The cater waiter is the ultimate illusion; queer posing as straight, liberal posing as conservative, hedonist posing as eunuch.In his second novel, Jim Provenzano (author of the acclaimed PINS, the Lambda Literary Award winner Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love, and other novels and plays) explores Manhattan society life from the servants' point of view. Monkey Suits serves up a compassionate and witty tale of 1980s class warfare, and the romantic entanglements of a quintet of tuxedo-clad waiters. Lee Wyndam's work-related affairs lead to more frustration than he'd expected. Drawn to activism, his passion may finally blossom. His ex-boyfriend Brian Burns' foray into "the oldest profession" leads to a strange encounter. Ed Seabrook, Brian's spiritual boyfriend, Marcos Tierra, a sassy club kid, and Ritchie Hurst, a (mostly) straight sculptor, each have their lives forever changed by a tumultuous benefit protest.

Monkey Suits: a novel

Literature & Fiction

Provenzano, Jim

Humor & Satire

iUniverse

In Jim Provenzano’s sequel to the 2012 Lambda Literary Award-winner "Every Time I Think of You," the love between two young men is put to a test. Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester have moved to Philadelphia, where college life brings them closer together. But Everett, a recovering paraplegic, is pressured by his mother to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania, while Reid stays at Temple University. Their once long-distance love becomes a cross-town romance. A twist of floral fate finds them an apartment more like a home. Between disability protests, impulsive road trips and despite a few affairs, their relationship grows. But as the early 1980s continue, a spreading crisis approaches, coming into their lives with a strange intimacy, via that one mysterious Polaroid of Everett, the one that Reid never dared to ask about.

Message of Love: a novel

Myrmidude Press

Acclaimed sports columnist and fiction writer Jim Provenzano's novel PINS tells the story of bigotry in athletics, and one very short boy who stands up to it. 
 Set in Little Falls, New Jersey in 1993, PINS weaves the classic story of a Catholic saint into a compelling modern life -and near-death- account of Joey Nicci, a fifteen-year-old Italian-American wrestler. 
 After befriending Donald "Dink" Kohrs, Joey and his new posse get involved in pranks and partying that eventually get out of control, resulting in the death of a maligned fellow teammate. 
 The ensuing legal battle and media frenzy alter Joey's life and his self- perception as a gay teenager while shattering his fragile love for fellow teammate Dink. Like his patron saint, his battle against his own teammates forces him to suffer for his beliefs. His survival becomes a literary miracle. 
 A compelling story of a loving yet confused family, coaches and teachers struggling with multiple issues of violence and homophobia amid the clan-like world of teenage athletes, PINS brings together elements now frighteningly common in the media; bullying jocks, assaults on weaker students, faculty and families unwittingly allowing such behavior. 
 Called "prescient" and "heartfelt" by two of today's leading writers, PINS layers symbols from the worlds of animals and religion, yet while achieving a unique literary style, it remains accessible to the group for whom it speaks - gay teenagers.

PINS

Teen & Young Adult

Jim Provenzano

"It's people like Mama and me, I guess, who like to make the regular happenings in our town--like what happened to Joshua and David--sound like myth. There are those who doubt the veracity of my words. But I know. I was there."
So begins the voice of Eric Gottlund in Jim Provenzano's latest novel, Now I'm Here, as he begins his tale of how two boys discovered, lost, and then found each other again in the small town of Serene, Ohio, in the 1970s and '80s. It is both pointed and poignant. As the town's history is slowly erased by fading memories and encroaching suburbia, Eric brings back to life the two friends who showed him what true courage is. Fighting religious intolerance, small-mindedness, "rehabilitation therapy," the lure of fame, and the heartbreak of AIDS, the two boys grow into men before our eyes. And through their love of each other and rock'n'roll--and the English rock group Queen in particular--Joshua and David breathe life back into their home town, if only for a while.

Now I'm Here

Genre Fiction

Beautiful Dreamer Press

Cyclizen: A Novel

United States

lulu.com

"The coming-of-age story gets a welcome and much needed shake up in Jim Provenzano's graceful and surprising novel about falling in love. Always going where you least expect it, the story is by turns heartbreaking and arousing, comic and introspective, familiar and altogether new. These are characters you'll remember long after the last page. – Michael Thomas Ford, author of 'Full Circle,' 'The Road Home,' 'Last Summer' "'Every Time I Think of You' captures the joy of finding love for the first time—with all the sweetness, comedy and tragedy that experience inevitably entails. And it does so with the audacity and brutal honesty to admit that yes, even the broken and imperfect among us deserve to experience everything that life has to offer. Kudos to Provenzano for daring to show that disability and sexuality aren’t mutually exclusive, and that crips can be just as good in bed (or elsewhere) as their non-disabled counterparts." – Ray Aguilera, former editor of Bent Voices "Jim Provenzano has written a tender, nostalgic tale in a simple yet elegant prose that comes straight from the heart. It’s beautiful, literary, and effective without affectation. We are moved by these characters because we recognize in them our own once-believed indestructibility." – Eric Arvin, author of 'Woke Up in a Strange Place,' 'Simple Men' and 'Subsurdity' In a snowy Pennsylvania forest, Reid, a studious high school distance runner, meets Everett, a privileged and capricious charmer. As their lives become intertwined, Reid is swept up in Everett’s adventurous world. When a near-fatal accident changes both their lives, Reid’s determination to keep their love alive faces obstacles of time and distance.

