by Joan Opyr
Bywater Books First Ebook edition: April 2012
Bywater Books First Edition: March 2006
Cover designer: Bonnie Liss (Phoenix Graphics)
Cover painting by Patricia Koch
ISBN 978-1-61294-036-6
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Bywater Books
SHAKEN AND STIRRED
Joan Opyr
“What a great read! Character, story, dialogue—it’s a trifecta of a page turner.” —Kate Clinton, author of I Told You So
“Opyr is a master of mixing light and dark—of telling a story about family dysfunction, alcoholic rage, and life without a lover with laugh-out loud panache.” —Book Marks
“It’s a wonderful novel” —Out in Print
Poppy Koslowski is trying to recover from a hysterectomy, but her family has other ideas. She’s the one with the responsibility to pull the plug on her alcoholic grandfather in North Carolina. So she’s dragged back across the country from her rebuilt life into the bosom of a family who barely notice the old man’s imminent death.
Plunged into a crazy kaleidoscope of consulting doctors, catching fire with an old flame, and negotiating lunch venues with her mother and grandmother, Poppy still manages to fall in love. Because nothing in the Koslowski family is ever straightforward. Not even dying.
Print ISBN 978-1-932859-79-9
Ebook ISNBN 978-1-61294-018-2
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books
GREETINGS FROM JAMAICA,
WISH YOU WERE QUEER
Mari SanGiovanni
“I picked up the lesbian novel Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer, by Mari Sangiovanni, and was immediately annoyed when the book jacket warned, ‘this book may make you laugh out loud in public.’ I’m always suspicious of books that say something like that, but damn if I didn’t actually laugh out loud while reading it—several times, in fact. I hate it when the anonymous book blurb writers are right!” —AfterEllen.com
Maria Santora has always known her Italian family is a little crazy, but when she inherits her grandmother’s estate, they now have a million reasons to act nuts. And with millions at stake, it will take more than a free vacation to Jamaica to get the eratic Santoras to toe the line.
Climb aboard this hilarious rollercoaster ride where Marieis left wishing “out” was the new “in,” and where every loundge chair is a hot seat when the Santora family ventures this close to the equator. The island of Jamaica just may not be big enough . . .
Print ISBN 978-1-932859-30-0
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61294-035-9
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books
CAMPTOWN LADIES
Mari SanGiovanni
Q: How do you take your mind off a broken heart?
A: You spend time with your crazy Italian family, of course.
And there’s plenty to distract Marie Santora when she comes home to lick her wounds. Not least her sister Lisa’s plan to transform a rundown campground into a gay and lesbian paradise—complete with a five-star Italian restaurant—with the help of a contractor who just happens to be the woman who broke their brother’s heart.
But the Santoras are a family who could sink the Loveboat. Especially since they don’t know the meaning of minding their own business. When the whole clan decides to fix things for their girls, they wreak havoc all the way from the backwoods of Rhode Island to the campy streets of Provincetown. And when the campfire heats up, it’s a recipe for heartburn.
Sequel to Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer.
Print ISBN 978-1-932859-86-7
Ebook ISBN 978-1-932859-87-4
Available at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books
80% DONE WITH STRAIGHT GIRLS
Mari SanGiovanni
Love and loss should not be this funny, but the entire Santora family has descended upon Marie again, just when Marie is sure she doesn’t need them anymore. After losing Erica she has made a vow to be done with straight girls once and for all. Then her ex makes a house call and puts her willpower to the test, proving that desperate times really do call for desperate measures.
Meanwhile, Marie’s sister Lisa has ditched her gay campground in favor of becoming a celebrity chef. Lisa makes a career for herself by channeling her dead Aunt Aggie and the spirits of dead relatives while she cooks. She sees them squabbling, insulting, and love taping each other to get fresh dibs on all the ingredients and she follows their lead. Lisa and her “ghosts” invent dishes like the heavenly “Pasta Fa Brawl” and the audience loves it as she takes talk shows by storm. After all, who says playing with ghosts from the past can’t be fun and profitable?
From Jamaica to camptown and now landing lakeside, these ladies are still serving the fun up Italian style: Loud, lusty and with lots of love and laughs.
Sequel to Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer
and Camptown Ladies
Print ISBN 978-1-61294-033-5
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61294-034-2
Available January 2013 at your local bookstore
or call 734-662-8815
or order online at www.bywaterbooks.com
Bywater Books represents the coming of age of lesbian fiction. We’re committed to bringing the best of contemporary lesbian writing to a discerning reader-ship. Our editorial team is dedicated to finding and developing outstanding voices who deliver stories you won’t want to put down. That’s why we sponsor the annual Bywater Prize for Fiction. We love good books, just like you do.
For more information about Bywater Books and the annual Bywater Prize for Fiction, please visit our website.
www.bywaterbooks.com