{"product_id":"disco-witches-of-fire-island-isbn-9798892422390","title":"Disco Witches of Fire Island","description":"\u003cb\u003eUSA TODAY BESTSELLER!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Heartfelt.”\u003ci\u003e—The New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eHit the dance floor with a coven of queer witches on 1980s Fire Island in this gay fantasy romance about finding magic, love, and family in the face of tragedy. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A heartwarming LGBTQ+ novel for fans of steamy romance, loathe-at-first-sight, and \u003ci\u003eRed, White, and Royal Blue\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The paperback edition will have sprayed teal edges and foil on the cover!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV\/AIDS epidemic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island—and young men like Joe—from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven’s protective powers have been seriously damaged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe’s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island—a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Disco Witches need to find help—fast—if they’re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of spicy queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eDisco Witches of Fire Island\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUSA TODAY BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the Doris Lippman Prize in Creative Writing\u003cbr\u003eOne of THEM’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Heartfelt . . . It perfectly makes a case for the necessity of hope, no matter how bleak the world may feel.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[An] impressively drawn romance . . . [with] immense heart and beauty.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Original, clever, deftly crafted.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A strong and powerful book.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Nameless Zine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Blair gives us exactly what we need: a hopeful new novel delivering an enchanting mix of magical realism, romance, sex, and bold queer joy\/activism\/resilience. And yes, I’m casting spells for the \u003ci\u003eDisco Witches of Fire Island\u003c\/i\u003e miniseries!”\u003cbr\u003e—Miss Coco Peru\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDisco Witches of Fire Island\u003c\/i\u003e transports you to a magical place... Blair's fantastical and exciting second novel will leave you spellbound.”\u003cbr\u003e—Sidney Karger, author of \u003ci\u003eBest Men\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Bump\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e “The most sparkly antidote to an uncertain world. Praise the Great Goddess Mother because the gay witch in me desperately needed this!”\u003cbr\u003e—Steven Salvatore, author of\u003ci\u003e The Boyfriend Subscription\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Clever, sexy, smart, funny, quirky, unabashedly queer, a great vocabulary, a tender heart—ditch your partner and date this book instead!”\u003cbr\u003e—James Hannaham, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eDelicious Foods \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eDidn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A sexy, magical trip back to a glittering era, one full of deep pain and overwhelming LGBTQ+ joy... Like a great night on the dance floor, I didn't want it to end!”\u003cbr\u003e—David Ciminello, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Queen of Steeplechase Park\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlair Fell\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sign for Home,\u003c\/i\u003e which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Book Prize, was the winner of the Doris Lippman Prize, and was selected as both an Indies Introduce and Indies Next pick. He’s written dozens of plays that have been performed all over NYC’s downtown as well as in cities across the country and around the world. His TV work as a writer includes \u003ci\u003eQueer as Folk\u003c\/i\u003e (Showtime) and \u003ci\u003eCalifornia Connected\u003c\/i\u003e (public TV). His first-person essays have appeared in \u003ci\u003eOut Magazine, NY Daily News, Huffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, and more. He’s had myriad loving relationships, lives in New York City, and, along with writing, works as an ASL interpreter. He’s also been an actor, director, and producer — and was once a bartender for the summer on Fire Island, an experience that greatly informed this novel.\u003cb\u003ePROLOGUE\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e“Nothing deadens magic like the day-to-day onslaught of  unrelenting grief.” \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e Disco Witch Manifesto #134\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eFire Island Pines\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e May 3rd, 1989 . . . early morning\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Howie Fishbein searched the drizzly Great South Bay, his  headphones blasted Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty  Real).” Flames of long silver hair whipped his weathered face, while  his velvet bathrobe, the color of thick raspberry jam, billowed in the  wind behind him. From a distance it appeared as if the island was  bleeding. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere had been several omens indicating “a being of significance” would be arriving by water. What exactly the \u003ci\u003esignificance \u003c\/i\u003e was, he did not know. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “We’ll just have to wait,” Howie said to a passing double-crested  cormorant he thought might very well be the reincarnation of one  of his many dead friends. “It’s all we can do.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e***\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e “When stuck in her blues, a Disco Witch can always boo gie to another part of the dance floor.”\u003cbr\u003e Disco Witch Manifesto #23 \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e The Ferry\u003cbr\u003e May 3rd, 1989 . . . later \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e Where the hell is it?\u003c\/i\u003e Excited by the prospect of crossing the  Great South Bay for the very first time, Joe Agabian was  struggling to see Fire Island through the ferry’s rain-splattered  window. It seemed as if the universe had purposely employed the  fog and drizzle (and the scratched plexiglass window) to hide his  past and future under a thick veil of secrecy. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He pulled the first mixtape Elliot had ever made for him from  his backpack and inserted the well-worn cassette into his Sony  Walkman. It was nearly four years ago when Joe first noticed his  future lover sitting in those red banquettes upstairs at Woody’s Bar  in Philly. When Elliot looked over at Joe, it was as if a thousand  blue-green dragonflies had swarmed his young heart. Elliot had  sandy brown hair, shining hazel eyes, and a strong (but not showy)  body— a result of playing baseball as a teenager. And then there  was his strong, resonant voice which had launched a thousand  hours of smart, funny banter. Elliot cared about the poor, hated  Reagan, and worshiped Fleetwood Mac. He was the one Joe had  been waiting for his whole life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen the bad news . . . \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’ll be a challenge,” Elliot warned after explaining that he had  recently tested positive for the HIV virus. “You sure you’re up for  it?” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I’m in love with you,” Joe said, “and that’s all that matters.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The cassette sleeve bore the handwritten title \u003ci\u003eMixtape 1: Love  Songs\u003c\/i\u003e. Joe could still feel Elliot’s touch in the scrawl of the fine-tip  blue marker. He had made a total of seven mixtapes for Joe during  their relationship. Six had been lost to moves, mechanical accidents,  or the flood in Joe’s mother’s basement the previous winter—which  had also destroyed most of his and Elliot’s photos together. \u003ci\u003eMixtape  1\u003c\/i\u003e was the only cassette left and Joe cherished it more than any other  object in his life. It would be the perfect soundtrack for laying eyes  on Fire Island for the first time. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He pressed play. Suddenly, the percussive jolt of Peter Gabriel’s  “Kiss of Life” jackhammered against the fog.","brand":"Alcove Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233088647397,"sku":"NP9798892422390","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9798892422390.jpg?v=1767725184","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/disco-witches-of-fire-island-isbn-9798892422390","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}