The Short Review
29 Ways to Drown was recently reviewed in Issue 9 of the online book site The Short Review. I also did an author interview. Go read and let me know what you think.
TSR: How did you choose which stories to include and in what order?
NA: For 29 Ways to Drown, I chose stories that dealt with unhappy relationships – of being in that place where everything feels bleak and hopeless. It became clear that my earlier efforts seemed to be populated by characters who felt as if they were drowning, both figuratively and in a few cases literally. I decided these ‘problem children’ were the ones I wanted to address. I wanted to unravel their complicated lives, find out why they felt so trapped, and help them find solutions. I inserted lifelines here and there, little shots of espresso-sized optimism. It didn’t always work. Sometimes they perished despite my best efforts. As usual, it is all about the struggle.
Filed under: 29 Ways to Drown, Reviews, Short Stories, Writing
