Rory' s Not That Guy: And Other Tales from Middle America takes the reader on a tour of " flyover country," from struggling small towns to honky-tonks to the parts of cities that don' t make it onto postcards. It' s 19 short stories, many humorous, many not, include coming of age in a hopeless small town (" Art" ), what if you could go back in time and go to high school again (" No Returns" ), and what happens when your carefully arranged world is disrupted by civil unrest (" Willie Wallac...

Life is not going as planned for Sybil Voss. Growing up in a small town on the Great Plains, she had one goal: to get out as soon as she could. She succeeded, moving to New York after college and building a reasonably happy life. But now she' s back, the sole caregiver for her elderly father who suffers from " media-induced psychosis" and can only communicate through TV sitcoms. But Sybil' s making the best of it, running her antique business, " New York ' Tiques," serving as mayor (since ...

Dwayne has plans. He’s working his way through college, and he has no doubt that he’s going to be an architect one day. But until that day, Dwayne is stuck working at the box office of a miserable little porno theater. Boring job, usually, and today especially so. His co-worker, Chulo, seems bent on distracting Dwayne from his homework. Mister straight and narrow, maybe Dwayne needs a distraction. Chulo pulls out a joint, and Dwayne decides: what the heck. What could go wrong?It’s ...

A man living in a flophouse tries to impress his long-estranged blind father by embellishing on what the old man can’t see. Two employees of a porn theater pick the wrong day to get stoned. A fragile young woman and follower of a street preacher witnesses a tragedy, setting her on a mission that may be beyond her abilities.It’s 1979 on Block E, a woebegone Times Square-type district filled with characters of all stripes—hookers and the homeless, addicts and drug dealers. But the st...

The anthology includes 40 works representing a wide range of Minnesota experiences and voices, from urban to rural, from historical to present day. From celebrating the connection many of us feel to a community, to the beauty of the north woods, to struggling to find a way to keep our hard-earned home or to carve out a home in a sometimes hostile land, Home is a truly American story.

Jack is a Vietnam vet who had hit rock bottom. He's still got a long way to go, but now things are starting to look up — he's off the junk, has a room at the Rand Hotel and works temp most days. Best of all, his long-estranged blind father has come to visit. Jack wants to impress, so he decides to fluff up his situation by embellishing on what the old man can’t see. How can that fail?It’s 1979 on Block E, the center of a woebegone Times Square-type district filled with characters o...

Sister Sarah is a damaged young woman who is sure Brother Jed has the answers. Every evening he stands on a box on the worst corner in town bringing the Good Word to all the lost people walking by, while she and her fellow sisters hand out pamphlets. Sister Sarah has found a safe community to which to belong; she believes in what she is doing, and she likes her fellow sisters. But when she witnesses a tragedy, it’s too much for her to fit into her neat little worldview. She must know more,...

12 stories from the heart of South Minneapolis: Lake Street.Lake Street cuts across Minneapolis from west to east, from the urbane to the urban to the blue-collar. North and south, it is the dividing line between inner-city neighborhoods and tidy bedroom communities. Lake Street is a polyglot of people from all corners of the world mixing with lifelong Minneapolitans.These stories connect people's hope for a new beginning with the history of what was.

Gain an in-depth understanding of the unique struggles of the bisexual community!To me the gay and straight worlds are exactly the same; equally limited, judgmental, and bourgeois . . . just mirror images of each other. I truly like and overlap with some of the gay world, but my roots refuse to take hold there and grow. Unfortunately, my well-established roots in the straight world are simultaneously shriveling and dying too, leaving me feeling extremely unstable.Cool, a...

A surprise recital while walking the Camino de Santiago turns into another kind of pilgrimage: to learn to play the cello.George, 71, is nearing completion of this ancient route across Spain when he attends a lecture and cello performance. He becomes enthralled with the beauty, versatility, and warmth of this wonderful instrument.There is only one thing to do: learn to play the cello.At home he searches high and low for a teacher and luckily finds one practically in...

We are excited to bring to you, this small poetry book about farm life, living in the country, country music, and lots more! The illustrations will bring the words to life on each page! I have waited my whole life to bring my poems to the public and let people start reading them!

Ever wonder what your neighbors are really like? What they may be hiding?The Neighbors features twenty aspiring writers wishing to entertain you with their short stories inspired by these very questions. From humorous conflicts with the home owners association to a seedier malevolence, suspicious behavior to a welcomed change, there is something for everyone.The next time your neighbors invite you to dinner, you may wish to think twice!