research for From the Land of Genesis was the catalyst for the sailing expedition around Cape Horn to raise awareness about veteran suicide rates. Having miraculously survived that feat, he's now writing and producing stories through a number of mediums, including literature and film. Initially published in November 2020, the short story collection is being brought back to the spotlight with the release of the documentary, which is now available in select theaters and will begin streaming on October 12th. The documentary, from director Glenn Holsten, producer Chayne Gregg, and executive producer Robert Irvine, is projected to have a remarkable run in the indie film world. We invite members of the media to reach out to the author for interviews, events, readings, and other collaborative media opportunities. Mr. O’Shea can be contacted HERE. From the Land of Genesis is available as a paperback ($17.00; 302p.), ebook, and an audiobook. Ingram Book Group distributes the title to the market. 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.   Are you ready for some super deals on our books? This year we are taking part in the American Booksellers Association's holiday promotion: October is the New December. With the book industry's massive issues in the supply chain, we are asking readers and those looking for gifts for their favorite readers to buy our books in October so we can guarantee that the books get to the right place just in time. Recently, we were told by our distributor that all book orders should be placed no later than November 5, 2021 to ensure delivery before Christmas Eve.
To encourage early holiday shopping, we've decided to discount EVERYTHING. All of our books are marked down. The print books. The ebooks. All of it! You can find all of our print books on sale in our bookstore, and our ebooks are discounted on Smashwords and most other ebook retailers. This is our way to say thank you for purchasing books earlier than later. Our October is the New December promotion with go through the end of October. Tell your friends.  We would like to invite you to attend a virtual reading Jay Kristensen Jr., author of LIGHT IN ROSADERO. The virtual reading will include a brief reading by Jay followed by questions and answers that participants may have -- we anticipate an informal and flexible environment. The event will start at 10AM and last for 30-45 minutes. Participants go head to our events calendar to join the reading. We ask that participants enter the reading 5 minutes early. We will not admit participants after 10AM to avoid disruption to the reading. About the BookOn the windswept plains of Far West Texas, the town of Rosadero sits at the crossroads of many worlds. Renowned as a capital of postmodern art, the ruins of the Zaldos Pueblo haunt the edge of town with the mystery of a vanished people. In the evenings, unexplained balls of light streak across the prairie, inspiring the imaginations of residents and visitors alike. Home to rancher dynasties and descendants of the Mexican Revolution, the modern realities of the border sweep up all who find themselves in Rosadero. Outlaw drifters with romantic dreams, border agents at war with their consciences, refugees seeking sanctuary, and the family risking everything to provide it—this is where their stories meet. Into this unlikeliest of settings, Anna Tatevyan travels in search of her missing brother, Jakob. A graduate student obsessed with the relationship between a sitting U.S. Congressman and an international crime syndicate, Jakob has vanished into the high desert without a trace. On her journey for the truth, Anna tries to help another woman also searching for a missing brother: Mariazul Bautista, a woman whose encounter with Anna leads to her arrest by the Border Patrol, an arrest that turns out to be a kidnapping. An anti-Western about the American origins of global violence, Light in Rosadero is a reckoning with the dark legacy of the frontier. About the AuthorJay Kristensen Jr. was born and raised in Seattle. He has lived around the country and currently resides in Seattle. Light in Rosadero is his debut novel.
