Fire and Brimstone--A NOVEL
Laurinda D. Brown
March 2004
ISBN 1-59309-015-3
Retail Price $14.00
Chris Desmereaux, college graduate and
single mother of two, staring down the food stamp line, looking for love,
compassion, and stability is unaware that she has just been awarded an advanced
ghetto degree 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 learn after she uses her "relationship with
God" to break up a seemingly happy home.
Excerpt from Fire and Brimstone
"Why do you start this shit every Sunday morning!" Gayle screamed as she stormed
out of the bedroom. She slammed the door so hard the dresser mirror shook, and
all of the cards and pictures that were stuck in the crevices fell to the
surface.
Gayle was a beautiful, big-boned woman. She had an ass that any man would damn
near kill for and plenty of breasts to go along with it. Her voluptuous lips
were perfectly shaped, for they were soft and tasted like strawberries, even at
the break of dawn. Her silky smooth, milk chocolate skin was blemish-free and
had a glow that could light up any room. She kept her hair cut stylishly low,
and it was extremely becoming on her rounded, fat face. Sexy would never be
enough to describe her eyes. They were the prettiest shade of brown, and,
whenever she sang with the melodious voice that God blessed her with, those
gorgeous eyes crooned to her lover’s heart whether the song was R&B, jazz, or
gospel. "What are you talking about Gayle?" Chris mumbled into the pillow. "You
get up every Sunday bitchin’ about something."
"Me?" Gayle snapped as she tugged on her pantyhose. Besides having sex, putting
on her pantyhose every Sunday morning was the only exercise that she got.
"You’re the one who gets such a ‘tude on Sunday mornings when I get up to go to
church. You start throwin’ shit and acting like you possessed or something. You
come up with every reason in the world why I shouldn’t take the car out. You’ve
flattened the tires. You…"
"Wait a minute," Chris answered. "I didn’t flatten those tires. You always blame
shit like that on me." The pillow was pulled tighter with the intent of drowning
out yet another argument.
"Anyway, Chris. I’m tired of this. When I start puttin’ on my clothes, you get
this attitude with me that lasts until 12:01 Monday morning. I mean it’s like
clockwork." Gayle got up and went into the bathroom and started putting on her
make-up. These arguments had become pretty regular, and there seemed to be no
end to them. With each passing Sunday, they had become worse, and, on this
particular Sunday, Gayle knew that it would be a turning point in their
relationship. As she stroked her red make-up sponge across her forehead, she
leaned around the corner and glared at Chris. "Question," she said pausing to
complete her last stroke.
"What?"
Gayle came out of the bathroom and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Why is
it that you always want to have sex before I leave to go to church? First, you
won’t let me touch you on Saturday nights, but then you wanna get up the next
morning and go at it like a dog in heat. The only thing on my mind is going to
church. I have to go to church, and you know that. You know the responsibilities
that I have on Sunday mornings, but you’re so dead set on trying to get you some
ass. And you just ain’t right for that."
Chris didn’t answer.
"You hear me talkin’ to you?" Gayle got up and walked over to Chris’s side of
the bed. She reached for the hand that was delicately placed on top of the
smooth, beige body that she had grown to love more than she had ever loved any
man. Chris pulled away from her and sat straight up in the bed, giving Gayle a
look that appeared painful but sincere. Gayle was incensed with Chris, but she
could also see the sadness in Chris’s eyes. "Chris, baby, what’s wrong with you?
Why do we go through this every week? There’s got to be something more to this.
I feel like there’s something going on with you that you don’t want me to know
about. Aren’t you tired of all the fighting?" She got up and looked out the
window, noticing how bright the sun was. It was a perfect day for a stroll in
the park with her family after church. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you come
to church with me? Afterwards we can go to the park or something."
"You’re kiddin’, right?"
"No, I’m not. I’m serious this time. It might do us some good."
"You actually think that me going to church with you is going to make everything
alright? It’s like you sleep with me Monday through Saturday, but then, come
Sunday, it’s a sin and a shame,"Chris chuckled, pushing back against the brass
headboard. "Answer me this one question, Gayle."
"Sure, baby. Anything."
"How in the hell can you go to church on Sunday mornings and minister to a
congregation of nearly a thousand people when you just got out of bed with a
woman?"
Gayle’s mouth dropped open, and tears filled the wells of her eyes. She realized
that she had no answer for that question.
From the Author
When I decided to do a book on homosexuality and religion, I knew that other
issues were going to be addressed because that’s just how life is. Those issues
are actually more important than an individual’s religious or sexual preference.
Single or married, the bills still have to be paid, and the children must be
fed. Baptist or Catholic, the Bible still reads the same, and we serve the same
God. Gay or straight, Black or White, one must learn self-acceptance – if you
don’t like you, who else will?
About the Author
Laurinda D. Brown, born and raised in Memphis, TN, has always taken life just a
little beyond the edge with her writing. A graduate of Howard University's
English Department, Laurinda writes about issues that are relevant to the
African-American community while implementing issues relevant to other
communities and presents all of the issues as the basis for her storylines. The
gay characters in her novels are not ignored or shunned but are cast into
mainstream African-American society where their existence is more than just
merely tolerated but is realistically dealt with and inevitably accepted. She
writes about life...not lifestyles. Always a risk taker, Laurinda walked into
the personnel office of her highly paid corporate America job in February of
2001 and respectfully submitted her resignation. But it wasn't accepted. A
counteroffer was made, and, after a week of a new arrangement, she still wasn't
happy. Laurinda attempted to resign twice after that but was still turned down.
So one Sunday afternoon, after hours of deep prayer, she took her daughters with
her to her office and told them to help Mommy "hide" her office belongings in
two boxes. Her older daughter stopped and looked around as Laurinda took her
pictures off her desk and then proceeded to ask, "Mommy, are you gonna quit your
job?" She smiled at her baby and said, "Yes, I am." Taking a giant leap of
faith, Laurinda quietly placed her letter of resignation in her boss's chair and
left the building,. "God told me to do that. It was time for me to do what He
put me here to do. If I didn't do it, I knew that I was going to go through the
rest of my life regretting it. When you do what your passion is - your passion
being what God gave you the zest and talent to do, the rest falls into place."
Fire and Brimstone, which tests the boundaries of morality, was started in 1996
and finally completed in 1998. Tackling two of the most controversial subjects
in history, she has taken homosexuality and religion down a different path by
addressing the ultimate issue of self-acceptance. The first part of the book
entitled, "Religion is for those who are afraid to go to Hell" delves deep into
the circumstances that have influenced the alternative lifestyles of the main
characters but not without exposing the hypocrisies often present in the
African-American church. The second part, "Spirituality is for those who have
already been there," explores self-destruction and what it takes to bounce back.
After being rejected by numerous publishers, Laurinda took matters into her own
hands and started her own publishing company, Creative Enterprises, Incorporated
and released her first title, Fire and Brimstone, on April 15, 2001 at the
National Black Lesbian Conference. At DC's Black Gay Pride Expo, 250 books were
sold in less than four hours!
Now she has become a part of the Strebor family so watch out world!
For more information,
you can email Laurinda
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