Koehler Books author Mark Mustian with current sideshow performer Short E. Dangerously at Books & Books in Miami, FL
The world’s shortest daredevil, Short E. Dangerously, is a twenty-year veteran of the entertainment world. He was born with a condition that caused his legs to be amputated when he was two and a half years old, and in 2012 he joined a traveling sideshow called the World of Wonders, where he became the performer he is today, wowing audiences around the world. After making his exit from the club scene, where he was a renowned DJ and emcee, he met Bryce Graves, the producer, director, and owner of Hellzapoppin, a rock and roll circus sideshow. It was a perfect fit. He is an acrobat and fire breather, and he is regarded as “the greatest half-man sideshow performer in the world”.
Mark Mustian had the opportunity to interview Short E., whose time as a sideshow performer shines light on Mark’s new novel about a young boy who’s born just a little different in the Depression-era South.
What does it mean to be different? When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs. From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life? Following Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy With Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way-and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.
Mark Mustian is the author of the novel The Gendarme, an international bestseller shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing and published in ten languages. He’s the founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Florida and Michigan.