If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make? Leonard Cohen. Cigarettes for him. Peach jam and a spoon for me. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? Running out of ideas. I just do my best anyway. When you put in the time, something always comes. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? Leonard Cohen and Anne from Anne of Green Gables. What books are on your nightstand? The Bottom of the River by Jamaica Kincaid, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, and some Mark Strand collections are in another room somewhere. Favorite punctuation mark? Why? The space. The words are only there to remind us of the space. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn. Lots of books. I faked a lot of reading in college, too. Shakespeare was my worst grade in college. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgments? The baby swing. Coffee. The trampoline. If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? You are not your writing. It’s just something you do. Take a class or join a writers’ group if you get lazy like me. Does writing energize or exhaust you? Energizes me for sure. I like writing when I first wake up. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Thinking poetry is hard and full of rules. It’s the opposite. What is your writing Kryptonite? Talking about ideas before writing them. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? No, there are a million good things to read. I just don’t do it. I love reading work from author friends and the Nearby Universe, my writers’ group. I enjoy reading my students’ work, and I am lucky enough to get paid for that. But in my spare time, I am more likely playing outside with my kids. Like I said, we have a trampoline. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? Who doesn’t feel emotions strongly? No, I guess there are people whose energy goes mostly in thinking instead of feeling. Maybe they are plotting strategies for getting more money or power, like politicians. They could be successful in writing books for other people like themselves, strategy books. Or maybe there are thinkers who don’t want kids or lovers or friends or cats, they just want to philosophize all day. They could write books for each other too. Their job is easier: thinking is already in words. But I wouldn’t want to read their poetry. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? It’s always feedback, laughter, commiseration and encouragement, like any friendship. The poet Kelli Allen, who began as my professor. Carrie Cook. Carina Bissett and Amie Sharp and everyone in my writers’ group. My husband has given me some wonderful feedback too. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? Voice happens, I guess, but I want each book to have its own flavor, like Nicholas Samaras or Pink Floyd. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? I never knew revising so many times could help so much. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Getting my MFA in Creative Writing online at Lindenwood University. I thought I just needed the deadlines, but I learned a lot and grew a lot. About half the pieces in Only Flying were first written in my classes there. “Chapter Twenty-six: The Map,” is an excerpt from the novel I began in the program. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into? Rush. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? My mom used to whip an egg and add it to ramen for nutrition, but my little sister Robin wouldn’t eat it if she knew it was in there, so my mom told me not to tell her. I did, and she didn’t eat that ramen, and I marvelled at my power. There’s a better story, though, about that 70s song, “Dust in the Wind.” I must have been about five when it came on the radio and I told my parents it was about us, about my baby brother who died the day he was born--Dustin, the wind. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? Medicine Woman by Lynn V. Andrews. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? I choose the tiger but the salamander chose me. What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters? It depends on the person. Most of my characters are not based on anyone. My grandma in the book is my real grandma, and she’s the reason I became a writer. And my beloved in the book is my real beloved, my husband. But I owe them everything not because of that, but because of how they have loved me. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? One complete early readers chapter book, about two little kids in India; ¾ of a literary fantasy novel; ½ a new poetry collection; and one secret idea. What does literary success look like to you? Success in all fields is measured the same way: either you’ve been a guest on Sesame Street or you haven’t. What’s the best way to market your books? My favorite way would be word of mouth. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? Not using words like “auburn.” What did you edit out of this book? “Bella is Suzanne,” for Leonard Cohen and my friend from college. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? I love teaching. I loved being a gardener, and I loved painting houses. If I could get paid for it, I could be an artist or illustrate children’s books. I was working on a book of poetry for children with my grandmother when she died, her poems and my paintings of animals. I hope to still finish it one day.
 The fifth annual Words & Pictures Festival will be a virtual, two-day celebration of local authors and illustrators on October 9th and 10th. Events include a keynote address from local publisher Laura Stanfill of Forest Avenue Press, workshops and panels for writers, events for children and families, Imagined Ink writing workshops for teens, and author readings.
Aspiring writers - check out the Writers Track of Words & Pictures Festival 2021. We have panels about every step in the publishing process, marketing yourself, and lots more! A representative for Unsolicited Press will be speaking about the small press industry on October 9th at 11:15AM. There’s something for everyone at Words & Pictures Festival 2021 - including activities for kids and families on Saturday and workshops for teen writers on Sunday. For security reasons, links to the sessions will not be published. Attendees who register for the event will be sent links for all of the sessions the day before the program. So don't forget to register: fvrl.org/words-pictures If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make?
