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Book Launch – To the Bone – Alena Bruzas in conversation with author Kelsy Burke
September 13 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Join us for an exciting book launch with the “Depraved Writers Club”! Alena Bruzas and author of Pornography Wars, Kelsy Burke, will launch Alena’s new novel by discussing how they handle writing dark or controversial subject matter as well as how Alena conceived of the idea of To the Bone.
To pre-order your signed copy follow the link HERE!
About the Book: YA novel for ages 14+
A young woman goes hungry—and falls in love—in the Virginia Company’s colony of James Fort.
The year is 1609, and Ellis has traveled alone across the ocean from England to be an indentured servant to Henry Collins. She’s come to seek a better life, her family back home fractured by death and poverty, but she soon learns that this land is no undiscovered Eden, ripe for the taking. Tensions are rising between the Indigenous Powhatan people and the invading European settlers, and the cruelty of claim-laying extends to Ellis’ own hearth, where Henry treats her as property and abuses both her and his pregnant wife. Meanwhile, winter draws ever closer, and with it the specter of starvation. A bright light in all this darkness is Jane, a spritely young woman who loves Ellis fiercely and shamelessly. Ellis loves her, too—as secretly as she can, given Henry’s violent disapproval. The two are friends with Rowan, a deeply kind young man who’s come to the settlement alone; he’s their companion in misadventure as they seek sustenance and survival. Bruzas pulls no punches with her lean, lyrical prose. Ellis’ voice is entirely convincing, her quiet observations of people and situations around her perfectly embedded in her own experiences even as they elucidate for a contemporary audience the brutal harm done by her settlement.
About the Author:
Alena Bruzas grew up in Seattle and currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with her family. She is the author of the acclaimed novel Ever Since, and she hopes her writing will find the people who need it most. When she’s not writing, Alena serves on the board for Ten Thousand Villages, Lincoln. She also occasionally cooks dinner, worries about commas, and wanders the prairie.
About author Kelsy Burke:
Dr. Kelsy Burke is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, editor-elect of Contemporary Sociology, and Public Fellow for the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). After receiving a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013, Kelsy has become a leading expert on the relationship between conservative Christianity and gender and sexual politics in the United States. Their research has been supported by multiple grants and fellowships, including an award from the National Science Foundation, and published in top scholarly journals.
Kelsy has written two books: the award-winning Christians under Covers: Evangelicals and Sexual Pleasure on the Internet (University of California Press, 2016), and The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession (Bloomsbury, 2023). Kelsy’s writing has also appeared in the Guardian, Huffington Post, Newsweek, Religion News Service, Salon, Slate Magazine, Sojourners, and the Washington Post. Kelsy lives in Lincoln with her spouse, two children, and assorted pets.
Praise for To the Bone:
★ “Ruthless and tender by turns: a triumph of historical fiction” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A tale of graceful devastation… A chilling, unforgettable story.” —Gillian French, author of Sugaring Off and The Lies They Tell
“Alena Bruzas has spun a tale that will crawl under your skin …a unique and unforgettable read.” —June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace
“Brutal and gut-wrenching… Tragic, harrowing, and raw.” — Erin Bowman, author of Vengeance Road