Pants On Fire!: A Tale of Friction (Paperback)

Reality and illusion ignite in this love story of intense sensuality. The fictional hero, Wylie Hymen, burns as one of the most innovative artists and celebrated writers of the twenty-first century. His sexual desire creates "friction," forging the "back story" of his creative life. Just as Auguste Rodin had Camille Claudel, and Gustav Klimt had his "femmes fatales," Wylie Hymen had, among others, the beautiful sculptress, Ariane Altar. Together, Ariane and Wylie decide to write the biography of a glamorous Jewish refugee who lived in Shanghai during World War II. As they research and fall in love, a mystery from his past unfolds. Wylie immortalizes Ariane by painting nude portraits of her in peak moments of passion. She reveals her love for him in letters and poems. Together, their sensual correspondence and art make the luxuriant bed of an extraordinary and inflammatory affair where the dualities of deception and perception, illusion and delusion, intertwine with raw carnality. An intimate and erotic story of loss, vulnerability, and forgiveness, Pants On Fire! reveals the complexities of lives well lived. These artists remind us that memorable art is oft born of incendiary desires, and remains long after the lovers have passed from view.