Three Sides To Every Story is B-NOW’s new book of the month.

Visit Clarence at www.clarencenero.com

Just in case you missed the interview

Clarence Nero talks about his new release, Three Sides To Every Story

Interview by CJ Domino

Q&A

Tell us about your upcoming book; Three Sides To Every Story.

I’ve been writing about New Orleans’ Ninth Ward community for many years trying to bring awareness to some of the issues the poor people face in the Ninth Ward area of the city. My first novel, “Cheekie: A Child out of the Desire” came out in April 1998. It was about a boy coming of age in the Desire Housing Project during the 1970’s. It’s really about his mother trying to raise sons in the hood with all the odds stacked against her. So, this story is very personal for me. I’m a third generation Ninth Ward resident. My entire family came from this community.

Now, my new novel, “Three Sides To Every Story” that releases in October of this year is also set in the Ninth Ward community, pre-Hurricane Katrina times. I actually started writing this novel three years before Katrina and it takes up with a very taboo subject matter in the black community: homosexuality and the drama surrounding the down-low. While I was in the midst of writing “Three Sides” everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Essence Magazine was talking about the down-low and reporting statistics about the rise in HIV rates among African American women. With my novel, I was concerned less with creating a frenzy among black women, but telling a story that goes deeper into the reasons that men, and some women for that matter, feel a need to hide their sexuality. Because I believe at the root of the down-low is homophobia in our society. Until we start loving people unconditionally and allowing them to be themselves without judgment and condemnation, we will continue to have men and women on the down-low. So, I just wanted to put that information out there upfront, so my intentions are clear.

“Three Sides To Every Story” is a love triangle involving Johnny, Tonya, and James. Johnny, whose this bad boy type, comes from a strict religious home. In fact, his father is a minister of a mega church in New Orleans. Although Johnny was brought up in the church with both a caring father and mother, he’s drawn to the streets. At one point, he’s even dealing drugs with his gangster, cousin, Kojack. No doubt, Johnny is a troubled young man hiding a very deep secret from his family and girlfriend, Tonya--his high school sweetheart. Although Johnny genuinely adores Tonya, he can’t shake these feelings inside of him for other dudes. One night, in a bizarre incident, Johnny beats the crap out of one of Tonya’s ex-boyfriends and ends up in prison for a couple of years. While in prison, he meets the openly gay and flamboyant James. They strike up an immediate friendship--James helps tutor Johnny for his GED. But after a short while, the sexually repressed Johnny gets involved with James on an intimate level. The two men fall in love behind bars, but their romance is cut short when James is released on early parole. A year later, Johnny comes home where both James and Tonya are waiting for him.

The story is narrated from Johnny‘s, Tonya‘s, and James’s point-of-views, as each one of them have different yet unique stories about what really happened once Johnny came home from prison. But what’s even more interesting, although these three characters are caught in this love triangle, they still have individual stories that bring up other issues that young people are dealing with today. For example, while Johnny is in prison, Tonya ends up stripping in a night club. She’s a young woman who has had a lot of tragedy in her family, seeing her older brother get “shot down on the streets like an animal.” On top of that, she has a tumultuous relationship with her mother, as well. Like most youngsters today, she’s drawn to the fast life of money and glamour. Tonya meets this rapper and begins a career of dancing in music videos. With this particular storyline, I’m trying to bring awareness to the state of our young girls and the length some of them will go in order to be with a celebrity. Although I’m a fan of Hip-Hop, some of the images in music videos is leading our young women and men in the wrong direction. Tonya ends up in a very bad predicament. I think a lot of women are going to be surprised how I spin the down-low twist in my novel. In fact, some women who have read advance copies of the novel were completely blown away...Continue