Primary Genre: Tragicomedy
Word Count: 88,000
Description and Details:
Music aficionado Penny Herrick escapes her alcoholic and abusive father. She’s both unwed and pregnant, it’s 1970, and she lands in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Penny’s naivete shatters when she meets face-to-face with the city’s urban decay and ne’er do well strangers. But a chance encounter with musician Randy Wilton improves her life profoundly. A deep friendship develops upon discovering he’s gay, and they form a chosen family that’s ahead of their time.
Penny’s confidence and assertiveness grow under his tutelage. She encourages Randy to be open about his sexuality. But tragedy strikes when he comes out publicly. He spirals down a dark hole, creating a situation that’s too much like Penny’s former life, and she blames herself. Penny's willing to help him, but when she learns her father had a heart attack and her baby becomes seriously ill, she wrestles with the decision to keep her new family together…or return to her parents hoping to change things before her dad dies.
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