Lesbian writer Alex Marcoux, whose books include suspense thrillers "Back to Salem" and "A Matter of Degrees" starring lesbian novelist Jessie Mercer, is scheduled to appear at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse on June 8.
"Degrees" is up for an award for Best Speculative Fiction at the Golden Crown Literary Society conference in Atlanta the same weekend (See story on Page 21), and Marcoux takes part in the continuing process to turn "Back to Salem" into a short film right here in Atlanta.
Marcoux calls the process of turning her written work into a movie, which she is doing in conjunction with Atlanta producer Cindy Abel, “exciting.”
“You’re basically asked to come up with a beginning, a middle and an end in a very short piece," she says. "I have to pick apart different sections of the book and make it smaller. That’s been my big challenge.”
Marcoux says she and Abel are creating the film with an eye toward a full-length feature in the next couple of years, and that the transition from page to screen is an easy one for her.
“I’ve envisioned all my books as films,” she says. “It’s the way I can visualize the story. I have to be able to see it to write it, so I can see any of the stories that I’ve written as film.”
Abel describes the filmmaking process as a collaboration.
“We’re both committed to telling the best possible story in a way that is true to the book,” she says.
Marcoux and Abel anticipate the film will run eight to 10 minutes and debut at the end of this summer at festivals and online.
Three Atlanta area gay and lesbian choral groups present their summer concerts in conjunction with Pride month.
OurSong, the city's co-ed gay chorus, kicks things off with &
ldquo;Summer Heat” on June 8-9. Ned Sanderson, the group's marketing director, describes it as “a fun show” with diverse songs by the Carpenters, Cole Porter and Queen, among others.
“It’s kind of a light choral concert, kind of a fun look at some different themes of summertime,” says Associate Director Ellen Chase. “There are a few classical choral pieces in there, but the majority is light and fun.”
The theme was inspired by looking forward to a trip the group plans to take to a 2008 gay and lesbian choral festival in Miami.
“We were already thinking along those lines and decided to embrace the heat,” she says.
Chase is excited to show off the group's current line up.
“We have a really good ensemble going right now,” she says. “They have a really good blend and a tight sound, and the music that we picked really shows them off.”
In addition to OurSong, the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus presents “Let’s Misbehave” on June 16, and the Atlanta Feminist Women’s Chorus wraps up the offerings with “Movin’ On” on June 17.