Every Time I Think of You: A Novel

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Finally in print, the commissioned stage adaptation of Jim Provenzano's acclaimed debut novel, PINS. Joey Nicci struggles with the pressures of being a gay high school wrestler in suburban New Jersey. 
 "A strong, well-staged world premiere production. Provenzano shows great skill with naturalistic dialogue and a healthy dose of wry humor." - SF Examiner 
 "Provenzano shows a deep fondness for his characters and a sure understanding of the wrestling milieu. He's particularly adept at handling the crosscurrents of fear and lust produced by the conflict between the sport's potential homoeroticism and the team members' homophobia. ... nicely captures the tender ache of adolescence." – Zac Thompson, Chicago Reader

PINS: the Stage Adaptation

Dramas & Plays

Review "It's not easy writing a novel in the first person and relying on the sole perspective of your narrator, but Jim Provenzano pulls it off beautifully in Finding Tulsa. He brings us the remarkable voice and life experience of Stan Grozniak, a struggling Hollywood director and a nuanced gay man in a town where so many live on the surface of things... Finding Tulsa is both a unique and satisfying read that gives much perspective on the AIDS pandemic and living through it as a modern gay man." - Art & Understanding "Written as an autobiography, this entertaining work of fiction tells the story of Stan, a gay film director making a film about his past. Cast in the movie is Lance, a boyhood crush who Stan reconnects with in Hollywood. Finding Tulsa is an intense story, yet it's an easy read due to the author's vivid writing." - Echo Magazine"Finding Tulsa is more than just the pseudo-memoir of a Hollywood hotshot and his sexual escapades (however exciting they are to read about -- and in lurid, delicious detail), but also an unexpected, endearing love story. ... Whether it's a small town production of Gypsy or a porno movie set in the desert, Stan's limitless passion for creativity and the artistic process remains intact, and guides him throughout." - Edge Media Network"Finding Tulsa is a smashing exploration of what it would be like to be a gay film director of some renown living his best life. Mostly, I loved how recognizably messy Stan is, yet still makes his life work--which, for Stan, includes finding love with his unrequited high school crush and making a living through film; an excellent read for anyone who is interested in complex, first-person narratives." - Joyfully Jay Product Description Stan Grozniak, the once-rising star of 1990s gay cinema, almost self-sabotages a prestigious directing gig with writer-producer (and soon to be ex-boyfriend) Barry, after casting his rediscovered teenage summer stock crush. Still haunted by the death of Rick Dacker, the sexy star of his cult favorite action trilogy, Stan attempts a romance with actor Lance Holtzer, his 'Tulsa' from a small town Ohio production of the musical Gypsy. When Jason Daw a gay adult video star, invites him to direct an epic porn feature, he risks it all while finding the means to confront a long-lost and once overly affectionate uncle. Discovering more about himself than he wants to admit, he traces his recent success with past obsessions. Framed through a visit to Stan's boyhood home where he made short films with his brother, the tale of his rise to cinematic success, and the sacrifices he made­, captures the passion and heartache of making love, making movies, and the occasional riot. From the Back Cover Advance praise for Finding Tulsa"Finding Tulsa reminds you what a good friend a novel can be. It's about friendship,about "losing men and then finding them," about brotherly love andconflict, and the possibility of resolution. It's sexy, funny, astute,panoramic - it knows about suburban Ohio basement rec rooms and glamparties in the Hollywood hills. I felt like I had met a charming guy at a cocktail party who seemed to get me, understood my past, confided his own, and then disappeared to another better party before I was readyfor him to leave. And it's wrapped around a fearless, wrenchingnarrative about facing your childhood demons, raising the question ofwhether or not one of the demons might have been you. There's so much to savor, to argue with, reflect upon, learn from, enjoy."- John Weir, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The Irreversible Decline of Eddie Socket"Finding Tulsa is sexy, romantic, witty, engaging, both cleverly current yet sweetlyretrospective. It's Jim Provenzano's most complex and accomplishednovel. He gets so much right and so evocatively about show business,from those school plays we all remember to Hollywood made-for-television movies, with delicious stops at boyhood Super-8 movies and out o

Finding Tulsa

Literary

Palm Drive Publishing

Lessons in Teenage Biology: a novella

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