Tell Me One Thing

Today I talked to Kerri Schlottman about her new novel Tell Me One Thing (Regal House Publishing, 2023).

Quinn and a friend are driving from New York City to Pennsylvania when she sees 9-year-old Lulu sitting on a trucker’s lap, smoking a cigarette. At the truck stop for her friend to score drugs, Quinn takes an astounding picture and then leaves, disappointing Lulu, who thinks maybe people will see the picture and help her. Quinn goes on to live the heady life of a successful photographer while Lulu is confronted with various kinds of abuse and dysfunction. Despite the differences in their lives, both women experience moments of great joy, and significant amounts of despair This is a novel about haves and have-nots, those who find love and those who don’t, how the AIDS epidemic fractured New York’s gay community, and the confusing world of art.

Kerri Schlottman’s writing has placed second in the Dillydoun International Fiction Prize, been longlisted for the Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction, and was a 2021 University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize semifinalist. For the past 20 years, Kerri has worked to support artists, performers, and writers in creating new projects, most recently at Creative Capital in New York City where she helped fund projects by authors Paul Beatty, Maggie Nelson, Percival Everett, and Jesse Ball. Previously, Kerri has been a factory worker, a massage therapist, and taught art to incarcerated youth. Kerri was born and raised in Southeast Detroit where she earned her graduate degree in English from Wayne State University. She lives in the New York City area with her husband and dog and enjoys running, yoga, and meditation.