Charles Baran - Author
Charles Baran, Author of Rhoda Rage and the Goldfish Letter
photo by Dennis Dean Photography
My Story
I’m a former New Yorker, born and raised in a traditional Polish household in Queens near the noisy Long Island Expressway. In 2020, I happily relocated to Florida and live in Palm Aire near Fort Lauderdale with my husband, Kirk. We are together 35 years and are puppy parents to our 4-pound toy fox terrier, Wallie. I hold a bachelor’s degree in managerial accounting from Pace University in New York and for over twenty years successfully managed two leading high-end NYC interior design firms frequently published in Architectural Digest. As an actor—I have appeared in productions in NYC off-Broadway and many regional theaters in the US. I appeared in the film Tesla (starring Ethan Hawke) as the Hotel Concierge and in the series Godfather of Harlem (Season 1, Episode 4) as the Boxing Referee. (I’m still amazed I pulled that off.) In 2015 I won the prestigious NYC MAC Cabaret Award for Best Male Debut for my solo comedy and music show Recipes for Disaster. I have performed stand-up at Dangerfield's comedy club in NYC and several other comedy venues in NYC and Florida. As a writer—I currently contribute interviews for OutClique Magazine, a leading South Florida LGBTQ+ monthly. I have written two screenplays, The Iguana in the Parking Lot and The Delivery Guy along with a memoir, Child Star. My interview and current events talk show My Thoughts Exactly is found on my YouTube channel along with several videos of Rhoda Rage, the titular drag character of my novel Rhoda Rage and the Goldfish Letter. I have over 170 YouTube subscribers.
Books
A Mystery by Charles Baran
The streets of Wilton Manors are normally a ghost town at 8 am on a weekday morning. Not so when Rhoda Rage, South Florida’s top drag performer and local celebrity, arrives early one day to pick up her new wig from Jimmy, her loyal and talented wig designer. Rhoda finds everything topsy-turvy with traffic blocking every intersection. Old man Sal has been knocked to the ground by a speeding red van, Big Molly’s dead—slumped over her bacon and eggs, and Jimmy…well, he's nowhere to be found. On top of all that, Rhoda spots an unsavory character with a key entering To The Moon giftshop before business hours. When she crosses the street to get a closer look, he’s vanished faster than the fried pickles at Rosie’s. A bad morning turns worse when Rhoda arrives back home to find a mysterious cryptic note under her door written in Big Molly’s handwriting. It contains only three words—The Goldfish Know.
With Jimmy MIA, Big Molly dead and a strange note in hand, Rhoda, with her little dog Wallie, springs into action and knits the clues together faster than Miss Marple knits a shawl. A mix of nail-biting suspense and laugh-out-loud comedy make Rhoda Rage and the Goldfish Letter a page-turner you won’t want to drag your heels reading!
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Accolades for
Rhoda Rage and the Goldfish Letter
Charles Baran’s debut comic murder mystery is outrageous, campy, bawdy and surprisingly endearing. He gives us a drag queen sleuth in Rhoda Rage as madcap as Mame and insightful as Miss Marple, maneuvering deftly through a South Florida maze of vividly drawn eccentric characters.
CHARLES BUSCH
author of Psycho Beach Party and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife
Allergist's Wife
Miss Marple in Mackie! Nancy Drew in Dior! Jessica Fletcher in Ferragamo! (But never at retail.) Miss Rhoda Rage joins this sleuthing-sisterhood of absolutely fabulous crime solving divas—but refuses to do it sensible shoes—and that’s why I love her.
CHRISTINE PEDI,
Actor, Performer, and host of Sirius XM’s On Broadway
I adore this book. In it, Charles Baran displays a marvelous gift for mixing fabulous camp with intriguing thrills. Seen through the eyes of a series-worthy sleuth, the mystery unfolds with laughs, surprises and an awful lot of heart. A glorious exploration of life, death and all that glitters in between in Florida's gay capital, Wilton Manors
MICHAEL MCKEEVER,
author of Daniel's Husband and Mr. Parker
Charles Baran’s mission to craft a story well steeped in gay lifestyles, disparate characters, and murder investigations that are anything but formula or staid succeeds in a read that is powerfully diverse and refreshingly novel, from its main protagonist Rhoda to the cast of colorful characters that swirl around her.
Readers seeking added value from these strengths will find Rhoda Rage and the Goldfish Letter a compelling winner and a standout in both murder mystery and gay fiction genres.
D. DONOVAN,
Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
