Stealing Away: Stories (by Wisconsin author Kevin Revolinski)

The following information comes from Wisconsin author Kevin Revolinski's newsletter, The Mad Traveler.

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My name is Kevin Revolinski and I am the author of a number of popular Wisconsin travel, outdoor, and brewery guidebooks. I wanted to alert my home-state libraries to my newest book: Stealing Away: Stories. I have included author and reader reviews of it below.

Needless to say 2020 was a challenging year, and to deal with restricted travel opportunities, I focused on completing this collection of 12 literary-fiction short stories. I published several of them in literary journals over the years, and wrote the final stories in 2020. The book was published by Back Burner Books in January 2021 and has received praises from bestselling Midwestern-oriented authors Nickolas Butler and J. Ryan Stradal. I ask that you might consider getting it for your library.

As in the past, I am available for library events, book clubs, and presentations (on Zoom and eventually in-person again). While my primary focus right now is on my short stories collection and the fiction writing process, I am also still available for presentations about Wisconsin hiking, camping, paddling, road-trips and my overseas travel experiences as The Mad Traveler. (Some of those travels have influenced the settings of several of the short stories.)

I hope you will consider my new book. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have about any of my books or events. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. (Reviews below!)

Kind regards,

Kevin Revolinski
kevin@revtravel.com
KevinRevolinski.com
TheMadTraveler.com
608-575-2337
Madison, Wisconsin

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Stealing Away: Stories is published by Back Burner Books and available via Ingram, Amazon and bookstores. ISBN 9781736334102 (Paperback) Library of Congress Control Number: 2020925486

“It was the summer before senior year when Danny and I decided the adults in our lives had irredeemably failed us, and so we hit the road.”
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A girl pins her hopes on her boyfriend’s illegal scheme to run away from a dead-end, small-town life. Two orphans find meaning in a discarded canteen and the death of a stray dog in the Mexican desert. Obsessed with a local murder story, an accountant imagines the crime and questions her marriage. Heartbroken and unhinged, a delirious traveler crosses borders in the Middle East. A cynical backpacker tests his moral resolve in South America. Haunted by a childhood tragedy, a man returns to his small-town neighborhood for answers. The characters in these thoughtful twelve stories struggle to find purpose and choose between escape and making peace with their lots.

Kevin Revolinski is the author of 16 books, including Backroads & Byways Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s Best Beer Guide, Paddling Wisconsin, 60 Hikes Madison, and The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Sydney Morning Herald. He has appeared on The Today Show and is a frequent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio. As The Mad Traveler he has visited more than 75 countries. Born and raised in Marshfield, he now lives in Madison, Wisconsin. KevinRevolinski.com
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Praise for Stealing Away from Authors:

“STEALING AWAY is a lush, shimmering collection, at once globe-trotting and far-afield, and also somehow as intimate and quotidian as any small hometown. Revolinski, an accomplished non-fiction writer, proves with this book that he has incredible range, wisdom, and empathy. I raced through this collection of short stories and can’t wait to read more of Revolinski’s fiction. A fantastic debut.”
Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Little Faith
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“With the insight of a world traveler and the heart of a kind Midwestern neighbor, Revolinski's dark, engrossing stories find flickers of hope in a disorienting world. [He has] a knack for realistic dialogue and an empathetic heart for Midwestern folks on the harder edge of ‘working class.’”
J. Ryan Stradal, author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota

“At last, a book that gets the Midwest right… complete with houses containing furniture bought at St. Vincent de Paul, both interstates and tiny country backroads, Wal-marts, and gravel driveways…whatever scene he drops his reader into (and the locations here are not exclusively in the Midwest), you feel like you are really there.”
Sarah Cords, author of Bingeworthy British Television and Now Read This III: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction

From reader reviews:

“…powerful creation of the characters, the settings, the intense emotions – all are blended in such a masterful way.... I'm going to order two more copies to send to two friends who really love superb story-telling....” Mary P.

“Kevin brings you into little worlds with such ease, whether it’s a cabin in the woods, the cornfields of Illinois, or an ancient city in Turkey. Many of the characters in these stories have a sadness to them, or a sense of longing; even if they escape (steal away) it’s not certain that the next destination is going to be any better for them. While it's easy to empathize, or cringe, or worry about their fates, there’s plenty of subtle humor and realistic dialogue that rounds out the lives of these characters. The standout to me was "The Butcher Boys," a story that, when it ended, I had to stop and take a breath and go back. The small-town setting and childhood characters reminded me of Stephen King’s "The Body" (Stand By Me) in the best possible way. Great writing, great stories. I highly recommend this book!” Danny H.

“I found myself dragging out the reading of the last story, not wanting this book to end. Each tale presents a distinct voice within a confident range. While each story resonated differently for me, each pulled me in with descriptions of the small things: a shrug, a colloquialism, unwavering eye contact, the leave-behinds of a traveler.” Martha P.