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Black Tie Optional: 17 Stories
Black Tie Optional is a book for the front of the store, and an excellent recommendation for book clubs. Carrie Knowles' short stories are spare, tightly woven narratives with crisp, compelling dialogue. They cut to the bone. The themes in this collection are far-reaching, touching on family ties and friendship, infidelity, loss, Alzheimer's and impending death, fear of terrorism, border patrol, and life after death. The stories are guaranteed to challenge perceptions and assumptions and to spark lively discussion. As a reviewer recently said about one of her earlier "If all writing were this good, I'd read more books." Carrie Knowles was selected to be North Carolina's 2014 Piedmont Laureate for her work in short fiction. She has three Lillian's Garden , Ashoan's Rug and A Garden Wall in Provence . In addition to fiction, she writes a regular Personal Perspectives column for Psychology Today, called "Shifting Forward." Glimmer Train , one of the top literary journals in the country, has given recognition to 6 of the 17 short stories in Black Tie Optional . 5 of the stories have been awarded honors by other literary journals.
204 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2019
6 people want to read
About the author
Carrie Jane Knowles
13 books11 followersTwelve years ago, Carrie Knowles bought a small office building at the southernmost edge of Historic Oakwood in Downtown Raleigh. She named the building the Free Range Studio and inscribed this on the wall: Creativity should have no boundaries and dreams no fences. “That’s how I see the world,” Knowles says, “and the way I hope to live my life as a creative person.”
The Free Range Studio has provided office space to a wide range of writers and other creative people over the last twelve years, including Carrie’s close friend and fellow author, Peggy Payne. Both Peggy and Carrie not only have their offices at Free Range, but also coach other writers and teach classes there.
Carrie has published dozens of short stories and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and three novels: Lillian’s Garden (Roundfire Books, 2013), Ashoan’s Rug (Roundfire Books, 2013), and A Garden Wall in Provence (Owl Canyon Press, 2017) and a collection of short fiction, Black Tie Optional (Owl Canyon Press, 2019). Her non-fiction memoir about her family’s struggles with their mother’s Alzheimer’s, The Last Childhood: A Family Story of Alzheimer's, initially published by Three Rivers Press, was recently revised, updated and reissued through Amazon.
The Free Range Studio has provided office space to a wide range of writers and other creative people over the last twelve years, including Carrie’s close friend and fellow author, Peggy Payne. Both Peggy and Carrie not only have their offices at Free Range, but also coach other writers and teach classes there.
Carrie has published dozens of short stories and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and three novels: Lillian’s Garden (Roundfire Books, 2013), Ashoan’s Rug (Roundfire Books, 2013), and A Garden Wall in Provence (Owl Canyon Press, 2017) and a collection of short fiction, Black Tie Optional (Owl Canyon Press, 2019). Her non-fiction memoir about her family’s struggles with their mother’s Alzheimer’s, The Last Childhood: A Family Story of Alzheimer's, initially published by Three Rivers Press, was recently revised, updated and reissued through Amazon.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 18, 2019
Some of the women in these stories are people I know! Not the black Siamese twins, of course. They lived much earlier since they got to meet Queen Victoria. I love how Carrie Knowles can create layers of personality and character in short stories. I recognize some of my own strengths and weaknesses in them.
We need more to remind us of the things we have in common, not the things that divide us. I look forward to discussing this book with one of my book clubs.
We need more to remind us of the things we have in common, not the things that divide us. I look forward to discussing this book with one of my book clubs.
August 7, 2019
Best book of short stories I've read in ages, every one a gem! These stories are the perfect length to savor over afternoon tea, or before bed, or any time. Carrie Knowles captures character and dialogue in a way that drew me in completely each time, so that I felt like her stories were friends after I read them. Her subject matter ranges through the various depths of real life and thus satisfies on many levels.
June 7, 2019
Such a variety of characters and settings, but all interesting, even compelling. The author is a master of dialogue. The stories vary in length, with most fairly concise. All are tightly written. A few have a political edge, but for the most part they are personal instead. Highly recommeded
January 28, 2020
Engaging collection of short stories, all providing insights into the lives of women of substance. Enjoyed the wide range of the collection and the exceptional storytelling.
July 22, 2019
Carrie Knowles’ BLACK TIE OPTIONAL, a compilation of 17 short stories, was this year’s beach read. Rationing 2+ a day, I figured it would last the week. I finished it on the morning of Day 2! Once I began reading, I just couldn’t stop!
From humorous to suspenseful to heart-tugging, all of Carrie’s stories are timely and timeless and are written with such creativity and the rawest of emotions. And each selection truly stirred the emotions of this reader.
Pick up your copy of BLACK TIE OPTIONAL for your next vacation, but expect to finish it by Day 2. It’s THAT GOOD!
From humorous to suspenseful to heart-tugging, all of Carrie’s stories are timely and timeless and are written with such creativity and the rawest of emotions. And each selection truly stirred the emotions of this reader.
Pick up your copy of BLACK TIE OPTIONAL for your next vacation, but expect to finish it by Day 2. It’s THAT GOOD!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews