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Dear reader,

With great pride, we offer you the debut catalog of Avasta


Press. If you are like us, you are someone who strives, as
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, to not only live the length of
life, but also the depth of it. You fall in love with all kinds of
books, savoring how they make your world bigger.
Perhaps, like me, you have surrounded yourself with books
and stories your whole life. From that very first murder
mystery I typed out on our household desktop, to love letters
I write in my diaries, the words I lay down function as dock
lines, tying my shifting soul and experiences to the physical
world in which I live. When we read the stories of others, we
take hold of their lines. We bind together.
Writing a book is a revolutionary act. Reading a book is a
revolutionary act. When we see how other people live and
think, we are able to see our own lives more clearly. We
expand what might be possible in our personal universe and
gain clarity and bravery to craft a most pleasurable life.
At Avasta, the authors we publish, the amazing group of
people that lend their talents to running the press and
creating the books-- these are people I cherish for giving me
more roads, more perspectives, more capacity to love and feel
loved in our global village.
For myself, I can think of no greater occupation than
laboring to publish the stories of talented writers so that they
may reach their destined readers. This first catalog we offer
thrills me. We give you fictions, poetries, creative manifestos
and even some really good cocktail recipes.
If life is indeed a journey, you captain your own way. We offer
you these books to bring along on your travels.
Welcome aboard,
Kelsye Nelson
Avasta Founder, Captain

BOOKS FALL 2015


Widow Walk
by Gar LaSalle historical fiction
Isthmus
by Gar LaSalle historical fiction
Not F*ing Around
by Jeff Leisawitz creative manifesto
I Could Tell You Some Stories
by Kay Kinghammer memoir in poetry
A Goddamn Infinite Emergency
by John Mandel literary short stories
Dracula:
Book Lush Edition
by Bram Stoker literature & libations
Curious Poe Collection:
Book Lush Edition
by Edgar Allan Poe literature & libations
Pride and Prejudice:
Book Lush Edition
by Jane Austen literature & libations

Avasta Press Maiden Catalog

Widow Walk

Isthmus

Widow Walk Saga Book One

Widow Walk Saga Book Two

Gar LaSalle

Gar LaSalle

The Pacific Northwest in 1858 was a land of


breathtaking beauty and unrelenting danger.
Small settlements dotted the wilds of streams and
dense woods. The United States and Britain both
attempted to control the vast, fertile lands and
contain the indigenous peoples. It was on this land
that homesteaders Isaac and Emmy Evers lived,
loved, and fought for survival in a story that echoes
the story of the true American frontier.

A convenient ride through the jungle. An


inconvenient assault. A run for their lives.
It is 1860 and revolution is erupting throughout the
world over universal emancipation. Civil war looms
in the Unites States. In the midst of it all, a young
woman is moving back to Boston with what is left of
her family, devastated and bankrupted by savage,
tragic events that occurred less than a year ago in the
Pacific Northwest. They traverse a hostile terrain on
the new Panama isthmus railroad, the most modern
transportation in the world. From inside their coach they watch the humid forest, a different
type of green from what they knew up north, slipping by in a blur.

Based on true events surrounding the real-life


story revenge murder of Isaac Ebey, a prominent
citizen who lived on Whidbey Island in the mid1800s, Widow Walk traces the interweaving fates
of the settlers and Native Americans fighting for
survival, and the British and U.S. governments
fighting for control of the land they lived on.
Author Gar LaSalle combines his love of history with
a compelling story of a womans determination
to find her kidnapped son. Winner of the 2015
First Horizon Award from the Eric Hoffer Award for
Excellence in Independent Publishing, this book is a
new classic for lovers of real American history.

Get it:
www.AvastaPress.com/Widow
(Widow Walk)

www.AvastaPress.com/Isthmus
(Isthmus)

Avasta Press Fall Catalog 2015

Looking down the aisle they see an uncomfortable array of fellow travelers, an international
mix of characters they will get to know all too well . . . each with hidden hopes and dreams . . .
predators and victims, desperadoes and hangmen, widows and widow makers.
In book two of the Widow Walk Saga, author Gar LaSalle returns to deliver the next true
chapter of gritty American history.
Also available in
bilingual English
and Italian editions.
German and
Spanish editions
coming soon.

about the author

Gar LaSalle

Gar LaSalle is an award-winning historical fiction author and


documentary filmmaker from Seattle, Washington. He holds
degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Reed College in
Portland, and Cornell University Medical School. Gar created the
LaSalle Storyteller Grant, which awards $10,000 or more annually
to an artist demonstrating excellence in storytelling. When not
welding massive sculptures or traversing the globe, he can be
found in his Vashon Island studio.

www.AvastaPress.com

NFA

Not F*ing Around is the


passion, the power, the
bang bang bang that
drives you to take real
action to manifest a life
worth living.

Get it:
www.AvastaPress.com/NFA

NFA is focus and free


form, karma and art,
improv and strategy.
When youre Not F*ing
Around you know it. So
does everybody else in
the room.

