When Nate Yacos approached me about writing Tugnutt’s Creek, I felt like I was back in the early nineties at the Grateful Dead Concert in Philly, where it was impossible not to get a contact high as the crowd sang “Friend of the Devil”. The whole idea was so far out of my comfort zone, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Helping bring Nate’s delightfully bizarre mind to life became a delicious challenge and one of my all time favorite accomplishments. 

I was excited to create a work of art to celebrate creativity, freedom of expression, sexual liberation, women’s rights and LGBQT+ rights.

Especially given the timing of one of the most critical elections in our country.

I wanted to do it… but could I? 

How hard could it be to write transgressive fiction? Especially if I could bring my humor to it. 

I grew up loving books like Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I even played Polyphemus in a touring show of The Odyssey – Clearly,  I love journey stories.

So, why not a transgressive journey… with a satirical slant? 

Still, this was a whole new genre. My other eleven published books and plays dance across a potpourri of genres covering: Thriller (The Thirteen Hallows with the genius Michael Scott), Chick Lit (Tennis Dates with the incredible Hillary Leigh Gross) Women’s Fiction (The Affair, The Consequences and Sister Cities), Young Adult (Anomalies with fabulous Sadie Turner), Middle Grade (The Last Bookstore with my soul sister/writing parter Brooke Purdy) Children’s Books (The Reluctant Fairy Godmother with lovely Kimberly Much) and Memoir (I Wrote That One To… with the indomitable Steve Dorff) Plus several plays and too-many-to-count ghostwritten books ranging from Erotica to Sports, but I’ve signed NDA’s so I can’t spill…

Hint, a few are household names. 

But Transgressive Fiction? A genre which features characters who want to break free from society and its basic norms, featuring taboo topics, dark themes, and polarizing topics… 

Me? An academic. A nice girl. Would I? Could I? 

I was intrigued. Transgressive fiction included legendaries like Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho, Nabokov’s Lolita, Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. 

It was definitely a sandbox worth playing in.

Combining Nate’s ferociously creative blueprint, Riley Dismore‘s exceptionally crafted cover art and my newly minted transgressive brain, Tugnutt’s Creek is out in the world today.

We’re going grass roots marketing on this one. 

Hopeful for your word of mouth. 

Depending on your support.

Sharing with your book clubs. 

Supporting our Facebook and Instagram pages.. 

Telling your friends, families, dentists and accountants. 

I am unbelievably excited about book #12 and I look forward to your comments and reviews.

[To order Tugnutt’s Creek click here]