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WORK TITLE: My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://davidclawsonyep.wordpress.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE: CA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://expertfile.com/experts/david.clawson * http://www.thebibliophilegirluk.com/2017/05/my-fairy-godmother-is-a-drag-queen-by-david-clawson/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2017064564
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2017064564
HEADING: Clawson, David
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100 1_ |a Clawson, David
372 __ |a Yong adult fiction |a Television authorship |2 lcsh
373 __ |a Loyola Marymount University |2 naf
374 __ |a Authors |a Television writers |2 lcsh
375 __ |a Men |2 lcsh
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a Clawson, David. My fairy godmother is a drag queen, c2017 : |b t.p. (David Clawson)
670 __ |a Amazon May 15, 2017 |b (David Clawson attended the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, where he received the Jack Oakie Comedy Writing Award, a 20th Century Fox Fellowship, and had his sitcom pilot, BALANCING ACTS, produced. David teaches screenwriting at the LMU School of Film and Television. This is his first novel)
PERSONAL
Born in VA.
EDUCATION:University of Arizona, B.A. (two, in creative writing and in dramatic theory); University of Southern California, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, assistant professor.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling.
MEMBER:Writers Guild of America, Film Independent.
AWARDS:Jack Oakie Comedy Writing Award and 20th Century Fox Fellowship, both University of Southern California.
WRITINGS
Author of film scripts.
SIDELIGHTS
David Clawson is a writer and educator. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Arizona and an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California. He has written scripts for companies in the United States and abroad. Clawson serves as a clinical assistant professor of screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University.
In 2017, Clawson released his first novel, My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen. In an interview with a contributor to the Spines in a Line website, he discussed the plot of the book, stating: “My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen is a gay modern retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Because the original story is short, it’s largely a jumping off point (or basically the first act in screenplay parlance), and then I let the characters lead the way.” In the book a drag queen called Ms. Coco Chanel Jones helps Chris Bellows go to the posh Autumnal Ball. Regarding the beginnings of the story, Clawson remarked: “This started out as a screenplay many years ago (the subject I studied in grad school), because I’d been working on romantic comedies, and I realized that I didn’t know of any gay romantic iconography, so I wanted to take a crack at it. And since Cinderella seems to be the most iconic rom-com structure, it seemed like the place I should start.”
Reviews of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen were mixed. Christina C. Jones, critic in Voice of Youth Advocates, suggested that the book “strives for a light, comical romance, but difficult topics are introduced and then glossed over, making the novel feel unbalanced.” “The story’s pacing and characterizations leave much to be desired. . . . The secondary characters are largely one-dimensional,” commented a contributor to Publishers Weekly. However, a Kirkus Reviews writer called it “a fast-paced, riotous, laugh-out-loud yet insightful story of secret love between two closeted gay teens.” A reviewer on the TeenReads website asserted: “The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments.” “Because Clawson has lots of clever, inventive fun with fairy-tale conventions, so do his readers,” wrote Michael Cart on the Booklist website. Janet Mawdesley, critic on the Blue Wolf Reviews website, called the novel “perfect for this age where marriage equality and sexuality is an open forum discussion, marriage rights are changing across the world and people are beginning to be accepted for who they are, not their sexual preferences. After all what is really ‘normal.’” Rebecca Demarest, contributor to the San Francisco Book Review website, noted: “Clawson does a fantastic job of keeping the story believable and the characters multidimensional.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2017, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.
Publishers Weekly, March 13, 2017, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen, p. 87.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2017, Christina C. Jones, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen, p. 77.
ONLINE
Blue Wolf Reviews, http://bluewolf-reviews.com/ (September 24, 2017), Janet Mawdesley, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.
Booklist Online, https://www.booklistonline.com/ (April 28, 2017), Michael Cart, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.
David Clawson Website, https://davidclawsonyep.wordpress.com/ (November 6, 2017).
