BOOK WORLD MEETS WINE WORLD

Red Clay Suzie is a fictionalized memoir told through Jeffrey’s unique perspective as an outsider—a gay man living with a disability in a conservative family and community in the Deep South. Through the character of Philbet, Jeffrey hopes to provide a “roadmap of sorts” for fellow outsiders. He wants them to understand that bullies are “paper predators” who only have power if it’s given to them, and that their bodies, imperfections and all, are beautiful and precious. He encourages those on the fringes not to hide or withdraw, assuring them there’s always a caring, trustworthy person in their “concentric circles of humanity.” Above all, he emphasizes that the quality of one’s mind and heart is what truly matter, and that “love, real love, is never wrong.” This is the message he wished his younger self had known, and it’s why he wrote Red Clay Suzie. He will also be donating a portion of the proceeds from the book’s sale to support the vital work of the Born This Way Foundation and The Trevor Project.

Jeffrey, a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, is truly in his element surrounded by books and those who cherish them. His work on Red Clay Suzie has been widely recognized, earning him titles like Georgia Author of the Year for first novel and a Pat Conroy Literary Center Spring 2024 Writer-in-Residence. The book was also longlisted for The Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize, twice named an Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association, and received the Seven Hills Literary Prize for Fiction.