Michael Keefe, author of “All Her Loved Ones, Encoded” (photo by Liz Prato)
by Dana Haynes
Don’t ask Portland novelist Michael Keefe what time period his new book, All Her Loved Ones Encoded, is set in.
Better to ask what time period isn’t it set in.
Keefe will take part in a book launch at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 S.W. Capitol Highway, in Portland’s historic Multnomah Village. Keefe has worked at Annie Bloom’s since 2000.
The novel is a sprawling, multi-generational story that follows the decisions, and their repercussions, of one family throughout the 20th century and into a dystopian 2057, where the protagonist, Kiana, is struggling through one hellish day to deliver a promise to her husband. Other segments of the novel take the reader to Kiana’s ancestors from 1940 through 2020, and into a few future years as well.
“I didn’t actually set out to tell a multigenerational tale,” said Keefe, 54. “In my original conception for the novel, Kiana was more of a Scheherazade character, and each of the tales she told contained part of a code. But it was more ‘clever’ than emotionally resonant.”
Keefe belongs to a Portland-centered writing group, The Guttery. Feedback from that group resulted in a major rewrite of “Loved Ones,” he said. “I scrapped huge chunks of the novel and took a new approach that focused on Kiana’s present struggle.”
The Guttery has been active for close to 20 years, Keefe said. Novelist Anatoly Molotov has the longest tenure, at around 15 years. Keefe joined in 2017.
“Loved Ones” was the third novel Keefe has workshopped with the writing group, but the first of his works to get sold. His debut novel is published by Running Wild Press out of Los Angeles.
Keefe also came from Los Angeles. In the 1990s, he was a psych major at the University of Colorado, where he met a girl at a night club who would go on to be his wife, Portland writer Liz Prato. They moved to Portland in 1995. Keefe and Prato will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.
Keefe said he first started thinking about being a writer in high school and college, leaning toward poetry, first, and then lyrics. His father, Joe Keefe, was a jazz drummer in L.A. and Keefe grew up around “jam sessions at our house,” he said. He also picked up the drums, then learning synthesizer in order to write his own music, and then guitar. He belongs to a Portland-based band, Budget Airlines.
He previously worked in the field of music journalism, cranking out concert and record reviews for various publications.
But Keefe said his work selling books at Annie Bloom’s has been influential in his becoming a writer. He reads many of the books on the shelves, naturally. But surprisingly, as the bookstore’s publicity and events planner, he discovered the power of really good cover copy, as crafted by publishers’ marketing departments. “For some reason, reading the way that books are described, I’ve found interesting things. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s the heart of the story.’”
That simple trick — learning to identify the heart of a story — helped him in crafting “Loved Ones,” he said.
Beyond getting this novel picked up by a publishers, Keefe also has a short-fiction collection, “Western Terminus: Stories and a Novella,” coming out from Cornerstone Press in fall 2025. He called that “a nice ego boost, as well!”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Keefe is busy outlining his next novel, a mystery, to be set in a fictional high-desert county in Oregon.
All Her Loved Ones Encoded can be ordered from Annie Bloom’s Books here:
The Face Out recommendation:
From our very own Michael Keefe, a novel of family, hope, and perseverance in an uncertain future, for fans of Emily St. John Mandel and Jennifer Egan. California, 2057. Desalination worker Kiana Olsen is desperate to upload her dying husband’s consciousness to Level Up, the virtual worldbuilding program where their daughter’s avatar resides. But the government has outlawed the necessary technology. When Kiana turns to the black market, she is arrested and jailed. Her daring escape begins an Odyssean journey through the night: a collapsing roof, a virtual sex party, ruthless androids, and a killer on the loose. Even if Kiana finds her way home, how will she summon the strength to leave her old life behind? Alternating chapters reveal Kiana’s ancestral history, which her outlaw mother kept secret from her. A woodland standoff between her great-great-grandfathers in World War 2, her great-grandmother’s escape from Cold War East Berlin, her grandparents’ meet cute in an ambulance, and her mother’s own flight from the law.
Here’s a little interview between Dana Haynes, aka James Byrne, and Michael Keefe to whet the appetite for their event together to launch Michael’s book:
Dana Haynes, writing as James Byrne
James: This is a big, sprawling, multi-generational tale. Why did you want to tell this story?
Michael: I didn’t actually set out to tell a multigenerational tale. In my original conception for the novel, Kiana was more of a Scheherazade character, and each of the tales she told contained part of a code. But it was more “clever” than emotionally resonant. Based on the feedback from the Guttery (Michael’s writing group), I scrapped huge chunks of the novel and took a new approach that focused on Kiana’s present struggle to upload her dying husband’s consciousness and preserve the history of her family, which her mother had kept from her.
James: Telling a story in non-chronological format is a tightrope act. Why did you choose that mechanism?
Michael: While the central story of Kiana’s day-long journey is chronological, her family stories gradually dip further into the past and then swing back nearer to the present. Though even that schema isn’t strictly adhered to, because I wanted the themes of the historical stories to be in conversation with the front-story chapters that bracket them.
James: How did The Guttery come together? And is there a good tale in your group’s title?
Michael: The Guttery has been active for close to 20 years, I believe. Anatoly Molotkov has the longest tenure, at around 15 years. I joined in 2017. The other four current members have been in the group from one to five years. We submit pieces (up to 5,000 words) several days in advance and meet each Wednesday night on Zoom to offer critiques of two writers each week.
James: When did you first want to become a novelist? When did you first think, “You know, I’m pretty good at this. I am a novelist.”
Michael: It took my fourth novel — ALL HER LOVED ONES, ENCODED — getting accepted by Running Wild Press in August 2022 for me to feel completely confident as a writer. Having my short fiction collection (WESTERN TERMINUS: STORIES AND A NOVELLA, Cornerstone Press, fall 2025) accepted last year was a nice ego boost, as well!
