Edited by Angelo A. Williams In this edition of Voice to Books, we attempt to tackle literary theory. Across four reviews, we offer a wide-ranging set of analytical frameworks that may enhance our understanding of literary production and consumption. Crystal Anderson’s Beyond The Chinese Connection challenges our notion of cross- and intercultural characterization. Michael Datcher’s Animating Black and Brown Liberation…
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By Julie Colbrese Jaime Parker Stickle is a master multitasker. She’s an actor, professor, host of two popular podcasts, mother, and now a two-time author. She’s fiercely committed to helping others, especially young women, who come up after her in these pursuits. It’s part of her core belief—to pay it forward, and share what she has learned about writing, publishing,…
By Angelo A. Williams Martin Cossio is a first-generation Mexican American poet-teacher-boxer from San Bernardino, California, a graduate of the UCR Palm Desert MFA program, and the winner of the 2021 Golden Triangle International Haiku Contest. His debut poetry collection, Shadow Boxer, “chronicles the author’s gym journey from skinny-fat underdog to super-welterweight live dog.” In a short suite of poems,…
By Geordie Stock Tom Provost is a true hyphenate. He has Hollywood credits as an actor, screenwriter, and director, which are three disciplines that he’s also taught at the university level during his time at Pepperdine and Chapman. He also has professional experience as an editor and producer. He’s just finished his first novel, which he describes as a combination…
By Geordie Stock Désirée Zamorano is a foodie, and in her short fiction, it shows. Her latest book, Amarisa’s Cooking Pot: Tales of Life in All its Wonders, is a hearty meal of a collection. Zamorano’s characters are overjoyed, furious, desperate, forlorn, pensive, and resolute. They populate the collection in magical fairy tales; cold, mean diatribes; and bittersweet introspective days…
By Sandy Duchac If authors are meant to write what they know, Perrin Pring’s work as a park ranger provides a wealth of knowledge. As a law enforcement officer, Pring is required to patrol thousands of acres, investigating crimes, providing emergency aid, and navigating unforgiving terrain with little to no backup. The work demands adaptability, restraint, and a constant awareness…
Reviewed by Tommy Ebrahimi If there’s such a thing as a rock star in the study of ancient classics, Mary Beard deserves the title. Her book SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome is an approachable starting point for the Rome-curious, and she’s often tapped for cultural and historical commentary by television networks and publishers alike. Between her publicity bona fides…
By Pallas M. Gutierrez Emily Rapp Black does not shy away from the tough stuff. Her first memoir, Poster Child, explored her experience as a disabled person. The Still Point of the Turning World detailed her experience of losing her son Ronan to Tay-Sachs disease. As a result of that loss, many people over the years have told her, “I…
The Last Generation Press staff with their mentor and publisher, Chiwan Choi. Photo courtesy of Chiwan Choi. By Angelo A. Williams Last Generation Press began with a summer poetry class and quickly became something larger: a teen-run publishing project committed not only to young writers, but to the idea that publishing itself can be grassroots, communal, and ethical. Founded by…
By Dave Oei Having published over three dozen books, the first at eighteen, Shanora Williams is no stranger to writing across different genres. The New York Times bestselling author has penned paranormal and contemporary romances, thrillers, dark fantasy, and, as with the recently released Mayhem and the Mortal, romantasy. Red Tower Books, known for helping define the genre with the…
Reviewed by Tommy Ebrahimi The multiverse is a compelling, if embattled, narrative device. When executed well, stories that play with the multiverse invite audiences to consider the constantly changing permutations of narrative pieces as they skip across realities. The multiverse functions as whatever you need it to be, and it’s always out there: to be discovered, to be traversed, to…
By Charli Engelhorn Kali White VanBaale is the author of the novels The Space Between, The Good Divide, and The Monsters We Make, but at The Coachella Review she is also known as the author of the short story “Monkey Mountain,” published here in 2019. That story features in her debut story collection, Release of Information and Other Linked Stories, in…