Ray Lester

Color and Taste Ray Lester

A very odd couple-gay White artist and a straight Black women's basketball coach-Nicky and Lajoya are roommates and best friends since childhood. Although their skin color has never been a problem between them, the rest of the world is more than willing to create trouble. Lajoya's act of kindness enables her to meet Roger Reeson, a successful gallery owner and a man of important contacts who knows how to exploit the boom town wealth in Seattle. Roger finds Nicky to be a fascinating persona and decides to take him on as his protégé. As Roger introduces Nicky to the world of art and art collectors, Lajoya encounters trouble with her coaching hierarchy. Through some shrewd maneuvering, she launches a new career as a personal trainer for women whose husbands make too much money. As the grandson of a Soviet refugee from WWII, Nicky is deeply ashamed of his Russian roots. He is forced to confront his interior conflict when Svetlana, the mysterious young wife of an aging tech bro, arrives straight from Moscow and inserts herself into his life. Color and Taste is a "before time" novel, set in the years preceding the enormous upheaval of 2020.