Sorrow's Drive: A Quartet

Happy Wednesday Scribblers! Have I got a new story for you. This story is from one of the authors in my writing group the Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) Michael Alenyikov. I’ve loved getting to know Michael and learning more and more about his writing and his newest novel. The book will be hitting the shelves on December 10, 2022, so mark your calendars.

Here are the details about Sorrow's Drive: A Quartet:

From a UN Peacekeeper searching for meaning in East Timor, to a lonely boy in San Francisco bonding with his dying bohemian grandmother as she recounts her last trip to Italy, to a middle aged man from Boston looking back on his first trip to pre-AIDS San Francisco, to a retired history professor in San Francisco driving cross country to the Boston of his youth, remembering his early struggles with being gay, while a star baseball player in high school and college in the 40s and 50s’s, these novellas sweep across continents, decades, and memories, capturing the aftermath of the loss of innocence.

Here is what one advance reader had to say about the collection of stories:

“These four stunning novellas have an almost magical effect as Alenyikov masterfully weaves together disparate lives and universal themes into something approaching the sublime. He evokes the common goodness of people, as well as the common heartbreaking challenge that we all face and feel compelled to understand. Each story complements and clarifies the others in their exploration of family, of displacement and loneliness, of trying to find a way forward by looking back.”—Trebor Healey, two time winner of the Ferro-Grumley Award, author of A Horse Called Sorrow.

You can get your copy here.

Learn more about Michael and what other books he has on offer here.

Well that’s all I have for now. Until next time, I hope you have a great week.

The Bay Area Queer Writers Association Presents: Two – Anthology Out Now

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. Can you believe it’s September! Crazy right. This week I’m excited to share that for the second year in a row I’m part of the Bay Area Queer Writers Association’s (BAQWA, find them here) anthology. This year the anthology is titled: Two (click here to get your copy). This anthology features ten authors who share a mix a short stores and poetry all focused around the number two. This is quite the unique collection and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it. As with last year’s anthology all proceeds from this collection will be donated to the Lavender Library and Archives (click here to learn more) in Sacramento, California. I hope you will pick up a copy and help us support this wonderful organization.

Check out the Cover:

Book Blurb:

Sit down and kick your feet up with your favorite warm beverage this fall. It's time for you to enjoy stories and poetry that reflect the number two.

The Bay Area Queer Writers Association is proud to present this year’s collections of short stories and poetry featuring authors: Michael Alenyikov, Liz Faraim, Wayne Goodman, Kelliane Parker, Richard May, Gar McVey-Russell, Vincent Traughber Meis, R.L. Merrill, M.D. Neu, and K.S. Trenten. Sometimes you need to be able to sit back and let the words from the pages wash over you. See how these amazing authors spotlight the number ‘two’ in each of their works.

All proceeds from this limited-time anthology will be donated to the Lavender Library and Archives in Sacramento, California.

I’m really excited to be part of this anthology and found creating a story for book to be a lot of fun.

The story I contributed to this anthology is called; Nightingale’s Heart, and today I’m pleased to share the blurb with you:

Rahim is the head of security for Aza, a popstar, who had a fan with mental health issues break into their home a few years back. Since being hired Rahim has ensured Aza, and their team’s, safety. However, Rahim, over this time, has grown fond of Aza, hoping for more but never wanting to cross the line of professionalism. Could his feelings be reciprocated? Could Aza, find this lug of a man who protects them more than a ‘Big Guy’ who sees to their safety? Or is this another relationship where Rahim will get hurt.

Also, I created an author’s note for the story, that I think goes to the heart of the tale:

Have you ever had a crush on someone you’ve worked with? I think we all have. As time passed, you finally accepted that a business relationship was all you would ever get, but not today. Not now. This short story is all about crossing lines and taking chances and seeing what happens, for good or for bad. We may not get to explore those choices in real life, but in the safety of these pages, we get to indulge in our fantasies.

Well, that’s all for this week. Please pick up your copy of BAQWA Presents: Two (find it here) and see all the creative ways these authors have spotlighted the number two. Until next time, have a great week.