By Elizabeth Crane
Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover

Picture a collection of women – all speaking from the heart about love lost and life’s usual disappointments. Each woman’s tale pulls the reader into the soul of that woman until all motives, however outlandish, are obvious.

When the Messenger is Hot Excerpt After the watching and the note-taking, she starts trying to imitate me – my gestures, facial expressions, my voice. I think she’s sort of got it, but what do I know? It’s not like I ever studied myself. But you think you know how you seem to other people, and you really don’t. I think of myself as unremarkable in a lot of ways; I don’t have a New York accent, and I don’t think I have any overly weird habits like not letting my food touch on the plate... ©2003 Elizabeth Crane Published with permission from Little, Brown & Co.

When the Messenger is Hot goes beneath the surface to the ugly feelings women have about men, each other and life itself. The protagonists (or antagonists) come off like someone who might work just two cubicles away from the reader.

In one story, a woman visits her friend (who lives in a posh New York high rise) and decides to camp out on the roof. She meets a handsome elevator man and begins inventing reasons for him to visit her. After a tenant in the building jumps to his death, the elevator man convinces her that hiding out on the roof is no different than jumping from a window.

Another story visits the life of a woman who has survived being struck by a Lexus. After writing a book, she is approached by the actress who will portray her in an upcoming movie. The actress moves in temporarily to witness her life first-hand but gradually steals her identity.

Bookworm's Briefing
This quirky book is as entertaining as it is shocking. The reader isn't able to tell which direction Elizabeth Crane will take next. It’s like an adventure in the jungle – all absorbed while reading a series of random journal entries. Wear your safari attire.

Elizabeth Crane’s stories have appeared in the Sycamore Review, Washington Square, Weep Daily, New York Stories, Book, Florida Review and Eclipse.