Simple Simon

WINNER INDIEREADER DISCOVERY AWARD FOR LGBT FICTION 2016

Simon Powell's rehab counselor encourages him to write down his story, and during sessions, to recount the events of his life. Simon led a troubled childhood before joining the Unification Church of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a decision that allowed Simon to deny his sexual orientation on the pretext of building a better world. Despite rising to positions of leadership, Simon's despair deepens. When Reverend Moon is indicted on charges of income tax evasion, Simon enlists attorneys in Los Angeles who become friends and introduce Simon to the Hollywood club scene. Simon meets Lyle, a hustler from the boulevard, and enters into a relationship that underscores the hypocrisy of his beliefs. Simon leaves rehab, self-confident, but with a lot of ground to cover in reconciling with his past.

Clarion ForeWord Reviews 2013 Book of the Year Award Fiction Gay & Lesbian (Adult Fiction) finalist.

Simon Says (ISBN: 0615559573) and Simon's Mansion (ISBN: 9781729078433) continue the story.

A writer and visual artist, William Poe, earned his bachelor’s from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock before earning his master’s from the University of Nebraska. At 18, he joined the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church and remained there for most of the next decade. His novels, ＂Simon Says＂ and ＂Simple Simon,＂ draw upon his experiences growing up in Arkansas, his involvement in a controversial church and his struggle to overcome addiction while carving out an identity for himself as a gay man.