Lactonic, A Love Story. by Hayat Abdulhakim
For my project, I studied lesbian pulp novels like "The Women's Barracks" and "Spring Fire." I also studied what makes a novel a pulp novel, aside from the paper the novels are printed on. Oftentimes, pulp novels deal with shocking themes, such as murder. These novels ranged in genre from murder-mystery, to western, to romance.
In this chapter for my fictional novel "Lactonic," I explore the story of Marley and Augustine and their lesbian relationship in southern Louisiana. Marley, a runaway bride, flees her wedding in the middle of a violent storm and finds solace at the Dunne Ranch, owned by John Ulysses Dunne, Augustine's father. Despite Augustine's mother, Ilene, disliking the idea, John offers Marley protection from her wedding party on one condition: she must become a cowboy at the Dunne Ranch.
Both "The Women's Barracks" and "Spring Fire" end in tragedy. In my own novel, spoilers, this is not the case, and Marley and Augustine live happily ever after.
Here are some reviews from prominent LGBT critics.
"A slay we haven't seen since "The Women's Barracks." Daring, sexy, and surprisingly moving. A triumph of literature that leaves little to doubt as to why Abdulhakim remains one of the most prominent writers of our generation." - Grace Campbell.
"I moved." - Luke Mohan.
"She came, she saw, she wrote. Brilliant." - Samantha Kruger.