Tag Archives: Short Stories

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on August 26th, 2022

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh HaAll the Rivers Flow into the Sea and Other Stories by Khanh Ha

Publisher:  Eastover Press LLC (June 7, 2022)
Category: Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Vietnam
Tour dates: July 25-August 31, 2022
ISBN:  978-1958094020
Available in Print and ebook, 208 pages

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea

Description All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

From Vietnam to America, this story collection, jewel-like, evocative, and layered, brings to readers a unique sense of love and passion alongside tragedy and darker themes of peril. The titular story features a love affair between an unlikely duo pushing against barely surmountable cultural barriers. In “The Yin-Yang Market,” magical realism and the beauty of innocence abounds in deep dark places, teeming with life and danger. “A Mute Girl’s Yarn” tells a magical coming-of-age story like sketches in a child’s fairy book.

Bringing together the damned, the unfit, the brave who succumb to the call of fate, All the Rivers Flow Into the Sea is a great journey where redemption and human goodness arise out of violence and beauty to become part of an essential mercy.

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea was selected as a winner of the 2021 EastOver Prize for Fiction and has received much advanced praise.

Praise All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

“These stories draw close connections between disparate cultures, Vietnam’s changing environments, and the American and Vietnamese people who engage on a different playing field than the war which brought them together in the past.”– Midwest Book Review

“All the Rivers Flow into the Sea is an extraordinary collection. The stories are fully rendered and finely nuanced, populated with vibrant characters shaped by war or haunted by tragedy. Their voices are as vivid as the landscapes the author conjured, at once exotic yet intimately familiar, all bound by threads of love and compassion. This is one of those rare collections I would keep and read again.”—Andrew X. Pham, winner of Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize and finalist of the The National Book Critics Circle Awards.

“Lush with natural detail and alive with crisp dialogue, in an unforgettable journey where cultures clash in affairs of the heart.”—John Balaban, recipient of The Academy of American Poets’ Lamont Prizeand William Carlos Williams Award

“Khanh Ha’s writing brings to the page love and passion mixed with the darkness of harrowing tragedy. The author plays with the emotions of the reader as he integrates lighter themes in times of darkness and, at times, infuses darkness into a seemingly lighter-themed story. I recommend this book for its character-driven stories and poetic lilt. All the Rivers Flow Into The Sea & Other Stories is a beautiful anthology of stories of love, passion, and kindness infused with the tragedy of war.”—Readers’ Favorite (5-star)

“Ha writes with an intimacy not often seen. The small bits of these characters’ lives become filled with meaning and significance. His stories and sentences flow together slowly and then seamlessly become something powerful. The language he chooses isn’t so much flowery as precise and sharply detailed, reminiscent of Joyce’s epiphany or the satori moment from Japanese literature. Each story is its own being, yet the whole works together to become something larger, universal.”­­-The US Review of Books

About Khanh HaAll the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

Multi award winning author, Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh, The Demon Who Peddled Longing, and Mrs. Rossi’s Dream. He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, The James Knudsen Prize for Fiction, The C&R Press Fiction Prize, and The EastOver Fiction Prize.

Mrs. Rossi’s Dream was named Best New Book by Booklist and a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver Winner and Bronze Winner. All the Rivers Flow into the Sea & Other Stories has already won the EastOver Fiction Prize.

Website: http://www.authorkhanhha.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhanhHa69784776
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkhanhha

Giveaway All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

This giveaway is for 3 print copies and is open to the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on Aug 27, 2022 midnight, pacific time.  Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

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Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus July 25 Kickoff & Guest Post

Gud Reader GoodReads July 26 Review

Lu Ann Rockin’ Book Reviews July 29 Review

Katy Amazon August 1 Review

Sal Bound 4 Escape August 4 Review

Denise D. Amazon August 10 Review

Laura Celticlady’s Reviews August 12 Review & Excerpt

Gracie Goodreads August 15 Review

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Jas International Book Reviews August 18 Review

Serena Savvy Verse & Wit August 18 Guest Post

Linda Goodreads August 19 Review

Suzie M. My Tangled Skeins Book Reviews August 22 Review & Interview

Serena Savvy Verse & Wit August 23 Review

Betty Goodreads August 24 Review

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus August 25 Review

Nancy Reading avidly August 26 Review

All the Rivers Flow into the Sea by Khanh Ha

Jamie Lisa Forbes, Author of ‘The Widow Smalls’: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on April 2nd, 2020

