I might be a bit up on my high horse to present this as literary fiction. My characters argue this point with me all the time. They say they are not big shots, they’re just kids, and I agree with them. They say they were a mess when all this was going on. And they’re right. Somehow that makes them think they don’t qualify to be up in the literary ozone…
But kids are a mess at fourteen and fifteen. Literary fiction is about reality. I figured that out somewhere amidst all our arguments. So here, without further debate, I present my work of literary fiction, “Light Be Quiet”. It’s a tale of two over-their-heads kids with a God-crazy Mom, and a Dad who’s run off. It’s 1962 and their Mama thinks they can save the world by befriending and advocating for a couple of black boys who show up to integrate their school. Only one problem: Mama’s boys are pretty much set in their thinking about black folk, and that thinking doesn’t embrace her plans for them.
Soooo…there’s some issues here. Cause these boys, in spite of Mama being nuttier than a fruitcake, are truly loyal to her. Life’s not easy when you’re fourteen and fifteen.
It’s a book about race, religion and the wide open spaces. It’s funny. It’s serious. It’s a tough little book for strong boys and girls of every age. It may disconcert you some. Its setting is Chesapeake Bay Country. Lots of water. Lots of shore. C’mon in. Give your beliefs and assumptions a shake or two.
But kids are a mess at fourteen and fifteen. Literary fiction is about reality. I figured that out somewhere amidst all our arguments. So here, without further debate, I present my work of literary fiction, “Light Be Quiet”. It’s a tale of two over-their-heads kids with a God-crazy Mom, and a Dad who’s run off. It’s 1962 and their Mama thinks they can save the world by befriending and advocating for a couple of black boys who show up to integrate their school. Only one problem: Mama’s boys are pretty much set in their thinking about black folk, and that thinking doesn’t embrace her plans for them.
Soooo…there’s some issues here. Cause these boys, in spite of Mama being nuttier than a fruitcake, are truly loyal to her. Life’s not easy when you’re fourteen and fifteen.
It’s a book about race, religion and the wide open spaces. It’s funny. It’s serious. It’s a tough little book for strong boys and girls of every age. It may disconcert you some. Its setting is Chesapeake Bay Country. Lots of water. Lots of shore. C’mon in. Give your beliefs and assumptions a shake or two.
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Be-Quiet-...
David Percy Howard