A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen

Saskia Nash's world is turned upside down when her single-parent father tears her from an idyllic childhood in Germany-leaving behind the memories of her dead mother and the protection of her beloved Opa-for a teaching position at a small Jesuit college on the East Coast. A misfit in a strange land, struggling to learn the language and customs of a good American girl, Saskia struggles with issues of belonging, sexual identity, and faith. She's drawn to the progressive spirituality of the Jesuits at her father's college. When strong-armed into having an abortion, Saskia is sent away to recover at Pippin House, a hospice for men dying of AIDS. It is the early 1990s.

Mourning the loss of personal choice and bodily autonomy, Saskia is assigned as a companion to Ed, a.k.a. Marlena Merlot, a dying drag queen who's losing control over his own mind and body. When Saskia helps Marlena Merlot stage one final performance, she learns that chosen family is the one we can count on most. A Date with the Fairy Drag Queen is a story of platonic queer friendship, regaining autonomy, letting go, and learning what it means to live.

Julie Harthill Turner's fiction and creative nonfiction has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Lambda Literary, Curve Magazine, Foreword Reviews, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, and more. She enjoys a rewarding career as a senior litigation paralegal while maintaining an active writing practice. Her favorite people call her quirky, nerdy, Mom, Omi, daughter, sister, wife, super paralegal, mentor, and friend. She's excited to add debut author to the list.

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