Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing, this week's Swag Tuesday prize is Grace After Midnight, the memoir of controversial actress, rapper and out lesbian Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, star of HBO's The Wire. Written by Pearson and David Ritz, the book is due out November 1st.

While Felicia is a brilliant actor in a truly chilling role, what's most remarkable about "Snoop" is what she has overcome in her life. Snoop was born a three-pound cross-eyed crack baby in East Baltimore. Those streets are among the toughest in the world, but Snoop was tougher. The runt of the ghetto showed an early aptitude for drug slinging and violence and thrived as a baby gangsta until she landed in Jessup state penitentiary after killing a woman in self-defense. There she rebelled violently against the system, and it was only through the cosmic intervention of her mentor, Uncle Loney, that she turned her life around. A couple of years ago, Snoop was discovered in a nightclub by one of The Wire's cast members and quickly recruited to be one of television's most frightening and intriguing villains. While the story of coming up from the hood has been told by Antwone Fisher and Chris Gardner, among others, Snoop's tale goes far deeper into The Life than any previous books. And like Mary Karr's story, Snoop's is a woman's story from a fresh point of view. She defied traditional conventions of gender and sexual preference on the hardest streets in America and she continues to do so in front of millions of viewers on TV.

Earlier this year, author Stephen King called Pearson's Snoop "perhaps the most terrifying female villain to ever appear in a television series." Her baby butch vibe and homo-thug swagger have both attracted and repelled viewers of The Wire, a hit show known for its gritty authenticity.

This won't be the lightest read in Swag Tuesday history, but it may be the most fascinating. I have three copies to give away. Enter to win by commenting on this post. Please comment only once and remember to leave your email address. Publicists: if you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.