Vegas bar operator P Moss, in conjunction with CityLife Books, will release Blue Vegas, a collection of 17 of Moss’ fictional short stories capturing the spirit of Vegas.
“The inspiration behind the stories is the seamier side of life in Las Vegas — a reality of life few succeed in writing about well,” Moss says.
The book probes “the dark, human stories lurking in the neon shadows” and explores topics like the clash between the old and new Vegas and the “quest for scraps of love and dignity amid the ruins of the lives of has-been showgirls, desperate killers, degenerate gamblers and quick-buck mercenaries,” according to a press release.
Moss, who studied journalism in college and is working on a novel, says his top choice out of the book is the short story “Unconditionally,” a story “about how infidelity plus bestiality plus dementia equals the purest love of all,” he says.
A launch party for the book will be held March 2 at Moss’s Vegas joint Double Down Saloon; he also is the operator of the same concept in New York and Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas. The party begins at 8 p.m. and will feature the SwingShift SideShow, which will bring classic carnival entertainment such as sword swallowing, fire performances, belly dancing and mind-over-body demonstrations; DJ Rex Dart of the Bargain DJ Collective; and a reading from the author himself.
Blue Vegas will be available at area bookstores and online at www.amazon.com, www.StephensPress.com and www.readbluevegas.com.