Debut Novel by Augusten Burroughs Coming to NBC

Marie Tuttle says...

This is fabulous news for a male gay writer. His work is terrific. Millions of women are waiting for a gay woman author to make it mainstream, besides one lady from the UK. There's a thrilling, break through novel under review in Manhattan now. Jeri Estes has defied all stereotypes of LGBT literature through her protagonist, a sexy dyke pimp. Jesse fled the San Fernando Valley at sixteen, drawn to the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The “TL” was a red-light district and the original gay ghetto of the west coast, prior to the Castro. The streets were alive with drug dealers, queers, pimps, hippies and whores. Vietnam soldiers and curious tourists braved its brothels and nightclubs under the watchful eyes of the dirty cops. Colorful queens peppered the sidewalks, dressed to the nines in high heels and high hair. To give you a glimpse of the rich history of the TL, below is a link to rare footage of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riots. http://cbs5.com/local/Compton.s.Cafeteria.2.444228.html Surviving the hard-edged streets, Jesse enters the world of prostitution and discovers the gay subculture within it. Women gangsters lived by their own codes and values. Her trajectory from hooker to sophisticated pimp, catering to dirty politicians, crooked cops and bored housewives takes us on a journey that captures the imagination. Akin to the works of Richard Price and George Pelecanos, Jeri Estes reveals the gritty underbelly of American society. STILETTOS AND STEEL, the first in a three-book, pulp fiction series, is a throw-back to classic noir, complete with the genre’s traditional love story and wry sense of humor, with a fresh, new voice. Agent: FLETCHER AND COMPANY, Swanna MacNair www.myspace.com/jeriestes

Abraham says...

This sounds like a bit of a stretch, but I will certainly watch this idea and give it a chance. If they can put enough comedy into this series it should enhance the delivery a bunch. The home shopping network and drama do not sound like room mates at all. If the book was successful, a TV series would at least have a decent chance of surviving a tough business. Many programs that did well on TV have started with backgrounds that initially seemed very odd. Some were more odd than characters watching the shopping network.