It’s fitting that this darkly funny novel of criminals hunting criminals is dropping in the middle of the Great Resignation, a time when burnout–among other factors–is prompting many workers to give their notice or just walk out the door. In Love and Bullets, the central characters have been ground down by years of being on the giving and receiving end of violence, and by staying on the run to dodge an ever-growing list of enemies. Consequently, they’re looking for a way out. But is it ever really possible to escape the outlaw life and its consequences? And what might a non-criminal future look like, assuming you live long enough to see it?

In this moving and perceptive collection of linked stories, characters are at uncertain and unsettled times of their lives–perhaps, in an unsatisfying relationship or situation that they can’t quite bring themselves to leave, or in a liminal space between their life as it is (or was) and what it might potentially be. Although the characters rarely find clear answers or resolutions, they make profound discoveries about themselves, and about life.

What might be gained, or lost, by diving into the wreckage of one’s past? And what might one learn about herself, and those closest to her, in the process? This perceptive and darkly funny novel takes up these questions in multiple ways, conveying the dangers and possibilities of such a venture.

This affecting story collection takes an unflinching look at the lives of characters–Indigenous people in Oklahoma–who are all too familiar with difficulty and yet try to keep going, even in the face of uncertainty. Together, the stories create a moving portrait of resilience.

This inventive, often-hilarious, and sometimes-heartbreaking collection of stories explores pivotal moments and events in the lives of a range of villains from literature and mythology–among them, Captain James Hook of Peter Pan, Claudius of Hamlet, and Mrs. Danvers of Rebecca. The stories consider the full emotional and motivational scope of these characters, often illuminating the personal histories and tragedies that may have engendered their villainy, or, with time, sparked a desire to turn over a new leaf. The result is a nuanced and emotionally engaging immersion in the at-times-fantastical, yet eerily plausible, worlds of the stories. (The book is the winner of the 2020 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. This press regularly publishes fine collections of short stories and poetry.)

I’m grateful to Raven Chronicles Press for bringing this extraordinary historical novel, originally published in 1997, back into print. Set in nineteenth-century Mexico, the book is revelatory and inspiring on many levels. For one thing, it sheds light on the lives and struggles of Mexican Jews, who practiced their religion in secret for fear of persecution. For another, it immerses us in the lives of women who do the opposite of existing in the shadows, as many of their counterparts would have been forced to do at the time.