Awards, Press & Interests

FIREFLIES IN A JAR

“Who are you, Sam?” Unfortunately for Sam, the answer is: a lonely, single, closeted, mid-thirties woman with no interests, no close friends, and no romantic prospects. Like a passenger along for a ride, she watches everyone around her move forward, while she remains completely stalled in her own life. Despite longing for fulfillment and companionship, she doesn’t know where to start. For most people it’s the 2010’s, but for Sam, it’s 1991, 1997, 2000, or any other painful moment from her past. At any given minute, her memories rear up and seize her, paralyze her, and force her to relive an endless loop of the worst times of her life. For decades, Sam’s inability to come to terms with her past has immobilized her, leaving her isolated, unfulfilled, and longing for change while navigating past traumas and current family crises. Desperate, Sam tries to change her own life for the better, but her actions have unintended consequences for herself and for her family. Luckily for Sam, as she works to overcome her past, she finds help waiting for her from unexpected people in her present. A mid-life coming of age story for anyone who has ever felt like they don’t fit in, don’t have everything figured out, or haven’t hit the milestones expected of them. This novel is ideal for book clubs and classroom discussions and includes recommended questions for facilitators.

My Side of the World and Other Tales of Death

Death takes the lead in this collection of eight disparate tales, exploring how the loss of loved ones affects us, how surviving close calls with death shape us, how the fear of death motivates us, and how we can be either lifted up or let down by our communities in dealing with lingering grief. The genres vary between stories, including science fiction, magical realism, and suspense. My Life with Death: A child becomes friends with Death and later serves as Death’s assistant, constantly grappling with how much her relationship with Death limits her ability to enjoy her own life. The Patron Saint of Pianos: A 1980’s homicide detective, exhausted by working on too many cartel and gang-related deaths, moves from the southern border to a quiet, one-stoplight northern town for a fresh start. My Husband’s Fathers: A marriage strained by a husband habitually using the death of his mother to dismiss anyone else’s pain or trauma endures a new challenge when the couple fosters two young brothers. The Girl Who Sold the World: Humanity faces an existential threat when an alien collective arrives at Earth to judge the worthiness of all species on the planet. My Sister Agnes: A 1990’s suburb is shaken by an unexpected death, which brings neighbors together for one summer, and forever shapes one of the families. The Shattered Glass Girl: A teenage girl in the 1920’s dies due to her father’s cruel discipline, leaving her spirit bonded to the house, enabling her to have a second chance at happiness when a new family moves in. My Side of the World: A married woman in her midlife discovers evidence that a former paramour may be dead, leading her to obsess over confirming his demise in the present, while also reexamining her past and the influence he had in shaping her present life. The Red Lights: When a young girl has a recurring nightmare of being murdered, her grandmother convinces her that it is a factual depiction of what will happen.