VICISSITUDES

This is a scene from Vicissitudes   performed by the talented Josephine Roth.  Bethany's monologue   is an example of what I envision a person who is losing someone they love to transition may look like. Every day people lose their loved ones to transition. It is a sensitive and deeply emotional topic that I tried to shine light upon through Bethany's character. I hope you enjoy this sneak peak into the novel and into Bethany's journey:

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 Don't miss! I will be joining Charis Books for a virtual reading tomorrow,  February 11th at 7:30pm EST  Click here to register and receive a link to join! Enter the Valentine's Day Giveaway! Go to http://www.charisbooksandmore.com/vicissitudes  and get a copy of Vicissitudes today!

 D. Lammie-Hanson’s 'Transcendence' series is dedicated to empowering the souls of people who are marginalized. The message behind her work is what led me to her and to the cover art that now graces the  Vicissitudes  book. "The ‘Transcendence’ series incorporates pigments and water forming as the emotional background. The majority of the patterns and textures are dominated by the water. Water is an important medium of life. It is used in baptisms as a rebirth of the spirit of almost every faith. It is used to heighten the senses into a level of transcending to the next level of being. My utilization of water is to enhance the spiritual element by letting it flow freely throughout the painting. This makes each painting's emotional background content unique like each individual I create. Once it is dried, then I am able to visualize the human image that will emerge from the patterns and colors."                     D. Lammie-Hanson,  artist. The first image, ‘Comin

  “Love is all there is.” Kim Green’s Morgan from Vicissitudes It has been a tragic week for America. It has been a week that proves that we are a country gagged by hatred and division. And it all came to life in a heinous display of political theater that has left most of us feeling lost and helpless.   In this fragile time that is painfully regressive but so delightfully transformative at the same time, humanity has reached a critical crossroads. Should we, in our metamorphosis, go back into the dark or trudge forward to the light. The events in Washington, DC illustrate that there are too many people who are stuck in a backwards mode that pulls them further away from light and love.  As delusionists march around defending a fantasy, they are denying the love within. So many of these irrational human beings want to destroy everything in their path that acknowledges the need to widen the circle of love .  As they charged the Capitol, wreaking havoc; murdering a police officer, trampl

" My colleagues call them “animals.”…If only the white man could recognize what need really looks like.” Kim Green’s Jahn from Vicissitudes The word “animal” has been associated with men of color for as long as white men enslaved them. Black men in particular have lived with this label and the humiliating white gaze that goes with it for centuries.  The evidence exists in lopsided incarceration rates, disparities in sentencing, an expensive and expanding prison industrial complex, educational shortfalls in underserved communities, and most notably, blatant police brutality. On one hand,  Black men are showcased as icons of physical and athletic prowess, but more often dismissed as scapegoats and objects of disdain and blame.  In Vicissitudes , Jahn is a Black man, invisible; left on his own with deep fears of joblessness and ostracism that many men of color face. Not to mention Black transmen . Hiding so much of who he really is, leaves Jahn adrift. He has never been able to disc

  “She did nothing except try to talk me out of who I am.” Kim Green’s Rene from Vicissitudes For some, there is a natural instinct to try to change things that cannot be changed.  When a person, shares their most profound truth with the world, if we don’t like what we hear, some tend to ignore and deflect this precious moment of trust. Gay and trans people are among the many who face this egregious type of disbelief when they’ve revealed themselves. It is how Conversion Therapy was born. The cruel and often violent practice of trying to excise that which doesn’t seem to “fit” is an extreme response to our culture’s inability to accept reality when it’s not our own.  Those who respond to an LGBT person’s disclosure  with dismissive comments such as “it’s just a phase” or “grow your hair” or “find a nice girl/boyfriend are ultimately practicing their own form of Conversion Therapy.     This must stop.  In Vicissitudes , my character, Rene, laments about her troubled relationship with he