Hard Skin: Stories by Melissa Llanes Brownlee
Melissa Llanes Brownlee’s debut collection of a dozen stories is at once exotic and familiar, identifiable and personal. Llanes Brownlee immerses readers in the lives and backdrop of her characters with an often-poignant and always-believable voice. From the titular “Hard Skin” to stories like “Pele’s Daughter,” “Any Kine Boy,” and “Talking Story about Kilauea,” each one is like listening to a master storyteller sharing stories. Cultural aspects, family connections and sensory details shine under Llanes Brownlee’s hand with a lyricism that is infused throughout. The powerful closing line looks forward: “I pick up my pencil and trace it over and over, making a space for myself.” It becomes the culmination of the characters’ and Llanes Brownlee’s life journey through the creation of a well-deserved space for herself and these memorable stories. Amy Cipolla Barnes, author of Mother Figures and Ambrotypes
Melissa Llanes Brownlee is a Native Hawaiian writer, living in Japan. She received her Bachelor’s in Creative Writing and Linguistics from Boise State University and her Master’s in Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in print and online, including Booth: A Journal, The Notre Dame Review, Pleiades, Baltimore Review, Jet Fuel Review, The Citron Review, Milk Candy Review, (mac)ro(mic), Necessary Fiction, New Flash Fiction Review, trampset, Superstition Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the 2018 New American Fiction Prize and the 2019 Brighthorse Prize. She has received nominations for Best Small Fictions, The Pushcart Prize, and Best of the Net. She has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2021 and Best Microfiction 2022.