a taste of the frozen moment: CONEY ISLAND KISS

[the book is THE FROZEN MOMENT. the publication date is DECEMBER 17th. here's a little TASTE of one of the stories...]

CONEY ISLAND KISS by David Ciminello

The subway train raced along steel tracks. Wheels sparked. Inside ceiling fans spun. So crowded they had to stand. Stanford’s right ankle pressed against a wicker picnic basket, his left hip touched Jack’s. Hane’s white t-shirt crisp, skin soft, aftershave sweet. He wanted to beg for a kiss. Ask for it. Take a swan dive and go for it. But strange clown faces and burly immigrant bodies surrounded them. A whole circus pile of summer beach travelers ring-rounded them. A lurch and you were in someone’s lap. Maybe Jack’s. Maybe the old man eating fried chicken. Morty, can’t you wait!? Hands clutched beach balls, beach umbrellas, towels, blankets, and sacks. Jack in his new Palm Beach pants gripped a seat pole. His smile did all the talking.

[Coney Island Kiss  is a chapter excerpt from David's novel in progress, The Queen of Steeplechase Park.]

[David Ciminello’s fiction has appeared in the Lambda Literary Award winning anthology Portland Queer: Tales of the Rose City, the literary journal Lumina, the online anthology Underwater New York, and on broadcastr. His poetry has appeared in Poetry Northwest. David is a 2011 Lambda Literary Fellow in Fiction.]

The Frozen Moment anthology comes out on December 17th. You can order books through Publication Studio here.