With filmmaker/author Rick Schmidt’s first illustrated work of fiction, SECRETS OF MEN AND WOMEN, featuring drawings by C.G. Simonds, he has created quite a stir. The collection of short stories contains controversial plots of love gained and lost, women and men colliding in struggles for identity, escape and survival, running the gamut of human interactions. There’s one about a man who takes airplane rides just to rack up frequent-flyer miles. Another story presents the dire results of babies accidentally switched at birth. And you can read about a young man who pleads “sexual voodoo” when his girlfriend withholds sexual favors so he’ll commit a crime („Burning Love“). The story of name-calling at a local high school („Froggie Rides Again“) results in the torching of a building. Mixed in are also some oddly inspirational narratives featuring artists who transform their neighborhoods; in one instance curtailing drug abuse, in another suspending gang violence in L.A. These unusually vivid stories could certainly be adapted for the silver screen, whether by Schmidt or some other interested Hollywood-to-indie Producer(s) thirsting for new material. In the meantime, though, enjoy the read, representing a treasure trove of modern folktales, humanity acting out its most ragged edge.

“SECRETS OF MEN AND WOMEN is the perfect read for night watchmen, parking lot attendants, long haul truck drivers, or anyone else who must stay awake at night. The stories kind of creep up on you and bite you on the ass. A few with a kind of happy ending just to keep the reader from jumping off the nearest roof. The brilliant Charlie Simonds erotic drawings, included between these modern folktales, remind us that desire can ease the uncertainties of our ever present lunacy. Eat your heart out Raymond Carver and Stephen King.“
––William Farley, writer/director, OF MEN AND ANGELS, PLASTIC MAN, I WANTED TO BE A MAN WITH A GUN––THREE AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN WWII.

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