Craig's latest: And It Will Be a Beautiful Life
Craig's first solo novel since 2017's Julep Street is now available!.
Synopsis: Max Wendt has a family . . . but it's sliding sideways, and he has been complicit in its faltering. His wife and his daughter have pulled away from him amid his frequent absences, leaving him to bridge the distance between what he remembers and the way things are now.
Max Wendt has a job . . . but it carries him away from home most of the time, and its dynamics are quickly changing. There's a surprising new hire on his pipeline crew, strife among coworkers, and a boss whose proclivities put everything in peril.
Max Wendt has a friend . . . but this odd man Max meets during his travels perplexes him, prods him, pushes him, and annoys him. He sees something in Max that Max can't see in himself, and he's holding tight to his own pain.
Max Wendt has a problem . . . More than one, in fact, and those problems are flying at him with increasing velocity. Can someone who has spent his life going with the flow arrest his own destructive inertia, rebuild his relationships, and find a better way?
Formats: Hardcover, e-book, audiobook
Synopsis: Max Wendt has a family . . . but it's sliding sideways, and he has been complicit in its faltering. His wife and his daughter have pulled away from him amid his frequent absences, leaving him to bridge the distance between what he remembers and the way things are now.
Max Wendt has a job . . . but it carries him away from home most of the time, and its dynamics are quickly changing. There's a surprising new hire on his pipeline crew, strife among coworkers, and a boss whose proclivities put everything in peril.
Max Wendt has a friend . . . but this odd man Max meets during his travels perplexes him, prods him, pushes him, and annoys him. He sees something in Max that Max can't see in himself, and he's holding tight to his own pain.
Max Wendt has a problem . . . More than one, in fact, and those problems are flying at him with increasing velocity. Can someone who has spent his life going with the flow arrest his own destructive inertia, rebuild his relationships, and find a better way?
Formats: Hardcover, e-book, audiobook
Craig's other books
600 HOURS OF EDWARD
Craig's debut novel was originally published in 2009 by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana. It was a Montana Honor Book and the 2010 High Plains Book Award winner for Best First Book. In 2012, a new edition was released by Lake Union Publishing of Seattle, and the book has gone on to be an international bestseller, with translations in German and French.
Synopsis: A thirty-nine-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).
But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.
Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’s classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
Craig's debut novel was originally published in 2009 by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana. It was a Montana Honor Book and the 2010 High Plains Book Award winner for Best First Book. In 2012, a new edition was released by Lake Union Publishing of Seattle, and the book has gone on to be an international bestseller, with translations in German and French.
Synopsis: A thirty-nine-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).
But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.
Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’s classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
THE SUMMER SON
Craig's second novel was originally released in January 2011 by Lake Union Publishing. It was a fiction finalist in the Utah Book Awards. In 2017, Craig regained the publication rights and released a new edition of the novel under his own literary imprint, Missouri Breaks Press. Foreign editions include French and German.
Synopsis: Mitch Quillen’s marriage and career are failing, and his relationship with his father has been a disaster for decades. Approaching forty, Mitch doesn’t want to become a middle-aged statistic. When his estranged father, Jim, suddenly calls, Mitch’s wife urges him to respond. Mitch heads to Montana and a confrontation that will alter the course of his life. Amid a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys, the story unfolds: violence that triggered the rift, thirty years of miscommunication, and the possibility of misplaced blame.
In The Summer Son, award-winning author Craig Lancaster delivers a powerful novel that invites readers into a family where conflict and secrets prevail, and where hope for healing and redemption abides.
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audiobook
Craig's second novel was originally released in January 2011 by Lake Union Publishing. It was a fiction finalist in the Utah Book Awards. In 2017, Craig regained the publication rights and released a new edition of the novel under his own literary imprint, Missouri Breaks Press. Foreign editions include French and German.
Synopsis: Mitch Quillen’s marriage and career are failing, and his relationship with his father has been a disaster for decades. Approaching forty, Mitch doesn’t want to become a middle-aged statistic. When his estranged father, Jim, suddenly calls, Mitch’s wife urges him to respond. Mitch heads to Montana and a confrontation that will alter the course of his life. Amid a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys, the story unfolds: violence that triggered the rift, thirty years of miscommunication, and the possibility of misplaced blame.
In The Summer Son, award-winning author Craig Lancaster delivers a powerful novel that invites readers into a family where conflict and secrets prevail, and where hope for healing and redemption abides.
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audiobook
THE ART OF DEPARTURE
Originally published in 2011 as Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, Craig's collection of short stories was a High Plains Book Award finalist and a gold medal winner in the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards. In 2016, Craig released a new edition of the collection through Missouri Breaks Press, titling it The Art of Departure and including new short fiction.