Grace Paley, and for purposes of dinner, conversation, etc., preferably alive. I’d make borscht, a chicken pie, a salad from our garden. My guiding adjectives would be fresh, substantial, unpretentious. I’d look forward most of all to the post-meal stroll, the pleasure of watching her meet the neighbors’ dogs, the kids on trikes, the singular peach tree on Laughlin Road. I’d want to absorb a bit of her faith and humor and strength in this horrible time, as the powers that be draw us closer toward destruction. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? Taking a stupid turn into a swamp. Save, rename, press on. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? When I was 13 and listening to Jackson Browne, I’d hold the album in my hands, study his eyes, his perfect hair. Maybe get back to me on this one. What books are on your nightstand? It’s so tempting to make up a lie here. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logicos Philosophicus. No, Roddy Doyle’s The Woman Who Walked into Doors. The Best American Short Stories 2019. Cornel West’s Black Prophetic Fire. Sam Lipsyte’s The Ask is in the bathroom. Favorite punctuation mark? Why? Period. That’s all I want to say about it. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? Nearly everything. The only books I remember finishing were Of Mice and Men and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? First, the rake, stirrer of partially desiccated oak leaves, memories. Second, the rolling pin, essential for pie making, which in turn is essential for keeping friends who read my early drafts. If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? Surprise yourself. Does writing energize or exhaust you? Certainly both. When it is going well, when visions and voices are competing for space in my head and space on the page, it offers a surge of energy. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Over-narration, trying to tell the reader what to feel. Speechifying dialogue. All, I think stem from a lack of trust in readers’ intelligence. What is your writing Kryptonite? Bulleit. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? Yes, often. I read and edit a lot of student writing. Seems every semester I hit a kind of wall – like where do my opinions come from? Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? Tough one. Strong emotions can be as much a hindrance as a help, I think. One must care. To paraphrase Heidegger, caring precedes experience. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? So many of my friendships are with fellow writers, too many to list, but I’ve put a few in my acknowledgments. How do they help? In a number of ways, but most important – they offer honest responses to my work, and sometimes very creative suggestions. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? Separation Anxiety is my third collection of stories. Each is organized by theme, but they have some common elements. Neuroses manifests in work relationships, in families, in romantic encounters. My characters are often in search of identity, stability, courage and love. My stories, as whole, might make a good companion to the DSM-5. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? I don’t know that it changed my process. It gave me a boost in confidence. I loved (and still love) doing readings. Perhaps I wrote more 1,000-word pieces with that in mind. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? My first book was published through a contest. I suppose that fee, whatever it was, was well worth it. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into? Heavily descriptive writers like Nabakov, Conrad and Bellow are difficult for me. My mind wanders. But in the right state of mind, I can be enamored with the richness of the prose. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? In high school I read William Carlos Williams’ Poem As the cat climbed over the top of the jamcloset first the right forefoot carefully then the hind stepped down into the pit of the empty flowerpot It seemed like magic the way the words put the picture in my mind, the way I could feel the movement of the cat in the movement of the lines. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick by Peter Handke. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? Osprey, aka, river hawk. It circles, it glides, it sees into the depths, and when it strikes there is no hesitation. What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters? Plausible deniability. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Two half-baked novels and half a dozen stories. What does literary success look like to you? I happen to have a long answer for this one: http://losangelesreview.org/daniel-coshnear-the-balanced-life-of-a-successful-writer/ What’s the best way to market your books? Strong reviews, readings, lots of readings, online and god willing, in person. Radio appearances. I wish I could say there is a niche audience for this book. Mental health workers. Mental illness sufferers. Members of families. Short story readers. Worriers. Bedwetters. Comedians. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? The difficulty arises if I dwell on this idea of “opposite sex.” Are we not each a composite of those we have known? We are a concert of voices; the fiction is this thing we call self. That said, I know nothing about dress sizes. What did you edit out of this book?” A couple of stories that seemed too similar to others. A few quirky short pieces that didn’t pertain to the theme. A mock daytime TV drama. An interactive story that presented a formatting nightmare. