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A door-to-door salesman’s visit shows Carol a new side of her mother and threatens the security they both had taken for granted; a woman finds out what happens when we’re “too busy to die”; a woman in her fifties celebrates her newly augmented body parts; four friends try to breech a chasm in their friendship by planning a reunion; and a researcher examines his relationship to creativity in a world where it has been deemed a mental illness. Carefully crafted, surprising, and humane, the stories in Kim Suhr’s Close Call unveil emotion in tight spaces, hearts in turmoil, and the searching soul of the Midwest.  Close Call stories by Kim Suhr 10 . 01 . 2024 A door-to-door salesman’s visit shows Carol a new side of her mother and threatens the security they both had taken for granted; a woman finds out what happens when we’re “too busy to die”; a woman in her fifties celebrates her newly augmented body parts; four friends try to breech a chasm in their friendship by planning a reunion; and a researcher examines his relationship to creativity in a world where it has been deemed a mental illness. Carefully crafted, surprising, and humane, the stories in Kim Suhr’s Close Call unveil emotion in tight spaces, hearts in turmoil, and the searching soul of the Midwest.

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Drawing on the rich complexity of the American Midwest, Kim Suhr peoples her debut book of fiction with characters that we know, carved out of the Wisconsin landscape and caught between expectation and desire. An Iraq war veteran stalks the streets of Madison. Four drunk friends hunt deer outside of Antigo. A mother tries to save her son. A transplanted New Yorker plots revenge against her husband. A man sobers up and opens a paintball range for Jesus. A woman with nothing to lose waits for her first kiss. Personal and powerful, Kim Suhr's Nothing to Lose shows us a region filled with real people: less than perfect, plagued with doubts, always reaching.

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In a classic underdog story, in a time when choices were between bad and worse, a woman searches for her voice to lead the labor movement against her husband’s violent efforts to silence her. The novel portrays the Eastern European immigrant struggle in turbulent 1937 Detroit when difficult economic times, xenophobia, “Fordism,” secret societies, and Communist led labor organizations buffeted the demographic. Will Florence and Alex resolve their conflicts both inside and outside the home? At what cost?

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Eleanor, a strong woman who pours disastrous relationships into writing stories; Amy, radicalized by racist interactions directed toward her daughter; Maddy, taken to writing the lyrics to her own sad songs; and Louise, who is saved from despondency by her vegetable garden. Four women living in Madison, Wisconsin. Four lives woven together by Jane Curtis, in her vibrant and explorative debut. Told with flashes of song, sensuality, and sincerity, Reach Her in This Light unfolds as a fiery and empathetic mosaic of lives lived, as four women each search for their own kind of freedom.

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In the bittersweet summer of 1958, two young brothers discover the true meaning of family love and friendship. With their parents needing a break from a troubled marriage and a budding arsonist youngest son, Mike and Jimmy are sent north to Wisconsin to stay with their maternal grandmother, a widowed tavern owner. Eccentric doesn't begin to describe the warm-hearted people of the town called Friendship. There's Aggie's Tap, where the boys will sleep, as Grandma's house is reserved for her spoiled dogs. Amidst the quirky characters like Beau, a Hollywood stuntman, and adventures with the Big Fish People, the brothers uncover family secrets, experience first love, and lend a hand to acting Sheriff Tuttle. Throughout it all, they constantly wonder if they will return to an intact family. The stakes heighten when Jimmy is kidnapped, forcing Mike and Beau to team up for a daring rescue. Trust and healing broken faith become the key to either restoring their family or watching it go up in flames. Dive into the unforgettable journey of Mike and Jimmy in Fire Conditions.

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As with a steady hand sewing scraps of cloth into a beautiful quilt, so does Marjorie Pagel weave memory and story into a literary landscape of poetry and prose. Called tightly crafted and intimate, with striking images of spirituality, readers will linger on these stories long after the cover is closed.

