Books
The Plus One
Available from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Order from your favorite retailer now!
A brilliant but socially inept robotics engineer builds her own wedding date–and learns more about love than she ever expected–in this hilarious and heartwarming debut novel.
Meet Kelly. Twenty-nine, go-getter, a brilliant robotics engineer, and perpetually single. When her younger sister’s wedding looms and her attempts to find a date become increasingly cringeworthy, Kelly does the only logical thing: she builds her own boyfriend.
Ethan is perfect–gorgeous, attentive, smart, all topped off by a mechanical heart endlessly devoted to her, not to mention he’s good with her mother. When she’s with him, Kelly discovers a more confident, spontaneous version of herself–the person she’d always dreamed she could be. But as the struggle to keep Ethan’s identity secret threatens to detonate her career, Kelly knows she has to kiss her perfect man good-bye.
There’s just one problem: she’s falling for him.
Available from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Order from your favorite retailer now!
Also Available Internationally
Reviews
Short Stories
A selection of short fiction I’ve published in literary magazines:
- “Dogfish” – Doric Literary – A woman finds her lost dog but is forced to share her with a stranger. Will love bloom, or is something more sinister going on? Which is better, the love of a dog or a man? What even is love, anyway?
- “I Feel Fine” – Dark Horses Magazine – A woman is minding her business at home with her weed, her crackers, and her thoughts when a stranger shows up at the door… herself?
- “The Thirst” – Hominum Journal – A man struggling with a smoking addiction discovers a new addictive pull towards an alluring stranger in the underbelly of the city.
- “In Good Hands” – After Dinner Conversation – An artist struggles to make major life decisions in a world where smart devices are a little too smart. (Also available through Amazon.)
- “Thurlene and the Ghost” – Litmosphere – finalist for the 2024 Doris Betts Fiction Prize – Pushcart Nominee – A female long-haul trucker in the 1980s develops an addictive relationship with an arcade game at a diner.
- “Straight White Male” – Pangyrus – A teenage boy battles college decisions, the psychological trash fire of the internet, and caring for his aging cat.
- “The Fortune Teller” – Caustic Frolic – A dark, eccentric fairy tale about a little girl who makes a bargain with a stranger in the woods. What could go wrong?
- “Ripe” – Shooter Literary Magazine – Pushcart Nominee – You know when it’s the 1970s and you’re a housewife trying to buy groceries but you’re also very horny?
- “Baby Doll” – The Barcelona Review – A reclusive woman–along with her pit bull–takes matters into her own hands when she discovers that her internet paramour is not what he seems.
Poetry
While poetry is really my first love as a writer, it’s also the form that most often ends up on the back burner behind fiction and screenwriting. I decided to motivate myself to write more poetry by compiling this free chapbook.
The poems in this collection all focus on female characters of various sorts, taken from nature, mythology, history, or just my imagination. Some of these poems are personal, some are fantastic, some a bit of both. And yes, there is big Lilith Fair energy in this book.
I also occasionally publish poems in literary magazines, such as “Chance Meeting” in Consilience.
The Write Quotes
At Charlotte Readers Podcast, we’ve compiled eight books of quotes gleaned from over 500 author interviews. In these pages, you’ll find inspiration, humor, advice–and if you’re a writer yourself, plenty that you can relate to.
Writers quoted include David Baldacci, Jason Mott, Therese Anne Fowler, Wiley Cash, Ron Rash, Judy Goldman, C.J. Box, Jill McCorkle, Craig Johnson, Sophie Cousens, and so many more.
And… the ebook of book one is FREE!
Learn more, and order the ebooks or print books, at our website.
- Book 1: The Writing Life
- Book 2: Learning to Write
- Book 3: Writing Process and Tools
- Book 4: Storytelling, Inspiration, and Research
- Book 5: Writing Techniques and Characters
- Book 6: Writing Community, Revision, and Editors
- Book 7: The Emotional Writing Journey
- Book 8: Publishing and Book Marketing
