By Martin West
Long Ride Yellow is the debut novel from two-time Journey Prize finalist Martin West. The novel explores the limits of sexual desire, personal choice and the edge of reality. Nonni is a dominatrix who likes to play. She hates to pay. Her disdain for all that is conventional and “vanilla” launches her on a journey of personal discovery: first via the local swingers’ scene, then through the world of clandestine S&M clubs, and on to more adventurous and dangerous “private” diversions. Then one day the collectors come calling, and nothing is the same again.
PRAISE FOR LONG RIDE YELLOW:
“If there were a literary prize for most fascinating Canadian setting and central character, Long Ride Yellow, Martin West’s first novel, would surely make the short list. Nonni, a well-to-do Calgary dominatrix with a high threshold for pain and outrageousness, takes us along on her boundary-asphyxiating adventures, first to a local members-only party venue, then, gradually, into a stranger realm of self-actualization. Martin West’s first story collection, Cretacea & Other Stories, was published last year. He has twice been a Journey Prize finalist.”
— The Toronto Star
Praise for Cretacea and Other Stories from the Badlands:
“[I]n Martin West’s impressive debut short story collection … readers will encounter echoes of Flannery O’Connor and Barry Hannah.”
— Foreword Magazine
“the eleven tales in Martin West’s debut collection … often surprise with strange, startling images.” — Alberta Views
Martin West was born in Victoria and spent his youth working and living in the Canadian west. He graduated from the University of British Columbia and has been published in magazines across the nation and twice in the Journey Prize anthology. His first collection of stories, Cretecea & Other Stories from the Badlands was published in 2016 and was the recipient of a Gold IPPY award (Independent Publisher Book Awards). His short story, “Miss Charlotte,” will appear in the 2017 edition of Best Canadian Stories.
