T.D. Faison, is a young, startling attractive man who only wanted one thing - to be a good father to his children. But after years of being stuck in a marriage that as he says was "not made in heaven," his wife filed for divorce with plans to take assume full custody of their daughter. But unlike most fathers, Faison refused to give in, thus becoming entangled in a lengthy and expensive court battle over guardianship of their child. And with his carpet installer salary, he found himself falling behind - unable to pay child support and the escalating court costs.

Then, upon the advice of a successful female broker that he had met while installing her carpet, he began to find other ways to make money.

His novel, 12.6: Blessing or Curse (Bagnot Publishing, 2009), chronicles the decisions he made and the steps he took as he entered a strange but exciting new world in order to keep his daughter. Readers should be warned that this book gives uncensored tales of how a man who in contemporary terms might be described as "hung" used his body, first as an exotic dancer, then a gigolo and finally entering the world of prostitution in order to make the money he so desperately needed. "What is unique about my story is that I am challenging the stereotype," he said. "Where most of the stories we hear about today are women doing anything to support their children and fighting for custody … that is my reality. I was struggling to support my children by any means I knew how, while trying to fight within the system for my rights to be a father and have partial custody. Aside from the wild stuff and 'taboo' elements, people are also interested in my story because my experiences as a man fighting for parental rights are unfortunately all too common." In the book, Faison first shares how he realized in high school that he was exceptionally endowed and that it provided him with an inordinate amount of attention - from both his female and male schoolmates. And as he shares, he took full advantage of it. But that was just the beginning.

"I ask the question in my book if 'size' really matters and even went so far as to conduct my own experiment which I share in the book," he said.

"We are a society that is fascinated with big things. Big cars, big houses - you get the point. And when I first started writing this book, given my own physical 'attribute,' I thought that it would primarily capture the attention of women and gay men but then I realized that straight men might find my story interesting too. After all, there's not a lot of difference between the myth associated with blonds and the myth about well-endowed men - the assumption is that we all have more fun." Readers may recall the 2005 book Hung by Scott Poulson-Bryant that sparked considerable controversy over the age-old debate about whether 'size' ultimately matters in a relationship. Faison says he remembers reading the book and adds that he wanted to push the conversation to another level. "That brother admitted that he was a relatively 'small guy' and so his book was based on research and surveys, " Faison said. "I wanted to set the record straight because I have lived the life of a man that is huge and I've done my own personal research. I was actually surprised to find that it really depends on the person that is doing the viewing. Big doesn't go over well with everyone - but based on the life of luxury that I was living and the money I was pulling in size can certainly take a man a long way." Now crisscrossing the country on a national book tour, Faison says he that while he is excited about the crowds that come out to meet him and hear him share excerpts from his book, that he continues to be amazed at the reasons why some of his fans show up. "It's kind of funny because some of my fans say they bought the book because of the pictures they hoped were inside," he said. "Others wanted to hear what I had to say about size being a two-edged sword - both a blessing and a curse. And then there were some who just wanted to meet me. It's been quite an experience so far." Faison has since abandoned the world of fast money, sex and debauchery, turning his attention to more positive activities. He currently lives in New York where he works hard at being "Mr. Dad" to his daughter, and travels throughout the United States, conducting relationship seminars, giving seminars on college campuses and serving as a motivational speaker. In addition, he is about to launch a new magazine, DeMari'a, a monthly publication that will focus on healthy life styles, celebrity gossip and present stories about "real life celebrities," spotlighting their contributions to their communities. The magazine is named after his 13-year-old son, a child that he never knew existed until a few months ago. At the time of this interview he was boarding a plane to meet his son for the first time. "One day I came to the realization that I wasn't happy with my life and I needed to make some changes," he said. "I was leading the kind of lifestyle that most people only read about in the tabloids - big money, beautiful people, drugs, private jets, high-class gigolos. What started as a way to make money to pay for an expensive and lengthy court battle over guardianship of my daughter, led me to the oldest profession in the world. But at the time, I felt like I had no other choice." He adds that his ultimate goal and the reason he is so candid in his book is because he hopes to reach people before they make the same mistakes that he made. "I won't lie - for a while I was living an exciting life, but it was also very lonely. I began to understand how I had been the reason for the failure of many of my past relationships and friendships. But it still sometimes amazes me when I recall what people would do just to get with me. Now when I talk to brothers I tell them not to worry about the size - just get your swagger on and that will fix the rest. And I tell my sisters to look for a man with a good job because when a man has a good job he can guarantee that he will never be alone." For more information about T.D. Faison, go to www.tdfaison.com

And if you are in Atlanta during the Labor Day Weekend, make sure you catch T.D. at Outwrite Bookstore (991 Piedmont Ave.) on Friday, Sept. 4th at 9 p.m. as he helps usher in this year's Black Gay Pride Weekend. Additional information can be found at www.outwritebooks.com