WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY: A Collection of Short Fiction
Six character-driven novellas and short stories.
“The Nose” When thirty-year-old Lenny falls for a guy with an elephantine nose, his musical theater career suddenly seems pointless and his social life, superficial. His friends are concerned.
“Meeting Sanchez” The little league football team of a predominantly white, wealthy suburb is nervous about playing an inner city black team on their turf. But for twelve-year-old Marcus, it’s meeting the nephew of his family’s maid after the game that makes a bigger impact.
“The Final Plan” Cameron Payne, a retired caterer and resident of Pleasant Meadows nursing home, tries to come up with the best scheme for his remaining days before Alzheimer's sets in.
“The Dried Plum and the Envelope” When twenty-six-year-old Donny Patterson, a self-described "floater," is forced to join the law firm proofreading department's off-site karaoke event, his relationship with his boss gets strange, office politics get messy, and power dynamics shuffle.
“Whatever Makes You Happy” Interracial marriage, a gay grandson, gender neutral pronouns, and polyamorosity aren’t the most confounding things that Pupa Jackson has to face at his granddaughter’s wedding.
“The Prince and the Executioner” Prince Claude of Facedom is certain that love will be at the end of his fairy tale—even if that means becoming a princess. The King is not happy.
REVIEWS
"Hill firmly controls the (very different) Voices of each of these characters, and he deftly builds to moments of quiet betrayal ... Hill's explorations of the lives of gay men in New york is strong, nuanced, and originally drawn."
MYXOCENE
Part eco-lit, part medical-thriller, part thought experiment, MYXOCENE is the story of single mother and freelance science writer, Sarah Bennett. Interviewing Dr. Ronald Keating on the Chernobyl disaster for its 30th anniversary, she unwittingly gets entangled in the retired pharmaceutical researcher’s strange plot to combat global warming with an experimental medication. In a wry voice both funny and provocative, she grapples with Keating’s true motivations as well as questions about the value of an individual human life versus a society of billions in a climate-changing world.
REVIEWS
"CHILLING AND BELIEVABLY DONE. TROY ERNEST HILL HAS A WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD THAT IS SHARP, WELL-OBSERVED, AND JUST A FRACTION OFF PLUMB IN A WAY THAT IS ENDLESSLY ENTERTAINING."
"Hill is an accomplished author, and it shows through and through in his work, cover to cover. Myxocene is a powerful story, delivered with a sensible, gripping tone and with a light enough touch that it handles its subjects with a good deal of care. It's somewhat dark, somewhat hopeful, plentifully thoughtful and provocative, and even a little bit wry and humorous in places. The book delivers its punches with sharp and unerring timing."
A REVELATION
Dee, a teenage Christian girl, and Aazim, a Muslim boy recently transplanted from Michigan to a small town in Georgia, fall in love. When Dee is raptured and Aazim “left behind,” they miraculously are able to communicate between Heaven and Earth via Facebook and desperately endeavor to find a way to reunite. While Aazim endures the tribulations, Dee assists a quirky angel with a special task, culminating in difficult decisions for them both and a surprising turn of events.
“A Revelation” is satire, a fantasy, a love story, and the winner of a Gold E-lit award.