NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with writer Dan Curry.

His debut novel is an outrageous, funny, thoughtful, and provocative book, inspired by the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s, entitled "Kung-Fu Lesbian".

Set in 1976, the book's lead character, known as Holly X, is an African American lesbian who is a karate black belt and a master of many deadly techniques. The story involves a wild chase with Holly delivering a mysterious briefcase while being pursued by ruthless killers. Although it doesn't exactly follow the plot, there is also a short, hilarious trailer for the book at http://youtu.be/e2yJC3TfUB0.

We spoke with Dan Curry Friday afternoon at Doc Holliday's Bar in New York, shortly before a book release party in Brooklyn.

Speaking about the title of the book, which is what the lead character is called by friends even though it inaccurately describes her martial arts skills, Dan said in this interview, "When you label someone, no matter what it is, it's not a reliable indicator of who that person really is." He continued, "I fly my own flag basically. And that's the one thing I share with my lead, Holly."

We discussed what he tried to accomplish in this book, the cultural and historical setting in 1976 and in San Francisco where Holly lived, the challenge of a white heterosexual male writing about an African American lesbian lead character, the martial arts sub-theme in the book, and a lot more.

My capsule review: "Kung-Fu Lesbian" is provocative, outrageous, funny, and thoughtful. Read this book or else I'll smash you -- or at least Holly will.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

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