The Arkansas Writers MFA Program at UCA congratulates 2015 graduate, Stacey Margaret Jones, on the publication of her first novel. Mr. Catherine was released on June 25, 2019 by Creators Publishing and is available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
According to the Creators Publishing summary:
Catherine has gone missing, a year after confessing to having an affair. Her husband, a marriage and family therapist, hides her infidelity from the police to protect her reputation—and to shelter his pride.
As the secrets begin to pile up, Mr. Catherine, the unnamed husband of the missing woman, is plunged into a world of underground dealings, kidnappers, ex-lovers and drug running in Little Rock, Arkansas, all while grappling with his part in the highs and lows of the life they led together.
With each passing day, a sleepless Mr. Catherine grows more frantic, drinking and popping pills, which stir up painful visions and remembrances that hold a mirror up to the narrator as he comes to terms with his own emotional betrayals.
Mr. Catherine is a fast-paced domestic noir that explores the dangerous secrets between a husband and a wife, as well as a deeper meditation on marriage, connection and honesty.
Stacey Margaret Jones lived in the Midwest and central Europe before settling in the South. She lives now with her husband and four dogs in Conway, Arkansas, where in addition to writing, she works as an independent public relations consultant and a yoga teacher. Her nonfiction, poetry and fiction have been published and anthologized internationally. Two of her short stories appear in the anthology of the International Conference on the Short Story in English, and her poem “Pale” received a Pushcart nomination.
Stacey says she wrote the initial draft of Mr. Catherine for Dr. John Vanderslice’s novel-writing workshop in 2013, then revised it in 2014 and 2015 in preparation for submitting it as her MFA thesis project. She was offered a contract with Creators Publishing in 2017.
Arkansas Writers MFA Program @ UCA 