Our Upcoming Titles for the Months of August and September
Read all about Matthew Davis' LET ME TRY AGAIN, Emmalea Russo's VIVIENNE, and Lauren Forry's GEMMA. Don't miss out on these amazing titles!
LET ME TRY AGAIN by Matthew Davis
"A total tour de force. Voice of a generation mode. Beyond irony and sincerity, it's just real. Sweet, silly, sensitive, smart. :3"—Honor Levy, author of My First Book
A Romantic Tragicomedy of Faith, Family, and Folly
Ross, twenty-three, isn’t nearly as clever as he thinks he is. His brilliant idea to break up with his girlfriend, Lora Liamant, in an attempt to show her how terrible other men are and how empty life would be without him, has backfired spectacularly. Within weeks, he discovers she’s moved on with the brother of a famous network TV actor. In the midst of his heartbreak, Ross’s parents die tragically—in a helicopter crash at an all-inclusive resort in Turks and Caicos—leaving him with millions of dollars and custody over his teenage sister.
Traumatized, ruminating, and rich, Ross plots scheme after scheme to show Lora he’s changed into a responsible adult, even as she shows no indication of wanting that. Everything he does seems to make matters worse, as his misguided mission of self-transformation only leads to Lora’s confusion and dismay.
Let Me Try Again is an electric picaresque charting a young Jewish man’s spiral of neurotic pride and self-improvement within a culture that only caters to his worst impulses. Brimming with vitality and crackling with wit, Matthew Davis’s dynamic debut illuminates the absurdities of twenty-first-century life with ecstatic flair.
Out August 13th. Pre-order your copy here.
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VIVIENNE by Emmalea Russo
Stylish, satirical, and inventive, contemporary yet timeless, ‘Vivienne’ takes place where urgent and unanswerable questions reside, at the intersections of art, love, and the immortal soul. It is surprising, mysterious, and delightful at every turn of the page, an utterly singular story circling the life and legacy of a fascinating and larger-than-life figure.” —Sarah Gerard, author of “True Love”
Did Vivienne Volker Kill Wilma Lang?
This question has dogged Vivienne ever since Wilma jumped from a window to her death shortly after Volker stole her lover, the visionary artist Hans Bellmer, in the 1970s. Once a famous artist and fashion icon, Volker is now in her eighties and spends her days in religious contemplation in rural Pennsylvania alongside her daughter Velour Bellmer, her granddaughter Vesta Furio, her much younger boyfriend—a garbageman named Lou—and Franz, the family dog. Their quiet lives are disrupted when Vivienne’s work is selected for inclusion in a high-profile retrospective called "Forgotten Women Surrealists" at the prestigious NAT Museum. However, when rumors of her past misdeeds begin to circulate and she is dropped from the show, a gallery curator enters the picture hoping to capitalize on the buzz generated by the controversy, sending the family's tensions, hopes, and dreams to a dizzying peak.
Set over the course of a fateful week, Vivienne deftly weaves surreal prose with a Greek chorus of internet comments and text messages, to ask the questions: what is the cost of vision, what is the price of art? What connects creation and procreation, a life and an afterlife?
Out September 10th. Pre-order your copy here!
GEMMA by Lauren A. Forry
“As ingenious as ‘Knives Out’, as twisted as ‘Gone Girl’, ‘They Did Bad Things’ is a very good thing indeed.”—Paul Witcover, author of “Tumbling After” and finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award
What happened at the river last night? A twisty psychological thriller for readers of Megan Miranda, Megan Abbot, Taylor Adams, and Catriona Ward
Sometime between the late night and early morning hours, in a dank, uncomfortable interrogation room, sits a young woman about to tell you a chilling story. Her pregnant sister, Sarah, is missing. Her cousin is somehow involved. They were all down by the Schuylkill River last night, she says, but she won’t say why. She’s cold, terrified, and confused about what happened. Or is she just lying?
You want to believe her. Her story seems plausible on the surface. But as you dig deeper, it’s clear something is very wrong. Instead of helping to find her sister, she keeps telling you stories about her ex-roommate, Gemma. Gemma, who came into their lives offering a six-month cash deposit up front, proffered from a dirty gym bag. Gemma, who disrupted their routines with her manipulative behavior, her bizarre habits, and her secrets. Gemma, who disappeared quietly several months ago, leaving no trace of where she went or that she had ever lived with them all.
Who was Gemma and what happened to her? What does it have to do with Sarah’s disappearance? Are they part of some elaborate game or is something else going on? And what happened by the river last night? Why can’t she just tell the truth?
From the author of They Did Bad Things, Gemma is a devious new mystery and slowly escalating psychological thriller with a touch of horror.
Out August 6th. Pre-order your copy here!