Category: Book Reviews

It began with music. Most of my fiction does. I am an unabashed, full fledged music geek. You can tell that from the music reviews I sprinkle throughout this site.

Anyway, the title “Fur & Gold” is the title of a song by Bat for Lashes, the musical project of Natasha Khan. The song is about something else, but the image is so evocative, that I immediately thought of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast.” That fairytale was the basis for a beautiful film by the French artist & poet Jean Cocteau. Cocteau produced a dreamy, dark-tinged fairytale movie that adheres to the original. Cocteau is also known for his frankly homoerotic pen and ink drawings. From many accounts, Cocteau was in love with the actor Jean Marais. So I had an idea of realizing the homoerotic tensions felt by Marais and Cocteau in this version. The first image that came to me was of a miraculous rose. Roses figure in the transgressive work of experimental writer Jean Genet.

Fur & Gold combines all of these influences. I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks to Thomas Drymon for the spectacular cover art!

The eBook short is available world wide in the Amazon Kindle shop. ePub and iBook editions will be available shortly!

First, some unpleasantness.

In many ways 2013 and the first part of 2014 has not been a good year for me. In September, I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2, which I suspect I had earlier. But, since I was uninsured, I hadn’t seen a doctor in over 2 years. Through a change in my diet and an exercise regimen, I have gotten much better. I’ve lost over 20 pounds and now sport some nice glasses. In addition to the Honey Fountain (the Latin name of diabetes mellitus), I also have a wicked case of nasal polyps; I basically can’t smell a thing, and have constant sinus infections. I’m in the process of dealing with this issue—the gears of getting the surgery are starting. Thank God, I’m finally insured. However, these various appointments has led to missing some days at a day job, and recovery for the surgery usually takes a week.

Now, for the good news.

I have decided to self-publish a series of thematically connected short stories. They are dark, homoerotic fantasies that draw on fairy-tale motifs. At the end of the series, I plan to publish a chapbook containing all of the stories,with the help of the DC Public Library’s Espresso Book Machine technology. The idea is not only to test the waters of self-publishing/eBooks, but also drum up interest for my traditionally published collection that’s coming out in this summer.

I’m asking for readers to help spread the word about the series (called ‘Variations’). And, of course, buy and read the pieces when they come out.

The story is that my Aunt Dee went into labor during a Moms Mabley show in Washington, DC. It’s not hard to imagine that, since Mabley was so damned funny.

I love listening to recordings of her comedy bits. She was one of the queens of the Chitlin Curcuit. She appeared on stage dressed as a frump, in a brightly patterned, tacky nightgown ensemble, and crowned with a cap. She took out her fake teeth and spoke, flapping her gums. Her comedy was in the storytelling mode–raunchy, ribald, and full of witty anecdotes. Listening to her speak is a window in black life in the 20th Century.

Like many comedians, her personal life was more than full of its share of pain. But in spite of (or in some cases, because of) the significant hurdles she faced as an African-American who grew up in the Jim Crow South, as a survivor of sexual abuse, and as a lesbian, she mastered the art of comedic storytelling.