Champ Clark

My life was going nowhere. So, I decided to buy an accordion. I already had a banjo. My watch told me that it was four o'clock, still time for another margarita, on the rocks...with salt. Then I'd head over to the pawn shop across the street for a looksee. An accordion is a beautiful thing. And I figured if I could find a woman who liked the accordion as much as I did, we could automatically skip to the important stuff. I'd come to the Tip-Top-Tap earlier than usual, hoping to avoid the young skinny pants dudes and see-through-you girls who started to arrive at the Tap around five-thirty. Fifi was behind the bar. Fifi had once been a man, but she had transitioned a few years back, just around the time she helped me out of a very bad situation. Ever since then we'd been pals. Tall-especially in heels-curvy and red-haired, I'd even asked her out once or twice. She was a very pretty woman. But Fifi said she had a policy of not getting involved with the clientele. So, we stayed just pals. Besides, I was too old for her.

Praise for Champ Clark's Venetian Blonde... "A modern-day noir written in the terse style of Raymond Chandler and just as satisfying." "Hammett, Algren, and Spillane, all mixed together and brought to you with grit and humor into the 21st century." "If you picked up Holden Caulfield at the end of the Catcher in the Rye and spirited 30 years beyond, the individual you're looking at might very well be Venetian Blonde's Drake Haynes" "Venetian Blonde by Champ Clark is a must read The writing is brilliant. The characters take you on a journey that you don't want to end " "Equal parts gumshoe detective novel & Confederacy of Dunces." "It's been a long while since I've had this much fun with a book." "Taking an adventurous journey through the poetic, damaged, frequently hilarious lens of bitter, can't let it go, investigative journalist Drake Haynes, is about as entertaining as it gets." "What a fun, twisted, refreshingly captivating and truthful ride " "Mr. Clark's writing is first rate." "Clark's prose is so punchy and vivid, his characters so alive that Venetian Blonde knocks stars into your head." "Flows beautifully and so much fun "

"She stopped me in my tracks. Made me think twice about sitting at the bar and ordering that drink. Alcohol can make me stupid and sloppy. And, when drinking, I had a habit of falling in love. I didn't want to fall in love with Frankie. I guessed she could break my heart."

Stepin Fetchit, born Lincoln Perry in 1902, was indeed the first African-American movie star. How, then, did he come to represent all that is bad about race in America? This book reveals the facts of Fetchit/Perry's controversial life and career. It draws from the author's conversations with the actor's own family, friends, and co-stars.