Alix Strauss, author of Based Upon Availability, on tour June 2010

About Based Upon Availability

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (June 8, 2010)

Based Upon Availability is the story of eight women, each exploring the basic need for human connection while seeking to understand themselves better. They are lonely, strong and driven women who, when pushed to the edge, must fight for their lives as they struggle to become the women they wish to be.

Meet Trish, a gallery owner struggling to deal with the wedding and the dramatic weight loss of her best friend, changes that lead her down a self-destruction path; Robin, a realtor, who, after experiencing a lifetime of abuse by her older sister, is forced to take revenge; Anne, a lonely, single woman who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and searches for normalcy and love; Louise, a drug-addicted rock star, who is sent away to dry out by her just as famous publicist; Franny, a Southerner turned wanna-be Manhattanite, who is envious of her neighbors’ lives and their nesting habits and becomes unhealthily attached to them; Sheila, a single teacher who is driven to punish her boyfriend when he informs her he’s returning to his wife; and Ellen, a married, childless woman so desperate to have children she insists she’s pregnant.

Morgan, a manager at the swanky Four Seasons in Manhattan—who is haunted by the memory of her dead sister—is the thread who weaves these women together. The hotel offers sanctuary to each—for an hour, for several days—and while some find solace, others find only despair. Strauss portrays nuanced portraits of these seemingly ordinary women to create an utterly original read, filled with dark themes and light prose.

About Alix Strauss

Alix Strauss has been a featured lifestyle and trend writer on national morning and talk shows. Her articles cover a range of topics and have appeared in The New York Times, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire and Departures, among others. Her other books include the award-winning collection of shorts, The Joy of Funerals, an anthology of blind date horror stories Have I Got a Guy For You, and most recently, Death Becomes Them: Unearthing the Suicides of the Brilliant, the Famous and the Notorious.

Connect with Alix:

• Alix’s website
• Alix’s Facebook page
• Twitter: @AlixTJOF

Alix’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Tuesday, June 8th: nomadreader

Wednesday, June 9th: Raging Bibliomania

Thursday, June 10th: Book Addiction

Monday, June 14th: Dolce Bellezza

Tuesday, June 22nd: Heart 2 Heart

Wednesday, June 23rd: Reading on a Rainy Day

Thursday, June 24th: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Tuesday, June 29th: Booksie’s Blog

Wednesday, June 30th: Starting Fresh

Thursday, July 8th: Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?