I borrowed the concept of 'lettering' on a character's chest and applied it to the central character, Crimsonne Redd, in the third story, Yellow Jacket; of my first novel, Sculptured Nails and Nappy Hair. In my book, the letters were not branded on; rather -- they were figurative -- each serving as a painful reminder of a fucked up quandry which was of the larger society's psyche. the letters in my story were L-S-N for LIGHT-SKINNED-NEGRO. Looking back, I realize that I loved reading this book(as a high-school student) because it was my formal introduction to INSTITUTIONAL HYPOCRISY. ( )