Motel Girl

“Realistic absurdity ties together the short stories in Sanders’s intelligent and funny collection . . . at once comical, cringe-worthy, relevant and weird.” —Publishers Weekly Motel Girl is peopled by the colorful, the transcendent, the sane and insane—by egoists, self-deprecators, demons and drunks, by the well-meaning, and by monsters. From a Muscovite torn between the affections of her live-in bear and her boyfriend to a corporate bureaucrat who discovers the secret to immortality in a decrepit art museum, from a vengeful adolescent motel clerk to a legal proofreader poisoned on a subway platform, these short stories play by rules that might seem unorthodox to some, refreshing to others. This collection is proof that the form is alive and well—and breaking new ground—in the first half of the twenty-first century. Motel Girl amounts to an exploration of the contemporary laws of romance, longing and sex, of how the computerized, branded universe is now fully integrated into the fabric of our thought and behavior. Join in the journey, a frenetic and disarming joy ride. Taken as a whole, these stories create a new paradigm for the American short story, an expansion in narrative reach, creative power, and experimentation. “Sanders’s debut story collection Motel Girl inscribes its characters with rich inner lives and appealing texture . . . Whether dramatic or meditative, these stories are deft, enigmatic lyrics that pivot on an image or insight. Tired of a diet of addiction memoirs? Curl up with this collection . . . to let the literary senses revive.” —Rain Taxi Review of Books

These stories take the reader on journeys realist and absurd, meta-fictional and post-modern. Motel Girl is peopled by the colorful, the transcendent, the sane and insane--by egoists, self-deprecators, demons and drunks, by the well-meaning, and by monsters. From a Muscovite torn between the affections of her live-in bear and her boyfriend to a corporate bureaucrat who discovers the secret to immortality in a decrepit art museum, from a vengeful adolescent motel clerk to a legal proofreader poisoned on a subway platform, these short stories play by rules that might seem unorthodox to some, refreshing to others. This collection is proof that the form is alive and well--and breaking new ground--in the first decade of the 21st century. Motel Girl amounts to an exploration of the contemporary laws of romance, longing and sex, of how the computerized, branded universe is now fully integrated into the fabric of our thought and behavior. Join in the journey, a frenetic and disarming joy ride. Taken as a whole, these stories create a new paradigm for the American short story, an expansion in narrative reach, creative power, and experimentation.

Detective Mary Joe Court sleeps with a shotgun beside her bed and a lovable bullmastiff at her feet. For the past twelve years, she's hidden from a nightmarish past, but with every passing day, her scars fade and her heart grows lighter. Now, for the first time in her life, she looks forward to her future. She's happy. Then she finds the body. Someone shot the victim in her chest and left her to die in a cheap motel. Joe knew her well. She grew up with her. They were sisters, of a sort. Twelve years ago, the victim put a gangster in prison. Now that gangster's out and he's looking to settle scores--Joe included. Joe has fought to leave her past behind. Now she has to face it or lose everything she cares about. Because the killer hunting her will tear apart her carefully constructed life piece by piece until there's nothing left. Unless Joe gets him first...

An empowering story of empathy, courage, and hope, based on the author's real-life experience immigrating to the US as a child and working at the front desk of the motel where her parents work. Ten year-old Mia Tang moved to the US for a better life, a freer life, but so far, it's a life where she runs the front desk of a motel while her parents clean rooms. And she's not even allowed to use the swimming pool. Based on author Kelly Yang’s real-life experience immigrating to America from China and running a motel with her parents, this novel explores how one little girl overcomes language barriers, discrimination, and her own lack of confidence to find her voice – and use it to make a difference. This is a sensitive story of tolerance and diversity that will resonate with readers of all cultures who have experienced the challenges of feeling like an outsider.

Thirteen-year-old Cali Jarvis isn’t really homeless. She just doesn’t live in a normal home. Instead, she lives in single room with her mother and two sisters at Langster Motel. In addition to her family, there are plenty of other people who live at the motel, including way too many little kids, an assortment of parents, three high school kids, an old man, and just two 13-year-olds—Cali and her best friend Rivka. Living at Langster Motel is no vacation for anyone, but when you’re in middle school, it’s downright embarrassing. When Cali and Rivka start school in the fall, Cali is determined to reinvent her life and change her image from being a nobody to being a somebody. She convinces Rivka that their ticket to popularity at their new school is to get in good with a group of popular girls, and Cali’s willing to do plenty to achieve that goal. The biggest challenge is to do it without anyone finding out where she and Rivka live. Living at Langster Motel is a story about a young girl’s embarrassment about the place where she lives and her struggle to accept the unique community she is a part of.

An introvert braves the cybersex, the pitfalls of eating out alone, the difficulties of weight gain, and other hurdles faced by shy people living in a world that urges us to be cool as "J" humorously recounts her life in all its awkward glory.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls. Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary. Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.

From the bestselling author of Mallawindy and the Woody Creek series comes a moving story about being set free. "Dettman knows how to tell a story" The Sunday Age Sally De Rooze is almost thirty. She survived the accident that killed her father and brothers. Her mother never forgave her for that. But she survived her mother too. Surviving is what she does best. Farmer Ross Bertram, who offers her his acres and safety, is the answer for a while. Until he starts pushing for a wedding. Sally wants ... wants more. Wants to know great love. Wants to find herself. One year. That's what she wants. One year of freedom in the big, bad city. Her survival skills are tested in the urban sprawl and she discovers more about herself than she had ever dared to imagined. Fans of Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker will love Joy Dettman.