Scott Poulson-Bryant brings the heat in this rip-roaring tale of secrets, sex, and betrayal.
On a steamy June day in New York City, mega-star rapper TNT gathers a group of four successful men together, childhood friends who called themselves "the VIPs," signaling the big dreams they all once had. Leo Bradford is a gay publishing magnate who is learning to love again after a devastating tragedy. Barry Chambers is a playboy attorney with a working-class background who is starting to realize that the chip he's carried on his shoulders all these years doesn't go too well with the bespoke suits that have become his trademark. Joey Ramirez is a high-flying fashion designer who has managed to triumph over a life of abuse and neglect to become one of the most successful clothiers in the world. And Duke Maynard is a recently-retired NFL star facing the challenges of successfully transferring his competitive energies from his gridiron past to his entertainment world future. These four men have a history and bond that could be torn apart by a night of passion one of them had long ago.
The VIPs, who haven't seen one another in years, are greeted at the Hotel Gansevoort by an openly hostile TNT, who asks them the bombshell question: "Which one of you bastards is my father?"
Shocking, hilarious, suspenseful, and, ultimately, incredible moving, The VIPs will have readers furiously turning the pages to find out who the real father is.
My name is Scott Poulson-Bryant, I was born and raised in Long Island, New York, and I've wroked as a journalist and author for several years. Educated at Brown University (and presently a PhD student at Harvard), I was a co-founding editor of VIBE Magazine, and my writing has appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone, the New York Times, SPIN Magazine, Essence, Ebony, and the London Guardian. My journalism specialty was the celebrity profile, and I've interviewed and covered such artists and performers as Prince, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, R, Kelly, Eddie Murphy, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Rodman, and Will Smith.
I'm the author of HUNG: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America and the forthcoming novel The VIPs.
I enjoy big page-turning novels, cable TV dramas (nothing's better than "Mad Men, "Sons of Anarchy" and "Breaking Bad," may "The Shield" and "The Wire" RIP), old movies, all kinds of music, and sneakers (particularly Adidas).
