Synopses & Reviews
Do men and monogamy mix? It's not a question Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford gave much thought to until his beaufriend of almost two years, Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers, an All-American jeans model, heads to Hollywood to make his first feature film. As Mitchell soon discovers, the temptation to cheat is very real . . . and it seems to be everywhere. An ex even pops up hoping to pick up where they left -- and got -- off. While intrigued, Mitchell chalks all the attention up to "the married man" syndrome: one is much more desirable when he's attached to someone else.
But as he continues to run into bisexual musician Montgomery "Montee" Simms, the look-but-don't-touch rule is put to the test. As he and Montee get closer, Mitchell's idealistic beliefs about commitment are challenged. Will he love the one he's with because he can't be with the one he loves?
Review
“An engaging showdown between love and lust.” Vibe
Review
1“Hardy [is] a masterful and gifted storyteller.” Black Issues Book Review
Review
“Hardy adds subtle shading to the portrait, revealing how a group of friends functions as a family.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Enjoyable . . . generously studded with slangy vernacular and a host of barbed, campy one-liners.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Flirtatious and sexy, this hilarious and fast-paced read is an absolute winner.” Venus magazine
Review
“An out-and-out romantic novel sure to please Hardys steady readership.” Booklist on Love the One You're With
Synopsis
Do men and monogamy mix? It's not a question Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford gave much thought to until his beaufriend of almost two years, Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers, an All-American jeans model, heads to Hollywood to make his first feature film. As Mitchell soon discovers, the temptation to cheat is very real . . . and it seems to be everywhere. An ex even pops up hoping to pick up where they left -- and got -- off. While intrigued, Mitchell chalks all the attention up to "the married man" syndrome: one is much more desirable when he's attached to someone else.
But as he continues to run into bisexual musician Montgomery "Montee" Simms, the look-but-don't-touch rule is put to the test. As he and Montee get closer, Mitchell's idealistic beliefs about commitment are challenged. Will he love the one he's with because he can't be with the one he loves?
About the Author
Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York, James Earl Hardy has worn many hats as a journalist in his 20-year career -- intern at
New York Newsday and New York
Daily News, researcher at
Newsweek, writing fellow at
Village Voice, feature writer at
Essence and
The Washington Post, music critic at
Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, and
The Atlanta Tribune, book critic at
POZ, OUT, and
The Advocate, essayist at
The Source and
The Blackstripe, staff editor at New Youth Connections-NYC and UPDATE, and honors graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism/1993. Hardy has won many prizes for his work: a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Writing Citation; two Educational Press Association Writing Awards; grants from the E.Y. Harbug Arts Foundation and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors; scholarships from the Paul Rapoport Memorial Foundation and both the National and New York chapters of the Association of Black Journalists.
After complaining for years about not seeing images of Black Same Gender Loving men on bookshelves that reminded him of those he knew, he took what he believed would be a brief detour into the world of fiction and penned B-Boy Blues (1994), in which Mitchell Crawford, a journalist, and Raheim Rivers, a homeboy from Harlem who is a bike messenger, fall in love. Praised as the first Africentric, gay, hip-hop love story, the novel became an immediate bestseller -- and placed Hardy on another writing path as a novelist. Three other titles in the B-Boy Bluesseries have followed: 2nd Time Around (1996), If Only For One Nite (1997), and The Day Eazy-E Died (2001). While documenting and celebrating contemporary Black SGL life, the series has highlighted and prompted overdue discussions about racism in the white gay community and homophobia in the heterosexual Black community. Because of its cultural impact, B-Boy Blues has become required reading in many multicultural and queer college studies programs across the country.
This June, the fifth title, Love The One You're With, will be published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Hardy currently resides in Gramercy Park in Manhattan, where he is helping to raise his eight-year-old godson.