Gina Ranalli

Infobox Writer
name = Gina Ranalli


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birthplace = United States
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occupation = Novelist, Editor & Publisher
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genre = Bizarro fiction
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movement = Bizarro fiction
debut_works = "Chemical Gardens"
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influences = Tim Burton, Jackson Pollock, Kerouac, Vonnegut, Rosa Parks, Dorothy Parker, Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, trazadone dreams, lava lamps
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website = http://www.myspace.com/ginaranalli
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Gina Ranalli is an American author of bizarro and horror fiction living in Seattle, Washington. Her writing has been described as "accessible yet eccentric, creepy yet endearing, catchy like bubblegum pop yet twisted and off-kilter." [http://www.mungbeing.com/issue_10.html?page=79#367 Mungbeing issue #10] She is interested in environmentalism, feminism, eco-warriors, animal rights, veganism, tattoos, skulls, and horror flicks. ["The Bizarro Starter Kit." Bizarro Books, 2006. p.100 ISBN 1-933929-00-6]

Gina's first novel, "Chemical Gardens" was released in 2006 by Afterbirth Books, a new small press publisher dedicated to releasing books out of the mainstream, in the new genre described as bizarro. "Chemical Gardens" is a twisted re-telling of the "Wizard of Oz" story, starting in Seattle's Underground just as a massive earthquake occurs. Next, Gina was included as one of the 10 authors featured in "The Bizarro Starter Kit (Orange)", along with fellow bizarros Carlton Mellick III, John Edward Lawson, D. Harlan Wilson, and others.

Her work took on a flavor of horror as she wrote "13 Thorns" with outsider artist Gus Fink. Gus drew creepy illustrations for 13 separate horror tales. From the seeds of Fink's ideas, Gina created stories such as "Black Seeds", "Life is Perfect", "Deth Pitt", and "Speaking Eyes".

Ranalli is not afraid to take on the most alarming of topics. In "Suicide Girls in the Afterlife" she touches on heaven, hell, classism, and of course the consequences of suicide, leaving the reader wondering what reality is composed of. "Wall of Kiss" deals with a most unusual subject: a woman who falls in love with one of her walls. This absurd analysis of modern relationships is both humorous and surreal.

Her recent novel, "Mother Puncher", is even more gutsy: in an overpopulated world, the government has employed people to punch each woman who gives birth (and to also punch their husbands, if they are brave enough to remain in the room). These mother punchers have a valuable job to do in this disturbing tale.

Gina's short stories have been included in many collections and zines, including "Falling from the Sky", "The Dream People", "Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens", and the new "Bits of the Dead" from Coscom Press. Her upcoming work spans her interest in bizarro and horror, in both short and long forms.

BOOKS

*"Chemical Gardens" (2006)
*"The Bizarro Starter Kit" (Contributing Author, 2006)
*"Suicide Girls in the Afterlife" (2006)
*"13 Thorns" (2007)
*"Wall of Kiss" (2007)
*"Mother Puncher" (2008)
*"Sky Tongues" (2008)

Notes and references

External links

*Bio at [http://www.bizarrocentral.com/author_detail.asp?authorID=17 Bizarro Central]