Hinges is a haunting and luminous collection of interconnected short stories that explores what it means to hold on, to let go, and to survive the weight of memory. From a roadside motel battered by storms to the fragile quiet of hospital rooms and tattoo studios where bodies become maps of grief and resilience, these stories circle the thresholds we live between love and loss, silence and confession, and fracture and repair. Each tale threaded with lyrical precision, reveals the small rituals, chance encounters, and stubborn hopes that keep people tethered to one another even when everything else unravels.

Requirements & Requests

Requirements: - Confidentiality: Keep the manuscript private and do not share it. - Honesty with Respect: Provide constructive, specific feedback (praise + critique), not just general impressions. - Diversity of Perspective: Ideally, readers should come from a mix of backgrounds (literary fiction fans, casual readers, writers, maybe someone with trauma​/​recovery lived experience). - Willingness to Engage with Heavy Themes: The manuscript includes grief, trauma, and accidents; readers must be emotionally prepared for this subject matter. Beta Reader Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/khxiRyohKCwWjDui7

Comparable Stories:

- Raymond Carver - Elizabeth Strout’s ‘Olive Kitteridge’ - Jesmyn Ward’s ‘Salvage the Bones’ - David Means’ ‘Assorted Fire Events’ - Donald Ray Pollock’s ‘Knockemstiff’ - Laurie Frankel’s ‘This Is How It Always Is’ - Frederick Backman’s ‘A Man Called Ove’ - Lidia Yuknavitch’s ‘The Chronology of Water’ - Carol Rifka Brunt’s ‘Tell the Wolves I’m Home’ - Celeste Ng’s ‘Everything I Never Told You’

Trigger Warnings:

- Death (spouses, friends, strangers). - Car accidents and physical trauma. - Hospitals, comas, and medical recovery. - Grief, mourning, and survivor’s guilt. - Mental illness and burnout. - Substance use (smoking, implied drinking). - Natural disasters (hurricanes, storms, black ice).