J a Carter-Winward

Except for being the only man in town who had never set foot in either of its brothels, Wade Kendall couldn't be more ordinary. A retired life-insurance salesman, father of two grown sons, and former full-time caregiver to his wife, who died of cancer just 8 months earlier, Wade now finds himself alone, unable to tread water. In fact, it's sink or swim, and he's got no idea which way to shore. As he attempts to connect to his new life and reconnect with his adult sons, Wade finds himself drawn to a most unlikely source of hope-the pink neon lights of the legendary Lil' Mamacitas. But what Wade finds within the dim, hazy interior of the brothel isn't at all what he could have imagined, and for Wade and all who join him, nothing will ever be the same

Winner of the Best Poetry Collection Arty Award of 2014 by the Salt Lake City Weekly and IndieReader Approved. No Apologies is the inappropriate joke at dinner; the drunk uncle in the room shouting obscenities; the ugly truth no one talks about in polite company. Part poetry, part fiction, part memoir, all honesty, No Apologies is a compelling slice of human experience in all of its crass, hopeful, sincere and tender glory. And it says it...with no apologies.

Nominee for the Utah Humanities Council Book of the Year for 2012-13Two fifteen year-old girls. One suicide pact. One girl survives.Four years later, the surviving girl's mother and the dead girl's father begin an affair, shattering the lives of all involved--each of them suffering, each of them carrying their own brand of grief and denial, culpability and survival. But not everything is as it seems. As the two families hurdle toward an inevitable revelation from that night four years ago, no one will get out unscathed. But redemption is, and always has been, for those who embrace the horror of truth. In this provocative novel, Carter-Winward explores the dark side of love, sex and intimacy, the way in which grief and loss warps us, and the very human parts of us simply looking for relief from the brutal onslaught of regret.