About the Book: Amidst the casinos of Reno, Nevada, the "Biggest Little City in the World," Michael Darcher introduces us to the dealers, workers, and patrons of the Aces Oasis Casino. Like Leonard, a blackjack dealer who makes earrings out of flies meant for fishing; James, a craps dealer who falls in love with Phyllis in a bad year for relationships; Liz, a blackjack dealer who struggles with how big a part she played in a player's suicide; and Gessler, a slots worker who reckons with his girlfriend Polly's charge to be more. Darcher's steady, assured, and compassionate prose shows us more than high rollers and underbellies. He gives us real people.About the Author: Michael Darcher grew up on the mean cul-de-sacs of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. He received a BA in English from the University of Portland. Prior to receiving an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Literature from the University of Montana, he spent a decade as a casino dealer and gaming instructor in Reno, Nevada. Until he retired in 2016, Michael was an English professor at Pierce College, a Washington state community college, where he taught creative writing and founded SLAM, a student literary arts magazine. His stories have appeared in numerous literary reviews including High Plains Literary Review, Green Mountains Review, The Carolina Quarterly, Rio Grande Review, Zone 3, and others. One story was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His poems have appeared in The Orchards Poetry Journal, Eunoia Review, Evening Street Review, The RavensPerch Literary Magazine, Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Front Range Review, and elsewhere. He is presently devoting his attention to writing novels and seeking a literary agent or a publisher who can help him gain publication as well as publishing more poems as a prelude to having a second poetry chapbook accepted for publication. Michael resides above Commencement Bay in Tacoma, Washington with his wife, Joanne, a retired journalism professor, and his 50 lb. rescue dog, Zelda. For the record, Joanne says, if it’s her only option, she would prefer to come back in her next life not as Michael’s wife but as his dog.
Event Venue
220 N Higgins Ave, Missoula, MT, United States, Montana 59802
