I Keep My Visions to Myself

Step into Stevie's world, a 26-year-old musician on the brink of fame. A tour offer catapults her into an existential voyage through life's intricate maze. Within this tense spiritual journey, Stevie confronts the age-old dilemma of fame versus the safety of a simpler existence, all while searching for her elusive tribe.

Listen to Mallory’s playlist for I Keep My Visions to Myself here!

Interviews and Reviews for I Keep My Visions to Myself:
Southwest Review
Xray Lit Mag
Vol 1 Brooklyn
Feminist Book Club
Punk Noir Press

Cover Design by Tori Huynh
7” x 4.5”, Softcover, 214 pages

WATCH A SHORT INTERVIEW WITH MALLORY

Acclaim

"The Day of the Locust by Nathanial West and Ask the Dust by John Fante for the post-Covid world. A brutally realistic journey of a Los Angeles dreamer. The story of Stevie, a young woman who is on the cusp of success as a musician, but the possibility of this new success causes an existential crisis in her soul. Leading to visions and memories of her mother. Her team of friends, a poet named Claire and an Uber driver Door Dasher platonic buddy named Finn assist Stevie in understanding her crisis and coming to terms with her visions and fears. It is the kind of story where nothing really happens, but inside that nothing the biggest choices are being made."

—Noah Cicero, author of The Human War

“I Keep My Visions To Myself takes readers on a heady trip through the sun-baked streets of Los Angeles as they follow a young musician searching for her raison d'être."

—Matthew Binder, author of Pure Cosmos Club

"Surreal, dreamy and in-depth, I Keep My Visions to Myself is a vivid snapshot of just how lost an up-and-coming artist in their 20s can get in the dizzying chaos of today's world... A 2020s mashup of High Fidelity meets Reality Bites. Paralyzed by the trappings of early success, a young Los Angeles singer of a buzzworthy band floats along, unsure of where to go or what to do with her future besides drink and make questionable decisions. A terrifically relatable, sprawling adventure through the terrorscape of LA, and a book that grants creative freedom for all of us who feel directionless at times." 

—Jessamyn Violet, author of Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar + drummer of Movie Club

About the Author

Mallory Smart is a Chicago-based writer, editor-in-chief of Maudlin House, and doer of many other things. I Keep My Visions to Myself is her second novel.