A bit about working in a bookstore, let me explain . . . People take it to mean, oh, you must be well-read, or that you read a ton, when in my case I only read about 6 to 7 books a year. Some of those are comics. But also, keeping to the idea of a kind of diet. Because, they say, you need fats, cholesterol, in addition to vegetables. And not just comfort foods! The idea that some free-range variety can in fact change the way you view your own world, your own life and relationships. In ways that feel explosive. Unexpected. From a guy like me who gets breakfast at the nearby 7-11. No, seriously. That much, to explain my end-of-last-year toe-dip into full-bodied, non-GMO, mainstream, literary fiction.

Late Air is the story of a marriage. Murray is an elite-level women’s running coach, pushing his athletes at Yale to the absolute brink. A freak training accident involving his star runner, Becky Sanders, sends Murray spiraling back to his long-ago marriage to Nancy, a situation also abruptly marred by tragedy. Told from dueling perspectives, both Murray and Nancy painfully relive the dissolution of their relationship. Unexpectedly, more than a decade later, Nancy begins running to find herself. While what begins as a mystery, may in fact be gnawing psychological decline, as Murray continues to question the circumstances of the accident, looking for answers. A couple of horrific twists in this one that really turn your stomach. Also, I should mention, this is a love story! By the way, I first met Jaclyn Gilbert at a reading series in Brooklyn. (More on that.*) I made enough fevered notes to myself reading her book, I figured I might as well hit up Jaclyn via email, exchange pleasantries, do a quick interview…