by Louis Gallo
First published 2023
These collected stories draw from years of observation and experience, filtering life through one writer's particular lens. The settings shift between two primary landscapes the author knows intimately: the streets and culture of New Orleans and the mountains of southwest Virginia. Characters populate these tales based on real people the author has encountered, though transformed through fictional alterations. The tone moves unpredictably from deep sentiment to apparent objectivity, yet melancholy threads through most pieces, often lightened by moments of humor. This emotional climate stems from an acute awareness of loss and longing for what has passed. The author argues that all fiction carries autobiographical weight because individual minds shape every story, bringing their own wisdom, blind spots, psychological complexities, and philosophical leanings to bear. These stories represent one person's impressions and interpretations of both lived experiences and intellectual puzzles, whether rooted in actual events or emerging from contemplation of scientific or psychological questions.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary, southern-gothic
Vibes: intimate, melancholy, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, slice-of-life
Setting: New Orleans, Southwest Virginia
Period: Contemporary
176 pages · Paperback · Anaphora Literary Press