I live in New York and contributed the prose piece 'Slip of a Knife' to Guts Publishing’s Stories about Penises anthology. I’m the author of eight books—six of prose and two of poetry. My latest book is Safe Colors: A Novel in Short Fictions, which came out in late 2023 from New Meridian Arts.
Safe Colors is an autobiographical novel that tells the story of a biracial boy who grows up in Northern Appalachia and moves as a young adult to New York City. One of the driving forces in his life is the desire to fit in as a person of color in a primarily white society. Further complicating matters is a childhood spent in a difficult family situation. The boy’s Polish American father is a frustrated artist who drinks too much, while his Chinese immigrant mother works outside the home, away from the father and children.
After his escape to a new life in the city, the narrator finds that things don’t get much easier. His outsider status follows him as he works routine jobs and tries to form connections with people. Still, he tells of his experiences with a direct, often humorous, voice, as he eventually finds a way to live with a family of his own.
Over the years, the narrator’s childhood family shrinks and splits, but the surviving members eventually come back together to rally around their ailing mother.
You can find the book on Amazon or on the publisher's website, New Meridan Arts: www.newmeridianarts.com
Twitter: @ThadRutkowski