Jeffrey Dale Lofton Event
A conversation and signing of Red Clay Suzie with author Jeffrey Dale Lofton
Thursday, June 15th at 6:30-8:00pm at Little District Books
Order Red Clay Suzie HERE
Book your free ticket HERE
About the Book
Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay, physically-misshapen boy in rural Georgia.
He’s happiest when helping Grandaddy dig potatoes from the vegetable garden that connects their houses. But Philbet’s world is shattered and his resilience shaken by events that crush his innocence and sense of security; expose his physical deformity skillfully hidden behind shirts Mama makes for him on her Singer; and convinces him that he’s not fit to be loved by Knox, the older boy he idolizes to distraction.
Over time, Philbet finds refuge in unexpected places and inner strength in unexpected ways, leading to a resolution from beyond the grave.
About the Author
Jeffrey Dale Lofton hails from Warm Springs, Georgia, but calls the nation’s capital home now. He came to Washington for an acting job and stayed, spending many a night trodding the boards of DC’s theaters and performing arts centers. He even scored a few television screen appearances, including a residuals-rich Super Bowl halftime commercial, which his accountant quipped “is the finest work of your career.”
Ultimately he stepped away from acting, keen to use his stage-and-screen-performer’s deep understanding of the art of storytelling in a different way. Soon, he was providing communications counsel to some of the nation’s leading landscape architects, as together they described the wonders of a garden well-planned. Next, he worked closely with military veterans, helping them tell their stories of war-torn life in service to their country. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books—in short, paradise.
About the Conversation Partner
Zak Salih earned his BA in English and Journalism from James Madison University, and his MA in English from the University of Virginia. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Foglifter, Epiphany, Crazyhorse, The Florida Review, The Chattahoochee Review, The Millions, Apogee Journal, Kenyon Review Online, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. Let's Get Back to the Party is his debut novel. He lives in Washington, D.C.