It’s always an amazing feeling to receive feedback from accomplished authors who have made their marks on the literary world in numerous ways, but that feeling is heightened when two of those accomplished authors were also instrumental in your understanding of what it takes to be a working author. Aside from being brilliant writers with unique styles that break the mold of literary conformity, Bryan Hurt and Amina Cain are also dedicated educators helping to mold and cultivate skills in tomorrow’s future creative writers. Thankfully, I had the good fortune of being one of those creative writers who was given the opportunity to learn and grow under the tutelage of these limitless talents.

Bryan Hurt‘s debut short story collection, Everyone Wants to Be Ambassador to France, is so unique in it’s storytelling that you simply must read it for yourself. The stories in it are brilliant and hilarious and even strange, and Hurt’s dark humor is delectable. In a commercialized world where the art of the short story is often tucked under the rug, Bryan Hurt reminds us why short stories are and should always remain as the original unit of literary merit. Here is what Bryan Hurt had to say about my debut young adult novel, No Sad Songs (due out February 20):

“Frank Morelli’s No Sad Songs burns bright. With lacerating prose and emotional honesty, Morelli vividly captures the intensity and freedom of young adulthood and the crushing responsibilities of being an adult. The book veers raucously and with wild, teenage abandon from fart jokes to Thoreau and, in between, makes room for me to feel deeply for Gabe LoScuda and to break my heart.”

-Bryan Hurt, author of Watchlist and Everyone Wants to Be Ambassador to France

Amina Cain is also a master of the short story. In her book, Creature, Cain strings together a series of fragmented stories that focus on various aspects of trauma–from victims of abuse to collaborators in awkward, familial relationships. Her ability to pan in on the microscopic details of each experience and, in turn, reveal the overriding mass of the issues at its heart is intoxicating to anyone who opens the cover of this work. Here is what Amina Cain had to say about my novel, No Sad Songs:

“An absolutely fantastic read from beginning to end, Frank Morelli’s debut novel No Sad Songs is at turns hilarious, spirited, and a little bit heartbreaking. What a ride. I’m so glad I took it.”

-Amina Cain, author of  Creature  and I Go To Some Hollow

NO SAD SONGS is available for pre-order and for addition to your Goodreads TBR.