Alternative Book Press

Sold out of Whistle Punk Falls at @scottsdalebookfestival thanks to @stephenvittoriaofficial 's PR, @klr.covers ' s killer cover and @jonathanin2k tent, chair, and table 🙏🔥 #shaunanthonymcmichael #whistlepunkfalls #scottsdalebookfestival

Read filmmaker, historian, and novelist @stephenvittoriaofficial 's review of WHISTLE PUNK FALLS, especially since it's probably more interesting than the book! 😂 Link in bio! Here are my favorite parts: Three stars steal the show: Jeremy, Aurora, and the story’s $64,000 question: Malachi “Loud” McCrowley—an indigenous kid from the Makah people, oftentimes homeless and suffering from mental illness. It’s in the swirl of this trifecta, Jeremy-Aurora-and-Loud, that fuels the story’s intense emotional grip. Nothing is telegraphed. Plot unfolds on edge. The fragility of life runs through like a main circuit cable. At times, like life, the girders of Aberdeen society—emblematic of 2009 America—appear to be ripe for collapse (or collapsing): the economy, the family itself, a woeful social support system failing those in desperate need, and, of course, the environment. You can feel it… a dystopian earthquake right around the bend. But McMichael manages to suggest hope and offers resiliency amidst the fire and rubble. A way out, even as Loud McCrowley, proud owner of a Mohawk coiffure, engages in rambunctious dialogue with Aberdeen’s famous ghosts, the pack leader being grunge god, Kurt Cobain. Humorous, high-spirited, dark, dank, beautiful, boffo—put ’em all on the movie poster. But leave room for more because you’ll find more… even among the cast of sterling supporting characters. One of the marks of masterful and authentic storytelling is crafting a narrative that transcends demographics and pigeonholes, one that pays no attention to the marketplace. And lest you think this might be a teenage story, it’s not, like The Outsiders wasn’t a teenage story. But rather, “Whistle Punk Falls” is a tale about people grappling with the crappy hand they’ve been dealt but never losing sight of what’s right, what’s possible, and that the Sun will someday burn away the heaviness, the gloom, and the omnipresent grayness southwest of Seattle. You should also check out @stephenvittoriaofficial 's amazing CHRISTINA AND THE WHITEFISH! #shaunanthonymcmichael #alternativebookpress #tracyhaught #friendship #friendshipnovel #whistlepunkfalls #seattleliteraryscene #punkrocknovel

Thanks to my cousin gammajeff (Jeff Speral) for this kind review of Whistle Punk Falls @alternativebookpress ! Cousin Jeff's been a huge influence. He's the reason I knew about bands like Mission to Burma and Husker Du, which I shamelessly namedrop in the novel. Jeff is also an accomplished guitar player and musician still rocking in the free world...while it lasts ❤️🎸🔥 #jeffsperal #cousins #family #shaunanthonymcmichael #alternativebookpress #tracyhaught #friendship #friendshipnovel #whistlepunkfalls #seattleliteraryscene #punkrocknovel #mentalhealthnovel #mothersandsons #psychologicalnovel #Seattlenovelists #Seattle #graysharborwa

Hard to believe it's been a year since Alternative Book Press released Montjoy! Thanks again to everyone who made this book possible, especially Alternative Book Press, Tracy Haught, Darian Bianco, Peter Oumanski, and of course my friends and family. I'm still busy on the next book and I'm anxious to share it with you. If you liked Montjoy, you'll love this one.

Here's a review of WHISTLE PUNK FALLS @alternativebookpress from my dear old dad, Tony McMichael (82 years old). It's been a dream to get a novel of mine into Dad's hands. And it makes me enormously happy to have that dream become a reality. And that he read it, no less. Dad's one of the reasons for my love of literature. He gave me Siddhartha to read when I was in 8th grade, then The Brothers Karamazov a few years later. 2 decades later, here we are. Thanks, Dad! #shaunanthonymcmichael #alternativebookpress #tracyhaught #friendship #friendshipnovel #shaunanthonymcmichael #whistlepunkfalls #alternativebookpress #seattleliteraryscene #punkrocknovel #mentalhealthnovel #mothersandsons #fathersandsons #psychologicalnovel #Seattlenovelists #Seattle #graysharborwa

Stephen Vittoria’s debut novel tells the story of how an unexpected friendship with The Whitefish, an enigmatic local club owner of the derelict Asbury Park neighborhood, resets Iraq War Veteran Christina Mackenzie’s life. In the novel’s opening pages, we meet a Christina who’s survived the loss of her parents and the hellscape of Desert Storm’s highway of death. She’s washed up upon the low-key scene in Santa Monica and appears outwardly unscathed—young, beautiful, and capable. Yet inside roils the demons of PTSD which threaten her hopes of happiness. Her long-time girlfriend, Jamie, has just departed, weary of Christina’s mood swings, hallucinations, and terror states. As Christina recovers sans Jamie, an idea dawns on her to return to her childhood stomping grounds of Asbury Park. The journey there and whatever she finds will either lead her back to Jamie or somewhere else, but it can’t be worse than the hazy labyrinth of the pill-happy clinicians at the VA or the malaise of Santa Monica living alone. Once in Asbury Park, amidst the kindly ghosts of her beloved parents, the picturesque boardwalk, and the seedy history of this paradise gone awry, Christina meets The Whitefish, a Vietnam Vet turned club proprietor and renaissance man. While the Whitefish’s body has been ravaged by war, his creativity, life rhythms, and sense of humor have tamed his soldier’s inner turmoil in a way that Christina (and the reader) can’t help but be inspired and fortified by. Written with gusto, verve, and inventiveness, the novel’s heart beats in different rhythms in its many movements and forms: text messages, stage plays, song lyrics, poems, letters, and more. There’s something for everybody in this well-produced, voice-y volume. The charming relationship between Christina and The Whitefish, the witty repartees about Springsteen, the reframing of Chris McCandless, and the many raucous bar scenes and gritty underworld capers, make CHRISTINA AND THE WHITEFISH a memorable read. So why not take a rip-roaring ride on the white water of Vittoria’s imagination catalyzed by his peppery prose salted by the hard-earned lessons of history? #stephenevittoria #alternativebookpress

