Years after running away from America and the mysteries surrounding her mother's death, Merle Winslow winds up editing trash novels at X Publishing in West London and shacked up with a drug-addled diplomat's son. Shaky and defeated, she heads home to Florence, Ohio, with no money and no idea of what to do next. Meanwhile, Merle discovers that her brother Olin, rich and successful from marketing Marilyn Monroe meat thermometers, is poised to embark on a dubious performance art career, and that her stodgy father might be falling in love after years of living alone. As Merle looks for clues about her mother's life she uncovers disturbing new truths about her own romantic failings. She suspects she's never really escaped her old life; she's simply dragged it along with her, "like an outfit that was ill-fitting and too revealing, but impossible to get rid of." But with the help of her tough-talking grandmother, free-spirited brother, and a pilot who nurses a failing plane, Merle finally begins to face her family's checkered past and her own uncertain future. In vivid cinematic prose, High Strung balances humor on the rough edge of loss, regret, and wounded family love. Merle is an unforgettable creation in an exhilarating debut novel from a young writer to watch.

In Bulletproof Girl, Quinn Dalton offers eleven raw and witty stories powered by a rich mix of women's voices. The stakes are high in these diverse narratives. "Dinner at Josette's" explores the nature of female friendships in the story of a woman whose best friend is in love with a gay man. "Midnight Bowling" follows seventeen-year-old Tess as she escapes her fanatically religious mother's pipe dreams and her dead father's legacy. In "Lennie Remembers the Angels," a woman confronts a long-ago vision as she recovers from a hit-and-run accident. In "Graceland," a once supportive businessman's wife turns to murder. And in "How to Clean Your Apartment," a jilted lover creates a spring cleaning reference guide as she tries to get over her man. At times tragic and savagely funny, Bulletproof Girl is a dynamic anthology from a strong new voice in fiction.

Tess Wycheski is a standout bowler, just like her father before her. And just like her father, she is haunted and driven by the famous, career-ending humiliation he suffered at his first pro match. Joe teaches Tess that bowling is an art form and tries to coach her toward the success that eluded him. Then there’s Leo Florida, the ex-hustler bowling coach who figured in Joe’s youthful tournament disaster. No one knows why Leo abandoned his star student and his coaching job, where he went or what he has been doing all these years. But now he’s back in Sandusky, Ohio, and offering to coach Tess with his hard-nosed, streetwise philosophy. “Everything that happens between people is a deal struck,” Leo tells Tess. “Maybe for money, maybe for something else. Myself, I watch the money. Better odds.” Can Tess trust Leo after what he did to her father? Tess wonders if Leo, for all of his tough-guy posturing, still harbors some secret pain from his past and maybe an unseen agenda for the future. As she uncovers the complicated lives of the adults around her, Tess has her own complications to confront as she finds herself falling for Leo’s nephew, Donny. Can she trust this new love? And what about her own legacy? As she hones her skills and her determination, will she be willing to trust herself, even if that means leaving everyone she knows and loves in order to follow her dreams? Set against the backdrop of the Galaxy Bowling Lanes in Sandusky, Ohio, in the 1970s and ‘80s—a time when working-class America, and its favorite sport, was rolling into decline—Midnight Bowling is a story of guts, gutter balls, and the imperfect power of love.

Years after running away from America and the mysteries surrounding her mother''s death, Merle Winslow winds up editing trash novels at X Publishing in West London and shacked up with a drug-addled diplomat''s son. Shaky and defeated, she heads home to Florence, Ohio, with no money and no idea of what to do next. Meanwhile, Merle discovers that her brother Olin, rich and successful from marketing Marilyn Monroe meat thermometers, is poised to embark on a dubious performance art career, and that her stodgy father might be falling in love after years of living alone. As Merle looks for clues about her mother''s life she uncovers disturbing new truths about her own romantic failings. She suspects she''s never really escaped her old life; she''s simply dragged it along with her, "like an outfit that was ill-fitting and too revealing, but impossible to get rid of." But with the help of her tough-talking grandmother, free-spirited brother, and a pilot who nurses a failing plane, Merle finally begins to face her family''s checkered past and her own uncertain future.In vivid cinematic prose, High Strung balances humor on the rough edge of loss, regret, and wounded family love. Merle is an unforgettable creation in an exhilarating debut novel from a young writer to watch.

In Bulletproof Girl, Quinn Dalton offers eleven raw and witty stories powered by a rich mix of women''s voices.The stakes are high in these diverse narratives. "Dinner at Josette''s" explores the nature of female friendships in the story of a woman whose best friend is in love with a gay man. "Midnight Bowling" follows seventeen-year-old Tess as she escapes her fanatically religious mother''s pipe dreams and her dead father''s legacy. In "Lennie Remembers the Angels," a woman confronts a long-ago vision as she recovers from a hit-and-run accident. In "Graceland," a once supportive businessman''s wife turns to murder. And in "How to Clean Your Apartment," a jilted lover creates a spring cleaning reference guide as she tries to get over her man.At times tragic and savagely funny, Bulletproof Girl is a dynamic anthology from a strong new voice in fiction.