Avasta Press Fall Catalog 2015

Not F*ing Around


The No Bullsh*t Guide
for Getting Your Creative
Dreams Off the Ground

Jeff Leisawitz
Cant quite get your creative juices flowing? The day
job sucking your soul? Fizzled out before you put the
finishing touches on your amazing creation?
Not F*ing Around is an inspirational guide to
claiming your creative mojo and turning your ideas
into art. With relentless positivity, unapologetic
authenticity, and a stiff middle finger to the establishment, Leisawitz pulls back the curtain on
the creative process and shows us that we are, indeed, capable of great thingsif we can stop
f*ing around and make it happen.
Its time to get off the couch and get on the path. Its time to tap into the cosmic heartbeat that
thumps in your chest and shines from your soul. Its time to get NFA.
With humor, grace, and vulgarity, Not F*ing Around delivers the swift kick in the ass anyone
who wants to make art needs, and reading this book is the first step to stop f*ing around and
start making art that matters.

about the author

Jeff Leisawitz

Jeff Leisawitz is an award-winning musician/producer and


filmmaker who has devoted his life to the art of creating. As the
artist behind Electron Love Theory, he fused interviews with
Seattles WTO demonstrators in 1999 into electronic music. He
has more than 500 music placements in film, TV and multimedia
to his credit, including work created for HBO, MTV, and Playboy.
NFA is his first book.

www.AvastaPress.com

an excerpt from

Sadie Muchinfuch

I need a friend, someone to talk to,


Someone to give me advice, save me
From the stupid things I do, someone
Wholl help me find a costume, someone
Who doesnt want to share my bed.
Most of the girls here are older,
Quite a lot older than me. Certainly,
They all are so much wiser than me.
Between shows we all go to the same
Place. We meet our lovers, bottles and
Boyfriends in the bar across the street.
None of us pays for our drinks. One
Woman whispers her knowledge, answers
Questions I dont know enough to ask.
See that one? she says. The one in

Coming of Age in 30 Poems

Kay Kinghammer
Run away to San Francisco and become a burlesque
dancer before you can legally drink the cocktails the
men send your way.
Stuff your most precious belongings, your distant
boyfriend, young son and over-sized dog into a van
and drive across the USA.

The black slacks, play your cards right


And hell pay your rent. But dont
Count on him too much, hes only

Finally experience real love from a man who can best be described as a pimp, only to lose him
to his wife.

Good for a week. No matter what


Stories he tells you, hes only good
For a week. So he becomes my new

Poet Kay Kinghammer invites you to ride along her incredible, mostly-true stories about
coming of age in a revolutionary decade. Sex, drugs, and trumpet music offer meager
distractions to the greater business finding love and a sanctuary for her son. In reading these
narrative poems, may you find the bravery to witness and love your own personal truths.

Boyfriend, takes up most of my time


When Im not drinking or dancing,
Professes his undying love. I do and
I dont believe him. It could happen?
But it doesnt. At weeks end, he
Goes home to his wife. Hes sorry,
But hes sure Ill be all right.
I go to the bar again.

Get it:
www.AvastaPress.com/Stories

I Could Tell You


Some Stories

Avasta Press Fall Catalog 2015

about the author

Kay Kinghammer

Kay Kinghammer is a poet living and working in Seattle,


Washington. Her work focuses on the human quest for raw
truth and the bravery needed to tell our deepest stories. She is a
founding organizer and reader at Red Sky Poetry Theater, and
she has been a featured reader at the Whidbey Island Poetry
Festival, Seattles Bumbershoot Festival, and at the Fermoy
International Poetry Festival in County Cork, Ireland.

www.AvastaPress.com

A Goddamn
Infinite Emergency
Love Stories

Book Lush Edition

Bram Stoker

with custom libations, criticism and


commentary by Kelsye Nelson

John Mandel
This intimate and jarring collection dives deep into
the heads of men in love, but not the kind of love
found in fairy tales and movies. In a culture where
too easily we divide men into heroes and anti-heroes,
these stories focus on the heart of the everyman.
At times surly and at others sulking, these are men
filled with desire but stymied at how to communicate.
These are men trying desperately to make contact
with the outside world but constantly tripping and falling over their best intentions. These are
men yearning for intimacy, but getting stuck in fear, desire, and excruciating hesitation.
With dense language and vivid imagery, these stories expose an intimate picture of modern
man on the inside. Full of fear and desire, but capable of a kind of love in his way, these
narrators tell the awkward, fragile
stories we are afraid to speak out loud.
Get it:

www.AvastaPress.com/Emergency

about the author

John Mandel

John Mandel is an author and artist based in Los Angeles,


California. His work explores the layers of humanity and
masculinity with deliberate and compassionate nuance, revealing
our deepest fears in a way that gives us power over how we
define ourselves. In over four decades as a visual artist, his
work appeared in galleries across the country, including the Los
Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, the Whitney Museum of
American Art in New York City, and more than fifty solo shows.

10

Dracula

Avasta Press Fall Catalog 2015

Sink your teeth into Bram Stokers classic tale of


romance and horror back to life, with a twist. Dear
reader, when you accompany Jonathan Harker on his ill-fated journey to Transylvania and
down the creaking halls of Count Draculas mansion, youll be better off with a stiff drink in
hand to calm your nerves.
What is the perfect cocktail to pair with a vampire? Perhaps a blood martini with two olives on
a wooden stake? Or a whiskey old-fashion garnished with a blood orange? We wont tell you-but you can be sure it will be to die for!
The Book Lush Classics series pairs classic
books with classic cocktails so that when you
have a great book in one hand, youve got a
great cocktail in the other.

Get it:
www.AvastaPress.com/Dracula

about the author

Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker - brought back to, errr, life? by Kelsye Nelson.


Coming December
Based on Kelsyes successful Book Lush Kickstarter project that
paired what to drink with what to read, Avasta is proud to be
releasing the first in a series of classic novels accompanied by
classic cocktail recipes that pair well with the pages.

Pride and
Prejudice

Coming late November

Curious Poe
Collection

www.AvastaPress.com

Coming December

Pride and
Prejudice

11

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Copyright 2015 Avasta Press

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