Synopsis: A basketball coach gets caught between his team, his family, and the expectations of a town with a thirst for winning. A traveling salesman, stranded far from home, explores the dark corners of his life on a late-night bus ride. A prison inmate clings to his dignity and self-righteousness in a place where everything else is stripped away. A teenage runaway finds unexpected shelter. Mismatched lovers flail away from each other.
Craig Lancaster’s debut collection of short fiction, originally released in 2011 to enthusiastic reviews, mined his home terrain of Montana and took on the notion of separation—from comfort, from ideas, from people, from security. Now updated with two new short stories and a selection of even shorter fiction, as well as a foreword from author David Abrams, this collection goes deep into farms, cities and suburbs, into love and despair, into what motivates us and what scares us, peeling back the layers of our humanity with every page.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Originally published in 2011 as Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, Craig's collection of short stories was a High Plains Book Award finalist and a gold medal winner in the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards. In 2016, Craig released a new edition of the collection through Missouri Breaks Press, titling it The Art of Departure and including new short fiction.
Synopsis: A basketball coach gets caught between his team, his family, and the expectations of a town with a thirst for winning. A traveling salesman, stranded far from home, explores the dark corners of his life on a late-night bus ride. A prison inmate clings to his dignity and self-righteousness in a place where everything else is stripped away. A teenage runaway finds unexpected shelter. Mismatched lovers flail away from each other.
Craig Lancaster’s debut collection of short fiction, originally released in 2011 to enthusiastic reviews, mined his home terrain of Montana and took on the notion of separation—from comfort, from ideas, from people, from security. Now updated with two new short stories and a selection of even shorter fiction, as well as a foreword from author David Abrams, this collection goes deep into farms, cities and suburbs, into love and despair, into what motivates us and what scares us, peeling back the layers of our humanity with every page.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
EDWARD ADRIFT
The long-awaited follow-up to 600 Hours of Edward was published by Lake Union Publishing in 2013. It has been translated into German and Norwegian editions.
Synopsis: It’s been a year of upheaval for Edward Stanton, a forty-two-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s lost his job. His trusted therapist has retired. His best friends have moved away. And even his nightly ritual of watching Dragnet reruns has been disrupted. All of this change has left Edward, who lives his life on a rigid schedule, completely flummoxed.
But when his friend Donna calls with news that her son Kyle is in trouble, Edward leaves his comfort zone in Billings, Montana, and drives to visit them in Boise, where he discovers Kyle has morphed from a sweet kid into a sullen adolescent. Inspired by dreams of the past, Edward goes against his routine and decides to drive to a small town in Colorado where he once spent a summer with his father—bringing Kyle along as his road trip companion. The two argue about football and music along the way, and amid their misadventures, they meet an eccentric motel owner who just might be the love of Edward’s sheltered life—if only he can let her.
Endearing and laugh-out-loud funny, Edward Adrift is author Craig Lancaster’s sequel to 600 Hours of Edward.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
The long-awaited follow-up to 600 Hours of Edward was published by Lake Union Publishing in 2013. It has been translated into German and Norwegian editions.
Synopsis: It’s been a year of upheaval for Edward Stanton, a forty-two-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s lost his job. His trusted therapist has retired. His best friends have moved away. And even his nightly ritual of watching Dragnet reruns has been disrupted. All of this change has left Edward, who lives his life on a rigid schedule, completely flummoxed.
But when his friend Donna calls with news that her son Kyle is in trouble, Edward leaves his comfort zone in Billings, Montana, and drives to visit them in Boise, where he discovers Kyle has morphed from a sweet kid into a sullen adolescent. Inspired by dreams of the past, Edward goes against his routine and decides to drive to a small town in Colorado where he once spent a summer with his father—bringing Kyle along as his road trip companion. The two argue about football and music along the way, and amid their misadventures, they meet an eccentric motel owner who just might be the love of Edward’s sheltered life—if only he can let her.
Endearing and laugh-out-loud funny, Edward Adrift is author Craig Lancaster’s sequel to 600 Hours of Edward.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
THE FALLOW SEASON OF HUGO HUNTER
Released in 2014 by Lake Union Publishing, The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter was a Kindle First selection and has drawn praise for its gritty portrayal of the relationship between a boxer and the sportswriter who has covered him for his entire career.
Synopsis: From the bestselling author of 600 Hours of Edward comes the story of two small-town characters whose fates are inextricably linked.
Hugo Hunter, a would-be boxing champion, is thirty-seven, soft around the middle, and broke—his glory days long gone. Raised by his beloved grandmother, he is rough around the edges but has a kind heart. Watching Hugo ringside for nearly twenty years, sportswriter Mark Westerly has struggled to keep a professional distance while he’s served alternately as Hugo’s friend, mentor, and conscience. As Hugo lands on the ropes again, Mark steps in to try to save him and, along the way, gets an unexpected second chance of his own when he meets the gentle and lovely Lainie.
