Last Burn in Hell: Director's Cut - Paperback

by John Edward Lawson (Author)

Kenrick Brimley, the state prison's official gigolo, hangs over a lava pit on trial for his life in a strange land. He will reveal the course of his life one misguided step at a time for his captors. From his romance with serial arsonist Leena Manasseh to his lurid angst-affair with a lesbian music diva, from his ascendance as unlikely pop icon to otherworldly encounters, the one constant truth is that he's got no clue what he's doing. As unrelenting as it is original, Last Burn in Hell is John Edward Lawson at his most scorching intensity, serving up sexy satire and postmodern pulp with his trademark day-glow prose.

The Director's Cut edition includes:

• Deleted scenes
• Alternate ending
• Photo stills
• Remastering for more enjoyable viewing
• And more!

What inspired this book?

Lawson says: "When I started writing Last Burn in Hell I was not setting out to complete a novel. In fact I was just attempting to conduct research for a short story to submit for an anthology. During my research, though, I came across a peculiar website. See, I wanted to write about a prison guard and their relationship with an inmate. I wasn't sure if it would be friendship or romantic. I wanted to explore the notion of knowing someone as they're going through their final weeks and days leading up to execution.

"What I found was a one-of-a-kind unique porn site apparently making use of security cameras and other footage, all depicting supposedly authentic encounters between prison guards and female death row inmates in several countries. Those countries were France, China, the United States, and one or two others. Why these nations? Because -- according to the site at least -- it is customary in these nations to permit a prisoner one last sexual encounter the night before their execution.

"So I thought myself, 'Wow. That is either real and so messed up it deserves a story in its own right, or that that is fake and so messed up it deserves a story in its own right. Either way I'm going to write about it. Now the real question is: what kind of person would do this sort of thing?'

"Enter our protagonist: the well-intentioned bleeding heart whose every move only makes things worse... So how well-intentioned can he really be? Sure, he has his own traumatic past, and bizarre current situation, but at the core is a story about someone who is really, really dense. And that's what makes it fun."