McKean County and Other Stories

McKean County, Pennsylvania is located in the Allegheny Mountains, three hundred miles north of Pittsburgh, ninety miles south of Buffalo, New York, and twenty-five years behind anywhere else. Matt Lang grew up there and moved away. He lives in Chicago now.

So begins the title story from this startling debut collection of short-stories. In "Key West," "Manila, Mindoro, Manila," and "McKean, County," Matt Lang is a man a notch or two out of place. "384 Miles to Omaha" is an unflinching look at the consequences of a father who thinks he has no choice. "Back to Ur" is the fable of a father who knows he has a choice, but is conflicted about what to choose. "A Hot Dog Love Story" is, well, a love story. With a hot dog in it.

Full of equal parts humor and heartbreak, McKean County and Other Stories will keep you off balance even as it pulls you in deeper.