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Lucy Maxwell needs a fresh start. Finally freed from her mother’s toxicity, she has revamped her life by moving to the quaint town of Baileys Harbor, where she plans to open a boutique dedicated to aromatherapy. Few things bring her more joy than crafting her signature scents and candles, all infused with her unique flair for matchmaking. But Lucy’s winter solitude is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of Angus Reid, a famous TV actor who upends her tranquility with his Hollywood chaos. When Angus, or Gus as he’s known to the locals, returns to his hometown to film his hit detective series, he’s forced to face up to his past while grappling with his newfound sobriety. Upon encountering Lucy at his family’s lakeside home, he realizes how much fame has soured his personal life. If he has any hope of making amends, he has to forego a script and rely on his own words—not just with his family, but with Lucy as well. As Gus and Lucy grow closer, the demands of stardom threaten to pull them apart. If they have any shot at landing the lead roles in their own romantic adventure, they’ll have to trust one another. But are they willing to take the risk?

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For curator Claire Beaumont, her upcoming steampunk exhibition at the Lafferty Museum isn’t just an innovative show, it’s a chance to redeem her late father’s reputation in the art world. All she needs is a metal masterpiece created by renowned sculptor Sinjin Reid. But when she arrives at his lakeside estate the sculpture is nowhere to be found. To find the truth, she teams up with the charming but reclusive artist to expose the museum's suspicious director as a thief. After his ex-wife’s cruel betrayal, Sinjin is hesitant to trust anyone again. As he and Claire concoct a plan to trap the fraudulent museum director, their attraction deepens. They strike a deal to stage Claire’s exhibition in a new venue using Sinjin’s priceless sculpture as bait. But as Claire embraces her passion for curating—and Sinjin—a shocking revelation threatens to compromise her reputation. Can Sinjin overcome his painful past and move forward enough to trust her? THE ARTFUL BARGAIN is a romantic adventure with a caper twist, an anti-heist, and a nod to the modern art world. It explores the challenges and rewards of trust, passion, and creative integrity.

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Jimmy Marino is reeling. A car, which he thought was safely submerged in Lake Oahe, has been dredged up, and along with it, renewed suspicions about the disappearance of two crooked lawmen in his past. His relationship with his live-in girlfriend, Sarah, is changing rapidly, and his new employee seems to have a questionable background of his own. As Jimmy struggles to make sense of it all, remnants of his past-including the life-threatening pursuit of the Thomas Jefferson Peace Medal with his grandfather-ignite a spiritual journey to determine the type of man he wants to be. Along the way, he finds himself trapped in a web of deceit and learns his naivete could cost him Sarah-and his life.

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I'm emotionally not in a good place. So begins Yolanda DeLoach's raw and redemptive Squatter, a tale of trails, trekking, and overcoming trauma. Between heartache and the realization that a relationship was never as it seemed, DeLoach pushes herself toward Wisconsin's historic Ice Age Trail, a place of friendship and, ultimately, forgiveness. But the forgiving starts from within, as she makes her way, section by section, along the trail's storied footways. Honest, heartfelt, and told with a survivor's grace, Squatter inspires, encourages, and listens, like a good friend on the trail.

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Evoking the richness of the American Midwest, Laurel Landis dips into the lives of characters we recognize, shaped by a Wisconsin sensibility and the small towns they call home. At an Independence Day celebration, a young girl glimpses the dark side of the adults in her life. A wheelchair-bound man finds relief through an unlikely savior. A husband heads to the Northwoods seeking revenge on a bear who killed his wife, only to question his own role in her death. Landis combines stark realism and magical realism with a dash of reverence for the beauty and healing powers of nature. There is pain here, but also redemption, healing, and deep human connection. And love.

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Despite her PTSD, seasoned photojournalist Annie Hawkins heads back to Afghanistan. The Taliban's takeover of the country is the story of the decade, and Annie is determined to cover it. She's also desperate to keep an eye on her twenty-two-year-old daughter Mel, whose first job out of college has taken her to Kabul. The very air of the city is heavy with fear as the Taliban draw closer. The danger becomes even more personal for Annie when she discovers her daughter at the airport after a bombing. Then, her activist friends Bahar and Fatima face arrest and probable death sentences for their work in support of women and the coalition forces. When she tries to help them escape, Annie realizes that she's in the crosshairs, too. With her longtime love Admiral Finn Cerelli in Washington, D.C., Annie has to rely on her crew's Afghan fixer and her own wits to save as many lives as possible.

