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A Complete Fiction

R. L. Maizes

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English
Text Publishing Company
13 January 2026
PJ has finally written the book to make her famous... But has someone stolen her story?

Ride With Me driver P.J. Larkin has written three unpublished novels and is desperate for her latest, a #metoo story, to find a publisher. Her agent has sent it to George Dunn, editor at Peapod Press, but he rejected it. George has just sold his own novel for a million dollars. But wait- did he steal P.J.'s novel?

That's what P.J. imagines and impulsively posts about George's book on social media. Within hours, George is embroiled in a scandal, his job and book deal in jeopardy. Amid the publicity, P.J.'s novel is snapped up by another publisher.

But has P.J. revealed her sister Mia's secrets in her book? Mia thinks so. Now it's P.J.'s turn to feel the online heat.

R.L. Maizes creates appealing characters and writes with humour and heart about the shenanigans of the publishing world. A Complete Fiction is a timely and hilarious novel about cancel culture, and who owns the stories that writers tell.

After all, who could make this stuff up?

PRAISE-

'a propulsive, funny, complex, and deeply original novel.' Kevin Wilson, author of Run for the Hills

'The best kind of fiction...

A smart, compelling novel about publishing and its perils, families and friendships and their limitations, and storytelling itself, in all its wondrous messy glory.' Laurie Frankel, author of Family Family and This Is How It Always Is

'Fabulously complex, interesting, and hilarious. As two protagonists fight (and fight dirty) over their respective truths, Maizes asks hard questions about cancel culture, power, politics, sexual abuse, and narrative that make me interrogate my own values...

Un-put-downable!.' Erika Krouse, author of, Tell Me Everything- The Story of a Private Investigation

'Fast-paced and tightly wrought, A Complete Fiction, goes right to the mercenary hearts of two writers and with humor and pathos manages to skewer the publishing industry and the pressure cooker of literary social media simultaneously.'

Bethany Ball, author of, What to do About the Solomons

'Packed full of contemporary anxiety, hilarious in moments, and a page-turner...

This novel is a beach read for people who also care about the cultural zeitgeist.' Wendy J. Fox, author of, What If We Were Somewhere Else

'I loved this witty and completely absorbing novel. Maizes has compassion for her characters and their very real mistakes, and she allows them to negotiate the varying degrees of harm they do one another with artful nuance.' Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Dog of the North
By:  
Imprint:   Text Publishing Company
Country of Publication:   Australia
Dimensions:   Height: 233mm,  Width: 154mm,  Spine: 25mm
Weight:   417g
ISBN:   9781923058699
ISBN 10:   192305869X
Pages:   320
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

After her a highly praised collection of stories, We Love Anderson Cooper, R.L. Maizes wrote a successful novel, Other People's Pets. Her stories and essays have been published widely and she is the recipient of a number of prizes and fellowships. Maizes was born in Queens, New York, and lives in Boulder County, Colorado, with her husband and her muses- Rosie, a rescue dog, and the ghost of Arie the Cat.

Reviews for A Complete Fiction

‘Fabulously complex, interesting, and hilarious. As two protagonists fight (and fight dirty) over their respective truths, Maizes asks hard questions about cancel culture, power, politics, sexual abuse, and narrative that make me interrogate my own values…Un-put-downable!.’ * Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation * ‘Fast-paced and tightly wrought, A Complete Fiction, goes right to the mercenary hearts of two writers and with humor and pathos manages to skewer the publishing industry and the pressure cooker of literary social media simultaneously.’ * Bethany Ball, author of What to do About the Solomons * ‘Packed full of contemporary anxiety, hilarious in moments, and a page-turner…This novel is a beach read for people who also care about the cultural zeitgeist.’ * Wendy J. Fox, author of What If We Were Somewhere Else * ‘I loved this witty and completely absorbing novel. Maizes has compassion for her characters and their very real mistakes, and she allows them to negotiate the varying degrees of harm they do one another with artful nuance.’ * Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Dog of the North * ‘A Complete Fiction is the best kind of fiction: timely and topical, brimming with flawed characters trying to be good, complex situations with no right answers, and tangled threads that only get knottier as you turn the pages. R.L. Maizes has written a smart, compelling novel about publishing and its perils, families and friendships and their limitations, and storytelling itself, in all its wondrous messy glory.’ * Laurie Frankel, author of Family Family and This Is How It Always Is * ‘R.L Maizes’ is a plotty, poignant exploration of influence, avarice and literary rivalry. Full of twists, turns and reversals, this novel brilliantly skewers the ruthless publishing machine, and asks once and for all who gets to tell a story and why. It's eminently devourable!’ * Dominic Amerena, author of I Want Everything * ‘R. L. Maizes’s blend of humour and empathy is a rare alchemy. In A Complete Fiction, she is at the height of her powers. Maizes takes the universal elements of family and truth and places them within the world of contemporary publishing and politics. The result is a propulsive, funny, complex, and deeply original novel.’ * Kevin Wilson, author of Run for the Hills * ‘The crafty and clever satire is unfettered by authorial doubt.’ * Westword *


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