Cover by Ryan Johnson
Sexy Life, Hello
A novella
A dark comedy about a nanny who doubles as a porn star’s sexter.
“An eye-opening satire that’s as cheeky as it is unsparing.” - Kirkus Reviews
Out now on Banana Pitch Press!
Read an excerpt here
For press inquiries or to receive a review copy: LFaulkner@bananapitch.com
For a limited time, order a signed copy of the novella directly through Banana Pitch Press.
You can also order through all the typical places!
SEXY LIFE, HELLO
After getting fired from her job as a fourth grade teacher, Jane takes on two jobs at once: as a nanny for twin babies and as a sexter for a famous porn star. Soon, Jane is feeding Franny and Zooey with one hand and shooting off ridiculous sexts with the other. At first, she feels it's like a joke: a lot of her clientele are into scat play or "mystical bestiality." By the end of her first month on the sexting-nanny jobs, Jane is making significantly more money than she could have ever made as a teacher. She sees a way to move out of her rundown childhood home on the California Central Coast; a way to finally have a nice place of her own. And it feels great—until Jane realizes she isn't as anonymous as she thought.
SEXY LIFE, HELLO teeters between satire and literary thriller. Infused with creepy-gross moments reminiscent of Ottessa Moshfegh and Miranda July, a dark, twisting storyline in the tradition of Patricia Highsmith, and a dry wit uniquely Kicherer, this fascinating debut novella introduces a bold and exciting new voice in contemporary literature.
PRAISE
“An absolute screaming riot of a novella. SEXY LIFE, HELLO is funny and sexy and completely absurd, short and somehow still a full meal.”
— Yael van der Wouden, author of Booker Prize finalist, The Safekeep
“Kicherer deftly satirizes modern pornography and porn addiction.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A social satire of the billion-dollar porn industry versus the so-called straight world.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Kicherer infuses meaning into the most ridiculous of imageries…we are invited to reflect upon our lives and taboos.” — Write or Die Magazine
“[Kicherer] writes with a kind of effortless cool, blending laugh-out-loud comedy with biting social commentary…smart, edgy, and wildly entertaining.” – Los Angeles Book Review
“Between blending pureed peas and crafting wild fantasies for porn fans, Jane’s life is equal parts absurd and thrilling. Her texts get bolder and the boundaries blur, making Sexy Life, Hello a darkly comic exploration of reinvention, fantasy, and the unexpected places we find ourselves when life throws a curveball. Funny and charming and full of heart.”
— Achy Obejas, translator & author of PEN/Faulkner finalist The Tower of the Antilles
“…one of the most compelling short reads of the year…a clever examination of purpose, longing and an obscure underside of parasocial sexuality.” — Willamette Week
“One of the most captivating reads I’ve come across in a long time.” — Manhattan Book Review
“Smart, edgy and brimming with wit, Michelle Kicherer’s debut novella is a delightful, engrossing ride…”
— Brooke Totman, Mad TV, Portlandia
“SEXY LIFE, HELLO is a propulsive novella chocked full of laugh-out-loud moments and exquisite prose…both raunchy hilarity and also a scathing indictment of mass culture's obsessions with celebrity and sex. This is a must-read book!”
— Kerri Schlottman, author of Tell Me One Thing
“With a masterful balance of tenderness and transgression, care and kink, doubt and power, fear and exposure, Kicherer takes you on a vertiginous journey that will leave you laughing, gasping, blushing and looking over your shoulder.”
— Bristol Vaudrin, author of Afterward
Interviews & Reviews
Review: “An eye-opening satire that’s as cheeky as it is unsparing.”— a Kirkus Reviews “Get It” pick — READ HERE
Interview: “How a ‘sexter for porn star’ ad inspired East Bay writer’s debut, ‘Sexy Life, Hello’"— San Francisco Chronicle— READ HERE
Interview: “Writing The Novella: Exploring Long-Short Fiction: an Interview with Michelle Kicherer” —Writing Workshops READ HERE
Interview: Banana Pitch Variety Show Founder Michelle Kicherer’s Debut Novella, “Sexy Life, Hello,” Chronicles a Writer’s Professional Sexter Gig —Willamette Week READ HERE
Review: "One of the most captivating reads I’ve come across in a long time” — Manhattan Book Review READ HERE
Interview: Michelle Kicherer: On Professional Sexting, Starting A New Press, Her Motto of Doing Whatever You Want, and Her Debut Novella ‘Sexy Life, Hello’ — Write or Die Magazine READ HERE
Interview: Radio interview with Veronica Bisesti on the Portland Radio Project. LISTEN HERE
Interview: On the Dan Cable Presents podcast. LISTEN/WATCH HERE
BOOK TOUR, Part 2
March 31, PORTLAND — On the Banana Pitch Variety Show
Alberta Street Pub — Early Bird tickets here
April 10 — PORTLAND — Literary Arts
With Portland Radio Project Executive Director and Producer, Veronica Bistesti!
7 pm
April 26 — PORTLAND — Bold Books
With Emme Lund, author The Boy with a Bird in His Chest
5 pm
Listen to the author-read audiobook on:
Hoopla (you can use your library card to listen here!)
And your local library!
The author-performed audiobook was made possible in part from a Regional Arts and Culture Grant. Thank you!
How to help this book:
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