Sins of Omission

"The best photograph of my sister is the one on the milk carton." So begins Missing, one of the stories in this elegant debut collection. Themes of family, home, memory and disconnectedness dance with a quiet power through these 42 short-short stories about people playing the cards life has dealt them the best they can. The author's rhythmic and economical writing reinforces the journeys - both literal and figurative, sometimes painful and sometimes freeing - that her characters face. Flash fiction at its finest, Foust's stories are magnets that can pull emotions and reactions out of you that you may not have even known were there. "Like most artists, Foust is self-created-she dropped her first name because it didn't suit her. And such deletion, or erasure, is at the core of her art. If it's true that the devil is in the details, then Foust is the most devilish of writers; this is a sinfully good collection of stories. - Robin Lippincott, author of In the Meantime "Foust's first lines are simply wonderful. They draw you in and hold you for a spell, promising so much that you are stunned when these short-shorts actually deliver. Her engaging multidimensional characters resonate amongst themselves like family members at an unwanted reunion. From naturalistic to surreal, Foust's stories offer vision, insight, and keen descriptive moments that reward the reader upon repeated readings." - Cathryn Hankla, author of Fortune-Teller Miracle Fish