The Black Bird of Chernobyl

Two-time Lambda Literary Award-winning author Ann McMan takes readers inside the inner workings of the funeral home business as only she can in this remarkable and wholly unforgettable romantic comedy that proves the adage that Life is for the Living.

Everything about Lilah Stohler is dark: her clothes, her mood, and her outlook on life and death. That last part is important because Lilah’s father has just retired and left her in charge of Stohler’s Funeral Home. But Abel Stohler knows his daughter’s comfort level rests “downstairs,” so he hires one Sparkle Lee Sink, to help Lilah manage the living part of the business of death.

Sparkle is everything that Lilah isn’t—a denizen of the Junior League, an aspiring baker, and a marketing whiz.

Lilah isn’t happy about this new arrangement, to begin with, but when business starts booming because of Sparkle’s bright personality, craveable baked goods, and well-healed social connections, Lilah starts to think things might just work out. But joy is fleeting in the funeral home business, and Lilah’s world is turned upside down when an unwitting Instagram post featuring her goes viral—and now, sightings of “The Black Bird of Chernobyl” have become an obsession across the Instaverse.

Lilah knows that Sparkle needs to go, but before she can give her the send-off she deserves, Lilah must first find a way to deal with the inconvenient attraction she’s developed for the nemesis whose unconventional methods are single-handedly transforming the death trade—and possibly the Black Bird, herself.

The Black Bird of Chernobyl will be available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats.

Praise for Ann McMan

“Ann McMan never ceases to amaze me. Her talent seems to know no bounds. She writes from a place that always seems to capture her readers’ interest and imagination. Her literary genius is matched by few in the LGBTQ writing community. She is a storyteller that I hope is never without a story to tell.” —Women Using Words

“Ann McMan is queer fiction royalty.” —CrimeReads

“I love Ann McMan.” —Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina

“Ann McMan is a wonderful writer.”—Michael Nava, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of the Henry Rios Mystery Series

“Ann McMan is the lesbian Armistead Maupin, only better.” —Lee Lynch, author of The Swashbuckler

“North Carolina author Ann McMan has a gift like few other authors. She knows how to blend comedy and sensitivity to human issues so seamlessly that reading her novels is like looking into the mirror. Funny, smart, informed, and very tender, she writes superb novels of multiple levels of interpretation. Ann is not only a fine tale spinner but also an excellent craftswoman!” —GRADY HARP, Amazon Vine Voice, Hall of Fame, Top 50 Reviewer

“Ann McMan has the style to carry off anything, the grace to deal with extremely difficult subjects, and the wit to make you laugh while reading it.” —Velvet Lounger, The Lesbian Reading Room

Publication Date: July 9, 2024, by Bywater Book

Distributed to the trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution

Available from your local retailer, online and independent booksellers

The Black Bird of Chernobyl is also available in the following formats: paperback, eBook, and audiobook via Audible.com and Amazon.com