I once had a movie producer kiss me on the neck.
How’s that for an opening sentence? Pretty good, huh? Got your attention, right?
It was at the end of an interview when, shaking my hand goodbye, he suddenly lurched forward and kissed me on the neck. (It may have been more of a bite than a kiss, but I don’t actually remember and don’t want to overstate what was a pretty bizarre sendoff.)
Afterward, the embarrassed publicist apologized, concerned that I would be writing about this. But I was a young journalist and had, as a woman, been raised to soldier on. So I said, wrote and did nothing about this. And I hadn’t thought about it until Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment of, well, just about every woman on the planet opened the floodgates of ew-ness. ...
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Read MoreIt’s kickoff time for my new novel “The Penalty for Holding” at Barnes & Noble’s concept store in Eastchester. Join me Sept. 7 for a reading from the work — about a gay, biracial quarterback’s search for identity in the NFL — along with nibbles, bubbly and a no-holds-barred discussion of sports, culture and sex. We’ll be dancing in the end zone from 5:30 to 7 p.m. RSVP to info@thegamesmenplay.com by Aug. 28. See you there!
Read MoreI’m no Karlie Kloss in the looks or modeling department, but such is my passion for writing and my books that I was willing to take to the runway – OK, the floor of the restaurant La Provence at Bloomingdale’s White Plains – to promote my work. And so I found myself turning and posing in two lovely outfits as part of Tricia Fraser Productions’ “Fashion Food Faire” at Bloomingdale’s White Plains Tuesday night.
It was all in a good cause, too, benefiting Gilda’s Club of Westchester, which provides free support to cancer patients. ...
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Read MoreLook for me this summer as I take my new novel, "The Penalty for Holding," on the road. This Saturday, June 3, I’ll be among the vendors at "LOFT Pride 2017" – the LOFT’s third annual Pride celebration – from noon to 5 p.m. at 252 Bryant Ave. in White Plains. This is a fun event, with food, music, a costume contest, a pet parade and more – rain or shine.
Then join me June 13 at Bloomingdale’s White Plains from 5 to 8 p.m. at the "Fashion Food Faire," presented by T. Fraser Productions. I'll be "modeling" an outfit at Bloomie's La Provence restaurant. But also check out my table where I'll sign copies of "The Penalty for Holding" as well as "Water Music," the first book in my series "The Games Men Play."
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Read MoreYours Truly (and Humbly) is excited to be back at the Rainbow Book Fair in Manhattan Saturday, April 29. The noon to 6 p.m. event, billed as “the largest LGBT book event in America,” is always a day of thought-provoking readings and absorbing encounters with readers.
Three years ago, I had a blast at the event with “Water Music,” the first novel in my series “The Games Men Play,” about power, dominance, rivalry and jealousy. The well-received “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group) tells the story of four gay athletes and how their professional rivalries color their personal relationships.
Now I’m back at the Fair with “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press, May 10), about a gay, biracial quarterback’s search for identity, acceptance, success and love amid the brutal beauty of the NFL. ...
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Read MoreThe painting shows a young black man in a coffin, his face a blur of color in the manner of Abstract Expressionist art – and violent death.
The departed, then, is not just someone who has succumbed to the ills that the flesh is heir to. Emmett Till was just 14 years old when he was lynched by two white men for flirting with the wife of one of them. “Open Casket, “ on view at the Whitney Biennial, is Dana Schutz’s 2016 painting of a mutilated Till in the open casket his mother, Mamie Till Bradley, insisted on. The work has drawn protests and condemnation from black artists and writers, who question the right of a white woman to appropriate a searing moment in black history. ...
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Read MoreSo Novak Djokovic lost to Andy Murray in the ATP Barclays World Tour Finals – cementing Murray’s ascendance as the new No. 1-ranked player and my view that 2016 will go down as the worst year in recent memory for people I admire. Perhaps Nole never recovered from attaining the long-held dream of winning the French Open. Perhaps it was some personal crisis alluded to in the press at the time of Wimbledon. Perhaps it was a nagging injury. Whatever the reason(s), he had a brilliant first half and a terrible second half (terrible for him: Remember he won two Slams and was the runner-up at the US Open and the ATP World Tour Finals).
A good year but not a great one. And when you’re great, good looks mediocre. Last year he was unbeatable. This year, he proved he could be had. There are few greater falls than the tumble from No. 1 to No. 2.
No doubt he will go on. Champions, particularly tennis champions, are enormously resilient. They don’t dwell. ...
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