In this moving tale of human folly and kindness, can two people who’ve lived so long under the weight of their pasts finally find redemption?
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
Released in 2014 by Lake Union Publishing, The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter was a Kindle First selection and has drawn praise for its gritty portrayal of the relationship between a boxer and the sportswriter who has covered him for his entire career.
Synopsis: From the bestselling author of 600 Hours of Edward comes the story of two small-town characters whose fates are inextricably linked.
Hugo Hunter, a would-be boxing champion, is thirty-seven, soft around the middle, and broke—his glory days long gone. Raised by his beloved grandmother, he is rough around the edges but has a kind heart. Watching Hugo ringside for nearly twenty years, sportswriter Mark Westerly has struggled to keep a professional distance while he’s served alternately as Hugo’s friend, mentor, and conscience. As Hugo lands on the ropes again, Mark steps in to try to save him and, along the way, gets an unexpected second chance of his own when he meets the gentle and lovely Lainie.
In this moving tale of human folly and kindness, can two people who’ve lived so long under the weight of their pasts finally find redemption?
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
THIS IS WHAT I WANT
This Is What I Want, the story of an oilfield town struggling with change amid its annual old-timers' reunion, was published by Lake Union Publishing in 2015. It was a High Plains Book Award finalist.
Synopsis: In the sweltering heat of a Montana July, the small town of Grandview readies for its annual Jamboree. The event is meant to celebrate community, but this year tensions boil over, threatening to tear the town, and a family, apart.
Sam Kelvig, a third-generation resident, will do just about anything to protect Grandview from the influx of new oil money and the strangers chasing it. Meanwhile, his restless wife, Patricia, wearies of the constraints of marriage to a man who is so tied to his community; Sam's estranged son, Norby, has reluctantly returned home despite the family's struggle with accepting his sexuality; Henrik, Sam's volatile brother, is looking for any easy opportunity; and Blanche, the family matriarch, only wants a bit of peace before she dies. As Jamboree goes into full swing, the disputes and desires of the Kelvigs—and their friends and neighbors—collide, fueled by both longtime resentments and an irrepressible hope to preserve their family and hometown.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
This Is What I Want, the story of an oilfield town struggling with change amid its annual old-timers' reunion, was published by Lake Union Publishing in 2015. It was a High Plains Book Award finalist.
Synopsis: In the sweltering heat of a Montana July, the small town of Grandview readies for its annual Jamboree. The event is meant to celebrate community, but this year tensions boil over, threatening to tear the town, and a family, apart.
Sam Kelvig, a third-generation resident, will do just about anything to protect Grandview from the influx of new oil money and the strangers chasing it. Meanwhile, his restless wife, Patricia, wearies of the constraints of marriage to a man who is so tied to his community; Sam's estranged son, Norby, has reluctantly returned home despite the family's struggle with accepting his sexuality; Henrik, Sam's volatile brother, is looking for any easy opportunity; and Blanche, the family matriarch, only wants a bit of peace before she dies. As Jamboree goes into full swing, the disputes and desires of the Kelvigs—and their friends and neighbors—collide, fueled by both longtime resentments and an irrepressible hope to preserve their family and hometown.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
EDWARD UNSPOOLED
After a long wait, readers of Craig's series of books about Edward Stanton were rewarded in 2016 with the release of Edward Unspooled, the third installment. Published through Craig's Missouri Breaks Press, the book has met with wide acclaim. It was a finalist in the International Book Awards, a semifinalist in the Kindle Book Awards, and the overall winner for general fiction in the Best Book Awards.
Synopsis: Change keeps stalking Edward Stanton. He and his new wife, Sheila, have retreated to his small house in Montana after an unsuccessful attempt at operating a motel in Colorado. That failure has left wounds, especially for Sheila, and now they face a bigger challenge: pregnancy and impending parenthood.
Edward begins penning notes to the child (ever precise, he refers to the gestating being as "Cellular Stanton") as he navigates married life with Sheila, who is unhappy and unfulfilled in Montana; a work partnership with his friend Scott Shamwell, whose own life is teetering; and the emergence of a long-buried family secret and the effect of this revelation on his relationship with his overbearing mother.
Even as Edward's world expands, he must confront questions about whom to let in, how much to give, the very definition of family, the fragility of hope, and the expanses of love.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
After a long wait, readers of Craig's series of books about Edward Stanton were rewarded in 2016 with the release of Edward Unspooled, the third installment. Published through Craig's Missouri Breaks Press, the book has met with wide acclaim. It was a finalist in the International Book Awards, a semifinalist in the Kindle Book Awards, and the overall winner for general fiction in the Best Book Awards.
Synopsis: Change keeps stalking Edward Stanton. He and his new wife, Sheila, have retreated to his small house in Montana after an unsuccessful attempt at operating a motel in Colorado. That failure has left wounds, especially for Sheila, and now they face a bigger challenge: pregnancy and impending parenthood.
