Breakfast at sassy’s
Alexa van
Portland is a night-life paradise for young adults, where nothing is too weird, and anything is accepted — the perfect place for Clint Adams to lick his wounds. One night, like a sexy mirage, silhouette bathed in red light, Desiree (Dez) Troy first appears, and he trades one obsession for another. Her. An elusive alcoholic stripper. From her blatant disregard for societal norms, to her not-so-ex-husband the drug dealer/skater, to her daring sexuality, Clint fights for control of his sanity and hers on a raw ride more psychedelic than his classic, blue, Chevrolet.
Are morals anything more than a false sense of control in an out of control world? And what happens when someone makes you abandon all of them?
Debut Novel out now
“a story of addiction and escapism and the intoxication of desires. Alexa Van’s lovestruck outsiders grapple along the thin line between obsession and desperation, where every taste of ecstasy brings up the flavor of suppressed tragedy. Van’s writing perfectly encapsulates the appeal of a toxic f***—it’s hot.”
Allan MacDonell, former editor of Hustler, author of Punk Elegies, Prisoner of X
“intense. raw. felt like I was experiencing the chaos. Desiree had me rooting for her and laughing at the inappropriate parts.”
— Brent Atchley - Founder of Push Movement
“Breakfast at Sassy’s reminds me of being a stripper in the inner southeast Portland in the 2010’s: Blurs of red lips and big hair, hangovers and 3pm brunches, and the lingering smell of cigarettes. So many faces with multiple names: Kissing and f***ing and lying and double-crossing and inner circle drama and self destruction and the soul-searching that can only occur when your nights blend into days and everybody’s always offering to buy you a drink.
THe characters are problematic and emotionally unhinged, and sometimes relatable. Reading this book is like going for a fast paced ride and hoping for safety at the conclusion.”
Elle Stanger, CSE - Host of They Talk Sex Podcast
PODCAST
“Why is it, that the exact thing that attracts people—men—to me, is the thing they want to change once we get into a relationship?”
About the author
Alexa Van is a writer and musician based in Los Angeles. While she has long mined her personal life and its narratives for artistic inspiration, Breakfast at Sassy’s, a work of autofiction, is her first novel. Across genres, her work is inspired by her own journey of recovery from addiction. Her art seeks to inspire those grappling with survival in a world that often seems indifferent to their struggles, offering a beacon of hope for those lost in the labyrinth of life.