Expert File, https://expertfile.com/ (November 6, 2017), author profile.
San Francisco Book Review, https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/ (May 30, 2017), Rebecca Demarest, review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.
Spines in a Line, https://spinesinaline.wordpress.com/ (July 5, 2017), author interview.
TeenReads, https://www.teenreads.com/ (May 30, 2017), review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.*
About
Born in Virginia, raised in Pennsylvania, and later living in Arizona, Washington DC, and California, it’s fair to say I have been around. With BAs in Creative Writing and Dramatic Theory from the University of Arizona and an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California, I’ve written scripts for European and Hollywood companies, both independent and studio. I currently teach Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
David Clawson - Loyola Marymount University. Los Angeles, CA, US
David Clawson
Clinical Assistant Professor of Screenwriting | Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA, US
School of Film and Television (SFTV)
CONTACT
Biography
After studying Creative Writing and Dramatic Theory at the University of Arizona, David attended the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, where he received the Jack Oakie Comedy Writing Award, a 20th Century Fox Fellowship, and had his sitcom pilot, "Balancing Acts", produced. He has optioned to, or been hired to write by, Fox 2000, German companies Akhzente Productions and Capture Films, London based Riverchild Films (in accord with the U.K. Film Council), and sold his feature spec screenplay "Heirhead Apparent" to New Line Cinema.
A member of the Writers Guild of America, as well as Film Independent, David joins Loyola Marymount University as a Visiting Professor after teaching for eight years at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Most recently he has added writing middle grade and YA novels, and is also working on a screenwriting textbook as well as a stage play.
Education (3)
University of Southern California: M.F.A., Screenwriting
University of Arizona: B.A., English/Creative Writing
University of Arizona: B.A., Dramatic Theory
QUOTED: "My Fairy Godmother Is A Drag Queen is a gay modern retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Because the original story is short, it’s largely a jumping off point (or basically the first act in screenplay parlance), and then I let the characters lead the way."
"This started out as a screenplay many years ago (the subject I studied in grad school), because I’d been working on romantic comedies, and I realized that I didn’t know of any gay romantic iconography, so I wanted to take a crack at it. And since Cinderella seems to be the most iconic rom-com structure, it seemed like the place I should start."
Author Interview: David Clawson
JULY 5, 2017 / SPINES IN A LINE
I think this will be a really fun read for those of you who are interested in retellings! I got to interview David Clawson, the author of My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen, and it sounds like he has many more retellings in store, but with a LGBTQ spin. Read on for more about his writing and some insight into his inspiration!
fairy imageMy Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen by David Clawson
Genre: LGBTQ / Humour / Fairy Tale Retelling / Rom-Com
Audience: YA
Chris Bellows is just trying to get through high school and survive being the only stepchild in the social-climbing Fontaine family, whose recently diminished fortune hasn’t dimmed their desire to mingle with Upper East Side society. Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than part of the family. But when Chris’s stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes. Because Chris and J. J. fall in love . . . with each other.
With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin, let himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family all along. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life.
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen is a Cinderella retelling for the modern reader. The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments like how one rogue shoe can launch a secret, whirlwind romance and a chance meeting with a drag queen can spark magic and light in a once dark reality.
Get it here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sam/Spines: Let’s start off with a little game to learn more about you: what are two truths and a lie about yourself?
David Clawson: I hate cilantro, I’m a homebody who loves to travel, Federer over Nadal. (Where do I tell the truth?! I’m not much of liar.)
S: How did you get started in writing?
DC: The first time I remember getting excited about telling a story was in a sixth grade Science class. (Ironic?) I don’t remember the exact assignment, but I remember I set my story in Ancient Egypt, and it was so much more fun than any other Science assignment I’d ever been given.
S: Have you always been interested in writing?
DC: I was always a big reader, but when I was younger I probably enjoyed performing more than writing. (Boy, has that changed!) I jotted here and there, but it wasn’t until I took some writing classes in undergrad that I started realizing it might be the better creative fit for me.