Edward begins penning notes to the child (ever precise, he refers to the gestating being as "Cellular Stanton") as he navigates married life with Sheila, who is unhappy and unfulfilled in Montana; a work partnership with his friend Scott Shamwell, whose own life is teetering; and the emergence of a long-buried family secret and the effect of this revelation on his relationship with his overbearing mother.
Even as Edward's world expands, he must confront questions about whom to let in, how much to give, the very definition of family, the fragility of hope, and the expanses of love.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
JULEP STREET
Released in 2017 by Missouri Breaks Press, Julep Street leaves the Montana of Craig's fiction and settles into Kentucky river country. It's a paean to the daily newspaper, where Craig plied his trade for many years. Hailed as a story that is at turns gentle and brutal, Julep Street was a finalist in the literary fiction category of the Best Book Awards.
Synopsis: Carson McCullough has given his career to a singular pursuit—putting out a small daily newspaper that keeps his employees engaged and his hometown informed. But as time and technology conspire against him, Carson's Argus-Dispatch is shuttered by a new owner with a different view of its future.
Stung by the abrupt end of his career and burdened by regret and grudges, Carson and his one true companion, a yellow Lab named Hector, set out on a road trip. As the miles pile up and Carson erratically drives into the residue of past decisions and the consequences of current actions, he confronts questions of love, faith, self-worth, and, perhaps most pressing, whether he can redefine himself after his identity is stripped away.
In his seventh novel, Craig Lancaster (600 Hours of Edward, The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter) returns to the broad themes of his award-winning work and goes deeper yet, straight into the heart and mind of a good man who has lost his way and is struggling against himself to set things right.
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, e-book, audiobook
Released in 2017 by Missouri Breaks Press, Julep Street leaves the Montana of Craig's fiction and settles into Kentucky river country. It's a paean to the daily newspaper, where Craig plied his trade for many years. Hailed as a story that is at turns gentle and brutal, Julep Street was a finalist in the literary fiction category of the Best Book Awards.
Synopsis: Carson McCullough has given his career to a singular pursuit—putting out a small daily newspaper that keeps his employees engaged and his hometown informed. But as time and technology conspire against him, Carson's Argus-Dispatch is shuttered by a new owner with a different view of its future.
Stung by the abrupt end of his career and burdened by regret and grudges, Carson and his one true companion, a yellow Lab named Hector, set out on a road trip. As the miles pile up and Carson erratically drives into the residue of past decisions and the consequences of current actions, he confronts questions of love, faith, self-worth, and, perhaps most pressing, whether he can redefine himself after his identity is stripped away.
In his seventh novel, Craig Lancaster (600 Hours of Edward, The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter) returns to the broad themes of his award-winning work and goes deeper yet, straight into the heart and mind of a good man who has lost his way and is struggling against himself to set things right.
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, e-book, audiobook
YOU, ME & MR. BLUE SKY
This novel, a romantic comedy co-written with Craig's wife, Elisa Lorello, came out January 27, 2019, under their Lancarello Enterprises imprint.
Synopsis: Jo-Jo Middlebury is done with love. Linus Travers wants one more shot at it. Mr. Blue Sky, their 1970s-loving guardian angel, offers perspective on both when he's not busy diving into reruns of "Happy Days" and "Barney Miller."
Linus can save Jo-Jo’s business, but Jo-Jo makes it clear that she needs no one to rescue her, least of all him. Add to that an ex-fiancé with a change of heart, a single mom who wants a good time, and a married couple who’ve blurred the boundaries of their respective friendships with Linus and Jo-Jo.
All the while, Mr. Blue Sky observes, explains, and ever-so-gently interacts.
You, Me & Mr. Blue Sky is a warmhearted, humorous dive into the depths of love and the mysteries of how two people find their way to each other.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
This novel, a romantic comedy co-written with Craig's wife, Elisa Lorello, came out January 27, 2019, under their Lancarello Enterprises imprint.
Synopsis: Jo-Jo Middlebury is done with love. Linus Travers wants one more shot at it. Mr. Blue Sky, their 1970s-loving guardian angel, offers perspective on both when he's not busy diving into reruns of "Happy Days" and "Barney Miller."
Linus can save Jo-Jo’s business, but Jo-Jo makes it clear that she needs no one to rescue her, least of all him. Add to that an ex-fiancé with a change of heart, a single mom who wants a good time, and a married couple who’ve blurred the boundaries of their respective friendships with Linus and Jo-Jo.
All the while, Mr. Blue Sky observes, explains, and ever-so-gently interacts.
You, Me & Mr. Blue Sky is a warmhearted, humorous dive into the depths of love and the mysteries of how two people find their way to each other.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook