Acquaintance

As a young surgeon, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the loss of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the war, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this is Oregon: the Ku Klux Klan is gaining influence, homosexual acts are illegal, and such a relationship will jeopardize Carl's promising medical career. Musician Jimmy Harper has his own dreams for the future and his own obstacles to overcome before he will allow himself to accept Carl's love.Acquaintance is a deep dive into gay and lesbian history based on extensive period research of the 1920s.This is Book 1 of the trilogy Medicine for the Blues, a work of LGBT historical fiction which explores the complexities of gender and sexuality through the lens of the early 1920s. It was a time when jazz was becoming popular, Freud was all the rage, social mores were shifting, liquor was illegal, and women had just gotten the vote. The trilogy tells a touching love story set against the dramatic backdrop of this influential era. Growing up in a small town in rural Washington State, Jeff Stookey enjoyed writing stories. He studied literature, history, and cinema at Occidental College, and then got a BFA in Theater from Fort Wright College. In his 40s he retrained in the medical field and worked for years with pathologists, trauma surgeons, and emergency room reports.Jeff lives in Portland, Oregon, with his longtime partner, Ken, and their unruly garden. Acquaintance is his first novel and Book 1 of Medicine for the Blues. Contact Jeff at medicinefortheblues.com. Medicine for the Blues explores the complexities of gender and sexuality through the historical lens of the early 1920s-a time of jazz, fascination with Freud, and the growing influence of the KKK. The trilogy tells a touching gay love story set against the dramatic backdrop of this influential era.Acquaintance Book 1 opens in Portland, Oregon, where a homosexual surgeon, Carl Holman, meets an ambitious young jazz piano player, Jimmy Harper, who is questioning his own sexuality, and they struggle with social conventions and widespread political repression.Chicago Blues Book 2 tells the story of Jimmy Harper's adventures in Chicago where he descends into the jazz underworld and becomes entangled with a sinister mob boss and a black drag performer.Dangerous Medicine Book 3 follows Carl Holman's struggles to navigate his medical career in the face of social and personal obstacles from the KKK, society, and other dangers.