Success In the Press: What Awaits by Ernie Gammage

American BookFest 2022 Book of the Year Finalist

★

American BookFest 2022 Book of the Year Finalist ★

From the Author: Relationships are tough. Present or future, crazed or loving, they’re tough. Full of the “what ifs” that define speculative short fiction, some stories are an easy read, heartwarming even; others…not so much. In some there’s peace, love, and epiphany, in others revenge, horror, and death. From Mexico to Titan, Memphis to the foothills of the Himalayas, the unpredictable and the unexpected await in this exploration of the predicament that is the human condition.

• This Room of Gold – Across time and space, Myla stumbles into what might be her best future. Is it?

• Tattooed – Laird gladly loses himself in Nita’s tattoo, but how is he going to find his way back? And if he doesn’t…?

• In The Black Wood – Efram wades into the Black Wood and finds more than he anticipated. Have he and his friends unleashed the End Times?

• The Reader – Channeling gifts from a long family line, Lysette becomes a clairvoyant. When the role becomes too much for her, can she find a way to escape its grip?

• Stockyards – Angie has the perfect marriage until the old woman gives her a frightening gift, one that will change her life forever. Now what?

For fans of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, and George Saunders. For Adult and New Adult readers. Not appropriate for children.

Our Take: A bold, cerebral collection that moves through genres, geographies, and timelines—but always lands on the messy complexity of being human. Each literary tale is surprising and deeply varied: some intimate and unsettling, others cosmic and tender, all with twists that linger long after the last page. From the eerie to the uplifting, this collection invites you to consider the paths we take—and the strange, beautiful, or terrifying possibilities that lie just beyond them. A smart, genre-crossing read for fans of literary weirdness and emotional depth, What Awaits is great for readers seeking contemplative fiction.

From a Reader: “[…] a collection of short stories that will leave you bewildered and intrigued. Each story has a twist, an understood assumption, or at times the author lets you fill in the ending with your own imagination.”

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Success In the Press: Dirty Suburbia by Sara Hosey

“Distinguished, engrossing, splendidly entertaining.” - Kirkus Reviews

★

“Distinguished, engrossing, splendidly entertaining.” - Kirkus Reviews ★

From the Author: Dirty suburbias are working-class neighborhoods in which girls who are left to fend for themselves sometimes become predators, as well as affluent communities in which women discover that money is no protection against sexism, both their own and others'.

One young woman sets up her abusive, cheating boyfriend, hoping he'll get arrested so that she can rescue him and win him back. A teenager arranges to meet up with an older man she's met online playing video games; she brings a knife with her, just in case. A middle-aged divorcee attempts to rekindle a romantic relationship with her high school English teacher, who happens to be a former nun. A struggling academic falls in love with a Henry David Thoreau impersonator, and a well-adjusted grad student goes home for Christmas only to be repulsed by her family's casual cruelty.

Despite the ugliness and injustice, they face, as well as the failures of their families and communities, these characters often find relief in friendship and connection, and sometimes, even discover meaning and cause for hope.

““Distinguished, engrossing, splendidly entertaining.””

— Kirkus Reviews

Our Take: Gritty, intimate, and unflinching, Dirty Suburbia is a collection that lingers. These stories examine the quiet violence and fierce resilience of girls and women navigating spaces that should protect them—but often don’t. Sara Hosey writes with empathy and edge, offering a mirror to suburbia that’s cracked but deeply reflective. It’s a bold, clear-eyed exploration of power, survival, and the complicated ways women come of ageand come undone. Perfect for readers who love short fiction that’s sharp and bracingly real.

From a Reader: “The characters are devastating and wonderful and so familiar. […] The writing is mesmerizing, poetic, and gritty. It’s literary without ever being boring. Every story in this collection stomped on my heart and then picked it up and handed it back to me.”

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