Her name is Ann. Her journey from smart, sexy bookworm with self-esteem issues to wise, sexy bookwoman who's resolved them is the story she tells in J.C. Sutton's new novel, Beau & Eros.

The Beau of the title is the beauty of the books Ann can't do without. It is also the beautiful family she forges from a diversity of friends. The life-force love Ann gives and receives - sometimes wisely, sometimes not - is the Eros.

An only child raised on guilt-inducing religion, Ann accepts her innate sensuality early on, but remains insecure about its expression, which is why she graduates from college - a family first - with her virginity technically intact.The twinned conflicts between good behavior's conventions and the satisfactions labeled "bad" drive the coming-of-age story Ann tells in first person, present tense - with more than a little help from her irreplaceable friends.

From the not-always-fabulous Fifties to a fiftieth college reunion, Ann comes through with her sometimes-cockeyed optimism and often quirky sense of humor intact. No small feat, but thanks to more than a little help from her books, her friends, and her lovers, Ann arrives at her reunion ready, willing, and able to share her past life and future plans.