Black Tie Optional: 17 Stories

Carrie Knowles was selected to be North Carolina’s 2014 Piedmont Laureate for her work in short fiction. She has three novels: Lillian’s Garden, Ashoan’s Rug and A Garden Wall in Provence. In addition to fiction, she writes a regular Personal Perspectives column for Psychology

Today, called “Shifting Forward.” Glimmer Train, one of the top literary journals in the country, has given recognition to 6 of the 17 short stories in Black Tie Optional. 5 of the stories have been awarded honors by other literary journals.

 "Through these unvarnished tales, Carrie poses one looming question – Are you choosing to live life as a burden or a journey?"

Pretty Progressive. "Powerful Women Studied These 49 Books In Detail"

Carrie Jane Knowles takes her reader on a fascinating journey, revealing captivating characters who maneuver their way through unique situations. In these seventeen well-drawn stories, a fish seller meets God when she dies; a daughter picks out a pink casket for her deceased mom; a woman with Alzheimer’s believes she is related to Clint Eastwood; and a recently engaged woman tells her fiancé about growing up with a blind father. Knowles creates multi-dimensional characters in few words. She is an engaging and original storyteller.

Maureen Sherbondy, author, The Slow Vanishing

The women in Black Tie Optional are caretakers--daughters, wives, sisters, teachers, and neighbors—whose dreams lie in wait. Written in elegant prose, this collection illuminates the ironic distance between what women do and what women want—and the quiet decisions that change everything.

Kayann Short, author, A Bushel’s Worth: An Ecobiography

"Black Tie Optional is acutely sensory, full of surprising twists, psychologically astute, and lovingly observant of the rich detail of daily life. These stories are as inviting as the collection's title."

Peggy Payne, author, Sister India and others