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Lover’s Rock follows Gus, a guy trapped somewhere between memories from the 90s and the present, with a connection to a young Persian woman named Tina.
Tina drifts in and out of Gus’s life, leaving him to wonder if they were ever meant to be more than close friends or if they just missed their moment. He navigates the blurred lines of love, longing, and what it means to let someone slip away.
Set to a score of The Clash (past) and Joe Strummer (present), the story captures Gus’s reflections on missed opportunities, relationships that never quite took shape, and the emotional limbo that lingers in their wake. As Gus stumbles through life, he’s left questioning the choices he made, the ones he didn’t, and whether he’s chasing a ghost or the future he could still have.
Lover’s Rock is a story of unresolved love, the weight of what might have been, and the moments that define us, even long after they’re gone.
Tina, now in her 40s, is a famous Iranian painter living in Manhattan, but her life is fraying at the seams. Born in 80s and raised in the chaos of 90s Tehran, where the American dream and rock music flickered like dreams never come true, Tina grew up fighting for a freedom that always felt like a crime. Now, married to a great husband with her dream job and life, she’s struggling in ways she never expected. Stuck in a creative block for her latest career-defining project, Self.
Amidst this struggle, memories of a boy named Gus returns. Their accidental meetings in the dive bars and cafés of Grand Rapids. Right places, wrong times, and feelings that are left unresolved. Her search for him becomes a borderline obsession, as she’s convinced that finding Gus could be the key to unlocking the art—and the self—she’s lost.
Lily’s story takes place in various Waffle Houses and small hotels across Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas. Lily encounters a cast of diverse characters, including a group of inappropriate cat-callers, a revolver-wielding hotel owner on Route 66, and a sexy server at Lily’s first Waffle House.
And so we’ve come to book three of the “These Americans” series. I continue to have a hard time defining these writings, as they are most easily identified as literary fiction or contemporary American fiction. The third in this series of road novels, we revisit all our friends from the previous books and meet some new ones too. The big difference between this book and its predecessors is that a large portion of it takes us back to 1998, the Year of the Tiger, a year of grunge, punk rock, and self-discovery.
A banger of a novella, and my idea of a dime store paperback, this little read should get your endorphins kicking and neurons firing. Set in late December and into the New Year, a romance blooms like a freight train, carrying with it a bit of baggage and heading full speed toward an alarming conclusion.
Robert is leaving his life for California, and Crystal is also leaving hers for the same destination. Their two worlds collide at a rest area in Twin Arrows, Arizona. The bizarre beginnings of their romance takes them not only through an earthquake but to a place where time stands still, immortalized by the words, ‘I think you’re pretty great.’
BRICKS is a noir mystery, set in the world of These Americans, that is loaded with suspense and societal commentary. In Bricks, Detective John Rainey, a man who is internally as broken as the city he protects, finds himself wrapped up in a series of serial murders, each marked by a single, skull-crushing signature — a brick.
My short story, “The Depression of John Stonebrook” appears in the Starlite Pulp Review #3.
Fifteen pulp yarns from fifteen different authors! The lineup here is amazing, featuring Craig Clevenger, Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Trevor Holliday, Sean Jacques, Nolan Knight, Terrance Layhew, Brodie Lowe, Patrick R. McDonough, Jim Ruland, Aaron Paul Schaut, Alex Slusar, CW Stevenson, Phillip Thompson, Manny Torres, and Brian Townsley. Noir, Crime, Sci-Fi, Horror, Westerns. Good stuff.
Featuring a cover by the amazing Danny Galieote.
Edited by Neda Aria, “Sokut Collection” brings together 11 powerful essays and 2 intros that dive into what it means to really live out loud in a world that tries to keep us quiet. From Tehran’s tough streets to deeply personal tales, each piece in this collection shares a raw and honest look at the authors’ lives and challenges.
This book is all about getting real—it pulls back the curtain on life’s darker moments and highlights the shadows we’re often told to ignore. Through stories of identity, survival, and surprising beauty, these writers invite us to truly listen to the whispers that society tries to mute.
