"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

I Keep My Visions to Myself cover

From With An X Books

I KEEP MY VISIONS TO MYSELF

by Mallory Smart

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.

Praise for
I Keep My Visions to Myself

"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

"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

“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

Photo of Mallory Smart

Mallory Smart is a Chicago-based writer, editor-in-chief of Maudlin House, host of podcasts Textual Healing and That Horrorcast