Bad Boy

Wake (Cam Girl, as Leah Raeder) delivers a provocative and sexually charged novel of vengeance and betrayal set in Chicago. Renard “Ren” Grant, a popular YouTube vlogger, publicly details his intensely emotional gender transition (with echoes of Wake’s own social media chronicles on the subject). But he has a secret life as well, as part of Black Iris, a social-justice group whose mission is to stop abusive men from terrorizing women. When a new assignment goes wrong, Ren is put on suspension, and an attractive new group member seems set to take his place. But soon Ren finds himself framed for rape, and he isn’t sure whom to trust—the members of Black Iris, his former best friend, or the woman he’s falling in love with. Ren can only be certain that a dark character from his past has returned and someone is out to destroy him. This erotic and suspenseful tale offers illuminating—and often heartbreaking—insight into the psychology of its transgender protagonist and compels readers to question their conceptions about gender and desire. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel & Goderich Literary. (Dec.)