Tails from the Alley

A literary novel for adults about loyalty, loss, and adaptation — told through the creatures who rule Brooklyn.

In the alleys and backyards of Brooklyn, the animals are having a field day.

At the center of it all is Altonio, a housecat turned boss who rules her brownstone kingdom with equal parts ruthlessness and restraint. Her loyal but hapless crew — Morty, an ambitious alley rat; BABST, a vain pigeon nursing a broken wing and ego; and Cocktail Hour, her faithful shiba inu lieutenant — struggle to keep the operation running a step or two ahead of their ambitious humans.

When Pettigrew, a new therapist, slinks onto the fire escape and Harlot, a vengeful pigeon, starts circling, Altonio’s empire begins to wobble. From Morticia, the misunderstood swan on the lam, to Schmitty and Aphid, the codependent ant–aphid duo just trying to survive winter, everyone in Porkchpo Alley must decide where their loyalty — and their next meal — truly lies.

With its mix of humor, pathos, and quiet ferocity, Tails from the Alley asks what happens when the social order slips — and whether survival means adaptation, alliance, or reinvention.

Author’s Note: My creative roots are in visual storytelling. I studied Art History and Visual Arts at Princeton University and earned a J.D. from the New York University School of Law before beginning a career that spans art, media, and leadership. The animal stories that began as subway meditations became a way to process power, empathy, and survival — themes that live at the heart of Tails from the Alley.

Related Work: The themes explored in Tails from the Alley build on those in How to Raise an Art Star and How to Date a Black Girl — expanding my exploration of belonging, creativity, and identity into the natural (and occasionally unnatural) world.