From a widely admired author, a poignant novel about homecoming, friendship, growing up, and growing old for fans of Richard Ford and Richard RussoIn this finely wrought portrait of western American life, Ron Carlson takes us to the small town of Oakpine, Wyoming, and into the lives of four men trying to make peace with who they are in the world.In high school, these men were in a band. One of them, Jimmy, left Oakpine for New York City after the tragic death of his brother. A successful novelist, he has returned thirty years later, in 1999—because he is dying.With Carlson’s characteristic grace, we learn what has become of these friends and the different directions of their lives. Craig and Frank never left; Mason, a top lawyer in Denver, is back in town to fix up and sell his parents’ house. Now that they are reunited, getting the band back together might be the most important thing they can do.Return to Oakpine is a generous, tender look at friendship, family, and the roads not taken, by a writer at the peak of his craft.

Product Description: Prepare to be amused, moved, disturbed. These stories by a master of idiosyncrasy visit a world where wit has heft, charm has shadow, and human beings act out all the complicated nuances of love. In the title story, a young man waiting in the Hotel Eden discovers―as others have―that Eden is not a permanent domicile...read more

"The Signal accelerates like an avalanche...If men can't be brought back to fiction by books as fine as this one, it's their own damn fault." -The Washington Post Ron Carlson, author of the critically acclaimed Five Skies, is an award-winning writer beloved by booksellers, reviewers, and readers alike. His most thrilling book to date, The Signal follows the story of Mack and Vonnie, a married couple who, after ten years together, are taking their last hike in the mountains of Wyoming to say goodbye to their relationship and to each other. As the troubled and tragic elements of their past gradually come to light over the course of their journey, Mack keeps a secret: he is tracking a signal, sent via a beacon that has fallen from the sky, that will lead them both into a wood far darker than they have ever imagined.

Working together on a summer construction project high in the Rocky Mountains, drifter Arthur Key, shiftless Ronnie Panelli, and foreman Darwin Gallegos reveal details about their pasts and beliefs in cautious and profound ways.

The author of Five Skies takes readers through the complete writing process in a series of essays that follow his own procedures as he creates the short story 'The Governor's Ball,' from the first glimmer of an idea to the final sentence. Original.

Nine stories include the tales of how someone is affected by the appearance of a strange beach towel, an ordinary son in a family of geniuses, and a teen magician who seduces the prettiest girl in his high school, with unexpected consequences.

Product Description: This three-CD collection features more best-loved selections from National Public Radio's Selected Shorts, an award-winning series of classic and contemporary short fiction read by acclaimed actors and recorded live at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City...read more

Twelve-year-old Larry spends the summer before junior high school with his best friends, Witt and Rafferty, playing different forms of baseball and discovering the secrets of the universe.

A collection of tales about men and women who hold on to optimism when things do not work out as planned includes the stories of a nineteen-year-old who experiences an unsettling sexual awakening, a man who accuses Bigfoot of stealing his wife, and a father who attempts to manufacture Christmas authenticity by throwing manure on his roof. Original. 15,000 first printing.

A dozen stories feature a young man who discovers that Eden is not a permanent residence, a baseball player who accidentally becomes a killer, and a teenager from Phoenix who experiences an unsettling sexual awakening

A collection of stories about mid-life includes tales of a single mother who keeps house on an aircraft carrier and a new father who is seduced by a motorcycle

Presents a collection of short stories peopled by honest individuals striving to measure up to large doses of life's danger and its magic

Collin Elder and Louisa Berg, having trouble with their fathers, quit their home situations for life on the road and meet eighty-four-year-old Will Clare while searching for a future in the streets of Utah and Nevada

Presents a collection of short stories peopled by honest individuals striving to measure up to large doses of life's danger and its magic

Enraptured by the romantic ideals, and illusions, of old movies, popular songs, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, his personal hero, writer Larry Boosinger searches, even while in prison on trumped-up charges, for experiences equal to his uncompromising expectations