Parisian Phoenix Publishing

In my travels recently, I’ve heard a lot of things that make my heart happy. Even though words are clearly my passion, my business at Parisian Phoenix Publishing focuses on people— and my staff, authors and the artists who all contribute support one another and share a sense of community.

This business is hard, and it was hard even before the advancements in artificial intelligence, so coming together to cooperate, celebrate and, yes, sometimes commiserate makes it easier.

In talking to people at the Easton Book Festival, I learned that a professor and former department head at Lafayette College enjoys our anthology Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money and had included it on a syllabus! That little volume is super dear to me because it was an earlier book we made, and we wanted to show how we all have some sort of identity politics that divides us from one another.

It’s an intentionally inexpensive volume that combines the non-fiction essays of about a dozen authors with Lehigh Valley connections, each one of them presenting viewpoints on sexuality, gender expression, disability, body image, ethnic heritage, neurodivergence, mental health, and more.

I had quite the talk with that professor, who I know is a fan of Darrell Parry’s work (Twists: Gathered Ephemera). He needed a copy of McKenna Graf’s latest poetry book, The Depths, and I also sold him on Group Portrait and, believe it or not, Bookworm’s Magical Journey. I pitched him Group Portrait for its unique genre (speculative biographical poetry) and its attention to layout/design, and he read it that afternoon.

Since we had discussed the intentionality of our design process and our attention to type, I pointed out that Bookworm was written by an author with dyslexia to demystify the process of learning to read in a whimsical way with a dyslexia-friendly typeface. Then, he and I examined the features that make the book easier to read.

On a less serious note, I ran into someone who attended a variety of my workshops at Easton Area Public Library, and she asked if I had a copy of M.Christian’s erotic short story collection, In Control. Apparently, she’s been unable to shake my summary and praise for “Water of Life,” where a woman falls in love with a fountain.

Of course, I had a copy and made her promise to email me when she finished the story. It’s a beautifully crafted story about why we love and finding ourselves.

Then, as I looked at my email, I read comments like this:

• “It was great meeting you this weekend at the Easton Book Festival. It is not something I am soon to forget… Thank you for those kind words.”
• “I cannot thank you enough for all your input, skills, creativity, and vision.When I published my first book, I kept feeling like something was missing. But I didn’t know what it was. Now, I know. . . it was the support, sharing of ideas, and feeling of community that I get with the Parisian Phoenix Publishing community. Walking along with others on this writing path is a gift.”