BEFORE YOU SHE WAS A PITBULL by Elizabeth Ellen, published by Future Tense Books in late 2006, can be purchased through Future Tense or Powell’s Books for $5.

Reasons you should buy this:

Elizabeth’s prose will knock you on your ass.

It will make you uncomfortable.

It might make you blush.

Her stories are full of men, women, and dysfunction.

Also, snow globes and ceramic ashtrays.

You will learn about sadness without hopelessness, and that smiling can lead to acceptance.

For good or bad.

This is what others have to say:

“Thanks to her lack of pretension, her focus on detail, and her willingness to explore the ugly stuff without judgment, Elizabeth Ellen’s stories take nothing characters, nowhere towns, and turn them into something extraordinary. She elevates the unremarkable, and makes it shine like the goddamn sun.” – Whitney Pastorek, executive editor, Pindeldyboz

“Elizabeth Ellen is rapidly becoming the quintessential writer giving us stories and poems about fucked up relationships. She has the ability to capture both characters and mood within a 30-word piece, or successfully plot a 20-page story, and has a great ear for devastating one-line character takedowns, and for dialogue in general.”– Dan Wickett, Emerging Writers Network

THE SKY IS A WELL by Claudia Smith, recently released by Rose Metal Press, can be purchased through Rose Metal’s site for $12. I hear the chapbook is gorgeous, as each one was saddle-sewn together by hand. Though I have yet to read this, I’m familiar with Claudia’s work, and I don’t see how you could be disappointed. This is what Ron Carlson has to say:

“Each of Claudia Smith’s short shorts is a tilted memory of love and loss, the father gone or the mother going, friends and lovers in nervous orbit….There is a natural accuracy in these brief narratives; the stories are short; her voice is true.”


MOTHER LOVE by Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz is one I’m anxiously awaiting. It should arrive in my mailbox any time now. I’ve been a fan of GJM for a long time. Her work is raw and powerful. You shouldn’t miss this one. Follow the directions below to order it:

Easy:

1) Go to Paypal.

2) Send $8 (numbered/autographed copy) or $6 (non-inscribed copy) to gjmintz@yahoo.com; postage paid for 1 copy, any more add $1

3)Sit by your mailbox, wait anxiously and expectedly for your copy of “Mother Love”


Filed Under: Pimping, Recommendations |