VINNIE: a Love Letter...
This story reconfigures what manhood truly entails through the creative and critical mind of 14-year-old, Vinnie Smith. Through poetic, lyrical and unapologetic prose, Vinnie and his inner thoughts crush the stereotype that femininity and masculinity cannot co-exist, while translating his desire to both love and be loved. A black boy dealing with the loss of his mother and his emotionally distant father, Vinnie attempts to cope with this void by continuously critiquing the constructs of masculinity and embracing divine femininity as a strength rather than a weakness. Vinnie shows us that beautiful revelations can come from loss and teaches us that it is never too late to come of age.
The award-winning Second Edition of Vinnie: a love letter is here! The Second Edition includes: a new cover design, a foreword, updated acknowledgements plus the 2020 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards seal on the front cover.
“Vinnie, like R. Preston Clark’s voice in the literary world, is not only refreshing but necessary. There is a raw truth and emotion in this work that is often missing from stories that center the young Black male experience. Vinnie sticks to your bones and breaks your heart.”
“A remarkable book! Vinnie is unlike any other novel I have read. It is so much more affecting because it is an immensely deep reflection of a black teenage boy on his emotional journey. It is a courageous invitation to examine readers’ perceptions and understanding of what defines masculinity and femininity and what love has to do with it.”
“A memorable first novel, full of complex vulnerability and lyrical prose. Clark manages to shed a poetic light on the tension between masculinity and femininity through the eyes of 14-year old Vinnie.”