Widow Smalls 2CoverPublisher: Pronghorn Press (October 20, 2014)
ISBN: 978-1-932636-97-0
Category: Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Tour Date: November, 2014
Available in: Print & ebook, 231 Pages

Thirty years of browbeating from rancher Bud Smalls has penned his wife, Leah, into emotional isolation.  Now Bud is gone and Leah owns the ranch, but there is no help forthcoming from Bud’s brothers who want to force her out and take the ranch for themselves.  When their attempt to humiliate her instead becomes her opportunity to succeed, Leah begins to find her way back to herself and learns how much she can gain by opening her heart.

The Widow Smalls is just one of the stories in this collection by the WILLA Award winning author of Unbroken, Jamie Lisa Forbes, who writes about the hardships of making a living from the land with an understanding that comes from first-hand experience.

Her deftly drawn characters include star-crossed lovers, a young rancher facing his first test of moral courage, an inscrutable ranch hand claiming an impressive relative, a father making one last grasp for his daughter’s love and a child’s struggle to make sense of the world around her.   Each will pull you into the middle of their stories and keep you turning the pages.

Praise for ‘Unbroken’:

“Throughout this beautifully written story, I pictured the scenes, the characters, and visualized it all as if I walked among them. Five stars.”-Laurel Rain-Snow, Rainy Days and Mondays

“Unbroken is a powerful, absorbing book from the first page to the last. Forbes’ Wyoming ranch background adds rich flavors to the story. The author draws realistic, complex characters. Unbroken is an unvarnished testimonial to a way of life that few of us know.”– Mary E. Trimble, author of ‘ TUBOB: Two Years in West Africa with the Peace Corps’

“The author brings to life the setting in this story. I could easily envision ranch life, and how being responsible for the land could consume someone. The harshness of the elements, or the struggles of managing livestock seemed so realistic. I found myself being drawn into this story right away. There was so much to this story, the author not only allowed a very realistic look at ranch life, but also paints a story of family drama and broken relationships. A story well worth reading.”– Brenda Casto, VW Stitcher

“The writing is realistic and true to the nature of life in rural Wyoming. Harsh winters, endless wind, and dependence on neighbors to survive form the backdrop of this novel. Ms. Forbes writes with a sparseness of prose to match the landscape. This book is one that opens a window onto a way of life few people experience.”- Suzanne Lilly the TeacherWriter

“Unbroken was a very satisfying read for me.  I found myself putting off eating so I could read “just one more chapter” because I was so involved in the lives of the characters.  Ms. Forbes has a way of drawing you into the lives of the characters and making you feel like you are there living and working beside them, being friends with them.  It’s wonderful and when the book is over you feel sad, because you want more of the story even though the story has come to its conclusion.  But you want more because you don’t want to leave the characters. 

To me that is the mark of a good book, when the characters and the storyline stay with me after finishing.  When I’m still thinking about something they said or did or wondering about a point the author was making or even applying something to my life.  Unbroken has something for everyone.  Descriptions of ranching life, romance, friendship, parenting, tough decisions and so much more.  There is never a lull in the plot and I found it to be an amazing read.”- Crystal Fulcher, My Reading Room

About Jamie Lisa Forbes:Jamie Forbes

Jamie Lisa Forbes was raised on a family ranch in southeastern Wyoming.  She graduated from the University of Colorado with honors in 1977 and then lived in Israel until 1979, when she returned to her family’s ranch and raised her own family over the next fifteen years.  Today, she writes and practices law in Greensboro, North Carolina.  She enjoys spending time with her grandsons and playing old time Appalachian fiddle.  With her Arabian horse, Cody, and her cattle dog, Reb, she still devotes part of her life to the outdoors.

Jamie Lisa Forbes won the WILLA Award for her novel ‘Unbroken’.

