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by Laurinda D. Brown (Author)
Chris Desmereaux--college graduate, churchgoer, and single mother--is struggling with poverty, coming to terms with her sexuality, and finding love--though she is unaware that her life will change, for better or worse, the day Gayle Evans finds her personal ad in the paper and answers it.
Gayle Evans, toe-tapping, knee-slapping, make-you-wanna-holla Minister of Music with a divine gift from God. "Praise the Lord" is her mantra. Macking women is her game. Destroying every life she touches, Gayle brings more misery than harmony. She has a lesson or two to learn after she uses her "relationship with God" to break up a seemingly happy home. Alternately set in Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee, Fire & Brimstone is an "in your face" tale that explores lesbianism and black motherhood as both separate and integrated issues impacting the main character's role as a single parent, while opening dialogue on same-sex domestic violence, religious beliefs, bisexuality, negligent fathers, economics, and intra-racial caste systems among African Americans. Depending on one's beliefs and opinions, Fire & Brimstone leaves no room for "in-between" emotions, leading the reader to ultimately draw his or her own conclusion as to what the ending actually means: Is homosexuality a sin, or does God love us as we are? The author reminds us that gay women are everywhere, even in the African American church--a place where no one expects to find them. Fire & Brimstone does an excellent job of testing the boundaries of 21st century morality.Author Biography
Laurinda D. Brown uses her writing to tell universal stories that apply to all cross-sections of society. A graduate of Howard University, she writes about life, not lifestyles. She is the author of Fire & Brimstone, The Highest Price for Passion, and Undercover. She currently resides in the Atlanta metro area with her two daughters.
Number of Pages: 240
Dimensions: 0.8 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN
Publication Date: March 30, 2004
Award: Lambda Literary Awards (2004)
