Nancy Christie seems to have the knack of pulling off the perfect short story.
(PRWEB) August 18, 2014
“'Girl,' my mama had said to me the minute she entered my hospital room, 'on the highway of life, you’re always traveling left of center.'” This opening line of “Traveling Left of Center,” one of the stories in Nancy Christie’s new short story collection, perfectly describes the theme of the 18 stories: people who are unable or unwilling to gain control over their lives and so find themselves “traveling left of center.”
"Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories" has been described by reviewers as “complex, varying, and thoroughly imaginative,” as stories that “feed our paranoias, our fears, but also our dreams” and the “perfect summer book, short stories that I couldn't put down.” (More reviews can be found at on Christie's website.)
"Nancy Christie's short stories are brilliant, disturbing, and exquisitely written," Cynthia Dadson of Pixel Hall Press said. "They're exactly the kind of literary gems that we like to publish. Highly readable, intelligent and compelling."
What inspired author Nancy Christie to focus on vulnerable, damaged people? Even she isn’t certain. “It’s not like I set out to write stories about odd, eccentric people. It’s just, for some reason, I am drawn to them and I wish I could do something for them. Perhaps, in writing their stories, that is what I am doing. Because somewhere out there is a real person who is held in thrall by his or her obsessions, who is controlled by past or present circumstances, who wants to live a happy, normal, balanced life but finds that the tightrope of life vibrates too much and maintaining equilibrium is but a dream.”
Whatever the inspiration is behind Christie's stories, the result are tales that are capturing reviewers' hearts with her deep, rich humanity.
"Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories" will be published September 9, 2014 in print and eBook formats through all major book outlets. The eBook version is currently available at a pre-order discount for $4.99 or less at Amazon, Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. Three of the stories in the collection have been previously published in literary journals (Full of Crow, Wanderings, and Office Number One), with both “Annabelle” and “Alice in Wonderland” released as eBooks in 2013 by Pixel Hall Press's PHP Shorts imprint.. An excerpt of "Annabelle" may be downloaded from the Excerpts page on Pixel Hall Press's website.
Reviewers, bloggers, booksellers and librarians may download an advanced reader copy (ARC) from NetGalley, or request a review copy from Pixel Hall Press by contacting Cynthia[at]pixelhallpress[dot]com. Nancy Christie is also available for interview.
About Nancy Christie
Nancy Christie is a full-time professional writer whose passion is fiction. As she explains, “I have been making up stories since I was a child, engaging in ‘what if’ and ‘let's pretend’ activities that took me far beyond my northeastern Ohio home. And I'm still doing it—only for a much larger audience!”
Her short stories can be found in literary publications such as Full of Crow, Fiction365, Red Fez, Wanderings, The Chaffin Journal and Xtreme. Christie is currently working on several other book projects, including a novel and a book for writers. She is the founder of "Celebrate Short Fiction" Day, which Pixel Hall Press fully supports.
A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Nancy teaches workshops at writing conferences and schools across the country and hosts the monthly Monday Night Writers group in Canfield, Ohio. Visit her website at NancyChristie.com.
About Pixel Hall Press
Pixel Hall Press is a relatively new, old-fashioned small publishing house whose focus is on discovering literary gems and great stories that might otherwise be overlooked. Our mission is to publish books that energize the imagination and intrigue the mind, and to be a conduit between readers and provocative, stimulating, talented authors.
In this era of digital technology, Wall Street involvement and merger mania, many mainstream publishers seem to have lost sight of core principles and the purpose of publishing. At the other end of the spectrum is the veritable avalanche of self-published books that are notoriously uneven in quality. Small boutique imprints like Pixel Hall Press are reclaiming the heart and soul of publishing by reviving the idea that a publisher's "raison d'être" is finding and nurturing great writers, and to provide readers with beautiful, meaningful, truly enjoyable books.