Buy Widow Smalls:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository
IndieBound

Follow the Tour:

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Nov 3 Review & Giveaway
Pinky’s Favorite Reads Nov 4 Interview & Excerpt
Inspire to Read Nov. 5 Excerpt
Cassandra M’s Place Nov. 6 Review & Giveaway
Back to Books Nov. 7 Review
WV Stitcher Nov.10 Review
Dr Bill’s Book Bazaar Nov. 11 Review
Deal Sharing Aunt Nov. 12 Review & Giveaway
Unshelfish Nov 13 Review
Indie Re Behind the Scenes Nov 13 9 PM Eastern Live Interview
Bound 4 Escape Nov. 17 Review
What U Talking Bout Willis? Nov. 18 Guest Post
What U Talking Bout Willis? Nov. 18 Excerpt
Room With Books Nov 19 Interview & Excerpt
Lady in Read Nov. 20 Review
The Book Binder’s Daughter Nov. 26 Review
Manic Mama of 3 Nov 19 Review
What U Talking Bout Willis? Nov. 28 Review
Two Children and a Migraine Dec 3 Review

Shelly Lowenkopf, Author of “Love Will Make You Drink And Gamble, Stay Out Late At Night”: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on July 5th, 2014

Publisher: White Whisker Books (June 6, 2014)
Category: Short Stories, Literary Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-9836329-8-6
Tour Date: May/June, 2014
Available in: Print and ebook, 186 Pages

Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night brings a number of Shelly Lowenkopf’s previously published short stories together in a single volume. All the stories revolve around life in Santa Barbara, the oceanside city north of Los Angeles, where people go after they’ve burned out in San Francisco and L.A. Yet there’s no safe haven anywhere. Interwoven into Santa Barbara’s picturesque setting, the people in these twelve stories reveal what their hearts and souls encounter in relationships. Their misreadings, mistakes, and misadventures bare what happens to people who love another.

“Shelly Lowenkopf’s short stories breathe gusts of fresh air into the often stuffy literary atmosphere,” says poet Charles Harper Webb (Liver). “Witty, urbane, sharply observed, insightful, mordant yet poignant and absolutely entertaining, these stories touch the funny bone as well as the heart. Readers have had to wait too long for this collection. Grab it now.”

“Shelly Lowenkopf is a gifted, humane story-teller,” adds author Aram Saroyan (Rancho Mirage). “Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night is a delight.”

Other Praise for the Book:

“Shelly Lowenkopf’s collection of short stories, Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night, is a celebration of the strength, the vulnerability and the absurdity of the human heart. In their need to connect, Lowenkopf’s characters are driven to the extreme: a man falls in love with his best friend’s dog; a waitress tries to understand a hook-up with a pianist by listening to music she doesn’t understand; a professor’s thwarted but hilarious attempt to make sure he won’t die alone. Lowenkopf’s delightful stories will leave the reader nodding and smiling in recognition.”—author Melodie Johnson Howe (City of Mirrors)

 “Lowenkopf unveils Santa Barbara’s passions with clever tales about men and women (and cats and dogs) that surprise and delight. Subtle humor mixes with the loneliness and desire, but we laugh with the characters, not at them, because we see ourselves in these people. In the stories of Shelly Lowenkopf, we remember that love is life—long live love.”—author Manuel Ramos (Desperado)

“Shelly Lowenkopf is a master of the art of stealth in fiction. His writing draws you in and then, ka-pow! Here comes the sucker punch that flattens you.” —author David Gillham (City of Women)

About Shelly LowenKopf:

Shelly Lowenkopf taught in the University of Southern California’s
Master of Professional Writing Program for 34 years, has taught at the annual Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference since 1980, and has been guest lecturer in many schools and conferences.

He is currently Visiting Professor at the College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, with classes in noir fiction, the modern short story, genre fiction, and developing a literary voice. Mr. Lowenkopf has served as editorial director for literary, general trade, mass market, and scholarly book publishers, seeing over 500 books through the editorial and production process. His own short fiction has appeared widely in the literary press. He is author of the popular The Fiction Writer’s Handbook.

