Holly Stephey and Chris Mendius, Spoonful!

With humor, irony, and colorful prose, this gritty and authentic novel follows Michael Lira—a decent guy with a wicked heroin habit—as he sees everyone getting ahead except for him and his friends, who are all junkies, artists, and has-beens. In the era of Bill Clinton and the dot-com boom, his Wicker Park neighborhood has become overrun with hipsters and yuppies, leaving him to support his lifestyle through petty crime and the occasional drug deal. After finally seeing a chance to make a real move, Michael swears off dope and builds a stake in the drug dealing world, hoping to parlay it into enough cash to start a new life as a solid citizen. With the help of Sal, his partner in crime, he manages to pull together a bundle of money and rolls the dice in the stock market—everyone else is getting rich, so why can’t he? In spite of his good intentions, Michael’s best-laid plans fall apart and his life spins out of control, leaving him to struggle against the ever-present pull towards the downward spiral of addiction.Chicago author Chris Mendius' novel Spoonful was released by Anything Goes Publishing LLC in February 2012. The novel was awarded the Kirkus Star of Remarkable Merit. This is Mendius' first published novel.