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Belle and Chloe are loving twin sisters who do everything together. But one day, tragedy strikes when Belle is burned by a pot of boiling soup. Coping with third-degree burns on several areas of her body, she must spend a few months in the hospital for treatment and later have surgery to reduce her scars. A beautifully illustrated story about coping with trauma and recovery, this picture book for children shares the story of the accident, the impact the event has on Belle’s self-image, her relationship with her sister, and the rest of the family, and the value of family, support, and love during her recovery. The story is inspired by the author's own childhood experience.

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Hilton Koppe was working as a doctor in small-town Australia when he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. As the fallout from the trauma of the diagnosis began to settle, he tried to work out how he ended up in this position. Was the PTSD a consequence of vicarious trauma from working as a country doctor for over thirty years? Did it come from his life-long feelings of being an outsider trying so hard to fit in? Or was it a result of trauma experienced by his parents and grandparents in their search for security across three continents? Or maybe it was all down to personality type. His nature. Did the qualities which made him a trusted doctor also make him more vulnerable to the inevitable impact of caring for people over many years? In One Curious Doctor, Hilton Koppe writes with curiosity and compassion of his family fleeing Europe, the lessons he learned from the patients he helped, and his sadness and relief of no longer being able to practise medicine.

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Tarot cards, speeding cars, several saints, and old dogs make appearances in Joanne Nelson's new collection of prose and poetry. She unravels the secular deities giving shape to her days, not only on planes, but in summer crowds, at conferences, and in long post office queues. Whether it's a bandaid in a pocket, the backup pen in a purse, or a hidden $20 in a wallet for just-in-case, Nelson explores what we carry for comfort. She delves into the Mercury retrograde conundrum and examines the significance of kitchens as holy places. Beer runs through it. There will be coffee. Join Nelson, author of the memoir, This Is How We Leave, in this humorous and heartfelt journey through life's often-ignored quiet moments. Ignored until, plate of cookies in hand, they come begging for a chat. All the while, the kids move out, the house gets put up for sale, and loved ones age.

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Kristine, Finding Home: Norway to America is the story of Kristine Kristiansen Hjelmeland, a young woman born and raised in Førde, Norway, and her journey from sheltered maiden aunt, to mother, to leader within her new American community. Her captivating narrative explores the powerful themes of belonging, ambition, and hope within the context of a family love story. Based on letters and reports, photographs, and oral history, this story is written for Kristine's descendants and in honor of all those who have the courage to change their lives.

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Retired police detective, Dan Novice, and his wife, Karen, a retired social worker, arrive in France for a three-month vacation. The trip commences with a visit to Honoré and Michelle, their old friends, to celebrate Michelle's father's eighty-fifth birthday. A wealthy and eccentric businessman, Oliver Bres has planned a murder mystery weekend at his country winery, where he announces that a large cash prize will go to the person who solves the mystery. Fierce rains move in, destroying communications, challenging the weekend's plans, and closing the only road to the mountaintop estate. Honoré, a police chief, is forced into action when one of the guests dies. Were they murdered? Dan assists in processing and securing the scene while waiting for the authorities to arrive. More guests are murdered, and red herrings occur. Each person seems to have a secret. Dan and Karen realize they might be in danger without any escape. Are their old friends involved? Their host? Working together, can they survive and identify the killer . . . or killers?

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Dan Novice is a retired police detective and his wife, Karen, a retired social worker. The setting is Mexico, with Dan and Karen arriving for a much-anticipated three-month vacation in the town of Curva del Rio Sur. Dan has always promised Karen that when they retired, they would travel as a reward to themselves for weathering thirty-one years of his job requirements: working late hours, weekends, and holidays. But it doesn't take long for the plan to be challenged when a prominent businessman, Juan Mercado, is murdered.

