AmericanBookFest.com

Slow Reveal by Melanie Mitzner

WINNER
Fiction: LGBTQ+
2023 Best Book Awards

“Mitzner's novel is a sensual, slow reveal of love’s narcotic qualities and our inability to swear off of it, even as it weakens us. We’re plunged into the lives of characters bound by family as they free-fall in richly physical and symbolic worlds. The constant low hum of erotic tension sings to the cravings that course through us.” —April Ford, author of Carousel, 2020 International Book Awards Winner for LGBTQ Fiction and Foreword Indies finalist, LGBTQ+

Set in 1990s New York, SLOW REVEAL paints a portrait of artists who defy the arbiters of culture and challenge social norms. Art, addiction and family dynamics capsize the Kanes when they discover the parallel life of Katharine, film editor, mother, lover and wife.

"A poem is never finished, only abandoned," wrote Paul Valéry, an outcome echoed in her decade-long affair with Naomi, a lesbian poet. Katharine's marriage to Jonathan collapses in his struggle with sobriety when he's ostracized for politicizing art and abandons his career for advertising. Faced with confrontations from her two grown daughters, an installation artist and an aspiring writer, Katharine hangs onto her former life. When unforeseen tragedy strikes, devotion and commitment are not the guardrails that keep their work or relationships on track but rather a form of entrapment.

A captivating story about relevance at the end of the 20th century, the novel questions the voracious demands of contemporary society through a riveting portrayal of turbulent family life, impacted by art shaped by the media and influenced by social and political injustice. Success is redefined by the courage to embark on the artistic process, as risky, messy and unpredictable as building intimacy and trust in love.

The Complexities of Love by M.A. Quigley

WINNER
Fiction: LGBTQ+
2023 International Book Awards

M.A. Quigley's critically-acclaimed debut novel, The Complexities of Love, tells the story of Mark navigating life as a closeted gay man in 1960s Australia. Always feeling that he was different, Mark did his best to fit in and follow what his family always wanted for him: a lovely Australian girl. But after meeting Dave in middle school, everything changed.

Mark no longer wanted to make his family happy by following what they had planned for him, he wanted to be with Dave instead. Growing the courage to tell Dave about his crush, they share a romantic kiss at sunset before getting interrupted by Mark’s parents. Dave leaves, but not just for the night, he is sent to live hours away with his aunt, crushing Mark’s fantasies of having the perfect boyfriend.

Ten years pass and Dave shows up again, but something feels different. Finding out the horrible things Dave’s family made him go through after discovering that they were gay, Dave and Mark decide to rekindle their relationship.

With his own problems at home, and now with Dave returning after all these years, Mark must decide if the man he wanted years ago is worth risking everything for, or if he can indeed be happy with Dave and build a new life together.

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Mark Cooney grows up aware that there is something different about him and hopes that his parents will never find out. Mark's best friend Dave disappeared when he was thirteen and returned ten years later. Mark became more and more vulnerable as they got closer. It came with a price. Tormented by his inner demons and refusing to be controlled by anyone, Dave reveals a secret that he has kept since childhood, which leads to a terrible misunderstanding that will have grave consequences for Mark and his family. All Mark yearns for is for Dave to return his love, but will that happen, or will he find someone else?

The Complexities of Love is a coming-of-age story about Mark as he confronts the truth about his family and his identity.

The Sound of Her Smile: A Jensy Willett Novel by Sara Scott

WINNER
LGBTQ+ Fiction
2023 American Fiction Awards

“I’ve been trying so hard to be logical and levelheaded… when all I really want to do is think with my heart.”

In the aftermath of a fateful decision that threatened to tear them apart, Jensy Willett and Sophie Barnes begin the work to rekindle their tattered relationship. It is a quest that will lead them to rediscover the joy, trust, and passion they had once shared. Together, they will experience a multitude of new adventures, opportunities, and startling revelations.

But their journey will also include an earth-shattering challenge that will test Jensy and Sophie in ways that neither of them could have ever anticipated.

What does their future hold?

Sara Scott’s The Sound of Her Smile is a lesbian romance/relationship novel, that continues the where the award-winning, The Touch of Her Voice, left off. It is the second book in the Jensy Willett series.