Even though YOTD has been around for a few years now, I continue to be surprised and delighted by the number of people that stop by my little ol' blog. As a result, I have crossed paths with several fascinating and talented individuals. Kyle Michel Sullivan is one of those individuals. When he first began visiting my blog, I had no idea he was an accomplished author. The moment he introduced me to his work, I was hooked. In honor of my friend, I will be showcasing a few of his novels. First up, Bobby Carapisi...
Synopsis
You never know what life will throw at you when you're least expecting it. Bobby Carapisi got slammed when he was living his dream job as a relief pitcher for an expansion baseball team and went out to buy ice cream for his pregnant wife. For Eric Larson, it was when he was en route home after a particularly nasty shift of waiting tables. Each man happened to cross the path of Allen Barrow...and the brutal encounter sent their worlds spiraling out of control.
To everyone who knew him, Allen was a quiet, unassuming kind of guy...who was also happened to be partnered with a pair of sexual predators. The three of them first brutally assaulted Eric...and not long after, chose Bobby for their fun.
Eric reported what happened to him but ran headlong into the nightmare of an uncaring system of justice. Bobby, on the other hand, just wanted to ignore it all so he could focus on his family and career. However, the rest of the world had other plans for them both, and when society decides to crush you, what can you do but fight back? Even if it means destroying someone innocent.?
Bobby Carapisi tells the story of how each man battles to figure out not only what happened to him and why...but how to regain control of his life, with Allen, Eric and Bobby each telling his tale in his own voice, combining honesty, anger, friendship, hate, humor, acceptance, hope, and tragedy as the story unfolds.
Kyle was kind enough to give us a glimpse into the inspiration for his novel...
The germ of the idea had been forming in my brain since a co-worker of mine was raped and got blown-off by the cops. The usual, "It's your own fault for getting drunk and being queer" kind of crap. He wound up killing himself. That reminded me of a situation that happened in Austin, when I was attending UT, concerning a frat house in west campus...and I started researching male rape and found out just how dismissive our system of justice is about it, whether it happens in prison or out.
It took years for the story to build...and one part of it I just did not want to face, so did everything I could to procrastinate. But then a couple of kids were hanged in Iran for what amounted to little more than mutual masturbation, and I finally accepted the in-your-face writing that I've been doing. I published three titles before I got "Bobby Carapisi" into shape; the first two volumes were published in 2009, and the last volume in 2011, by Nazca Plains. I didn't like it being in several volumes (it really hurt sales because each one was so damned expensive), so I finally convinced them to return the rights to me and I issued a compilation, myself. The other versions are now out of print.
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