"The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery" Author Clarence Haynes [WASHDAY WOOSAH]

This week, BA fam—grab your coffee, get cozy, and let’s talk all things The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery, our official August/September book club pick! Mandi Woodruff-Santos sits down with none other than Clarence Haynes, author, publishing pro, and all-around NYC icon for a bold, joyful, and real convo packed with gems. Want to join the BA Book Club? All you've got to do is become a free member of our Patreon > Show recap: Mandi introduces Clarence and gets real about what inspired the Brown Ambition Book Club and her own book altar game.  Clarence shares how the powerful women of NYC—and some serious Shirley Chisholm style—sparked his creation of Gwendolyn Montgomery.  Dive deep into the book’s plot: a high-powered publicist with mystical secrets, a fashion event gone wild at the Brooklyn Museum, and a botanica in the South Bronx run by an Afro-Latine queer psychic Discussion on breaking generational trauma, mother wounds, fierce ambition, and why we’re all haunted by more than just ghosts.  A real talk about dating as a queer Black man in NYC—Clarence gets candid on finding intimacy in the big city and the sometimes wild, sometimes isolating dating scene. The realities of Black-centered speculative fiction—why it matters and what hustle it takes to get these stories out there. Follow Clarence on IG @clarenceahaynesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.