Dalton, Quinn

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DALTON, Quinn

PERSONAL: Born in SC; married David Mengert; children: daughter, Avery. Education: Kent State University, B.A.; University of North Carolina at Greensboro, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—1702 Leslie Road, Greensboro, NC 27408-3618. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and teacher. Has worked variously as waiter, bartender, fundraiser, and selling cameras, shoes, water filters and antiques.

AWARDS, HONORS: Pearl 2002 Fiction Award for short story "Back on Earth."

WRITINGS:

High Strung, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Bulletproof Girls, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Author of numerous short stories published in Glimmer Train, StoryQuarterly, Mangrove, Cottonwood, Emrys Journal, Another Chicago Magazine, Baltimore Review, and Kenyon Review. Also author of short fiction appearing in anthologies such as Sex and Sensibility, and American Girls Out on the Town..

WORK IN PROGRESS: Midnight Bowling, a novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Quinn Dalton has worn a number of hats in her life, including student, wife, mother, teacher, bartender, and novelist. Her short fiction has been published in anthologies and literary magazines such as Glimmer Train, Cottonwood, and Story Quarterly. Dalton's debut novel, High Strung, was published in 2003.

In High Strung Dalton weaves a coming-of-age tale and reveals a woman's quest for self discovery. Merle Winslow is a weary thirty-two-year-old American who returns to her Ohio roots after living for ten years in London. She is, as she puts it, "underfed, sexually exhausted, and pornographically overwhelmed." Leaving behind a sexually perverse boyfriend and a career editing x-rated books, Merle returns to confront her family and face the mystery of her mother's death.

Reviews of Dalton's novel have been somewhat mixed but generally positive. Booklist reviewer Beth Leistensnider called the book "a quietly moving debut novel." She also applauded Dalton's use of flashbacks to unravel the family history. In Kirkus Reviews, a critic found High Strung to be a "pleasant narrative, but a first novel even so that lacks any punch." The same critic also praised the use of flashbacks to reveal the relationship between main character Merle's parents, calling it a "romance (with) genuine resonance."

In her next book, Bulletproof Girl, Dalton returned to her strength as a short-story writer. This collection of twelve tales reveals women who are alternately funny, tart, vulnerable and strong as each searches for something more in life. Dalton was awarded the Pearl 2002 Fiction prize for her short story "Back on Earth."