With virtuosic lyricism and the striking juxtaposition of religious and erotic obsession, Jamie Quatro’s Fire Sermon delivers an unforgettable and astonishingly original portrait of the moral and psychological consequences of unfaithfulness. Quatro will discuss Fire Sermon at Arts Build in Chattanooga on January 11 and at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 6.
Mark Greaney’s famous assassin, Court Gentry, is back in Agent in Place. This time he’s working on behalf of a group of Syrian expats to secure the Syrian president’s mistress so they can use her to bring down the president’s regime. But the expats’ plan goes awry when it’s discovered the mistress has a baby–the Syrian president’s only male heir–hidden away in a Damascus safe house. Agent in Place will be published on February 20, 2018.
Worrying for years about a question with no answer is more than a little neurotic. It can also provide fertile soil for plot development.
Joan Silber’s Improvement follows a dozen characters over four decades on three continents, but all the stories revolve around a single question: how to keep living after your plans have crumbled to dust. Silber will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 30 at 6:30 p.m.
In her debut story collection, Subcortical, Lee Conell depicts smart characters who are mysteries to themselves. The book’s title provides an accurate index for the wit and sophistication to be found in this volume. Conell will appear on November 29 at Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt at 6 p.m.
David Madden’s new collection of novellas, Marble Goddesses and Mortal Flesh, traces the arc of an artist’s journey and testifies to the power of a veteran writer who continues to find innovative ways to entertain and instruct readers.
