Tyler, Dilbert, and the GRPFATAAHDSS

Hi, my best mate, Tyler Knoll, is a bit shy and hates having to tell everyone how great his book is, so I offered to write this blog for him. Thanks so much for the invite.

Who am I? Well, most of my friends call me Dilbert. You'd think I'd be offended at being compared to a nerdy cartoon character, but it's much better than my real name, so I don't give a rat's arse. As long as they don't call me Dil.

Tyler and me got on like a house on fire right from the start. Unlike some of the other guys I met when I arrived in the States, he was fair dinkum. A real bonzer bloke. At first we thought we were speaking different languages. What with his Southern drawl and my ocker accent, but after we spent a few Friday evenings, chewing the fat and sharing a few tinnies, we did just fine.

There were a few misunderstandings though. I still can't get over the fact that you can't drink alcohol until you're twenty one. How backward is that? But then if I had known, I'd never have invited Tyler along on that memorable Friday night, and our lives would have turned out quite differently.

So there you have it, my mate Tyler. He may not be Aussie, but he's true blue. Some guys think he's a few shrimp short of a barbie, and spends half his time away with the pixies, but they're barking up the wrong tree. The thing is, Tyler doesn't say much. It wasn't until I read this book that I realized his brain is going flat chat and his mouth can't keep up.

Don't believe me? Read the book and you'll see what I mean! You won't regret it.

At times it's side-splittingly funny. Or at least giggleworthy. Mind you some of the situations Tyler found himself in weren't funny at all. He came a gutser on more than one occasion. But he's like one of those toys that bounces back no matter how hard you push him. I had to intervene every now and then, otherwise some of the pricks he met would have walked right over him.

Some people accuse me of being manipulative, but I can assure you that I always had Tyler's best interests at heart. The trouble is that because he doesn't have a mean bone in his body, he doesn't realize other people are not as nice.

Take Rupert for example. I was furious when I discovered he set Tyler up. Threw him to the wolves or wolf in this instance. Extricating Tyler from that predicament took some tough negotiating on my part. Then there was that dickhead Gareth Evans who virtually kidnapped him. I suspected Tyler was in trouble, but what could I do? Still he survived thankfully.

After that I kept a closer eye on him. A much closer eye. I think it was worth it in the end. Why don't you do yourself a favour and read the book to find out for yourself.

May I close by saying a big thank you on Tyler's behalf. While he was too shy to appear on the blog, I'm sure he'd be happy to answer any questions you might like to ask.

Blog Tour – Tyler Knoll’s Just for Fun by A.B. Gayle

Title: Tyler Knoll's Just For Fun Series (Books 1-4)

Author: A.B. Gayle

Genre: Satire, humor, gay, gay romance, LGBT

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing

Synopsis

Tyler Knoll was born one wild, stormy night in April 2013.

Of course, Tyler might tell you he was born twenty years earlier, but should we believe anything he says? That’s for you to decide.

In Tyler’s first adventure—like many a gay man before him—he was SNARED by gay porn, wallowing in tales of bigger, stronger, harder….

Then his fickle mind was seduced and SHREDDED by the prospect of BDSM and slavery.

When a Big Misunderstanding SLASHED at Tyler’s sanity, almost costing him his life, he turned to another genre for his salvation. But even this encounter proved potentially hazardous—not from freezing temperatures, but at the hands of irate fans.

Finally, tired and SCREWED by his all his trials and tribulations, he discovers—like many storybook heroes before him—that sometimes Mr. Right is closer than we think.

Buy links

Everyone who bought SNARED gets a 20% discount at buying the Just for Fun composite from the WIP website! Check the website for details.

WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/?p=1278

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tylerknoll039sjustforfuncompositebooks14-1839904-149.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tyler-knolls-just-for-fun-ab-gayle/1122175760?ean=9781925222548

Book trailer

Giveaway

Prize: $20 WIP Gift Card and 1 ebook copy of Tyler Knoll’s Just for Fun

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Unlike many authors, A.B. Gayle hasn’t been writing stories all her life. Instead she’s been living life.

Her travels have taken her from the fjords of Norway to the southern tip of New Zealand. In between, she’s worked in so many different towns she’s lost count. A.B. has shoveled shit in cow yards, mustered sheep, been polite to customers, traded insults with politicians. Sometimes she needs to be forgiven as she get confused as to who needs what where. 

Now living in Sydney, Australia, A.B. finally has time to allow her real life experiences to morph with her fertile imagination in order to create fiction that she hopes her readers will enjoy.

A.B. values feedback on her writing, both negative and positive.

A.B. Gayle can be found at:

Website: https://abgayle.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abgayle.writer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abgaylewriter

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/abgaylewriter/

Just for Fun

It's my pleasure to welcome AB Gayle to my blog. She's here to discuss her new release Just for Fun.

I've read all your m/m novels and novellas. One thing I've noticed is that you frequently write stories with one or more American protagonists. While you have been to the US more than once, you are a died-in-the-wool Aussie (pronounced Ozzie for us Americans). But strange pronunciation is not the only challenge when crossing cultures. Aussies seem to like to come up with obscure references and strange nicknames for everything. Such as calling Americans yanks or Yankees. While many Americans would just roll their eyes at such a "quaint" term, southerners often take offense.

Tyler Knoll: Y'all mind if I butt in here? Yankee and yank are mild terms to them. Dilbert tells me that back home, we're often referred to as Septic Tanks or even Seppos! Apparently it's rhyming slang (Hopefully I've spelled that right. Autocorrect switched my first attempt to "rimming slang." At least it wasn't "rimming tang" as that is something quite different. Musky. Yum.

