This image is the cover for the book Dolls Behaving Badly

Dolls Behaving Badly

A hilarious and heartwarming debut novel about a single mom living in Alaska trying to make a life for herself and her young son.

Carla Richards is a lot of things. She's a waitress at Anchorage's premier dining establishment, Mexico in an Igloo; an artist who secretly makes erotic dolls for extra income; a divorcee who can't quite detach from her ex-husband; and a single mom trying to support her gifted eight-year-old son, her pregnant sister, and her babysitter-turned-resident-teenager.

She's one overdue bill away from completely losing control-when inspiration strikes in the form of a TV personality. Now she's scribbling away in a diary, flirting with an anthropologist, and making appointments with a credit counselor.

Still, getting her life and dreams back on track is difficult. Is perfection really within reach? Or will she wind up with something even better?

Cinthia Ritchie

Cinthia Ritchie is a former features writer and columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her writing has been published in New York Times Magazine, Water-Stone Review, Memoir, and other publications. She lives in Anchorage with her family.

Grand Central Publishing