Years after running away from America and the mysteries surrounding her mother's death, Merle Winslow winds up editing trash novels at X Publishing in West London and shacked up with a drug-addled diplomat's son. Shaky and defeated, she heads home to Florence, Ohio, with no money and no idea of what to do next. Meanwhile, Merle discovers that her brother Olin, rich and successful from marketing Marilyn Monroe meat thermometers, is poised to embark on a dubious performance art career, and that her stodgy father might be falling in love after years of living alone. As Merle looks for clues about her mother's life she uncovers disturbing new truths about her own romantic failings. She suspects she's never really escaped her old life; she's simply dragged it along with her, "like an outfit that was ill-fitting and too revealing, but impossible to get rid of." But with the help of her tough-talking grandmother, free-spirited brother, and a pilot who nurses a failing plane, Merle finally begins to face her family's checkered past and her own uncertain future. In vivid cinematic prose, High Strung balances humor on the rough edge of loss, regret, and wounded family love. Merle is an unforgettable creation in an exhilarating debut novel from a young writer to watch.

In Bulletproof Girl, Quinn Dalton offers eleven raw and witty stories powered by a rich mix of women's voices. The stakes are high in these diverse narratives. "Dinner at Josette's" explores the nature of female friendships in the story of a woman whose best friend is in love with a gay man. "Midnight Bowling" follows seventeen-year-old Tess as she escapes her fanatically religious mother's pipe dreams and her dead father's legacy. In "Lennie Remembers the Angels," a woman confronts a long-ago vision as she recovers from a hit-and-run accident. In "Graceland," a once supportive businessman's wife turns to murder. And in "How to Clean Your Apartment," a jilted lover creates a spring cleaning reference guide as she tries to get over her man. At times tragic and savagely funny, Bulletproof Girl is a dynamic anthology from a strong new voice in fiction.

Tess Wycheski is a standout bowler, just like her father before her. And just like her father, she is haunted and driven by the famous, career-ending humiliation he suffered at his first pro match. Joe teaches Tess that bowling is an art form and tries to coach her toward the success that eluded him. Then there’s Leo Florida, the ex-hustler bowling coach who figured in Joe’s youthful tournament disaster. No one knows why Leo abandoned his star student and his coaching job, where he went or what he has been doing all these years. But now he’s back in Sandusky, Ohio, and offering to coach Tess with his hard-nosed, streetwise philosophy. “Everything that happens between people is a deal struck,” Leo tells Tess. “Maybe for money, maybe for something else. Myself, I watch the money. Better odds.” Can Tess trust Leo after what he did to her father? Tess wonders if Leo, for all of his tough-guy posturing, still harbors some secret pain from his past and maybe an unseen agenda for the future. As she uncovers the complicated lives of the adults around her, Tess has her own complications to confront as she finds herself falling for Leo’s nephew, Donny. Can she trust this new love? And what about her own legacy? As she hones her skills and her determination, will she be willing to trust herself, even if that means leaving everyone she knows and loves in order to follow her dreams? Set against the backdrop of the Galaxy Bowling Lanes in Sandusky, Ohio, in the 1970s and ‘80s—a time when working-class America, and its favorite sport, was rolling into decline—Midnight Bowling is a story of guts, gutter balls, and the imperfect power of love.

Years after running away from America and the mysteries surrounding her mother''s death, Merle Winslow winds up editing trash novels at X Publishing in West London and shacked up with a drug-addled diplomat''s son. Shaky and defeated, she heads home to Florence, Ohio, with no money and no idea of what to do next. Meanwhile, Merle discovers that her brother Olin, rich and successful from marketing Marilyn Monroe meat thermometers, is poised to embark on a dubious performance art career, and that her stodgy father might be falling in love after years of living alone. As Merle looks for clues about her mother''s life she uncovers disturbing new truths about her own romantic failings. She suspects she''s never really escaped her old life; she''s simply dragged it along with her, "like an outfit that was ill-fitting and too revealing, but impossible to get rid of." But with the help of her tough-talking grandmother, free-spirited brother, and a pilot who nurses a failing plane, Merle finally begins to face her family''s checkered past and her own uncertain future.In vivid cinematic prose, High Strung balances humor on the rough edge of loss, regret, and wounded family love. Merle is an unforgettable creation in an exhilarating debut novel from a young writer to watch.

In Bulletproof Girl, Quinn Dalton offers eleven raw and witty stories powered by a rich mix of women''s voices.The stakes are high in these diverse narratives. "Dinner at Josette''s" explores the nature of female friendships in the story of a woman whose best friend is in love with a gay man. "Midnight Bowling" follows seventeen-year-old Tess as she escapes her fanatically religious mother''s pipe dreams and her dead father''s legacy. In "Lennie Remembers the Angels," a woman confronts a long-ago vision as she recovers from a hit-and-run accident. In "Graceland," a once supportive businessman''s wife turns to murder. And in "How to Clean Your Apartment," a jilted lover creates a spring cleaning reference guide as she tries to get over her man.At times tragic and savagely funny, Bulletproof Girl is a dynamic anthology from a strong new voice in fiction.