Title: Shirtless Men Drink Free
Genre: Literary Fiction
Author: Dwaine Rieves
Publisher: Leapfolio/Tupelo Press
In
Shirtless Men Drink Free, Doctor Jane Beekman has seen her dying mother’s soul,
a vision above the bed—a soul struggling with a decision, some undone task,
something in this world too noble to leave.
The question that lingers—why?—prompts a shift in the doctor’s
priorities. In this election year, Jane
must do what her mother, an aspiring social activist, would have done. Soon,
Jane is embroiled in the world of Georgia politics, working to make sure her
dynamic younger brother-in-law Jackson Beekman is selected the next governor,
regardless of what the soul of the candidate’s dead father or that of his
living brother—Jane’s husband—might want done.
Indeed, it is a mother’s persistence and a
father’s legacy that will ultimately turn one Beekman brother against the
other, launching a struggle with moral consequences that may extend far beyond
Georgia. Set amidst 2004’s polarizing election fears—immigrants and job
take-overs, terrorists in waiting, homosexuals and outsider agendas—Shirtless
Men Drink Free makes vivid the human soul’s struggle in a world bedeviled by
desire and the fears that leave us all asking—Why?
Engaging, beautifully written and
resplendent with realism, Shirtless Men Drink Free is a standout debut destined
to stay with readers long after the final page is turned. A meticulously crafted tale that showcases an
outstanding new voice in Southern fiction, Shirtless Men Drink Free has
garnered high advance praise:
“This is brilliant and rare work, as attentive to
an absorbing plot as it is to a poetic, chiseled cadence."—Paul Lisicky,
award-winning author of The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship
“These characters
are all too real. Rieves, as Faulkner, McMurtry and Larry Brown, writes people
and story that will worm, burrow into you. Change you even.” —Adam Van Winkle,
Founder and Editor, Cowboy Jamboree
“Vividly sensuous, this novel is
full of textures, sounds and smells. Rieves tells a terrific story with the
sensitivity of a poet.” —Margaret Meyers, author of Swimming in the Congo
About the
Author
Dwaine Rieves was born and raised in Monroe
County, Mississippi. During a career as
a research pharmaceutical scientist and critical care physician, he began
writing poetry and creative prose. His
poetry has won the Tupelo Press Prize for Poetry and the River Styx International
Poetry Prize. His writing has appeared
in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The
Georgia Review and other publications.
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/dcrieves/photos
Title: THE BRONX KILL