literary fiction Archives

Among Friends

Friends or Foes? Author: Hal Ebbott Have you ever trusted someone, only to have that trust violently upended? Have years of your friendship ever been met with secret hate and scorn? Have you ever thought that you’d do anything to undo the knowing, to go back to the way that things were? Among Friends is a surprisingly poignant and vicious look at toxic relationships and the resounding effects they have on our lives and families. It starts slowly and, frankly, pretentiously. Amos and Emerson have been friends for 20+ years, since they met over a game in college. Their bond goes [...]

Dead in Long Beach, California

“All humans would eventually try anything to feel more than nothing.” Author: Venita Blackburn I came to Dead in Long Beach, California accidentally, through an Audible sampling that ran automatically after my previous book finished. The sample was only a few minutes, but I was hooked by the dark lyricism and the idea. In Dead in Long Beach, California Coral arrives with groceries at her brother’s apartment to find him dead, the result of suicide. She pockets his cellphone and then, as she devolves into complicated grief, starts answering his messages as though she were him. She talks to his girlfriend. [...]