Delores "Lawrence" Franklin is a failed capitalist and a runaway headcase. Following a corporate meltdown, she decides to start fresh in Mistaken Point, a small town known for two things - Mistaken Point University, where she and her best friend, Anastasia Lanes, are now enrolled, and the grisly murders of countless young women.
At her new part-time arcade job, Lawrence meets Francesca "Franky" Delores - gritty, off-putting, and chronically serious, as opposite to Lawrence as her name would suggest. Soon, Lawrence discovers Franky is convinced there is a monster on the loose, a patchwork creature born of hatred and responsible for the supposedly solved string of violence haunting the town.
Against the advice of Franky's closest friend, Pippa, Lawrence, and Stasia join Franky in a sticky, summertime search for a yellow-eyed monster between classes, shifts at the arcade, and eating popsicles by the pool. Motivated mostly by her unquenchable attraction to Franky, Lawrence allows herself to be pulled in strange directions, trying to appease Franky's mania. Through the trials of hunting a monster only some of them believe in, Pippa, Lawrence, Stasia, and Franky discover truths about womanhood, relationships, and the reliability of urban legends.
Veal follows Delores "Lawrence" Franklin, a disillusioned runaway, and her intense new friend, Franky, whose father is on death row for a string of brutal murders. As Franky hunts for a sinister monster she believes is the real culprit, both women confront dark secrets in their quest for truth.
Mackenzie Nolan was born and raised in Newfoundland. Working professionally as a social worker for several years, she found herself better suited to writing interpersonal dynamics, rather than solving them. She lives in St. John's, NL. Veal is her debut novel.
Sales and Market Bullets
• ATMOSPHERIC AND MOODY: As a Maritime author, Mackenzie Nolan knows exactly what readers want out of a book about four lesbians hunting down a monster in a foggy, grey seaside town. Veal offers readers the atmosphere of Twin Peaks and the queer camaraderie of comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.
• FOR READERS OF: Tell Me I'm Worthless (Alison Rumfitt), Motherthing (Ainslie Hogarth), Nightbitch (Rachel Yoder), and Natural Beauty (Ling Ling Huang).
• DEBUT MARITIME AUTHOR: Mackenzie "Max" Nolan was born and raised in Port de Grave, and currently lives in St. John's, Newfoundland, and believes stories about the interconnectedness of horror and love are integral to the small-town experience.
• A STORY THAT CENTERS LESBIAN ROMANCE AND FRIENDSHIPS: Mackenzie is committed to creating realistic and honest portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community. Veal focuses on the lives and friendships of four young queer women - Lawrence, Stasia, Franky, and Pippa. Readers encounter them as friends, daughters, lovers, crushes, heroes, and entrepreneurs, with their experiences taking center stage. Notably, only one male character appears throughout the entire book, underscoring the focus on these women's stories.
