Big Lit

No, we're not talking big books. I tend to shy away from books as large as the yellow pages.

We're talking books that feature normal-to-plus size protagonists. Of course all this is skewed on the L.A. scale, my current hometown, when a size 6 (or a 32 inch waist for men) is considered normal-to-plus size... and that's outside entertainment circles. Maybe a big of an exageration, but you get the gist.

But we're not talking L.A. scale. We're talking fiction. Check these out:

Something On The Side by Carl Weber. Featuring The Big Girls Book Club, where members must be at least a size 14 and have a scandalous love life to talk about at book club meetings. Another hit from one of my faves.

The Next Big Thing by Johanna Edwards. Following six overweight women cast on a reality show to see who can lose the most weight. Think The Biggest Loser in novel form. A lot of Edwards' work features normal-to-plus size characters.

Something's Wrong With Your Scale by Van Whitfield. Following the trials and tribulations of a man who has gained 75 pounds and lost his girlfriend in the process. Can he find himself again?

Conversations With The Fat Girl by Liza Palmer. A Southern California woman comes to terms with her weight and looks for love in her personal growth process. I read this one. Loved it!

Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez. One of my favorites of all time. And features one of the best plus-size and proud protagonists I've read, Usnavys. The character will be back in a sequel coming in a few months, Dirty Girls On Top.

I'm sure I'm missing some... what have you read that features normal-to-plus size protagonists?
fs

Scandalous (and Illegal) Relations in Books

Not that there's anything sexy or legal about teacher/student relations (abuse if a minor), but it hasn't stopped some novelists from writing about the matter. Here are a few that broach the subject. I'm sure there are many others.

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga chronicles an 18-year-old baseball player and math major who has flashes of an ongoing affair while in middle school with a teacher at the school. There was a brief note of the book in this weekend's L.A. Times book review section. It's gotten good reviews.

Last year's Academy Award nominated film, Notes on a Scandal, was based on a book by Zoe Heller called What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal. The story follows an ongoing flirtation between a young teacher and a high school sophomore that soon becomes more than glances across the school yard. I loved the film. But the book... excellent! Loved the writing... and some great one-liners.

Over the weekend, I read a short story called The Term Paper Artist by David Leavitt, that follows a college professor who writes papers for cute undergrads (guys) in exchange for relations. It's in his collection of novellas, Arkansas. Great story. Some interesting gay/straight interactions and negotiations.

Again, not an endorsement at all of these types of relationships. Don't want you doing anything that'll get you on Chris Hansen show. And being sexually abused is not to be taken lightly. But there's a saying that if it's happened, someone will write about it. And if it hasn't been written about, then that's your story to write.
fs

After The First and Second Novel Jitters

Been going through a bit of a creative block lately, on the writing tip. It's something many writers say they go through. It's not a normal thing for me.

When I did journalism, there wasn't a such thing as having creative/writer block. You got an assignment, you got a timeframe to research and write it, and you did it. Journalism is a good training ground for anyone considering book writing. The discipline and time thing.

That's the same approach/advice I've given and received about novel writing. Do the first draft "journalism" style. Just get through a draft. Now, with journalism, there's not a lot of time to re-write and edit. With creative writing, you have all the time in the world to think about getting the story right.

But... back to me. There's one question going through my mind when I put pen to paper -- is it any good? Not a question that I used to ask myself. But now that I'm in "the business" it's something that plagues me all the time.

So for all you first-timers, aspirings, etc... be thankful that you're writing for fun. That's how I saw my first novel. The second one too. Now, all I think about are readers, editors, numbers, and is it good?

Not going crazy over it. It is what it is, ya dig? :-) Just a temporary thing.
fs

Adding To My Cue

Found a couple of documentaries I'm thinking of screening on the campus. You seen them? If not, they might be good to add to your netflix cue.

Do I Look Fat? It's a documentary about gay men and eating/fitness issues. Personally, I think it's a growing issue among men under 30 these days. I see them in the gym all the time, lifting the shirts to see if the abs pop through.

Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality. A documentary about the silence in black families and society about sex. Something along the line of the Soul Mate film.

Anyway, something tells me this is going to be a good weekend. Something like... Something in my heart by Michel'le.

Have a good one!
fs

Real Quick Before I Go To Bed...

Tonight found the funniest blog I've read in a while. At least it's funny to me, in my sick & twisted way after a couple bacardi and diet cokes.

Stuff White People Like.

Read it... and identify, laugh, weep, share with your friends. Fun stuff.
fs

Stray

What do you get when a man married to a saintly perfect wife, has a fling (or three) with a hot college student who's tied to an aging and sickly sugar-daddy professor?

Some hot gay drama. Of course that would never happen in real life. Cough. Cough.

But in fiction, it's possible, and Sheri Joseph gives us some great character-driven drama in the recently-released novel, Stray.

I believe the author will be making an appearance soon in Atlanta, where the novel happens to take place too.

Love that cover... the symbolism of a warm bed that's just been emptied by a couple... going off to do their thing.

Check it out for a good spring break fling for your brain!
fs

Summer's Coming

Nice day for some flowers. Just because.

I'm getting spring fever. And with the nice 70-degree days we've been having of late in L.A., I can see why.

Some of the students have been walking around the office, spouting off "Summer's coming," whenever they see someone about to eat something not-too-healthy. It's funny. Sometimes I think I'm too lazy (eating wise) to be skinny-fit-skinny, like I was in my 20s. Oh, it's also called metabolism. Yeah, that too.

Anyway, one of the signs that summer is coming is the Long Beach Pride. May 17 and 18, 2008. One of the funnest gay prides around. And my fave, At The Beach L.A., July 3 - 6, also known as Black Gay Pride.

Summer's coming. Time to get ready.
fs

Bacon and Coffee

So I didn't wake up to the smell of bacon and coffee this morning. And it's okay. Not like there's anyone here to actually do it, but myself.

But the thought of bacon and coffee is comforting. A natural alarm clock. Aromatherapy for some of us. lol.

I'm getting a little nostalgic, but far from sad, because it's nearing the two year since my dad died. Weird to think it.

But one of the many good memories I have of growing up is how the smell of breakfast was like the family alarm clock. I mean FULL breakfast. I don't know how he did it, because he often got in from work after midnight, but by 6:30 or 7 am, we'd have a full breakfast ready for us -- my mom, sister, and me -- prepared by him. Like the works -- eggs, grits, bacon or sausage, potatoes, all that choleserolic love on a plate from parent to child.

He didn't believe in cold or quick breakfast. He said we learn better and are more productive when we ate full breakfast... and made our beds in the morning.

It's fun thinking about it. Not sad at all.

So I didn't wake up to bacon or coffee this morning. I went out and bought it, went with a good friend. The way we do it in the 2000s, I guess. But I ate it and savored it as much as if it were made at home by the people I love.
fs

Still reading The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller (hear an excerpt). Pretty good so far. Got into another Obama/Clinton match last night with a friend... that's a whole 'nother story. I don't even start the stuff anymore. Somebody needed a "special" coffee last night to chill :-)