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Kristen Arnett

Biography

Kristen Arnett

Kristen Arnett is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel MOSTLY DEAD THINGS and the award-winning collection FELT IN THE JAW. A queer writer based in Florida, she has written for The New York TimesGuernica, McSweeney’sThe Guardian and elsewhere. She has been a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and a winner of the Ninth Letter Literary Award in Fiction and the Coil Book Award.

Kristen Arnett

Books by Kristen Arnett

by Kristen Arnett - Fiction

Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she’s a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Between her clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she’s always hustling. Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent --- a much older lesbian magician --- who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot’s mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell. It’s not long before Cherry must decide how much she’s willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act --- and what kind of clown she wants to be under her suit.

by Kristen Arnett - Fiction

If she’s being honest, Sammie Lucas is scared of her son. Working from home in the close quarters of their Florida house, she lives with one wary eye peeled on Samson, a sullen, unknowable boy who resists her every attempt to bond with him. Uncertain in her own feelings about motherhood, she tries her best while growing increasingly resentful of Monika, her confident but absent wife. As Samson grows from feral toddler to surly teenager, Sammie’s life begins to deteriorate into a mess of unruly behavior, and her struggle to create a picture-perfect queer family unravels. When her son’s hostility finally spills over into physical aggression, Sammie must confront her role in the mess --- and the possibility that it will never be clean again.