E. Lynn Harris Says A Little Prayer

By Keith Boykin, in books
Tuesday, May 2 2006, 9:00AM

E. Lynn Harris is back! His new book is called I Say A Little Prayer, and this time he's taking on the black church. If you thought last year's "outing campaign" was provocative, you ain't seen nothing yet. This book has the potential to be even more explosive. E. Lynn isn't calling out any names, but one character does bear a resemblance to a certain pastor who we all know.

Harris's new novel follows the life of Chauncey Greer, who operates a greeting card company in Atlanta, with a specialty line for gay and bisexual clients. When Chauncey tries to renew his singing career, he starts performing at his church. He doesn't like the big homophobic megachurches, so he feels comfortable in his own place of worship until one day his pastor asks him to sing at a local revival where the guest speaker, Bishop Upchurch, is a prominent anti-gay minister. Chauncey eventually learns of Bishop Upchruch's "troubled past" and tries to make peace with his own past.

It's a story ripped from the headlines and it could be E. Lynn's most controversial book yet. The new book is released today and is available online at Amazon.com.