The physical and emotional attraction a charismatic black female evangelist feels for a beautiful but damaged blues singer grows into a powerful, sensual love in a southern city rocked by racism, intolerance, and sexual violence. The traveling minister Reverend Myrtle Black is a proud, strong African American woman, passionately devoted to God, justice, and intimate female contact. Enraged over a brutal assault on two young prostitutes, the good pastor comes to Nashville intending to organize local women in protest over the racism and sexism the city’s officials seem all too eager to ignore. Then, in the course of her crusade, a beautiful, profoundly damaged stranger walks through the church door . . . and turns Myrtle’s life upside down. A world-famous rhythm-and-blues singer, Travis Lee has experienced more than her share of pain and heartbreak. Having hit rock bottom—burned out on drugs and stuck in her latest very bad relationship—she comes to Reverend Myrtle seeking the kind of hope and salvation only Jesus can bring. What she experiences instead is a profound and powerful physical and emotional attraction that neither she nor the minister can ignore. But in the media spotlight, in this town where intolerance rules, a love such as theirs is a most dangerous thing, inspiring the hatred and violence of those who would go to any lengths to destroy it.
Author
Shockley is a black feminist theorist, novelist, and librarian. Shockley’s extensive contributions to black literature in general and black queer literature and politics more specifically, have broken ground in the vast wilderness of works that do not exist. Shockley has written reference books, nonfiction and fiction for newspapers and journals, as well as book reviews, essays, novels, and a collection of short stories. She was born on June 21, 1927, in Louisville, Kentucky. She began publishing short stories in 'The Louisville Defender' at age eighteen. After receiving a B.A. at Fisk University, Shockley went on to pursue an M.A. in Library Science at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She has worked at Delaware State College, the University of Maryland, and at Fisk University where she works as the curator for African American collections.
