Novel by Cole Lavalais. Lavalais received her MFA in Creative Writing from Chicago State University. She has been awarded writer's residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and The Noepe Center for the Literary Arts. An Inaugural Fellow of the Kimbilio Center for Fiction, Cole's short stories have appeared in several print and online literary journals. Cole hosts the Voices of Chicago's Literati Salon (a salon featuring writers of color) and teaches community-based writing workshops on the south side of Chicago. She is currently at work on her second novel.