Website: http://www.lowenkopf.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lowenkopf 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shelly.lowenkopf

Follow The Tour:

So Many Precious Books May 8 Review & Giveaway
Carole Rae’s Random Ramblings May 13 Review
Second Book to the Right May 14 Guest Post
Girl with her Head in a Book May 16 Review
Girl with her Head in a Book May 16 Interview
Cassandra M’s Place May 20 Review&Giveaway
Toot’s Book Reviews May 23  Spotlight
Open Book Society May 26 Review
Paranormal Book Club ( PBC) May 28 Interview
Paranormal Romance & Authors May 30 Review
The New In Books June 3 Review
The New In Books Interview
Inspire to Read June 4 Review
Inspire to Read June 5 Guest Post
She Treads Softly June 6 Review
Tabula Rasa June 10 Review
From L.A. to LA June 13 Review & Giveaway
Ordinary Girlz BookRreviews June 16 Review
Mary’s Cup of Tea June 18 Review
The Book Chick Blog June 19 Review
Svetlana’s Reads and Views June 20 Review
Deal Sharing Aunt June 23 Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
Little Whimsy Books June 24 Interview
Little Whimsy Books June 27 Review

Margo Krasne, Author of Appearances and Other Short Stories: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on March 26th, 2013

Publisher: Wasteland Press, October 23, 2012
Category: Fiction- Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Relationships
Tour Dates: March, 2013
Available in: Print, 160 pages

In this debut collection, Krasne wields insightful irony and cathartic black humor to illuminate her themes of loss, yearning and survival, bringing to it a biting female perspective. An adept stylist with an ear for dialogue and an eye for personal foibles, Krasne cleverly captures the distinct voices of her characters as they strive to negotiate the subtle and not-so-subtle minefields of family obligation and personal conflict. She has a knack for getting inside her characters’ heads as they strive to keep up appearances. Readers will most surely recognize themselves, their friends and family members in all of these beautifully rendered stories.

Praise for Appearances and Other Short Stories:

“Margo Krasne’s collection of short stories (“Appearances”) cuts right to the core of love, loss, disappointment and survival. Reading this book will be a cathartic experience for anyone who has had those less-than-perfect-but-oh-so-real family relationships. My own childhood could not have been more different than the Wallachs (an Upper West and later Upper East Side New York Jewish family) — but the emotions are so true and so piercing that I felt every single one. A truly magnificent collection.” Jeff Johnson, author of ‘Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You To Know’

“Margo Krasne’s premiere short story collection, “Appearances”, is not to be missed. Krasne invites her readers to step inside the minds & hearts of her characters, resulting in a truthful, proactive, and emotional journey in each of her beautifully crafted stories. The stories will remain with readers long after they put “Appearances” down– each story is nothing `short’ of magnificent and illustrate female ‘appearances’ with real honesty. “Appearances” is truly a phenomenal accomplishment of shorts that leave readers hoping Krasne will soon release her next body of work!” Hillary Megroz’s, Goodreads Reviewer

“Margo Krasne’s first published collection of short stories is a gem. Full of irony, black humor and snappy dialogue, Krasne draws readers into her world and invites them to stay a while as her characters negotiate the subtle and not-so-subtle minefields of family obligations, relationships and personal conflicts.” J. Z. McBride, Amazon.com Reviewer

”I really loved these stories, a lot of humour and emotion. I enjoyed all of them and would like to read more written by this author.” Dorothy Greenberg, Amazon.com Reviewer

About Margo Krasne:

Margo Krasne, born and raised in Manhattan, has always led two lives. As a radio advertising producer, she sculpted; as a sculptor, she was an extra in commercials, and for the past 24 years, as a communications coach and author of Say it with Confidence, she writes fiction whenever possible.

Margo Krasne on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Margo-Krasne-Author/377090689031636?fref=ts

Buy Appearances and Other Short Stories at:

Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
The Book Depository

Follow the Tour: 

So Many Precious Books Mar 4 Review & Giveaway
Love at First Book Mar 5 Review
Love at First Book Mar 6 Interview & Giveaway
Walk on Words Mar 7 Review
Walk on Words Mar 8 Giveaway
West Metro Mommy Mar 11 Review & Giveaway
She Treads Softly Mar 12 Review
Raging Bibliomanania Mar 13 Review
Sweeps for Bloggers Mar 15 Review & Giveaway
Reading for Sanity Mar 18 Review
Lost in Books  Mar 19 Interview & Giveaway
Saving for 6 Mar 20 Review & Giveaway
Joy Story Mar 21 Review
In This World of Books Mar 22 Review & Giveaway
Bookworm Brandee Mar 25 Review
Bookworm Brandee Mar 26 Interview & Giveaway