Venus of Chalk — Susan Stinson

In Susan Stinson's shimmering novel, three friends drive from Massachusetts to Texas to unload an old bus, and in the process become the selves they were meant to be. Carline's life is settled and happy: she has a great home with her partner, Lillian, and a job she loves as the editor of a respected pamphlet series, The Modern Homemaker. But after an unpleasant harassment experience in her home town, when her aunt calls from Texas she surprises herself as much as anyone and says yes to the opportunity to accompany two friends across the country in an old bus. Stinson's always sensual and humorous writing tingles on the page and nothing is quite what's expected as Carline sews her way across the country and makes notes for her new pamphlet, "How to Ride a Bus." Venus of Chalk was a finalist for the Lambda Literary and Benjamin Franklin awards, and a Top 10 Publishing Triangle lesbian book of the year.