Chris Campbell
Author
Now available
The Strangest of Places
(2025 | 2nd Edition)
A plus-sized heroine.
A long-shot love story.
A soundtrack of Phish jams and Gen X mixtapes.
Autumn MacLeod has always been behind the scenes, never standing center stage. At eighteen, she’s smart, sarcastic, and tired of letting her weight—and her working poor upbringing—define her. When a highly anticipated trip to see her first Phish show introduces her to John Walker, a fellow music geek with a mischievous smile and encyclopedic music knowledge, Autumn hears the first chord of a life she actually wants.
Their long-distance romance has all the tension of an incendiary guitar solo until John ghosts her without so much as a goodbye. Unsure of what went wrong, Autumn assumes she was nothing more than an easily forgotten opening act.
Devastated but determined to understand why John lost interest in her, Autumn digs into generational trauma, the vicious abuse she weathered from middle school mean girls, and a lifetime of feeling like an inconvenient afterthought by her work-worn single mother and absent father. As she trades social isolation for bootleg tapes via America Online’s Phish Bowl chat room, Autumn realizes that staying safe on the side stage means never stepping into her own spotlight. Though doing so is outside of her comfort zone, she knows she has to try.
When John resurfaces months later begging for a second chance, Autumn faces the biggest decision of her life: Will she keep guarding her heart behind familiar riffs or risk an encore that could break it wide open?
Perfect for readers who love
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Music-drenched fiction like Daisy Jones & The Six or High Fidelity
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Flawed heroines like the FMC in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
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Authentic early internet ‘90s nostalgia
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The found-family vibe of jamband parking lots and endless road trips
With each chapter named with a song featuring lyrics associated to its contents, The Strangest of Places provides a playlist that will leave you humming long after the last page.​
NOTE: Amazon takes a MUCH higher cut compared to Books.By. Both are available for your convenience, but Books.By is my preferred vendor. Thank you!
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Nicholas Bromell
Professor Emeritus, UMass Amherst
“Spunky, honest, and vulnerable, its heroine, Autumn MacLeod, stands in a long tradition of alienated American teenagers telling us the truth of things. Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield would have loved this book. You will, too."
Emer S. Smith
Amazon Reviewer
I think anyone who grew up on the margins of accepted societal norms could see themselves in Autumn. The poor kids, the fat kids, the abandoned kids, the outcasts. And if you, like Autumn (and like me) knew how much salvation came with the connection to a shared community online - during a time *long* before the existence of social media - you will enjoy this book.
Duncan Nelson
Professor Emeritus, UMass Boston
“A moving coming-of-age anthem that will resonate with anyone who’s ever found themselves in the warm glow of stage lights, friendship, and first love.”