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Dan Novice, an American detective, and his social worker wife, Karen, now both retired, embark on the promise they made to spend more time together. They have rented a cottage in the quaint Irish village of Ballyram for three months. Their plans include visiting tourist sites, eating out, and interacting with the villagers. It doesn’t take long for the plan to be challenged when a prominent villager, Lord O’Connor is murdered and Dan and Karen stumble upon the scene.

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November 2015-Seasoned war photojournalist Annie Hawkins returns home after an assignment to find her life falling apart. She's under investigation for an incident that happened six months earlier in Afghanistan. Her best friend's daughter, Seema, is still missing, apparently with her Taliban boyfriend. Her daughter Mel and friends are busy fundraising to rebuild the Wad Qol Secondary School for Girls and expect Annie to deliver the money. To make matters worse, she has a major argument with the love of her life, Finn Cerelli, and they're no longer speaking. When Annie returns to Afghanistan to cover peace talks between the government and the Taliban, she takes a side trip to Wad Qol, where she discovers that not everyone wants the new school. Sabotage delays construction, and when a worker ends up dead, it's clear the militants are to blame. It's also obvious that they know exactly where Annie is.

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November 2015-Seasoned war photojournalist Annie Hawkins returns home after an assignment to find her life falling apart. She's under investigation for an incident that happened six months earlier in Afghanistan. Her best friend's daughter, Seema, is still missing, apparently with her Taliban boyfriend. Her daughter Mel and friends are busy fundraising to rebuild the Wad Qol Secondary School for Girls and expect Annie to deliver the money. To make matters worse, she has a major argument with the love of her life, Finn Cerelli, and they're no longer speaking. When Annie returns to Afghanistan to cover peace talks between the government and the Taliban, she takes a side trip to Wad Qol, where she discovers that not everyone wants the new school. Sabotage delays construction, and when a worker ends up dead, it's clear the militants are to blame. It's also obvious that they know exactly where Annie is.

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Virginia Whitebridge is trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage. The law says her husband can have whatever he wants from her-so he's taken her inheritance. And he tried to kill her. After a close escape, Virginia feels protected for the first time in forever, thanks to the Scottish Highlands and the Highlander Magnus Sinclair. But she must go back to England, regardless of the danger, to reclaim what's hers. Even if it means leaving her heart in Scotland. It's just Magnus's luck that he's fallen for a woman he can't have. Virginia is rich and titled... and English. To keep her safe, he must follow her to the one place he loathes-England. Where the bowing, preening London Society has a secret language of manners unknown to him. Where he is too large, too uncivilized, too everything. Despite omens that death awaits him there, Magnus vows to help Virginia go to London and restore her fortune. Get in. Get out. Or die trying.

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Louisa Robertson's father is furious when he finds her acting on stage. Now, she's being shipped off to America to marry some stranger her father thinks will bring out the "lady" in her. Luckily, Louisa's maid agrees to switch places with her Her maid will marry the American and get the wealthy lifestyle she's always wanted, and Louisa can do whatever she damn well pleases--for the first time in her life. Highlander Ian Sinclair needs an army commission, and the only way he can get one is to safely deliver the general's Daughter-from-Hell to her intended in America. Easy, right? It would be if the lady's companion Louisa didn't wear breeches and do everything the exact opposite of what he orders. It'll be a miracle if the sparks flying between Ian and Louisa don't set the bloody ship afire before they arrive in America. But just when Louisa thinks her plan is going to give her the acting career she wants and a Highlander to boot...Ian discovers her secret.

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Virginia Whitebridge is trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage. The law says her husband can have whatever he wants from her-so he's taken her inheritance. And he tried to kill her. After a close escape, Virginia feels protected for the first time in forever, thanks to the Scottish Highlands and the Highlander Magnus Sinclair. But she must go back to England, regardless of the danger, to reclaim what's hers. Even if it means leaving her heart in Scotland. It's just Magnus's luck that he's fallen for a woman he can't have. Virginia is rich and titled... and English. To keep her safe, he must follow her to the one place he loathes-England. Where the bowing, preening London Society has a secret language of manners unknown to him. Where he is too large, too uncivilized, too everything. Despite omens that death awaits him there, Magnus vows to help Virginia go to London and restore her fortune. Get in. Get out. Or die trying.

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