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Well, I guess I’m doing it. I work at a group home for homeless, mentally ill folks. And I teach. Both at times draw from the wells of the writer in me. When I was a child, I wanted to be Gale Sayers. If you could cook dinner for any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you make? I love so many authors it’s hard to narrow it down to one. I’d host a series of dinners, and the first invitee would be Rohinton Mistry, who wrote A Fine Balance, one of my favorite books. I’d serve whatever he prefers. I’d also love to dine with Naguib Mahfouz, author of Midaq Alley, another book I love because of his facility with the omniscient narrator and his ability to illustrate the messiness and unexpectedness of life inherent in the arc of the lives of his characters. I’d serve him stuffed grape leaves and pilaf. Alice Munro (love all her work), Joyce Carol Oates, and Frank Conroy whose book Body and Soul is among my favorites and Andre Dubus III, (loved his book, House of Sand and Fog) would make interesting dinner guests. I’d have to host a never-ending salon to break bread with all the writers I admire. Oh--and Philip Pullman! I’d love to have dinner with him and discuss his Dark Materials double trilogies. He is a children’s book author but his books work on many levels that speak to adults too. What scares you the most about the writing process? How do you combat your fears? The what-comes-next question. It’s a matter of knowing the character intimately because each one reacts differently to the same set of circumstances, but getting to that point of intimacy with character can be scary. I always start by reading the beginning of the chapter or section that i’m working on and stop the writing day with an unfinished sentence so I have an idea of what comes next. I also do rough outlines. I do writing exercises when my mind is totally blank or blocked. I also write from a different perspective other than the one I’m focused on--to reveal other information about characters or other information that the narrator may not know. Not being disciplined enough is scary but keeping disciplined is a way to combat fears. Who is your biggest literary crush, author or character? For a long time, I was crushing on Michael Ondaatje because I loved the sapper in The English Patient. I’ve also long loved the stories Issac Bashevis Singer, for his short stories, which I first discovered in The New Yorker. I admire his boldness. Michael Chabon is another literary crush--I’ve read all of his books, beginning with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. What books are on your nightstand? Little Axe, by Lauren Francis Sharma The Death of Bees, by Lisa O’Donnell Half of the Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead What I Can’t Bear Losing, by Gerald Stern Pushcart Prize collections for 2019 and 2018 All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Boerr The Cost of Living, by Deborah Levy The Black Book, by Orhan Pamuk In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin Favorite punctuation mark? Why? The semi-colon because it’s an elegant way to connect ideas. What book were you supposed to read in high school, but never did? The all-girls Catholic school I attended distributed summer reading lists and required book reports at the beginning of the fall semester. I do remember reading books NOT on the list, such as DH Lawrence’s scandalous Lady Chatterly’s Lover, the Women’s Room, by Marilyn French; and all the science fiction books I could pinch off my older brother’s bookshelves. What inanimate object would you thank in your acknowledgements? My laptop. It’s a workhorse. I appreciate its steadfastness and its sturdiness. If you could write an inspirational quote on the mirrors of aspiring writers, what would you write? “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wadsworth Does writing energize or exhaust you? Energize me. When I’m always energized when I’m writing and it’s flowing. What are common traps for aspiring writers? Not reading enough. Many aspiring writers these days don’t seem to like reading books or know the greats in the cannon. What is your writing Kryptonite? Not filling the well enough, not getting refreshed and renewed with new ideas from other arts like theater, music, visual arts, and string arts. Have you ever gotten reader’s block? Yes when I’m overtired. I often do craft exercise or tackle a character from a different perspective. Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly? No. Writing that comes alive is about moving readers. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? Susan Muaddu Darraj, author of two story collections and a children’s chapter book series titled Farrah Rocks, is one of my best friends. We bounce story ideas off each other, help each other set writing goals as we navigate the writing life as mothers with child rearing responsibilities and as professional women with full-time jobs. https://susanmuaddidarraj.com/ Jen Michalski is another good friend. We trade stories and workshop them in terms of craft, what’s working, not working. We also look out for opportunities for each other. http://jenmichalski.com/ I consider Tom Jenks of Narrative Magazine online as my mentor. In addition to being his student in his workshop, I’ve been a reader for Narrative Magazine since 2003. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book? Each book stands alone to create a body of work that spans worlds, characters, and cultures. My novel, now in progress, is titled Delia’s Concerto, and chronicles the summer of a 15-year old girl, who is a gifted pianist but nothing about her life is working. A second collection of short stories is completed and explores loss and grief. Another work in progress concerns survivors of the Sikh Holocaust of 1984. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? So far, it hasn’t. Maybe that will change when it comes time to promote the book. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? The Writer’s Studio classes in NY and workshops with Tom Jenks, both after having completed Hopkins. I wouldn’t have understood the Writers’ Studio or workshop classes as well without having completed the work at Johns Hopkins. What authors did you dislike at first but grew into? Philip Roth. I hated Portnoy’s Complaint. But loved his later book, The Human Stain. What’s the best way to market your books?
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? Trying to write a male character that isn’t passive or feminine. What did you edit out of this book?” Dialogue that wasn’t working. Some verbal bad habits that found their way into the narratives. Unnecessary and imprecise words. If you didn’t write, what would you do for work? Real estate development or city planner, reusing and transforming defunct properties. I loved writing the real estate, neighborhood, and property stories for the local newspapers and magazines.  PORTLAND, OR; September 30, 2021— Who’s Going to Love the Dying Girl? by Bree Rolfe tells the story of a woman diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis who is trying to navigate life and love in a body that is failing. These poems capture the collision of a reckless past and a foreshortened future with unwavering honesty. They confront the title question thrown at her one terrible night.
