Description
Fiction. "AFTER THE GAZEBO is a wonder: complex, compelling, beautifully told. Jen Knox writes with a deceptively quiet fierceness that will sneak up behind you and grab you by the throat, clutch your heart, and never let go. Her motley cast of characters find themselves caught at the fault line of before and after, tasked to challenge the veracity of whether 'a person can't start over if he's always looking back.' The disparate ways they claw and fight, strive and fail to succeed are testament to Knox's range and her deep understanding of the human condition. The stories in this accomplished collection will make you ache, will make you think, and will stay with you long after you turn the final page."—Sara Lippmann, author of Doll Palace
"Jen Knox is a writer of honesty, and her stories always indicate her clear understanding that even those flawed people in the world have their moments of goodness and beauty and that we are all flawed. The stories in Knox's newest collection, AFTER THE GAZEBO, are impossible to read piecemeal. I devoured the book in one sitting and will read them again and again. Knox's writing is nuanced and strong, her stories filled with glorious gems of insight, which made me feel like a woman in a diamond mine, admiring dark walls studded with sparkling treasure. As I read each piece I discovered riches hiding in and between each narrative moment. Even in the most shadow-rich stories, Knox builds a kind of grace into her characters, showing empathy for the human condition that transcends the hurt, equalizes the pain. We want to know these people, ask them questions about their lives, and help them heal. We do know these people. They are our neighbors, our fellow workers, our families, ourselves. This gentle book is a triumph in which the seemingly ordinary becomes the extraordinary."—Joani Reese, Editor of MadHat Lit and author of Night Chorus
Author Bio
Jen Knox was raised in Columbus, Ohio. She now lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Chris, dog, cat, and the occasional lizard. She teaches creative writing at San Antonio College and writes about technology and creativity convergence at Fiction Southeast. Jen studied English at Otterbein College, and completed her MFA at Bennington College. She earned grant assistance to attend a residency at the Vermont Studio Center, where she worked on a few of the stories in AFTER THE GAZEBO. She was the recipient of John Kessler Memorial Endowment for the Arts Award and earned finalist status in The Adirondack Review's 2013 Fulton Award. All Things That Matter Press published her short story collection To Begin Again (winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award in Short Fiction) in 2011, and Monkey Puzzle Press published her fiction chapbook Don't Tease the Elephants in 2014.
Author City: NEW YORK, NY USA