Belletristic Press Releases Its First Publication
September 16, 2007 by Daniel
Belletristic Press presents Brooklyn-born author/activist G. Andi Rhos’s debut Street Lit novel, And It Goes Like This. The critically acclaimed novel launches the Belletristic Press imprint.
Set in 1980s Brooklyn, And It Goes Like This… depicts the coming of age of fifteen-year-old Charlotte-Louise Andrews in the midst of a turbulent Blatino family saga. The novel takes readers on a hypnotic three-year journey of the socially awkward teen’s life. Through gripping prose, astute dialogue and unforgettable characters, Rhos paints indelible pictures of longing, deception, betrayal, and Blatino culture.
While maintaining the harsh realities of the inner city, a keynote in Urban Fiction, And It Goes Like This… elevates literary merit to heights previously unseen in this hot street genre, and challenges readers to examine their own sensibilities. The book world is taking note of this mesmerizing novel that’s breathing new life into the Hip Hop Fiction/Street Lit market, and is changing perception of this often disregarded genre.
In a statement issued to Belletristic Press, Ms. Rhos says she is “humbled by the accolades from the publishing industry.” She hopes the literary world will now see the value Urban Fiction offers to impoverished Black and Latino communities throughout the nation. “[Urban Fiction] is an opportunity to tell our stories, and lend a voice to the plight of inner cities, which historically have suffered in silence.”
I was given the pleasure of being introduced to G. Andi Rhos through a mutual acquaintance; our Editor at Belletristic Press and I was captivated by her round the way character. She is the most down to earth woman I have met in the literary world. Maybe this how she was able to capture the realness in each of her characters. Charlotte-Louise’s transformation from having no self esteem to becoming a young diva was remarkable and her new found friend…well let’s just say she is a mess… nothing but the grind and gettin’ hers on the mind.
Even though I was only able to read the five chapters she has posted on her website (Get the link from Belletristicpress.com) I took that journey with Charlotte-Louise and honey it was like living in her shoes. I even sent a shout out to G.Andi trying to get the skimmy on what happens next, but to no avail I was left hanging. There is no way that I am going to go without getting her book. If it is anything like the first 5 chapters this should be a best seller!
Kudos G. Andi! You know your stuff and she aint afraid to put the world of glitz and glamour on blast. The first 5 chapters were so hot I though the damn web page was going to go up in flames after I finished the excerpts….lol…this book is gonna make its mark in the world of Urban Fiction Literacy as well as in anyone who reads it.
So what are you waiting for…get urz cause I’m definitely going to get mines…check out Belletristicpress.com for information on pre-ordering!
Compliments from one author to another. Check out my personal website: http://www.freewebs.com/felishabradshaw
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Using 1980s inner city Brooklyn as its backdrop, And It Goes Like This is a deeply affecting bildungsroman of Charlotte-Louise Andrews. She swallows meconium in utero and nearly suffocates at birth. Born illegitimate, never knowing her father, haphazardly raised by an alcoholic welfare mother, suffering sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s twin brother, low self-esteem and distorted body image all serve to intensify the fifteen-year-old’s rocky start in life. Long-suffering Charlotte-Louise is determined to make herself over. This makeover sets the stage for the three astonishing years that follow.
She forges an unlikely friendship with a foul mouthed, promiscuous and boisterous teen named Candace Velásquez. Candace introduces Charlotte-Louise to half-Venezuelan, half-Trinidadian pretty boy Joaquin Lomax, a sly genius drug dealer five years Charlotte-Louise’s senior. Although seeking a sense of self and a life of purpose, through these associations Charlotte-Louise enters a world where morality is punished and wanton acts are rewarded.
Novelist G. Andi Rhos challenges the reader’s sensibilities with richly detailed harrowing and laugh-out-loud accounts of Charlotte-Louise’s life. Rhos writes with uncompromising lyrical authority while capturing the uniqueness and commonality of black American and Latino cultures. Jump-off-the-page characters assault the reader with a full gamut of emotions from desperation to exuberance; and deeds from altruism to revenge. Underlying all the chaos and melodrama that catapults Charlotte-Louise’s maturity is the story of people, each with their personal tragedies and triumphs, who come together to form a steadfast unconventional family.
And It Goes Like This is a haunting tale that is at once heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart stopping—arguably the most important urban novel of our generation.