From the Book You came here for simple things you thought would make everything better-- bathtubs and driveways and backyards. But you never use these things. Never soak in the bath or swing in the hammock or rock in the chair you coveted for years and finally bought. Praise for Bree Rolfe’s WHO’S GOING TO LOVE THE DYING GIRL? “It all unravels, Bree Rolfe announces in the beginning of this confident, self-possessed collection. But these savvy, canny poems don’t concern themselves with re-knitting what’s already unknotted. Instead, they situate themselves right in the big, fat, fucked-up middle of the mess that life makes of us all. These poems are keenly observant, prescient, sardonic, and infused with some of the most unimpeachably glorious gallows humor I’ve ever encountered. But more importantly? They are honest and undisguised. At the center of Who’s Going to Love the Dying Girl? is a heartbreakingly frank examination of that which makes us most human: tangible, mortal loss. Read this book now.” --Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of Would-Land. “Bree Rolfe is an effortlessly beautiful lyricist, and a storyteller of the highest order. The title of her debut collection is sad, and it’s plaintive, and that isn’t a bait and switch — her poems are, too. But beyond sadness and plaintiveness (already fine goals for poems, and Rolfe hits the notes perfectly) the pieces in this collection are something more rare: wholly true. And not like “based on a true story” true, but the sort of conceptual, difficult, real life truth that doesn’t have easy answers. With deftness, Rolfe makes poetic explorations of illness, abuse, codependency and loss as relatable and moving to readers as those of friendship, perseverance and love. This book is a gem. Read it immediately.” --Jessica Piazza, author of Interrobang “Bree Rolfe’s “Who’s Going To Love The Dying Girl?” reminds us of our own mortality, while managing to feed us those heavy truths battered in a combination of sharp, dark humor, bittersweet nostalgia & a type of subtle but profound, omnipresent romance that I’ve rarely encountered in writing. Via reflections on youth, aging, love and loss , Rolfe manages to transport us back to defining moments of her history while firmly cementing her place as a middle aged woman living with “a child’s disease” of cystic fibrosis. --Ceschi Ramos, hip hop artist & owner of Fake Four Records About Bree Rolfe Bree A. Rolfe lives in Austin, TX, where she teaches writing and literature to the mostly reluctant, but always lovable, teenagers at James Bowie High School. She is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, where she worked as a music journalist for 10 years before she decided she wanted to dedicate her life to writing poetry and teaching. Her work has appeared in Saul Williams’s poetry anthology, Chorus: A Literary Mixtape, the Barefoot Muse Anthology, Forgetting Home: Poems About Alzheimer’s, the Redpaint Hill Anthology, Mother is a Verb, and 5AM Magazine. She holds an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Bennington College. Her first chapbook, Who's Going to Love the Dying Girl?, is forthcoming from Unsolicited Press in September of 2021. http://breerolfe.com/ 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. WHO'S GOING TO LOVE THE DYING GIRL? available on September 30, 2021 as a paperback (54 p.; 978-1-950730-77-3) 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. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com For artist interviews, readings, and podcasts: Bree Rolfe breearolfe@gmail.com  PORTLAND, OR; September 29, 2021— Discover the best and worst of what it means to find yourself in the modern world. Transitions by E.A. Johnson, a story told through poetry, follows a troubled adolescent on the verge of both self destruction and self actualization.
When a young man finds himself in that awkward stage between middle and high school, a difficult time for anyone, he begins to understand what it means to find yourself in the modern world. Between navigating life both in school and online, his family begins to crumble around him, and everything he once relied on becomes everything he fears. As the struggles at home and school pile up, he begins to lose the few things he has left until he feels there is nothing left to lose. When he thinks he’s lost everything, the only things left are self-destructive urges. When he finds his father’s pain pills, he thinks he finds a way out of his own pain. Instead, he discovers that when everything looks like the end, if you hold on just a little longer, you might just find a new beginning. Transitions explores some very difficult topics such as bullying, teen and adult addiction, abusive relationships, and suicide. But it also explores the depths of love and support that surround us even when we think we’re alone, leading to the conclusion that even in the darkest moments of our lives there is a way back to the light. About E.A. Johnson E.A. Johnson is a High School English teacher who has had the privilege of working with students in an important transition time in their life. While recently he teaches mostly seniors, he has worked with all grade levels at different times in his 15 year career. When he’s not teaching, he can be found wandering in the woods looking for a good lake to swim in or playing in the back yard with his own children. And while they still get up in the middle of the night— nightmares are real—he wouldn’t change a thing. You can find his previous poetry collection The Conditions We Live published by Unsolicited Press, You can find some of his other poems in The Chaffey Review (Spring 2010), The Battered Suitcase (Winter 2010), and Writing Tomorrow (February 2012). If you’re looking for something a little different, he has also published a choose your own adventure story as an Alexa skill titled “Dreamweaver Unlocked,” and his first full-length novel Under the Shadow’s Eye, book one of the Dreamweaver Diaries. For more information or updates, check out his website: ericjohnsonwriter.com 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. Transitions available on September 29, 2021 as a paperback (166 p.; 978-1-950730-78-0) 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. ### Press only, Unsolicited Press Eric Rancino 619.354.8005 marketing@unsolicitedpress.com |
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