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. His previous novel Long Ride Yellow, won the 2018 ReLit Award for Fiction. He was previously a ReLit nominee in the short fiction category in 2016 for his collection Cretacea and Other Stories from the Badlands (recipient of a Gold IPPY award). The title story “Cretacea” was a finalist for the Journey Prize, and his story, “Miss Charlotte,” appeared in the 2017 edition of Best Canadian Stories. Martin currently lives in Calgary, Alberta.
