Author: Allison

Allison

Happy Book Birthday to ghosts passing through

My friend Janet Dale‘s debut poetry chapbook, ghosts passing through, is out TODAY from Alien Buddha Press. These poems are haunting memories you grasp for and miss but can never forget.

I’m honored that she created some in our shared writing workshop, and that she wanted to use a photo I took of the dilapidated Central State Hospital on our adventure 11 years ago.

Read a few poems on the Alien Buddha blog and then order a copy for yourself. Also see how her art is inspiring others, as with this amazing collage.

Allison

Cover Tease #2

The first cover tease was a photo taken during the same shoot, but that and the color scheme are the only common threads with the cover image itself. This tease is getting a little closer to the source…

Allison

Cover Tease #1

Spoiler alert: The cover of my upcoming chapbook is a photograph I took a few years ago. I’m never one to take a single photo and feel satisfied, so I usually take dozens (okay, hundreds) each shoot. I culled this specific shoot down to about 12 images, then picked my eight favorites. One is the cover—as soon as I titled the book, the image came to mind and just clicked. I tried another image and it wasn’t right, so I listened to my gut. But I still wanted to share the other seven pictures, so I planned out a few cover teases—and this is the first.

Allison

Chapbook Week: An Inventory of Abandoned Things

My seventh review for Chapbook Week is An Inventory of Abandoned Things by Kelly Ann Jacobson.

As the title suggests, each story is about an item that pulls you right into the setting. The narrator is navigating a pregnancy and long-distance relationship while trying to get used to the Florida ecosystem, so there are some creatures creeping along in this book. As with Girlmine, I was so impressed with how place is a character in this book. Each story transported me to the exact location and immediately had me feeling everything that was going on, so it’s definitely a book to study as I work to improve that aspect of my own writing.

You can get a copy of this chapbook from Split/Lip Press.

Allison

Chapbook Week: Shiny Insect Sex

The sixth title of Chapbook Week is Shiny Insect Sex by Stephanie Lane Sutton.

The vivid stories in this collection are a blend of science and gender, and I loved how each story pulled me into a new world and taught me something about what’s around me. One of my favorite stories is “Survival Town, USA,” but I can never resist “The Shy Male Seahorse Aborts For Me,” with its stunning opening line:

“When our eyes meet, the space between us fills with his brood.”

This tiny book is part of the INCH series from Bull City Press. Get your copy HERE.

Allison

Chapbook Week: Abstinence Only

The fifth title for Chapbook Week is Abstinence Only by Meghan Phillips.

I first heard Meghan Phillips read early-ish in the pandemic, when all events were on Zoom and you felt exhilarated that you could see authors that were normally too far away. After her first reading, I went to so many more because I was drawn to her writing style in general, and these stories specifically. This collection is one you’ll want to re-read often. The double standards between the females and males in the stories are infuriating but realistic, so it’s refreshing that Phillips brings it into focus and adds some twisted humor to the matter. I can’t pick a favorite, but “V-Card” is high on the list, along with the innovative logic puzzle format of “There’s No Good Reason Not To Wait!”

The print chapbook is sold out, but you can get a digital version from Barrelhouse.