In Arizona, where the sun beats down 300 days a year, boys are becoming men.

With moments of dry humor, this new story collection by award-winning author Gregory D. Williams provides a glimpse of boyhood and its lingering effects inside the man. The gentle irony and characters' keenly observed dilemmas reflect life in the dry heat of the Sonoran desert.

• When a Little League player takes direction from the team's star female player, he learns about "rounding the bases."
• Seeking revenge, two boys set up a sting operation to catch a neighborhood bully, only to discover that their plan has deadly consequences.
• A medical student conducting a breast exam struggles to subdue his teenage fantasies.
• A man propositioned at a local Starbucks learns that even in middle age, the dry heat of love still burns.

And there are more. If you like classic American stories that have the authentic feel of your favorite jeans, then you'll love the nine funny, wise, and humane short stories in this collection.

Buy Gregory D. Williams's A Dry Heat today and take a deep dive into the lives of boys and men.

*For readers who enjoy the fiction of William Trevor, Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Ron Carlson, Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, Robert Boswell, and Charles Baxter.