A Thousand Ways to Disappear to be published by Cornerstone Press in 2028

I’m thrilled to announce that the novel that I first dreamed up in 2019, A Thousand Ways to Disappear, has been accepted for publication by Cornerstone Press and will be published in February 2028.

A Thousand Ways to Disappear is a contemporary retelling of Hansel and Gretel, in which the parents are addicted to opioids. Abandon follows two children, Greta (12) and Henry (8), who live with their domineering stepfather Kurt—an out-of-work nurse addicted to opioids—and their disoriented mother, who is half-awake from a fentanyl patch Kurt applies to her for back pain. Greta is the default caretaker of Henry and desperately misses her maternal grandmother. Faced with the prospect of being sent into foster care by the Department of Children and Families and upon learning that Kurt had faked their grandmother's death, Greta and Henry begin the dangerous trek through the forest to seek their grandmother’s help. Before they leave, Greta steals the latest shipment of Kurt’s pills. On the way, they hide from police, encounter wild animals, and in the deepest part of the forest encounter three drug dealers who know Kurt. Henry, who is selectively mute and lacks confidence, helps lead the way to their grandmother’s cottage. It is dilapidated and hides a horrifying secret.

Cornerstone Press is run by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.