  Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome… Come inside The Glamour Patch club to see the star of our show, Miss Vivica Blue. Do you want to read my diary you nosy little devils? Have a glass of champagne (you’ll need it) and get comfortable because you’re in for some crazy shenanigans brought to you straight from the horse’s mouth. I can be whatever you want me to be: boy, girl, a little bit of both. If you have a problem with a man in a dress then best be off with you. If males in make-up give you the willies, then I’ll say au revoir and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. So, who are we left with? Ah, a fine collection of curious souls. I want to tell you a tale of love, because those are the most glorious kind. I want to tell you about real love, a love that transcends labels and gender stereotypes. The moment I first laid eyes on my Freda I knew that we were kindred. Well okay, I also knew I wanted to get into her pants, but that’s beside the point. My world was a grey place. I was at my lowest ebb. Then she came along and patches of colour began to spring forth. One day the daffodils were yellow and before I knew it, colour was everywhere, lighting up my life. Love is not about how we appear on the outside, it’s about the soul contained within. Our story was not a conventional one, but it was ours, and that’s what made it shine. Killer Queen is a companion novel to L.H. Cosway’s contemporary romance, Painted Faces. It contains scenes that take place before, during and after the original story. It can also be read as a standalone.   Nicholas Turner remembers watching his mother put on her makeup and he thought she was the most beautiful creature that had ever existed. He learned early that life is sometimes cruel when it took his mother leaving him only with a father that was never there and a predator that wouldn’t go away. He creates the character of Vivica Blue to celebrate his love of all things feminine and powerful. No one seems to understand how a handsome heterosexual man can enjoy giving the local drag queens a run for their money – no one except a girl named Fred. Nicholas’ life has been marked with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. His feelings for Fred are deeper than anything he has ever experienced and he may make some big mistakes along the way but he can’t imagine a life without her in it. “Little did I know back then that my curiosity, paired with my devout love of my mother, would lead me down a strange, seldom chosen path.” Freda Wilson isn’t your typical girl. She’s shy, intelligent and just a little guarded so she doesn’t know what to make of her new next-door neighbour. He’s a headliner at The Glamour Patch but flirts with her shamelessly. She kind of likes it – but she’ll never let him know that because she’s put her heart on the line one too many times only to have it shattered. But Viv is nothing if not persistent and just when her walls start crumbling, his come back with a vengeance. “The fact that you think you're not good enough just shows how good you are, Nicholas. Do you know that you're the first man who's ever looked at me and actually seen me? When you're fat your whole life, you get fairly used to people looking through you, dismissing you simply because you don't fit with their aesthetic ideals. So I either get men looking through me or men looking at me because they think I'll have low self-esteem and will be easy to manipulate. You didn't do any of that. You made me feel like a woman, a woman worth getting to know.” Killer Queen is another rare gem in the already dazzling crown of L.H. Cosway! It’s much more than just a retelling of Painted Faces – it’s a celebration of all the things that make us different and yet the same. Both poignant and funny, there’s no better way to sum it up than with words from Nicholas himself: “Sing it with me! Nipples, nipples, nipples. Now, don’t you feel glorious?”  Exclusive Excerpt -“What has you so excited tonight?” Phil asked me, one hand on his hip, the other holding Pickles under his arm. The tiny dog struggled to break free, and Phil finally let him down. Killer Queen Playlist -About The Author - L.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books. Visit With L.H. Cosway - |
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