About the Author

Gale Massey is also the author of the novel, THE GIRL FROM BLIND RIVER (July, 2018; Crooked Lane Books), which received a 2018 Florida Book Award and was a finalist for the Clara Johnson Award. Her work has appeared in Lambda Literary, CutBank, CrimeReads, Sabai, the Tampa Bay Times, SawPalm and Tampa Bay Noir. Gale was a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers Conference and a fellow at Writers in Paradise, and has served as a panel judge for the Lambda Literary Awards. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in both fiction and nonfiction. You can visit Gale online at galemassey.com.

Reviews

"Gale Massey's insight and empathy resonate throughout this beautifully written collection. She has just the right words to make us feel the pain and hardships affecting her characters, but always with hope. This a must-read from a wonderful new writer. I can't wait to see what she does next." -Alafair Burke, New York Times-bestselling author of The Better Sister
"Through girlhood, adulthood, and motherhood, and against complex family dynamics, the characters in Gale Massey's exquisite collection strive to find their places in the world-and find themselves in the process. Sharply characterized, lyrically written, rich with surprises, rich with life-these are stories to savor." -Art Taylor, Edgar Award-winning author of The Boy Detective and The Summer of '74
"Gale Massey's astonishing collection, Rising and Other Stories, explores the themes of race, sexuality, childhood, family, hardship and courage in tough, clear-eyed prose. Girls and women on the edges of society are compassionately rendered as the reader is drawn into a world of small towns and smaller lives with such bare emotion it's hard to look away. These stories are more than enjoyable, they are addictive." -Louise Marburg, author of The Truth About Me and No Diving Allowed
"The emotions displayed throughout are sparse yet full of understated meaning. Truly a marvelous collection of short stories." -Suanne Schafer, author of A Different Kind of Fire and Hunting the Devil
"Massey's writing twists the hearts out of her characters and leaves them exposed, broken, tender, and pulsing on the page. Be forewarned-your own heart will join them." -Sandra Gail Lambert, author of A Certain Loneliness
"Gale Massey's characters spring to life with unparalleled vividness and verve. These are stories that will stay with you, haunting and wondrous." -David James Poissant, author of Lake Life and The Heaven of Animals
"Rising and Other Stories is a stunning, glorious collection of short stories by a writer firmly in control of her considerable talent." --Southern Literary Review
"Gale Massey's wonderful new collection Rising and Other Stories takes us into a world of small towns populated by people who are coping with life-altering-sometimes catastrophic-events." --Lambda Literary