fiction – Kristin Houlihan, Writer

“The Myth of Neutral Books”

The title of this post is in quotes because I appropriated it from an author friend’s newsletter, and I quote him here:

Primary days, like today in my state, make politics visible. Books work more slowly. They work under the surface, shaping our sympathies before we realize anything’s happening at all. Long before we vote, stories have already been teaching us what feels normal, what feels outrageous, what feels possible, and who deserves the benefit of the doubt. — Ryan Pozzi, Author

We were lucky enough to publish Ryan in Epistemic Lit’s Nostalgia issue last year, and I’ve since signed up for his newsletter, Life on the Midlist, which I look forward to reading every Tuesday because it always contains wisdom like the quote above. Sign up to get it in your inbox or read it on his website!

So why am I quoting Ryan here in my post? The political nature of writing is something that’s been on my mind lately. Our most recent Epistemic issue is overtly political–nothing neutral about it. Righteous Rage is the topic, and the writers brought fire! That said, I don’t agree with every viewpoint presented in the issue. At the outset of the magazine that was something I struggled mightily with but I don’t anymore; my co-founder and friend Melissa summed it up really, really well (far better than I ever could! so please read it!) in this interview she did for Emrae Publishing’s Read and Resist feature: Leaflets of Rebellion with Epistemic Lit.

So that brings me back to Ryan’s quote. Reading shapes us and shapes our worldview. What and who we pay attention to is a statement of value, of respect, of attention. As a publisher, I’m drawn to poems I don’t understand or with which I disagree because I want to listen and learn. My faith is a giant question mark these days but I firmly believe in the dignity of every human person, and I believe we are called to love every human person. I love by paying attention–what I choose to publish (and, separately, to read and to guide my children to read–a topic for another post!) is a reflection of what I’m paying attention to, what I’m listening to, what I’m trying to understand. What I hope others pay attention to. So we can have a little more love and a little less hate.

Can’t leave without encouraging you to preorder Ryan’s upcoming book, The Mess That Made Them. Click the cover below to preorder via bookshop dot com!

Cover of "The Mess that Made Them: How History's Greatest Artists failed, floundered, and made something brilliant anyway" by Ryan T. Pozzi

Book Review – Calibration 74: Experimental Fiction That Sticks With You

Calibration 74: An Experimental Novella by [William F. Aicher]

It took me a while to figure out how to write this review because there’s just so much to think about packed into a relatively short book. I think I could read it over and over again and come away with something new each time. I’m going to try to focus on a few thoughts:

First, there are so many nuggets of truth, of wisdom scattered throughout the book. I could write a whole list of favorite quotes or lines I still think about. The book is a journey through the unnamed narrator’s mind as he searches, as he says in Calibration 42, for the answer to the ultimate question: “Life. The universe. Everything.” There are so many explorations of reality – what is reality? Is it perception? Is it mental? Not surprisingly since it was written during this pandemic, the book is so timely in a world where we’re increasingly living virtually, disconnected and yet hyperconnected.

Second, while it’s at times evocative of mental illness it’s not ABOUT mental illness. I identified with the narrator from the start, reflecting multiple times in early Calibrations that my stream of consciousness often mirrored his. At first this was comforting—maybe I’m not so strange after all!—but it eventually became slightly disturbing and I started to wonder whether I wanted to identify with this guy… I mean, there has to be something wrong with a guy who peeps in a woman’s window and boils skulls! I think, ultimately, that’s part of the exploration of reality, of humanity. Of how fine the line often is between being okay and not being okay.

Finally, I really liked that I never knew what to expect from the next Calibration. By the end of the book especially, it’s like reading a dream sequence. Things seamlessly change and morph in a completely nonsensical way that at the same time seems perfectly natural. Reading it felt like when you’re recounting a dream to someone – it all makes sense but then you say it out loud and you realize it makes no sense at all but it FELT like it made sense when you were in it. It’s trippy, but it works. Really well.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up, but I was thoroughly pleased and impressed. It’s philosophical, edgy, and very different from anything else I’ve read. I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to read this book and will definitely look forward to Aicher’s upcoming work!

Thank you to William F. Aicher for gifting me a copy of this book! Get your copy here – you’ll be glad you did!

***** Five stars (and you know I don’t give those out lightly)

Cover Reveal: More Than We Bargained For by Fiona West

I’m SO excited to be part of Fiona West’s cover reveal for her newest book, More Than We Bargained For. Check out this awesome cover, get hooked by the blurb, and then pre-order the book! You know you want to 🙂 I haven’t read a book by Fiona that disappoints, so I expect great things from this one as well!

Wanted: renter for rural Oregon mountain lodge. Single mom divorcees named Starla preferred.

Starla Moore despises a mystery, and there’s no bigger mystery than Sawyer Devereaux. He comes into the library on Thursdays like clockwork, but rarely talks to anyone else. Not that she despises him; after all, he’s easy on the eyes, quick-witted, and that Southern accent makes her swoon. But in the midst of a divorce, her only romance is the bookish kind. Worst of all, crashing with her bestie won’t be an option soon, especially since her final fling with her husband had one very specific unintended consequence…

Regaining consciousness with his head in the cute librarian’s lap was a rude awakening; Sawyer thought his health problems were under control. Sans driver’s license, there’s no way he can live in his little cabin alone…or keep up with the anonymous book donations he’s been leaving to make Starla smile. When he finds out she’s struggling financially, he proposes a trade: his housing for her driving. Surely he can keep his feelings a secret for a few more months…

He’s given up on his dreams; she’s just figuring hers out. When the rumors start, will it push these two misfits together…or drive one of them out of Timber Falls for good? More Than We Bargained For is the fourth book in the Timber Falls romantic comedy series. If you like town meeting rants, neighborly concerns that become something more, and water fights that heat things up instead of cooling them down, buy this book now. This book contains no open-door sex scenes, no cheating, and a happily ever after.

(PS – I’m copy editing this one, and I’M SO EXCITED to be working with Fiona again!)

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