Cake Walk - 2nd Edition: A Novel - Couverture souple

Bell, Douglas

Couverture souple

ISBN 13 : 9798998582547

Editeur : Bumbershoot Press, 2026

Synopsis

This version is the 2nd Edition of the original version published in 2022.

“I appreciate his work in storytelling from the perspective of men who love us and their efforts to redefine the word "masculinity" on their own terms, free from connections to trauma or social constructs.
I wish there were more spaces for those men, especially Black men, to exist and evolve.” – Reviewed by Atlantis Narcisse, Transgender Education Network of Texas

“It is rare to find a story that manages to be both a "rollercoaster ride" of tension and a quiet meditation on the human spirit. Cake Walk is a "riveting read" that demands we look at the blind spots in our own lives while celebrating the courage it takes to live authentically.” - Reviewed by The Bourbon Sipping Bibliophile

Refusing the Closet: Love, Masculinity, and the Right to Be Seen

What does it mean to be a Black man taught to be strong, controlled, and unquestioned—yet quietly unsure of who you’re allowed to love?

What happens when success can’t protect you from yourself?

In 2015 Houston, Bryan Hicks has built a life defined by achievement and respectability. As a Senior Vice President in the oil and gas industry, he knows how to perform confidence and authority. But when he falls in love with Nadia, a transgender woman living openly and without shame, Bryan is forced to confront questions he has spent his entire life avoiding: What is being queer? What does coming out cost a Black man? And can vulnerability exist inside masculinity without destroying it?

Haunted by the fear of losing the community he has always known, Bryan remains silent—not only because of what he might lose, but because he cannot imagine what he might gain. He wonders: Is there a community of men like me?

Believing he is alone becomes another reason to stay in the closet. Wrestling with toxic masculinity and the silence it demands, Bryan turns to meditation for relief, only to discover a path toward truth that asks him not to become someone new, but to release the roles that have kept him hidden.

Cake Walk is a groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind work of literary fiction exploring queer love, coming out, and spiritual awakening. It asks a radical question: What if coming out isn’t losing your identity—but discovering you were never alone at all?

Who is Cake Walk Written for?
Cake Walk is for LGBTQ+ readers and literary fiction audiences drawn to intimate stories about identity, queer love, and the complexity of coming out—especially when it challenges masculinity, culture, and expectation. Grounded in meditation and Buddhist philosophy, the novel explores shame, vulnerability, and the search for authenticity beyond labels. It is ultimately a deeply human story about love, identity, and the courage to live truthfully.

Content Warnings: Cake Walk contains material that might prove to be explicit sexual content and contains potentially triggering subject matter, including racism, homophobia, transphobia, and hate speech.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Douglas Bell is a Black author based in Houston, Texas, writing literary fiction that centers Black male voices and draws upon the quiet wisdom of meditation-rooted in Buddhist philosophy-as a path to reveal our best selves. His storytelling explores identity, privilege, love, and transformation, illuminating the inner lives of complex characters.Before becoming a novelist, Bell told stories as a magician-captivating audiences through illusion and performance. Today, he brings that same sense of wonder to literary fiction, using story not only to entertain but to invite reflection. His work encourages readers to look inward and recognize that their own lives-complex, imperfect, and evolving-hold meaning.He is the founder of Bumbershoot Press, an independent imprint committed to publishing fiction that reflects individual growth and reveals our shared humanity. All of Bell's work is set in Houston and grounded in the city's cultural and political landscape.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Bumbershoot Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798998582547
• Reliure: Broché
• Numéro d'édition: 2
• Nombre de pages: 317
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg