Atlanta author Collin Kelley releases new ebook

Award-winning poet and novelist Collin Kelley, who serves as the editor of Atlanta INtown, has released an ebook of short stories, Kiss Shot, exclusively in the Amazon Kindle Store for just 99 cents.

The author of the traditionally published literary mystery novels Conquering Venus and Remain In Light, which was a finalist for the 2012 Townsend Prize for Fiction, decided to try self-publishing with Amazon as an “experiment, learning exercise and way to share a different kind of storytelling.”

While his novels are set in Europe and full of international intrigue, Kiss Shot features four stories set in the fictional town of Cottonwood, Georgia. In “How Fanny Got Her House,” a devoted maid recalls the hijinks surrounding her employer's death from a brain tumor, while a teenage boy comes to terms with his sexuality during an unexpected game of pool in the title story, "Kiss Shot."

A woman escaping an abusive relationship arrives in New Orleans during a rainstorm and wanders into the famed "Clover Grill" on Bourbon Street, and "I've Got A Name" follows the trials and tribulations of an overweight woman looking for love at a community theater company.

“Self-publishing an ebook is really easy these day, especially with Amazon,” Kelley said in a release. “So many authors are having success with ebooks, that I wanted to stick my toe in the water and see if I could successfully create and market an ebook. Not only did I do all the formatting for Kiss Shot, but I also designed the cover myself. It was quite liberating.”

The four stories in Kiss Shot are a taste of a much larger work to come exploring the lives of the inhabitants of Cottonwood. The stories were written over a period of almost 20 years and owe much to the tradition of great storytellers like Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Ferrol Sams and Fannie Flagg.

Sibling Rivalry Press will release Kelley’s next poetry collection, Render, in April 2013. He’s currently writing the third book in The Venus Trilogy, which began with Conquering Venus and Remain In Light.

For more about Kelley, visit www.collinkelley.com.