S: Congratulations on getting your first novel published! Was there anything you found surprising about this process?
DC: The two biggest surprises for me were the amount of policing that goes on in fear of offending niche groups (1 – comedy needs to take risks, and 2 – it leads to false representations of the world), and no matter how much I think I waste too much on social media, it’s nowhere near enough. I’m pretty bad at it, I guess.
S: Can you tell us a little about your book?
DC: My Fairy Godmother Is A Drag Queen is a gay modern retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Because the original story is short, it’s largely a jumping off point (or basically the first act in screenplay parlance), and then I let the characters lead the way.
S: How did you come up with the idea for this story?
DC: This started out as a screenplay many years ago (the subject I studied in grad school), because I’d been working on romantic comedies, and I realized that I didn’t know of any gay romantic iconography, so I wanted to take a crack at it. And since Cinderella seems to be the most iconic rom-com structure, it seemed like the place I should start.
S: Were you always planning on writing a retelling?
DC: For this story, absolutely! See above.
S: Any other stories you’d like to do retellings of?
DC: Yes, I have a middle grade manuscript that is a Halloween retelling of A Christmas Carol, called Boo-Humbug. Also, since I’m trying to create a body of gay-positive romances, jump down to what I’m working on next….
S: Do you have a favourite character in your book or one you connect with most?
DC: Chris, the narrator, is a more reserved and proper version of me who tries harder than I do to impress and accommodate people, but I also relate to his insecurities and romantic aspirations. But the character who intrigues me the most is Buck. In a lot of ways, he’s the character who most knows and accepts himself, and I think most of us struggle with that. Also, I love inappropriate humor, so he definitely speaks that language. A lot of people mention an affinity for Coco/Duane, but he was inspired by a former co-worker and a meeting I had with RuPaul back in the 90s, so in some ways she/he feels more like their creation than my own.
S: What are you working on next?
DC: If Cinderella is the #1 archetype for rom-coms, I figure #2 is Pride & Prejudice, so I’m now working on gay, modern retelling of that, working title Fitz Darcy Is A D!ck.
#JABBR peeps, next book club read? 😉
S: And now for some fun questions: What is your Hogwarts house?
DC: A friend recently threw her daughter a Harry Potter themed birthday party, so I’ve actually just taken a test to determine this! I was evenly split between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. In all honesty, there was one answer that I knew would be a point towards Gryffindor, but I didn’t want lie just to be closer to Harry. Better to know the truth. And, after all, the sorting hat struggled between putting Harry in Gryffindor or Slytherin, so….
S: Favourite flavour of ice cream?
DC: Depends on my mood. (Or craving?) Chocolate, butter pecan, lemon custard, mint chocolate chip, pomegranate if we’re talking Pinkberry, orange if we’re talking sherbet, I could go on….
S: Dogs or cats?
DC: I grew up with both, but I have to admit to loving the optimism of dogs.
S: And finally, where can we find you?
DC: My website is davidclawsonyep.com, and I’m @davidclawsonyep on Twitter and Instagram.
About the Author: Raised in Virginia, david-image-e1497899114550.jpgPennsylvania, and Arizona, David met his first drag queen while living in Washington, D.C.; he’s still waiting to meet his Prince Charming. In the meantime, he lives in Los Angeles, complaining about the traffic, loving the diversity, and teaching Screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University. This is his first novel.
Author links: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Book Trailers – Official & Unofficial
QUOTED: "strives for a light, comical romance but difficult topics are introduced and then
glossed over, making the novel feel unbalanced."
10/20/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1508546869884 1/3
Print Marked Items
Clawson, David. My Fairy Godmother is a Drag
Queen
Christina C. Jones
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.2 (June 2017): p77.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
2Q * 3P * S
Clawson, David. My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen. Sky Pony, 2017. 336p. $17.99. 978-1-5107-1411-3.