Another powerful review of Christina and the Whitefish. Read it here: /towns/east-brunswick/columns/beths-book-review-1/articles/christina-and-the-whitefish-by-stephen-vittoria Get your copy today: /product/christina-and-the-whitefish/

Huge thank you to @ednaonpurpose @keepingitrealonpurpose for talking with me on my lunch break! Your questions were really engaging and I know our conversation will help my WHISTLE PUNK FALLS @alternativebookpress take off 🛫 Link in bio to watch the episode on Youtube! #shaunanthonymcmichael #alternativebookpress #keepingitrealonpurpose #ednawhite #podcast #friendship #friendshipnovel #shaunanthonymcmichael #whistlepunkfalls #alternativebookpress #seattleliteraryscene #punkrocknovel #mentalhealthnovel #mothersandsons #psychologicalnovel #Seattlenovelists #Seattle #graysharborwa

We're honored and excited to be attending @zinnfair on Sunday, Dec 7, 2025 at City College of SF (Mission Campus). This is our second Zinn Fair (we attended w/the "Murder Incorporated" nonfiction series in 2019. This year we're bringing the novel "Christina and the Whitefish" - the antiwar story that one reviewer wrote: "As powerful as Dalton Trumbo's 'Johnny Got His Gun.'" Our panel: "Promoting Pacifism in Fiction" -- More details to come... SAVE THE DATE. #veteransforpeace #alternativebookpress #ChristinaAndTheWhitefish #BookReview #LiteraryFiction #AntiWar #sanfran #bookfair #howardzinn #zinn #pacifism #worldbeyondwar

Doug Rawlings' (founder and CEO emeritus of Veterans For Peace) just reviewed Stephen Vittoria's Christina and the Whitefish. "I am an aged and old-school reader of novels. I like clear, strong characters who will slowly but surely bring me into their lives, for better or worse. Well, by golly, I found such a novel—Stephen Vittoria’s “Christina and the Whitefish.” Not only is one of the main characters a ’Nam vet like myself, but the other main character, Christina, is an Iraq War veteran much like the veterans we want to bring into Veterans For Peace, a group we founded in 1985 to abolish war. There are many, many reasons to read this novel—its gripping narrative; its profoundly powerful characterization of the suffering that many veterans go through; and, most importantly, its beautifully rendered tone of hope despite all the malicious forces aligned against us in the veteran community who want only to bring peace into the world. Want some evidence? Check out this passage capturing Christina’s disillusionment with the traditional drug-laden so-called “remedy” for her PTSD and her courageous response to free herself from this world by seeking out other veterans:“...all these Vets in Genovese’s growing clinic were learning that the government’s overall rehab and treatment regime was nothing more than a ‘magic carpet ride with no end game.’ These exchanges were uber cathartic for the wounded pawns... It was liberating to speak candidly about the insanity they endured. Especially opportunities with outspoken critics like Kovic and Veterans For Peace, people who acknowledged the hard-boiled truth: the United States government had one desire—just move these rag dolls down the road. Out of sight, out of mind... ‘Sweep ’em under the rug, give ’em clear sailing for their next imperial adventure. These bastards always need new meat.’” (page 161) Christina and Whitefish (the ’Nam vet whose real name you will discover as the plot unfolds) show us the way home to a life of peace after a long journey of struggling to reconcile what they had done. Do yourself, your family, and your friends a favor—get this book and read it."

I am knee-deep in a remarkable novel -- poetic and also raw, with characters drawn by a fine ink pen... an intriguing story unfolds with ease in the dark shadows of the Pacific Northwest, a tapestry that I believe recalls the typewriter of Kerouac in "Desolation Angels." You will hear tell of ghosts in this tale. Indeed you will. You may also hear the cheering ghost of Mr. Jack from his Desolation Peak, his eyes on Mount Hozomeen, yelling, "Yeah, Shaun, that's how you do it!" Pick up "Whistle Punk Falls" by Shaun Anthony McMichael. When you support indie media, you support democracy.

“Haunting… as powerful as Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun.” Thank you, Beth Moroney, for this incredible review of Christina and the Whitefish. From Asbury Park to the deep scars of war, she captures the spirit of the novel in ways that truly resonate. Read the full article at the link in bio. #ChristinaAndTheWhitefish #BookReview #AsburyPark #LiteraryFiction #AntiWar #VeteransforPeace