Dive into “Sokut Collection” and prepare to connect deeply, maybe even seeing a bit of your own life in these pages. It’s a call to break the silence, embrace life’s messiness, and celebrate finding one’s voice. Just like beloved works by Roxane Gay, Rebecca Solnit, Leslie Jamison, and James Baldwin, this collection promises to move and inspire you.
My short story, “Will-O’-The-Wisp” appears in Slut Vomit Vol. 2.
20 more short stories presented by Outcast Press that don’t skirt around the many sides to sex work. Bad b!tches and good guys. Creeps and kleptos. Nymphos and the needy. Eastern Bloc gangstresses to blackmailing e-girls. Yacht whores to yearning wives. Rent boys and triple-X stars. BDSM DVD kings and glory hole gawkers. Epstein wannabes and trafficking ring stingers. Dragsters and lot lizards. Every facet of prostitution, fetishism, and taboo/cathartic writing finds a haven here.
Featuring a cover by the amazing Cody Sexton.
Slow and steady
AP Schaut writes heartfelt and relatable stories about American life. Born in Escanaba and now living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he remains inspired by experiences and events in his own life. His These Americans series explores identity and belonging, anxiety and peace. He most recently published Lover’s Rock, a counterpart to Neda Aria’s Counting Crows. He also appears in Starlite Pulp Review #3 and Outcast Press Slut Vomit Vol. 2.
One part beat novel, written with the optimism of Arthur Miller. The other part reads like the Steinbeck classic Canary Row. This debut novel from musician Aaron Schaut is a collection of small vignettes that make up a greater narrative. It’s a true representation of American slackerdom chased down with some tequila. Characters are real and situations gritty. These are people you know, maybe some are your friends. This book is only the beginning of what feels will be an epic arc. Keep an eye out for the follow up.
Rocker-turned-writer Aaron Paul Schaut presents his debut novel- a restless and compelling road trip through certain restless and compelling American hearts. Generation X is not OK, despite the many convenient trappings of middle class modern life. How much coffee, how many cigarettes, how many shots of Jameson would it take to save Lily and Gus from themselves? Though hastily written, there is a tenderness at the heart of this novel that is not nostalgia, but Growing Pain. We long for a guide on this sick and kitschy ride, and it may as well be fucking Morgan Freeman.
Once I started I didn’t want to stop reading. Great characters! Even the bad guys were good characters. I was getting serious imagery of each character in my mind as the book went on. I feel like I could read the book again and get even more out of it the second time. Highly recommend!
I set up a camp chair on the bank of the Grand River and burned through These Americans in one sitting. That is how engaging this book is. I hope you give it a read and enjoy it as I did.
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Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Michele’s Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit animal rescue which was started in 1997. We are a no kill rescue that takes in and adopts out animals from shelters all over the country.
Neda Aria has been a significant presence in Transgressive Fiction for over 15 years. In addition to her roles as an author, mentor, and designer, she is the author of published works including “ENARO,” “Feminomaniacs,” and “Machnocracy.”
Collectively, Starlite is bringing more than 50 years of experience in publishing, writing, editing, graphic design and IT expertise into Starlite Pulp and everything under its umbrella.
Manny Torres is an Atlanta, Georgia, transplant from Brooklyn, New York. Perras Malas, meaning Bad Bitches in Spanish, is the loose prequel to this book and made it to the LGBTQ+ crime bestseller’s list. Before that, he penned the road-noir novella Dead Dogs, was inspired by the time he spent living in East Atlanta Village and eccentric group of friends he made there.
I write and vlog about books, film, and pop culture at the Backstage Blog, and will be posting more soon about the upcoming installment of my Eucalyptus Lane novels, a neo-noir book series published by Outcast Press.
Outcast Press wants stories cut from the bone, written from the gristle that sticks to your soul, based off brain-burning images scorched onto paper. We like raw, honest, dark, in-your-face, tales. The ethos at Outcast Press is a rejection of sacred cows. The beauty of literature lies in exploring themes other mediums consider too taboo.
Coffee has brought thousands of people together within our four walls. Coffee created thousands of first dates, hundreds of proposals, countless business ideas, and maybe some heartbreak.
Don’t squander its (or your) potential.
rand Rapids’ original Used BookShop & Michigan’s oldest ComicShop – serving Eastown since 1975!
© 2023 Aaron Schaut – Cover Photo by Chris Harrison
