Foreword Reviews 2018 Indies Finalist - war & military

"This short-fiction collection examines various characters' reactions to death, past regrets, and other life changes. Throughout these brief tales, Joy maintains a smooth prose style with a light touch that acts as a counterpoint to the darkness. Short edgy tales with depth." (Kirkus Reviews)

"You can have your Italian and Scandinavian contemporary troubadours of modern life, Len Joy knows our American one. Especially he knows men, and as a woman reader, I like getting inside men's heads. No fancy stuff. No mumble jumble interiority. Len Joy is sold Americana." (Sandra Scofied, National Book Award nominee)

It took me eight years, nine months, and three days to write my first novel American Past Time. My second novel Better Days was published in 2018 and my new novel Everyone Dies Famous will be published in 2020.

Someone asked me what the theme of my collection was. I hate those questions. I'm really bad at theme. I don't think about a theme when I'm writing the story. I'm just trying to tell a story that interests me (and hopefully someone else).

Here's a tagline for some of the stories:

• Riding a Greyhound Bus into the New World - a widower searches for the innocent boy he used to be
• Dalton's Good Fortune - a down-on-his-luck ex-soldier gets a new perspective on his life from a fortune teller
• This Train Makes All the Stops - a man tries to adapt to a new world after his wife dies
• Letting Go - a woman in an emergency room waiting for a word on her husband, reflects on her marriage

Most of these stories are about people who have lost something and are trying to find a way to move on with their lives. I hope you enjoy them.