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James E. Hardy

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James Earl Hardy is best know as the author of the B-Boy Blues series which includes: B-Boy Blues, 2ND Time Around and If Only for One Nite. The series is credited with launching the Afrocentric, gay, hip-hop, love genre.

Hardy also wrote a biography on Spike Lee and a portrait of Boyz II Men. Both are part of the Chelsea House Black Achievement Series.

In addition, he is featured in Out With It: Gay and Straight Teens Write About Homosexuality, Out In All Directions: The Almanac of Lesbian and Gay America and Shade: An Anthology of Fiction by Gay Men of African Descent.

Hardy is an honors graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, he is also a feature writer and entertainment critic. His work has earned him grants from the E.Y. Harburg Arts Foundation and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editiors; two Educational Press Association Writing Awards; a Columbia Press Association Feature Writing Citation; a Village Voice writing felowship; and scholarships from the Paul Rapoport Memorial Foundation and the National and New York chapters of the Association of Black Journalists.

Hardy is currently working on a new anthology for Alyson Publications about and for Black Gay/Bi/SGL writers, similar to the best-selling In The Life and Brother to Brother titles.

A House Is Not a Home (B-Boys Blues Series)
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ISBN: 0066212499
Format: Hardcover, 232pp
Pub. Date: May 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

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In the sixth and final title of his groundbreaking, bestselling B-Boy Blues series, James Earl Hardy brings his beloved couple -- Mitchell, the Buppie from Brooklyn, and Raheim, the homeboy from Harlem -- into the twenty-first century.

As they prepare for the birthday party of Raheim's fifteen-year-old son, Errol (formerly known as "Junior" and "Li'l Brotha Man"), Mitchell and Raheim both juggle their own midlife crises and consider once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

With the Big 4-0 just three years away, Mitchell is a little antsy: He has a very successful freelance writing career, but he longs for something more. And that something more finds him -- a dream job from a most unlikely place. But he's gotten very comfortable working his own schedule and being a stay-at-home dad -- does he really want to return to the daily grind of punching a time clock again?

Raheim has just officially entered his thirties -- and, unfortunately, has the one gray hair to prove it. And after years of coming this close to getting roles won by the likes of Taye Diggs and Mekhi Phifer, he is finally offered the lead in a film that could make him a star. But will he do what no other Black actor has done before: play gay and come out in the process?

James Earl Hardy draws on the themes that put him on the map -- love, family, and high drama in tandem with media phenomena like same-sex marriage, the down-low, gay adoption, and homo thugs -- to create another vivid, vibrant, and saucy portrait of Black same-gender-loving (SGL) life and love.

 

Love the One You're With: A Novel
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ISBN: 0066212480
Format: Hardcover, 272pp
Pub. Date: May 2002
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Edition Description: 1ST

Do men and monogamy mix? It's not a question Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford gave much thought to until his boyfriend of almost two years, Rahein "Pooquie" Rivers, and All-American jeans model, heads to Hollywood to make his first feature film. As Mitchell soon discovers, the temptation to cheat is very real. It seems to be everywhere he goes—at his job, his lawyer's office, restaurants, the shopping mall, in the recording studio. While intrigued, Mitchell chalks all the temptation up to "the married man" syndrome: one is much more desirable when 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?


If only for one nightIf Only for One Nite
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ISBN: 1555834671
Format: Paperback, 208pp
Pub. Date: May 1998
Publisher: Alyson Publications

Mitchell Crawford attends his high school reunion - and faces his past, present, and future all at once. In addition to catching up with his classmates, he also sees the man who broke his heart. Warren Reid was Mitchell's gymnastics coach. Warren turned Mitchell, a student who detested all types of sports, into a statewide champion - and during that two years of training and triumph, they were lovers. For Mitchell, the affair was everything he had dreamed it could be - and Warren was all that he, an anxious and horny teenager just beginning to formulate a gay identity, wished for in a man. Warren was his first love, and like those naive and inexperienced in the game of love, Mitchell expected it to last forever. So he was more than a little hurt when, after he graduated, Warren dumped him, explaining, "I was not in love with you. How could I be? You're just a kid." With this painful memory, Mitchell argues to himself and others (including his lover of one year, Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers) that he couldn't possibly have any feelings for Warren. But all those feelings come rushing back on reunion night. Now 44, Warren's still got it goin' on: a regal six foot two, a solid 225 pounds, and, despite a few gray hairs on his head, a wrinkle-free, youthful face. Mitchell's best friend, B. D. (Barry Daniels, a.k.a. Brain Dense), warns Mitchell, "Good Black don't crack," and that despite his love for Raheim, he may find Warren too irresistible. And as he and Warren exchange flirtatious glances and talk through the night, Mitchell does. Naturally, Warren senses Mitchell's defense weaken and makes his move. Will Mitchell fall for his charms - and be the same fool twice?

 

Click to buy this book on-line2nd Time Around
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Format: Paperback
Publication Date: September 1996
Edition Number: 1

Yes, Raheim "Pooquie" Rivers and Mitchell "Little Bit" Crawford are back - they've got a serious love thang goin' on, and IT'S ALL JOOD. But for Raheim, it's a trip that promises to be both phat and frightening. As he struggles with being in love with another man for the first time, he must also come to terms with the murder of his homeboy, Derrick "D.C." Carter, and confront his father, who returns after abandoning him and his mother over sixteen years ago. Add his ever-curious five-year-old son, Junior, to the mix, and it's no wonder Raheim doesn't go mad crazy. Rut he manages to survive it all - thanks to the passion and patience of the man he loves.

 

Bboyblues.bmp (17078 bytes)B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-on-Black Love Story
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Publisher: Alyson Pub
Format: Paperback
Publication Date: November 1994
Edition Description: 1st ed Edition Number: 1

Mitchell Crawford always wished, hoped, and dreamed for a RUFFNECK - a hip-hop-lovin', street-struttin', cool posin', crazy crotch-grabbin' brotha. And he finally finds one in Raheim Rivers, who is a vision of lust: six feet tall and 215 pounds of mocha-chocolate muscle. Mitchell knows Raheim will take him for a walk on the wild side, especially between the sheets. But he doesn't count on getting behind Raheim's mask - and finding someone he can love.

 

Boy to MenBoyz II Men
(click title to purchase book online)

Format: Paperback, 124pp.
ISBN: 0791025837
Publisher: Chelsea House Publishers
Pub. Date: September  1996

ABOUT THE BOOK
A collective biography of the phenomenally successful and popular singing group from Philadelphia. The story of four young men whose talent and dedication enabled them to overcome adversity and rocket them to the pinnacle of popular music success. Includes 50 photos.

Review from The Horn Book, Inc. :
Even readers unfamiliar with the group's music will find themselves caught up in the examination of how the four uniquely talented young vocalists from inner-city Philadelphia forged their hip yet clean-cut image and brought accomplished harmonies back to pop music. The book also includes history on African Americans in Philadelphia and in the music industry. A time line is appended. Bib., ind.

Related Links

James Earl Hardy Homie Homepage
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/3702/index2.html




 












 


 

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