Seventeen-year-old Chris Bellows puts his stepfamily first. After his dad dies, he finds himself waiting hand and foot
on his wine-obsessed stepmother, Iris; his ultra-perfect stepsister, Kimberly; and his jerky jock stepbrother, Buck.
None of them would be ready for the Autumnal Ball if it was not for him, and he is not even invited. His stepfamily is
on a mission to set up Kimberly with J.J. Kennerly, an eligible but, more importantly, rich young bachelor whose
money could save them from financial ruin. As Chris watches his stepfamily leave, a fabulous drag queen, Coco
Chanel Jones, struts into his life and whisks him off to the ball where Chris meets the infamous J.J. There is an instant
connection between the two young men, but Kimberly interrupts. J.J. pursues Chris, although he can only do so
through the guise of dating Kimberly. Chris and J.J.'s relationship progresses in secret while the paparazzi fawn over
J.J. and Kimberly. When J.J. hesitates about coming out and refuses to go public with his love for Chris, Chris realizes
he might not get a happily ever after.
This modern "Cinderfella" retelling strives for a light, comical romance but difficult topics are introduced and then
glossed over, making the novel feel unbalanced. The majority of the characters lack depth and personality. Chris,
however, shows growth and development, and learns to accept himself in a positive way, particularly his sexuality.
Recommend this to readers who enjoy breezy fluff.--Christina C. Jones.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Jones, Christina C. "Clawson, David. My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen." Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2017, p.
77. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA497860377&it=r&asid=3a4fd3be8ad3006fea8861bad84bd3a3.
Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A497860377
QUOTED: "a fast-paced, riotous, laugh-out-loud yet insightful story of secret love between two closeted gay teens."
10/20/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Clawson, David: MY FAIRY GODMOTHER IS
A DRAG QUEEN
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Clawson, David MY FAIRY GODMOTHER IS A DRAG QUEEN Sky Pony Press (Children's Fiction) $17.99 5, 16
ISBN: 978-1-5107-1411-3
When Prince Charming meets his beau.... Seventeen-year-old Chris Bellows is pretty much a modern-day, white, male
Cinderella. He's at the beck and call of his WASP-y, boozy, socialite stepmom, Iris, his bitchy, attention-hungry
stepsister, Kimberly, and his jock douchebag stepbrother, Buck, who has an endless supply of gross one-liners on tap.
The novel opens with Chris helping his family get ready for New York City's most elite social event, The Autumnal
Ball at The Plaza. Once the steps are on their way, Chris runs into a fabulous, shade-throwing, foulmouthed AfricanAmerican
drag queen named Coco Chanel Jones, who, in true fairy-godmother form, decks him out in some oversized
Ferragamos plus a fancy suit. Before he knows it, he's inside the party making googly eyes at the prince of New York
City society, dreamy, white J.J. Kennerly. Readers can imagine what happens next. Clawson clearly loves all of his
characters, as they are eloquently drawn, with just as many reasons for readers to love them as faults. He also knows
how to spin double-edged zingers that are simultaneously gross yet witty: "You're later than my first period." What
ensues is a fast-paced, riotous, laugh-out-loud yet insightful story of secret love between two closeted gay teens, with
Kimberly unknowingly serving as J.J.'s beard. A fresh, funny, new twist on a classic fairy tale. (Fiction. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Clawson, David: MY FAIRY GODMOTHER IS A DRAG QUEEN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2017. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA487668568&it=r&asid=4f3a1434c76f09e3b2d542e738e23eaa.
Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487668568
QUOTED: "The story's pacing and characterizations leave much to be desired. ... The secondary characters are largely one-dimensional."
10/20/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen
Publishers Weekly.
264.11 (Mar. 13, 2017): p87.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen
David Clawson. Sky Pony, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-5107-1411-3
In a contemporary gay riff on Cinderella, 17-year-old Manhattanite Chris Bellows attends a high-society ball with the
help of a drag queen, Ms. Coco Chanel Jones. Soon after, Chris begins a secret romance with a young political
hopeful, J.J. Kennedy, even though J.J. is dating Chris's stepsister Kimberly. First-time novelist Clawson touches on
topics of class, sexuality, and politics, but the story's pacing and characterizations leave much to be desired. Chris and
J.J.'s romance is kept so hidden that their chemistry is nearly nonexistent, and while Chris's complicated relationship
with his stepfamily could be discussion worthy, the secondary characters are largely one-dimensional. Chris's
relationship with Coco is more interesting, but the language surrounding their interactions reads as stereotypical and
off-putting (Chris's first impression of Coco when she's not in drag is of a "slightly thuggish-looking black guy in
oversized hip-hop clothes ... dressed in a way that would have made me wonder if I was being racist or just reasonably
cautious if I tried to avoid crossing his path too closely"), even if it's intended to reflect Chris's naivete. Ages 14--up.
Agent: Claire Abramowitz, Cartel Entertainment. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen." Publishers Weekly, 13 Mar. 2017, p. 87. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485971739&it=r&asid=bf7edabc0cba58a5c8c36f0d9892a68d.
Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485971739
QUOTED: "The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments."
About the Book
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen
by David Clawson
Buy this book at IndieBound
Buy this book at Amazon
Buy this for Amazon Kindle
Buy this book at Barnes and Noble
Chris Bellows is just trying to get through high school and survive being the only stepchild in the social-climbing Fontaine family, whose recently diminished fortune hasn’t dimmed their desire to mingle with Upper East Side society. Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than part of the family. But when Chris’s stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes. Because Chris and J. J. fall in love...with each other.
With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin, let himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family all along. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life.
MY FAIRY GODMOTHER IS A DRAG QUEEN is a Cinderella retelling for the modern reader. The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments like how one rogue shoe can launch a secret, whirlwind romance and a chance meeting with a drag queen can spark magic and light in a once dark reality.
Buy this book at IndieBound Buy this book at Amazon Buy this for Amazon Kindle Buy this book at Barnes and Noble
QUOTED: "Because Clawson has lots of clever, inventive fun with fairy-tale conventions, so do his readers."
Booklist Review
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My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen.
Clawson, David (author).
May 2017. 336p. Skyhorse/Sky Pony, hardcover, $17.99 (9781510714113). Grades 9-12.
REVIEW.
First published April 28, 2017 (Booklist Online).
It’s a classic Cinderella story but with a boy. No, really: his parents dead, 17-year-old Chris lives in Manhattan with his stepfamily, for whom he is a combination maid and captive (though generally a willing one). And, yes, he goes to a fancy dress ball thanks to a fairy godmother, a drag queen named Coco Chanel Jones, who, when not in costume, is a teen named Duane, who becomes Chris’ good friend. There is, of course, also a handsome prince, J.J. Kennerly, the most eligible bachelor alive, and, yes, the boys’ eyes meet and, yes, Chris flees, leaving a shoe behind. Will the prince—er, J.J.—subsequently find Chris, and, if so, how do you keep a relationship with one of the most famous people in America a secret? Because Clawson has lots of clever, inventive fun with fairy-tale conventions, so do his readers. Chris, who tells the story in his own agreeable first-person voice, is a thoroughly likable character, as is J.J. Now as for that fairy godmother . . .— Michael Cart
QUOTED: "Perfect for this age where marriage equality and sexuality is an open forum discussion, marriage rights are changing across the world and people are beginning to be accepted for who they are, not their sexual preferences. After all what is really ‘normal.’"
