Now available from Toad Hall Editions
This is a solid, meditative collection of interconnected short stories that weave together seemingly disparate narratives into a satisfying and cohesive whole. Bonazzoli opts for a poetic and introspective approach to writing in this collection, which fits the mood of the book well. Intriguingly, many of the stories are presented as narrators conversing with another, often unseen, individual. This provides an especially intimate feeling to the prose. With each story in the collection, readers come to know characters through personal, voice-driven prose. As their circumstances and dilemmas reveal themselves, the collection begins to leave a gently haunting impression on readers.
-Publishers Weekly
Selected as a 2023 "Hot Pick" at linkedshortstories.com!
Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told. When I finished the final story and put the book aside, the characters lived on in my memory as vivid and fresh as when we’d first met. And so, I returned to the first, to again share the lives of the people who inhabit the shores of Consecration Pond. I loved these stories.
-John Bragg, award-winning author of The Broom of God and Exit 8
-Publishers Weekly
Selected as a 2023 "Hot Pick" at linkedshortstories.com!
Separate lives, touched by tragedy, sustained by love, connected by the still waters of Consecration Pond. Eleven individual stories, skillfully interwoven, beautifully told. When I finished the final story and put the book aside, the characters lived on in my memory as vivid and fresh as when we’d first met. And so, I returned to the first, to again share the lives of the people who inhabit the shores of Consecration Pond. I loved these stories.
-John Bragg, award-winning author of The Broom of God and Exit 8
You'll find Consecration Pond at these bookstores:
Anodyne Books, Searsport, Maine
Back Cove Books, Portland, Maine
Barnswallow Books, Rockport, Maine
Booktenders, York, Maine
Center for Maine Craft, West Gardiner, Maine
Hello Hello Books, Rockland, Maine
Left Bank Books, Belfast, Maine
Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café, Camden, Maine
Print: A Bookstore, Portland, Maine
Sherman's Bookstores throughout Maine
Order the ebook for your Kindle from Amazon.
Order the print book directly from the publisher at toadhalleditions.ink/book-shop.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: Join Laura and author Cynthia Reeves at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for a conversation about the novel in stories: How does this genre differ from a traditional novel? What unique benefits does it offer readers? What are some popular examples? How might you approach writing one? Laura will read from Consecration Pond and Cynthia will read from Falling Through the New World, her novel in stories about an Italian American family. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Saturday, June 14, 2025, 4:00 p.m.: Join Laura and Maine authors Ron Currie, Cynthia Reeves, and Debra Spark at Anodyne Book Shop in Searsport, Maine for a group reading and conversation about the writing life. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
October 7-23, 2025: Maine Media Workshops will again be hosting Laura's writing workshop on Crafting Poetic Prose: Making Your Writing More Memorable and Effective. Responses from former students: "Our class has changed me and moved me along exactly in the way I wanted." "I loved this class! It makes me want to learn more!" Six sessions will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Thursdays on Zoom, with one-on-one sessions the following week. The workshop is open to students writing fiction, essays, memoir, or poetry.
Video Recordings of Previous Events
Watch a virtual reading hosted by The Poets Corner and featuring Laura reading from Consecration Pond and Morgan Talty reading from Night of the Living Rez, here. (Recorded on Sunday, March 5, 2023, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.)
Watch Laura's program on the short-story cycle--what it is and how it compares to a novel--given at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor here. (Recorded on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.)
Anodyne Books, Searsport, Maine
Back Cove Books, Portland, Maine
Barnswallow Books, Rockport, Maine
Booktenders, York, Maine
Center for Maine Craft, West Gardiner, Maine
Hello Hello Books, Rockland, Maine
Left Bank Books, Belfast, Maine
Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café, Camden, Maine
Print: A Bookstore, Portland, Maine
Sherman's Bookstores throughout Maine
Order the ebook for your Kindle from Amazon.
Order the print book directly from the publisher at toadhalleditions.ink/book-shop.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: Join Laura and author Cynthia Reeves at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for a conversation about the novel in stories: How does this genre differ from a traditional novel? What unique benefits does it offer readers? What are some popular examples? How might you approach writing one? Laura will read from Consecration Pond and Cynthia will read from Falling Through the New World, her novel in stories about an Italian American family. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Saturday, June 14, 2025, 4:00 p.m.: Join Laura and Maine authors Ron Currie, Cynthia Reeves, and Debra Spark at Anodyne Book Shop in Searsport, Maine for a group reading and conversation about the writing life. This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
October 7-23, 2025: Maine Media Workshops will again be hosting Laura's writing workshop on Crafting Poetic Prose: Making Your Writing More Memorable and Effective. Responses from former students: "Our class has changed me and moved me along exactly in the way I wanted." "I loved this class! It makes me want to learn more!" Six sessions will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Thursdays on Zoom, with one-on-one sessions the following week. The workshop is open to students writing fiction, essays, memoir, or poetry.
Video Recordings of Previous Events
Watch a virtual reading hosted by The Poets Corner and featuring Laura reading from Consecration Pond and Morgan Talty reading from Night of the Living Rez, here. (Recorded on Sunday, March 5, 2023, from 4:00-5:30 p.m.)
Watch Laura's program on the short-story cycle--what it is and how it compares to a novel--given at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor here. (Recorded on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.)