ZinkBooks
The Latest Books by ZinkZine Contributors
Small Acts of Sex and Electricity by Lise Haines
Beauty and privilege, a charming, handsome husband and two promising young daughters, money, a beach house on the Pacific—Jane has everything that Mattie thinks she wants. But Jane always works to damage what she’s given. Mattie knows that better than anyone. But even she is caught off-guard when Jane leaves her whole life behind one broken morning before dawn. And it will take Mattie awhile to see that, by driving away, Jane has forced open the questions that have always hung in the air between them—the ones that are hardest to answer—questions about desire and envy and integrity. These are the issues of the heart that reveal themselves, not through the bold and dramatic gestures of a woman like Jane, but in even the briefest moments and the smallest of acts. With the same rich language and keen, compassionate eye that earned acclaim for her first novel, Lise Haines delves here into the forces that memory and touch raise in our lives and our most private hungers. <buy now>
The
Persistence of Objects by Richard Garcia
In the poems and fables of The Persistence of Objects, historical figures such as George Washington, Squanto, and Ponce De Leon pop in as ancestors and guests. Such moves illustrate Garcia's belief in memory as a continuous reciprocal creation. A core of love poems threads through the book, often in the form of the Spanish sonnet. In The Persistence of Objects Richard Garcia gives us a poetry rich in the surrealists and humanist traditions, rife with surprises, overflowing with wit, intelligence, and heart. <buy The Persistence of Objects>
Toxic
Feedback by Joni B. Cole
All writers have stories of how some teacher, workshop participant, friend, or spouse gave them commentary that undermined their confidence and their writing. This "toxic feedback" has tainted feedback's reputation as a whole, causing too many writers to avoid or mismanage this valuable resource. In the first book to focus on this vital but delicate dynamic, Joni B. Cole applies first-person experience, real-life teaching examples, and her own unique ability to entertain while reaffirming the many merits of feedback. Cole shows writers how to use feedback to energize and inform their writing at every stage of the process. For feedback providers, she delivers insights into constructive criticism and the difference between being heard and being obnoxious. Finally, she offers advice to workshops and critique groups on how to thrive in this collective experience. In addition, established writers including Julia Alvarez, Khaled Hosseini, Ted Kooser, Gregory Maguire, Jodi Picoult, and others share their own feedback stories—from useful to inspiring to deranged—underscoring Cole's message that feedback plays a critical role in every writer's success. Through a mixture of instruction, anecdotes, and moral support, Cole manages to detoxify the feedback process with humor and without laying blame, inspiring both sides of the interaction to make the most of this powerful resource.
In My Sister's Country by Lise Haines
At seventeen, Molly is without both parents and forced to live with her older sister, Amanda." "Amanda is no comfort. Relentlessly manipulative, at time explosive, she can't even begin to provide Molly with a safe haven. And Molly can never forgive her for the role she once played in their father's powerful games." "At first, their anger appears nearly comical. But the furious passion with which they face each other - and the most susceptible men who fall inside their borders - quickly marks In My Sister's Country as a private, unexpected place." Lying comes easily to both sisters - but this matters little, until Molly realizes that she desperately desires her sister's lover. Day by day, Molly's sadly comic insights to their uninsulated life propel her into greater deceits and betrayals.
Rancho
Notorious by Richard Garcia
Like the movie of the same name, the poems in "Rancho
Notorious" are peopled with a colorful cast of characters, all born of the
fertile imagination of Richard Garcia. Through narratives, lyric poems and
dramatic monologues, Garcia's characters demonstrate that the idea of self is
fluid, one identity easily swapped for another. These are poems with heart,
poems that believe that the construction of memory, however fragmentary and
inconclusive, is also an act of redemption. <buy
Rancho Notorious>
My
Aunt Otilia's Spirits by Richard Garcia
When tall, skinny Aunt Otilia comes to visit from Puerto Rico, her curious nephew finds out about her magical powers.
<buy My Aunt Otilia's Spirits>
The
Flying Garcias by Richard Garcia
The Flying Garcias is the first full-length collection by Richard Garcia. And yet, in reading these refreshing poems, one has the sense that he has been poetically tracking the inconsistencies of our culture for a long, long time. His drop-dead timing is as masterful as his natural grace is rare. An air of enchantment surprises on every page.
-- James Tate
This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women across America by Joni Cole (Editor), Rebecca Joffrey (Editor), B. K. Rakhra (Editor)
What is a day in the life really like for an actor, a nursing home resident, a madam, an at-home mom, a soldier, a CEO, a factory worker? Five hundred women from all walks of life contributed a “day diary” to This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women across America (Three Rivers Press 2005). Full of intimate details and laugh out loud truths, this collection reveals our uniqueness and commonalities as American women—and the value and meaning inherent in every single day. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly wrote, "There is not one piece in this compilation that is not captivating." PEOPLE magazine concurred, "The ensemble resonates with drama, humor and pathos. This is one unremarkable day you'll wish could go on forever.” For more info, visit www.thisdayinthelife.com