Who has never wondered what is going on in the lives of people they see. Alix takes us there in this book. Open the door and step in. Zanna


BASED UPON AVAILABILITY by Alix Strauss



“This sharp and brilliant novel shows that truth cannot be seen from the outside. You’ll absorb every anecdote’s last detail as real human connection resurfaces and these women take steps to become the people they’ve always dreamed they’d be.” – Elle

“Stellar….” – Publishers Weekly

“This is the classic read-it-in-one-big-gulp book. Or spend several days at the beach with it; compelling from first page to last – edgy, moving, human.” – Liz Smith.

“A mesmerizing novel. ….the characters in this moving novel are achingly sympathetic, their plights imminently relatable.” – Booklist (starred review)

“These New York stories will remind some readers of Parker—as in Dorothy, not Sarah Jessica.” Kirkus Review

Based Upon Availability delves into the lives of eight seemingly ordinary women, each who pass through Manhattan’s swanky Four Seasons Hotel. While offering sanctuary to some, solace to others, the hotel captures their darkest and twisted moments as they grapple with family, sex, power, love, and death. Trish, a gallery owner, obsesses over her best friend’s wedding and dramatic weight loss. Robin wants revenge after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her older sister. Anne is single, lonely, and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drug-addicted rock star Louise needs to dry out. Southerner-turned-wannabe Manhattanite Franny is envious of her neighbors’ lives. Sheila wants to punish her boyfriend for returning to his wife. Ellen so desperately wants children, she’s willing to pretend to be pregnant. And Morgan, the hotel manager— haunted by the memory of her dead sister—is the thread that weaves these women’s lives together. In this an utterly original read, I try to ask and answer the age-old question; ‘what happens behind closed doors’ while examining the walls we put up as we attempt intimacy, and inspecting the ruins when they’re knocked down.

Alix Strauss, Journalist/Author www.alixstrauss.com