This is a solid, meditative collection of interconnected short stories that weave together seemingly disparate narratives into a satisfying and cohesive whole. Bonazzoli opts for a poetic and introspective approach to writing in this collection, which fits the mood of the book well. Intriguingly, many of the stories are presented as narrators conversing with another, often unseen, individual. This provides an especially intimate feeling to the prose. With each story in the collection, readers come to know characters through personal, voice-driven prose. As their circumstances and dilemmas reveal themselves, the collection begins to leave a gently haunting impression on readers.
-Publishers Weekly
Selected as a 2023 "Hot Pick" at linkedshortstories.com!
Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told. When I finished the final story and put the book aside, the characters lived on in my memory as vivid and fresh as when we’d first met. And so, I returned to the first, to again share the lives of the people who inhabit the shores of Consecration Pond. I loved these stories.
-John Bragg, award-winning author of The Broom of God and Exit 8
-Publishers Weekly
Selected as a 2023 "Hot Pick" at linkedshortstories.com!
Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told. When I finished the final story and put the book aside, the characters lived on in my memory as vivid and fresh as when we’d first met. And so, I returned to the first, to again share the lives of the people who inhabit the shores of Consecration Pond. I loved these stories.
-John Bragg, award-winning author of The Broom of God and Exit 8
You'll find Consecration Pond at these bookstores:
Anodyne Books, Searsport, Maine
Back Cove Books, Portland, Maine
Barnswallow Books, Rockport, Maine
Booktenders, York, Maine
Center for Maine Craft, West Gardiner, Maine
Hello Hello Books, Rockland, Maine
Left Bank Books, Belfast, Maine
Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café, Camden, Maine
Print: A Bookstore, Portland, Maine
Sherman's Bookstores throughout Maine
Order the ebook for your Kindle from Amazon.
Order the print book directly from the publisher at toadhalleditions.ink/book-shop.
Upcoming Events
Saturday evening, June 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.: Join Laura and author Cynthia Reeves at Anodyne Book Shop in Searsport, Maine for a glass of wine and a conversation about the novel-in-stories (or short-story cycle). Laura will read from Consecration Pond and Cynthia will read from Falling Through the New World, her novel-in-stories published in February, 2024, by Gold Wake Press. Both will take audience questions about their approach to the genre. Books will be available for purchase. Contact Anodyne to learn more.
Tuesday evening, July 9, 2024: Laura will be presenting a program on the short-story cycle, with readings from Consecration Pond, at the Camden Public Library in the village of Camden, Maine. Time TBA. No reservations needed. Learn about this unique genre of fiction, its benefits and challenges for readers, and the many different ways authors approach writing a short-story cycle.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, September 10 through 26, 2024, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., with additional one-on-one sessions October 1 and 3, 2024: Laura will be teaching Crafting Poetic Prose: Making Your Writing More Memorable and Effective with Maine Media Workshops, via Zoom. For more information, click here.
Video Recordings of Previous Events
Watch a virtual reading from Consecration Pond with Laura and Toad Hall Editions here. (Recorded on Sunday, August 28, 2022, from 7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Watch a virtual reading hosted by The Poets Corner and featuring Laura reading from Consecration Pond and Morgan Talty reading from Night of the Living Rez, here. (Recorded on Sunday, March 5, 2023, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.)
Watch Laura's program on the short-story cycle--what it is and how it compares to a novel--given at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor here. (Recorded on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.)
Anodyne Books, Searsport, Maine
Back Cove Books, Portland, Maine
Barnswallow Books, Rockport, Maine
Booktenders, York, Maine
Center for Maine Craft, West Gardiner, Maine
Hello Hello Books, Rockland, Maine
Left Bank Books, Belfast, Maine
Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café, Camden, Maine
Print: A Bookstore, Portland, Maine
Sherman's Bookstores throughout Maine
Order the ebook for your Kindle from Amazon.
Order the print book directly from the publisher at toadhalleditions.ink/book-shop.
Upcoming Events
Saturday evening, June 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.: Join Laura and author Cynthia Reeves at Anodyne Book Shop in Searsport, Maine for a glass of wine and a conversation about the novel-in-stories (or short-story cycle). Laura will read from Consecration Pond and Cynthia will read from Falling Through the New World, her novel-in-stories published in February, 2024, by Gold Wake Press. Both will take audience questions about their approach to the genre. Books will be available for purchase. Contact Anodyne to learn more.
Tuesday evening, July 9, 2024: Laura will be presenting a program on the short-story cycle, with readings from Consecration Pond, at the Camden Public Library in the village of Camden, Maine. Time TBA. No reservations needed. Learn about this unique genre of fiction, its benefits and challenges for readers, and the many different ways authors approach writing a short-story cycle.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, September 10 through 26, 2024, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., with additional one-on-one sessions October 1 and 3, 2024: Laura will be teaching Crafting Poetic Prose: Making Your Writing More Memorable and Effective with Maine Media Workshops, via Zoom. For more information, click here.
Video Recordings of Previous Events
Watch a virtual reading from Consecration Pond with Laura and Toad Hall Editions here. (Recorded on Sunday, August 28, 2022, from 7:00-8:00 p.m.)
Watch a virtual reading hosted by The Poets Corner and featuring Laura reading from Consecration Pond and Morgan Talty reading from Night of the Living Rez, here. (Recorded on Sunday, March 5, 2023, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.)
Watch Laura's program on the short-story cycle--what it is and how it compares to a novel--given at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor here. (Recorded on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.)