Sugar House: A debut Novel by Allison Muir (Fabulist Literary Fiction: Alternate History)

$30.00

Heroine Fenella Lundgren, a flat- broke recent college graduate, accepts a job as an assistant to the fabulously wealthy Rostunger family who live in a converted sugar factory, which also houses a massive private aquarium. As her employers impose their increasingly complex demands, Fenella navigates deepening moral quandaries. When Fenella discovers a forgotten orphan and a cephalopod with super-natural abilities, she finds herself at a crossroads. Will Fenella and the octopus save their loved ones? Or will the mighty Sugar House bring about their downfall?

Fortunes rise and fall. A local religion is founded and becomes the faith of Fenella’s family. Earthquakes, fire, and signs of a struggle with nature abound; symbolic reminders of the plundered world. Sociological consequences manifest. Increasingly violent crimes begin to occur in Perdita and its environs. Family trees grow branches and destinies are intertwined.

Sugar House is an alternative history told in part with ephemera: diaries, invitations, film footage, photographs and newsletters. Sugar House is a deeply tender and timely story of the downfall of San Francisco, and a darkly comic look at the eccentricities, cults and culture of Northern California.

Hardcover with a dust jacket and printed case laminate. Illustrated by Maggie Stirk. Print ISBN: 978-1-962931-32-8; Ebook ISBN: 978-1-962931-33-5. LCCN: 2025905905. Forthcoming October 20, 2025.

Heroine Fenella Lundgren, a flat- broke recent college graduate, accepts a job as an assistant to the fabulously wealthy Rostunger family who live in a converted sugar factory, which also houses a massive private aquarium. As her employers impose their increasingly complex demands, Fenella navigates deepening moral quandaries. When Fenella discovers a forgotten orphan and a cephalopod with super-natural abilities, she finds herself at a crossroads. Will Fenella and the octopus save their loved ones? Or will the mighty Sugar House bring about their downfall?

Fortunes rise and fall. A local religion is founded and becomes the faith of Fenella’s family. Earthquakes, fire, and signs of a struggle with nature abound; symbolic reminders of the plundered world. Sociological consequences manifest. Increasingly violent crimes begin to occur in Perdita and its environs. Family trees grow branches and destinies are intertwined.

Sugar House is an alternative history told in part with ephemera: diaries, invitations, film footage, photographs and newsletters. Sugar House is a deeply tender and timely story of the downfall of San Francisco, and a darkly comic look at the eccentricities, cults and culture of Northern California.

Hardcover with a dust jacket and printed case laminate. Illustrated by Maggie Stirk. Print ISBN: 978-1-962931-32-8; Ebook ISBN: 978-1-962931-33-5. LCCN: 2025905905. Forthcoming October 20, 2025.

Allison Muir is a San Franciscan writer and artist. During her varied career, she has written and designed projects for ReadyMade magazine, coordinated postproduction for clients such as Industrial Light and Magic, Dreamworks and Pixar, and has written and produced for Al Gore’s Current TV.

Her short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and she has been a regular performer at the Litquake literary festival in San Francisco, as well as KGB Bar in New York City. She is the lead singer of the all-female punk band, The Gum Tree Girls. Sugar House is her debut novel.