Copy Boy: A Jane Benjamin Novel
Shelley Blanton-Stroud
(Author)
Description
It's 1937. Jane has left her pregnant mother with a man she hates, left her father for dead in an irrigation ditch, remade herself as a man, and gotten a job as a copy boy. And everything's getting better--until her father turns up on her newspaper's front page in a picture that threatens to destroy the life she's making.Product Details
Price
$16.95
$15.76
Publisher
She Writes Press
Publish Date
June 23, 2020
Pages
264
Dimensions
5.5 X 8.4 X 0.9 inches | 0.8 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781631526978
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About the Author
Shelley Blanton-Stroud grew up in California's Central Valley, the daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants who made good on their ambition to get out of the field. She recently retired from teaching writing at Sacramento State University and still consults with writers in the energy industry. She serves as President of the Board of 916 Ink, an arts-based creative writing nonprofit for children, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at Claremont McKenna College. She recently stepped down from codirecting Stories on Stage Sacramento, where actors perform the stories of established and emerging authors. She interviews mystery and thriller authors for the Mystery Review Crew. Copy Boy is her first Jane Benjamin Novel. Tomboy is her second. The third, Poster Girl, comes out in November 2023 (She Writes Press). Her writing has been a finalist in the Sarton Book Awards, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion Award, the American Fiction Awards, and the National Indie Excellence Awards. She and her husband live in Sacramento, surrounded by photos of their out-of-town sons, their wonderful partners, their very first grandchild, and a lifetime of beloved dogs.
Reviews
2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver Winner in Fiction: Historical
2021 Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion Award Finalist for Best Historical Mystery
2020 American Fiction Awards Finalist in Coming of Age
2021 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Mystery
2020 Sarton Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction "Copy Boy is a rewarding historical novel with a ferocious, fascinating lead."
--4-star Foreword Clarion Review "An expressive and striking story that examines what one does for family and for oneself."
--Kirkus Reviews "From the very start of Copy Boy, I was sucked in, and Blanton-Stroud didn't let me out until the epilogue. Jane is a compelling character, all sharp edges and Midwestern grit, and I was thrilled to see just how far she would go to get what she wanted. Jane is not your traditional historical fiction character, who always has a moment when she subtly reasserts her femininity by acting soft. She digs into what she wants and digs in hard. This means she has to make difficult choices, and not everything she does is laudable. Jane is no hero; she's just a young woman trying to make her way, and that's why I loved her so much."
--Jo Niederhoff, The San Francisco Book Review "Copy Boy is a fantastic story of a young woman's survival and re-invention, set in Northern California during the Depression. Blanton-Stroud's prose sings and crackles and brings us into the world of Jane with so much compassion and beauty and wisdom. An engaging, wonderfully original book."
--Karen E. Bender, author of The New Order, longlisted for the Story Prize, and Refund, a National Book Award finalist "A stellar debut. Copy Boy may be Shelley Blanton-Stroud's first novel, but it's apparent from page one that she's been working on her craft for many years. Combining the best elements of noir, historical fiction, and coming-of-age stories, Blanton-Stroud has written a compelling, nuanced story. Deftly plotted and expertly executed, Copy Boy is as mesmerizing as the moment when the fog lifts over Nob Hill. Highly recommended."
--Sheldon Siegel, New York Times best-selling author of the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez novels "Full of adventure, chutzpah, historical detail, and, most of all, heart, Copy Boy is a thrilling, Depression-era coming-of-age story well suited to our times."
--Maggie Shen King, award-winning author of An Excess Male "Shelley Blanton-Stroud's Copy Boy explores place and identity with sharp-edged suspense and intrigue. Smart, lively, and suspenseful, this is Raymond Chandler for feminists."
--Sharma Shields, author of The Cassandra and recipient of the Pacific Northwest Book Award "Shelley Blanton-Stroud's Copy Boy is one of those novels that can rekindle your faith in fiction. Her distinctive voice, command of historical details, and sheer storytelling verve show through on every page. Maybe this exact story never happened, but it should have--in exactly this way. A bravura debut--I'm expecting great things from this author."
--David Corbett, award-winning author of The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday
2021 Killer Nashville's Silver Falchion Award Finalist for Best Historical Mystery
2020 American Fiction Awards Finalist in Coming of Age
2021 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Mystery
2020 Sarton Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction "Copy Boy is a rewarding historical novel with a ferocious, fascinating lead."
--4-star Foreword Clarion Review "An expressive and striking story that examines what one does for family and for oneself."
--Kirkus Reviews "From the very start of Copy Boy, I was sucked in, and Blanton-Stroud didn't let me out until the epilogue. Jane is a compelling character, all sharp edges and Midwestern grit, and I was thrilled to see just how far she would go to get what she wanted. Jane is not your traditional historical fiction character, who always has a moment when she subtly reasserts her femininity by acting soft. She digs into what she wants and digs in hard. This means she has to make difficult choices, and not everything she does is laudable. Jane is no hero; she's just a young woman trying to make her way, and that's why I loved her so much."
--Jo Niederhoff, The San Francisco Book Review "Copy Boy is a fantastic story of a young woman's survival and re-invention, set in Northern California during the Depression. Blanton-Stroud's prose sings and crackles and brings us into the world of Jane with so much compassion and beauty and wisdom. An engaging, wonderfully original book."
--Karen E. Bender, author of The New Order, longlisted for the Story Prize, and Refund, a National Book Award finalist "A stellar debut. Copy Boy may be Shelley Blanton-Stroud's first novel, but it's apparent from page one that she's been working on her craft for many years. Combining the best elements of noir, historical fiction, and coming-of-age stories, Blanton-Stroud has written a compelling, nuanced story. Deftly plotted and expertly executed, Copy Boy is as mesmerizing as the moment when the fog lifts over Nob Hill. Highly recommended."
--Sheldon Siegel, New York Times best-selling author of the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez novels "Full of adventure, chutzpah, historical detail, and, most of all, heart, Copy Boy is a thrilling, Depression-era coming-of-age story well suited to our times."
--Maggie Shen King, award-winning author of An Excess Male "Shelley Blanton-Stroud's Copy Boy explores place and identity with sharp-edged suspense and intrigue. Smart, lively, and suspenseful, this is Raymond Chandler for feminists."
--Sharma Shields, author of The Cassandra and recipient of the Pacific Northwest Book Award "Shelley Blanton-Stroud's Copy Boy is one of those novels that can rekindle your faith in fiction. Her distinctive voice, command of historical details, and sheer storytelling verve show through on every page. Maybe this exact story never happened, but it should have--in exactly this way. A bravura debut--I'm expecting great things from this author."
--David Corbett, award-winning author of The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday
