Consider this a dual sales pitch. The immediate pitch is for "The Alphabetical List Of Would-Be Princes," the second book by Fredric Joss Shelley. (Disclaimer: Freddy and I are on the same softball team in the
City of Brotherly Love Softball League,
Mikey's Nighthawks, and this season he was not just Most Valuable Player on our team, but of the entire "D" Division. This is a man of many talents!)
This sweet, engaging novel tells the story of one man's path to finding true love with the man of his dreams. Jack Bradley's tale winds its way through the alphabet, in order. "A is for Aaron," "B is for Ben," etc. Not every chapter is about boyfriends, though. The list is actually a mixture of close friends, acquaintances, and a number of random encounters -- a supermarket checkout boy, a police officer -- and in ways both great and small, each person helps Jack along the way.
At the risk of sounding like one of those lame reviewers who come up with cheesy lines designed to be
quoted on a DVD cover, as I read the book the first-person narrative reminded me at times of "Sex And The City." I can easily see this book adapted for the big screen. That's the
second part of my sales pitch -- I want to see the movie version. I want the story of Jack Bradley to win America's hearts. (Okay, that really sounds like one of those cheesy lines.)
Going back to the first part of my sales pitch: you can order "The Alphabetical List Of Would-Be Princes"
through Amazon, but a much more beneficial option is to buy it from
Giovanni's Room, our local LGBT bookstore. It's now the oldest independent LGBT bookstore in the USA, and is undergoing a renovation to
rebuild one of the store's walls, which became structurally unsound. The cost of this construction is about $50,000, and there are fundraising efforts ongoing to pay for it. From now until the end of 2009, all proceeds from the store's sales of Freddy's new book -- including publishing costs -- will be donated to the renovation fund. The store is also selling raffle tickets for a few more weeks and other events are occurring; check out the store's
Facebook page for more info.
Now that I think of it, this is a
multiple sales pitch! There's the book, my request that it be made into a movie, my desire that you buy it from Giovanni's Room, the store's raffle and other fundraisers, the link to our softball team's sponsor and the softball league...there's even a link to one of my earlier blog posts. OMG, I've become both a pimp
and a whore. ;-)
