Ah, behold thy Sins and Virtues! Both get poor suckers in hot water all the time. ALMOST DEADLY, ALMOST GOOD explores how human nature is just a flip-floppy beautiful mess, and the difference between good and bad is near impossible to discern. With skewed but compassionate perspective, Alice Kaltman gives us sinners and saints to love equally, each one perfectly flawed, just like the rest of us. "With passion and wit, Alice Kaltman nails what it means to be human in Almost Deadly, Almost Good , her brilliant new collection centering on the vices and virtues that give shape to our lives. These fourteen stories crackle with energy, each a live wire ready to give the reader a jolt of both surprise and recognition. In Kaltman's capable hands, we're all almost deadly, almost good and fully better for it." - Julie Innis, author of Three Squares a Day with Occasional Torture "Alice Kaltman's Almost Deadly, Almost Good gives rise to the philosophical contemplations of of virtue and sin-blending the two ideas-giving us reason to believe that perhaps, one is no different than the other depending on the situation. Consider each story as an apartment-then, the linked collection as a whole, is an apartment complex with thin and papery walls, leading us to secrets which were never meant to be whispered, and as we find ourselves judging these characters, Kaltman's words, in turn, our judging us at the same time, thus bringing forth one of our most common elements of human nature-our flaws. It it through these mirrors, that, maybe, just maybe, there is a chance of redemption and peace-just a bit of light to keep us going. Almost Deadly, Almost Good is both a gritty and tender exploration of all us-haunting and enlightening." - Shome Dasgupta, author of Spectacles Alice Kaltman is the author of the story collection STAGGERWING, the novels WAVEHOUSE, THE TANTALIZING TALE OF GRACE MINNAUGH, and DAWG TOWNE. Alice's stories appear in journals like Lost Balloon, The Pinch, Joyland, Hobart andBULL, and in numerous anthologies. She's not thrilled by the sound of her own voice, but you might like it. If so, you can hear her read her work at Micro Podcasts, Elevator Stories, and No Contact. Alice splits her time between Brooklyn and Montauk, NY where she lives, surfs, and swims with her husband the sculptor Daniel Wiener and Ollie the Wonder Dog.