Posted in:
FICTIONHUMOURYOUNG ADULT
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen
REVIEW BY JANET MAWDESLEY SEPTEMBER 24, 2017, 9:00 AM
Sometimes these outrageous stories hit the marketplace at exactly the right time: in Australia the issue of sexuality and lifestyle is currently a red hot issue. Through the eyes of Chris Bellows, a young teen who, like a lot of young people is struggling with his sexuality, we enter the world of alternates and choices.
Chris is a member of a seriously dysfunctional family. After the death of Chris’s much loved mother, his father marries socialite Iris, who happens to like the contents of a wine bottle, a whole lot better than she likes the world about her.
Sadly, his father dies, leaving Chris in a world that suddenly seems to have gone complete bizarre; a world where he is treated like the unpaid help, the Cinderella of the household, at the beck and call of not just his stepmother, but also is step-siblings. The family are facing severe financial constraints: the solution: to marry the gorgeous Kimberly off to the highest bidder. The campaign is to be launched at the Autumnal Ball where ‘the most eligible Batchelor in America’, in the person of J.J. Kennerly, will be with his family.
Plans are laid, money is spent and when the family depart, leaving Chris sitting on the steps of his home in something like despair, he looks up to see none other than Diana Ross, obviously not THE Diana Ross looking at him, and that is when things begin to get seriously interesting.
Coco Chanel Jones is Drag Queen, performing at the Autumnal Ball, when she realises she has left her purse at home, the cab driver dumps her unceremoniously in the street. She enlists Chris’s help to get to the event in time and in doing so, unlocks the door to a world he vaguely understood existed: a world where to be different was the norm and to accept your sexuality was a tough challenge, but one that was well understood.
Of course, Kimberly meets up with the wonderful JJ Kennerly and things appear to be moving on a little when Chris, who has been smuggled into the ball and JJ Kennerly meet up unexpectedly, eyeing each other with that certain look, leaving both to wonder just what has happened so unexpectedly. He and Chris fall in love. Although Chris and JJ do attempt to keep the relationship a little on the clandestine side, or at least they think they have, both families discover what is going on and are horrified, if not scandalized! Or are they really!
David Clawson has, in a most entertaining and enjoyably outrageous manner, created what could easily be considered as the ‘gaye’ version of Cinderella, circa 2017, which while it deals with the many aspects of sexuality, also deals sensitively with the emotions, heartache and despair felt by many when they realise that the ‘normal’ societal lifestyle is not for them.
Perfect for this age where marriage equality and sexuality is an open forum discussion, marriage rights are changing across the world and people are beginning to be accepted for who they are, not their sexual preferences. After all what is really ‘normal.’
Author David Clawson
Publisher Sky Pony Press
ISBN 9781510714113
Website https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au
Distributor New South Books
Released August 2017
QUOTED: "Clawson does a fantastic job of keeping the story believable and the characters multidimensional."
My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen
We rated this book:
$17.99
My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen by David Clawson is a wonderfully fun twist on the traditional Cinderella fairy tale. Christopher is a young man just coming into his own his senior year in high school, living with his step-mother, -sister, and -brother in their run-down high-society home. When he sneaks into the yearly autumnal ball, he runs into New York’s most eligible young man, and they fall head over heels, with just one problem: neither of them is out of the closet yet.
Clawson does a fantastic job of keeping the story believable and the characters multidimensional, including Duane/Coco the drag queen and fashion designer who quickly becomes Chris’s best friend. What I find most admirable about this story is that it takes an incredibly hard situation of two young men struggling with their sexual identities and embeds it flawlessly in the ageless tale of love and shoes. It is told in an extremely accessible way and maintains a perfect level of intimacy for its readership. And for all that it is written for a younger audience, adults will find its innocence and honesty refreshing and enjoyable. Definitely a page-turner that will have you asking for more.
Reviewed By: Rebecca Demarest
Author: David Clawson
Star Count: 5/5
Format: Hard
Page Count: 336 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publish Date: 2017-May-30
ISBN: 9781510714113
Amazon: Buy this Book
Issue: October 2017
Category: Young Adult
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