New Release: Nobody's Bargain is Out Now!

What happens when you mix bourbon, Bacon, and the Boss?

Author

Suleikha Snyder
June 12, 2025

Hello, subscribers and drop-ins!

Guess what? I have a new novella out this week! It’s under Kali Decker which, as some of you may know, is my higher-heat “throw stuff at the wall and see if it sticks” pen name. (I’d once entertained delusions of keeping Kali and Suleikha completely separate, but that did not last. I should write about that at some point.)

Nobody’s Bargain is available now for the bargain price of $2.99!

Ren Francis was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-him rock musicians who almost made it big. More than fifteen years later, he's traded dreams of music stardom for nights slouching on a stool in a dive bar. Freelance writer Hitha Arora wants his story—and that's all. She's not trying to outrun her own past. She doesn't want to make up for wasting her thirties on a bad marriage. She doesn't need understanding from someone who knows what it's like when life kicks you in the teeth. She's certainly not looking for the hottest hook-up of her life.

I know I’m far from the only person inspired by Hozier’s “Too Sweet.” For a while, I kept mulling a story about an absolute train-wreck of a guy who likes his whiskey neat and his bed at 3 and still manages to attract a very persistent ball of sunshine. So, this walking bad decision started germinating in my head. He became fully formed because of Kevin Bacon. I’m not kidding. I was watching this entertainingly mediocre series on Amazon Prime called The Bondsman, which starred Kevin as an undead bails bondsman forced to hunt demons. Oh, and he was also a failed country musician. (I’m not surprised that it didn’t get a second season.) He wore a lot of black. He had a growly Southern accent that really worked for me. I cannot speak to the authenticity of it; I can only tell you that I thought it was hot. Two or three episodes in, I was off to the races. I wrote 1425 words that day—and I named my hot mess hero “Ren,” after Kevin’s character in Footloose. Can you guess why Ren’s last name is Francis? Because I’m precisely this sort of corny? Sir Francis Bacon. Welcome to my neurodivergent brain.  

But I quickly realized that “Too Sweet” wasn’t the soundtrack for this novella that was taking shape. Because the match that emerged for Ren was Hitha, and she’s not some naïve innocent who can’t handle a depressed bisexual dirtbag. Hitha Arora’s a short, dimpled, freelance writer who is frequently thought younger than she is. “That sounds like you, Suleikha!” I know, right? But there the resemblance ends. She’s a lot braver than I am. You’ll never catch me hauling out to some dive bar in the middle of nowhere for a story. And I don’t have past experience with intimate partner violence. That was an aspect of her character that I hadn’t planned on. (I just wanted these people to bang! So much for authorial intent!) But I was in the flow, in the throes of writing, when I typed out a sentence that stopped me in my tracks—and started Hitha on her path. So, yeah, things get a little heavy at times in Nobody’s Bargain. (I do have a content note at the beginning of the book, and if themes of abuse and drug addiction are difficult for you, skip this story!) But, rest assured, it’s still very much a hopeful story about solace, sex, and finding ways to move forward.

This is where the title and the subsequent musical inspiration comes in. “Human Touch” is my favorite Bruce Springsteen song. (Dating myself here, but I used to have the cassette single.) I love how it speaks to people who’ve been kicked around and are desperately searching for connection. I love how it’s about going through shit but surviving it. It’s always been a balm during the rough times in my life. Yeah, I know I ain’t nobody’s bargain/But, hell, a little touch-up and a little paint. All Ren and Hitha need is a little touch-up, a little paint…and each other.

I hope you enjoy the new story or take a chance on some of my older ones. Subscribe to this newsletter if you feel like it, and please consider dropping a few bucks in my Ko-fi.

-Suleikha