fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
A year ago, my country failed. The failure started quite early. Rather than reject a man who began his campaign with these fateful words: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” The media went out of its way to cover every belch and every fart this man uttered for a year and a half….
I’m holding a book launch celebration for Sin Against the Race…and everyone is invited! Date: Saturday, November 18, 2017 Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Place: The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster Street, Oakland Price: FREE Sin Against The Race follows the coming out journey of Alfonso Rutherford Berry III, son of a city councilman and grandson…
[Part of a series of posts previewing the novel Sin Against the Race.] Sin Against the Race did not start life as a “jazz novel.” When I first started this journey, I listened mostly to classical. Dvořák, Chopin, Mozart, Brahms, the usual suspects. My music habits changed after my mother died. Miles, Coltrane, and of course…
[Part of a series of posts previewing the novel Sin Against the Race.] In addition to meeting his late cousin’s friends, Alfonso meets two folks closer to his age: Bill Hawk and Roy Prince. Before there was Alfonso R. Berry III, there was Bill Hawk, an 18-year-old freshman. In early drafts of Sin Against the Race,…
[Part of a series of posts previewing the novel Sin Against the Race.] Sammy Turner can be a nag. Some might call Sammy Turner a busybody, because he knows everybody’s business. All that know him, however, will eventually admit that Sammy Turner is their rock. His corner grocery story is the kitchen of Carver Street, the…
I wanted an area where black and queer intersected, overlapped. My friend and former college roommate Pete recommended that I create my own neighborhood—from this suggestion The Huck was born. In its center lies Huckleberry Park, a large urban patch of green that spans several long blocks. A largely African American neighborhood, straight folks live…
Get ready, folks! My first novel Sin Against the Race drops Sunday, October 29. Am I excited? Hell yeah, I’m excited! This day has been a Long Time Coming. Indeed, the genesis of this book dates back to my own coming out nearly 30 years ago. Upon coming into the life, I became entranced by the…
When the Cassini probe launched in 1997, some controversy followed it for the first part of its voyage. Probes heading to the outer solar system need a speed boost. Big chemical rockets are too impractical and expensive. Ion rockets, though promising, can’t provide the power needed at this time. So for decades, rocket scientists have…
Here is my reading from this past Saturday. I read as part of Perfectly Queer East Bay @ Beast Crawl in Oakland, CA. This was filmed at Octopus Literary Salon. Video produced and compiled by Friend and Videographer Michael Guleff. (Thanks, Misha!)
I’ve been invited to read again by the good folks of Perfectly Queer East Bay. This time, I’ll be with two other excellent writers, Anna Pulley and Anand Vedawala, and we’ll be reading as part of Beast Crawl, the East Bay’s literary festival. Date: Saturday, September 2 Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Place: The…
