Works by
Clarence Nero
(Writer)

Cheekie: Child out of the Desire (1998)
The Desire Project in New Orleans, once the pride of public housing, was home for Cheekie, as it had been for his parents and grandparents. But now, in the 1970s, the Desire has degenerated into a world of violence, drugs, and poverty. Still the project is full of life as well, and of people whose vibrant energy, love of fun and ties of family help them to transcend their oppressive surroundings. There was his teenaged mom and her best friend, Li’l Soul, the mysterious Ms. Saphena who lived in the apartment downstairs, his strong and sometimes volatile Grandmother Pam, and many others.

Cheekie is a young man’s powerful day-by-day account in the honest voice of a boy growing up in the Desire. Told with the wonder and freshness of a boy’s perspective, Cheekie brings it all to life--the abuse and the love, the neglect and the nurturing, the violence and the inspiration through which a child came to manhood.

Cheekie is a tale of hope, for it is the story of one young man’s escape from the violent world of the Desire and his journey toward success.

Three Sides to Every Story (2006) -- Finalist 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Awards
Growing up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Johnny and Tonya meet in high school and fall for each other. Yet their romance falls apart when Johnny seriously injures Tonya’s ex-boyfriend in an altercation. Johnny is imprisoned, and Tonya starts dating a rapper who fulfills her dreams of dancing in videos.

Depressed and deflated in jail, Johnny comes back to life thanks to the help of Pandora, the prison’s “den mother,” and James, who helps Johnny study for his GED. What starts as a platonic friendship between the sexually repressed Johnny and the openly gay James soon develops into a tender love that’s put on hold when James is released on parole. A year later, Johnny is freed as well, haunted by his feelings.

Meanwhile, Tonya, no longer with the rapper, has a new dream of reuniting with Johnny. And James, who wows crowds as a legendary drag queen performer, is furious that Johnny hasn’t reached out to him.

Their lives soon become a twisting roller coaster—secrets are revealed and assumptions are shattered in ways never imagined. Inviting comparison to E. Lynn Harris, Clarence Nero has created a compelling story about the social and sexual challenges black people face today.