R.J. LEE AT NOVEL: THE MAJESTIC LEO MARBLE
Join us as we welcome R.J. LEE on TUESDAY, AUGUST 20 at 6:00 PM to celebrate the release of his new novel THE MAJESTIC LEO MARBLE.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Leo Marble quickens in the womb during a Broadway show, but his life is lived in the Deep South in conservative Mississippi and laid-back New Orleans. He eventually emerges from the closet to become a journalist and advocate for gay rights and visibility. Along the way, he experiences heartache on an international scale, but keeps his indomitable spirit alive with show tune concerts at his spinet, eventually falling in love with a dedicated meteorologist with higher math skills.
“A poignant and tender coming-of-age novel, R. J. Lee’s, The Majestic Leo Marble, follows its endearing protagonist from the womb through young adulthood. Set to the musical score of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Lee’s pitch perfect aria recounts early gay rights activism and the AIDS crisis through the compelling voice of the charming Leo Marble.” -Robert Gwaltney, award winning author of The Cicada Tree, and Georgia Author of the Year
“Leo Marble, a journalist for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, advocates for a gay coalition in the Crescent City. The novel discusses the political fight with Anita Bryant and a boycott of Florida orange juice, and it feels like an important book for the current era, especially in its relation to the teaching scandals surrounding gay people who have been unfairly accused of grooming children…. The way that teachers are leveraged in the anti-gay crusade in this story offers a striking comparison to the current taboos against drag queens and trans people.” -Mike Hilbig, author of Judgment Day & Other White Lies
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
R. J. Lee was born and grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from Sewanee (University of the South) with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. Though he now lives in Oxford, Mississippi, he lived for thirty years in New Orleans during which he worked in journalism, advertising, and tourist commission work writing and publishing 16 novels from 1992 to the present. The Majestic Leo Marble is his 17th book.
