POLARIS - THE NORTH STAR

Suzanne pursues her artistic life that evolves around mind-altering drugs in Polaris - The North Star. Eccentric, eclectic New York City is the backdrop for this uninhibited experience wherein creativity reigns an drug addiction destroys lives. Suzanne goes to a party in Soho and falls for Zion, Zen Master of the Comic Strip - the classic older man, younger woman relationship ensues. Suzanne hides her sexual escapades with Zion from her hip hip, beat beat, filmmaker drug-laced boyfriend, Lonny. The affair destroys her affection for the drug-addicted filmmaker. The intellectual aspirations of the Cultural Revolution are negated when drug-lacked Lonny takes Suzanne hostage and threatens her life.... (excerpt tease)

TOUGH KARMA

Sara, an old friend from the old neighborhood, who unexpectedly comes to visit Suzanne in New York City. Sara is a confused person who reinvents herself each decade, her portrait revealed in both her fashion and career. One decade, Sara is the lost Woodstock hippie wearing Birkenstock sandals, the next decade she is a corporate raider - dressed in moot color suits and high heels... all to compensate for her deep inner unhappiness...Tough Karma is a story about human frailty and the power of forgiveness. Suzanne laments the nature of "bad luck" or "tough karma" - the intense transformation of Sara, lost within her life journey becomes the emotional realization for Suzanne - at Sara's funeral - that life is a spiritual adventure we all travel, our destiny created by good karma and tough karma.(excerpt tease)

THE CHERRYWOOD

Suzanne finds solace in her prep work at a gay restaurant, The Cherrywood in New York City - as her gay co-workers just love the arts. The gay world is safe for Suzanne, it embraces lost artistic souls scorned by the straight world. The Cherrywoodrevolves around Suzanne's friendship with Clem, a middle-aged gay man who struggles to hold on to his relationship with a younger man, Stan. Clem is an alcoholic ;who loses his battle with the bottle when he learns that the young love of his life is dying from a new mysterious disease... Suzanne tried to help Clem deal with the loss of Stan and the staggering loss of her co-workers as they begin to succumb to AIDS. (excerpt tease)

WORDS OF A WRITER

Suzanne confronts her drug addiction in Words of a Writer when she faces the loss of her friend Monica, a brilliant editor who is dying from anorexia. Suzanne had worked with Monica at an alternative newspaper in New Jersey years ago. The young journalists engaged in bitter verbal battles in their love-hate writer-editor relationships, especially when Monica noted that Suzanne's drug use had spiraled out of control.....(excerpt tease)