Tyler, the main character in Just for Fun, is not only an American, but a Texan to boot. He wouldn't much care to be characterized as a Yankee. Would probably even set anyone straight on that point.

Tyler Knoll: Yes, ma'am, I sure would, and did on many occasions. Politely, of course. In the end, I said to Dilbert, "How would you like me to call you a Kiwi?" He never repeated the insult after that.

Care to share some of the challenges presented by Tyler because you chose a southern boy for your MC?

Tyler Knoll: She didn't have a choice. I am what I am.

A.B. Gayle: Shoosh! It's my turn to answer a question! Can I just say for the record that it was a pleasure and an honor to work with a Southern Boy; they are so genteel. Though I must admit that at times he was a tad garrulous. Yet to his credit, he was always guiless.

Tyler Knoll: Hey, enough of the "G" words. You know I hate them, anyway, you have a typo, it's spelled "gentle."

A.B. Gayle: It's a different word. Look it up.

Tyler Knoll goes off muttering, "I'm fixin' to."

A.B. Gayle: Quick, before he gets back. If it had been written down exactly as he speaks, noone would have understood him. Thank goodness there's no audio version. And are Southern Boys always so d...?

Tyler Knoll returns Thesaurus in hand. Genteel: polite, refined, or respectable. Well, it's better than being a Johnny Reb running around in a jacked up pick-up with the southern flag in the back window! And if you want to use big words, at least I'm not a pernicious, petulant, prick full of platitudes.

A.B. Gayle: Are you calling me a prick?

Tyler Knoll: Heck no , ma'am. I'm a Southern gentleman. I'm merely saying that it's lucky I'm not like that.

What kinds of misunderstandings did the differences in culture present the characters?

Tyler Knoll: The age thing was the first one. See, back in Australia, they can go to pubs and clubs as soon as they turn 18. Dilbert didn't know I was underage when he took me out that fateful evening. Of course I didn't tell him I was using fake ID, because he didn't ask, did he? Mind you, I wondered why he asked whether I was eighteen or not. I mean I don't look eighteen, do I?

A.B. Gayle: It wasn't so much a cultural problem. Dilbert did his best to avoid misunderstandings, but was hampered by the fact that Tyler doesn't actually say much. Very little of what goes through his brain comes out of his mouth. It needed a massive fracture of the fourth wall to allow him to reach that conclusion and get to know his friend better.

What was your favorite bit of Aussie-ism that had to go because your POV character wouldn't have understood it?

A.B Gayle: Knee trembler. Tyler didn't know what it was.

Tyler Knoll: Hey, once you explained what it was, I understood. I've had plenty of those. Not back then maybe, but plenty since we got together. In the shower....

A.B. Gayle: Shoosh. I don't think she wants specifics about your sex life. But we should thank, Kayla, at this juncture for ensuring that you were only given terms and references you would understand. Why she even spent hours helping me find a suitably sized city with multiple story office buildings, no smoking bans, sports bars and gentlemen's clubs that had penthouse suites to stand in for the real thing.

Tyler Knoll: Well, I told you we had to be vague so people couldn't track me down!

What is your favorite bit that remained? And what did you have to do to keep it there?

A.B. Gayle: "tickets on himself" but more on that later.

So tell me, AB, what American term did you find to be the strangest?

A.B. Gayle: Roomies or roommates. We call them flatmates here.

Tyler Knoll: Hey, "flat" "mates" sounds just as crazy to me. One of my roomies was quite round!

Do you have an excerpt that illustrates these differences?

Dilbert’s normally happy-go-lucky expression disappeared as he commented bitterly, “But you’d be nothing more than his personal slave.”

“Slave?” I sprang to my feet and strode over to the window. Reaching it, I turned and leaned back against the glass. There wasn’t anything to see anyway: a parking garage and sunshine that I hadn’t felt on my face for ages. “What’s wrong with being a slave? Half the PAs in this building seem to fulfill that function in one form or the other. You always hear them complaining that they’re tied to a desk all day.”

At least I wasn’t an intern. They didn’t even get paid for the privilege!

Dilbert stared at me without speaking. Probably as astounded as I was by this atypical burst of emotion. “Anyway,” I continued. “What about the guy you work for? You’re always complaining that he fucks you around.”

Dilbert always maintained Toby Metcalfe had tickets on himself. As you could imagine, I’d been a bit confused as I’d never seen him walk around with little pieces of cardboard stuck to his suit. But Dilbert had explained that it was a figure of speech back where he came from. It meant his boss had an overinflated opinion of how great he was. As far as Dilbert was concerned, if Metcalfe did have tickets on himself, they’d read: Out-of-date stock. Must go.

Dilbert gave a snort of laughter. “Not literally. He wouldn’t dare. I’ll grant you that he’s an idiot, but so are most of the guys in middle management around here. Having to fuck someone should never be part of your job description.”

I wish I hadn’t told him now. But when I arrived at work on the Monday following that unforgettable Funtastic Friday, I’d told Dilbert about the role Gareth had “interviewed” me for. His subsequent outburst of fury had taken me by surprise. Then he started apologizing, saying it was his fault. He shouldn’t have left without me, but I’d taken so long in the bathroom, he’d figured I’d bailed because I was bored. It turned out that Rupert had told him I’d gone home.

Mind you, it took me ages to translate everything into English. There’d been lots of bloody this and bloody that, even though I’d stressed the fact that Gareth hadn’t actually drawn any blood. I’d even peeled down my trousers to show Dilbert. I’m not sure why he went bright pink. The red welts had faded by then. Shame.

In the end, I didn’t get the chance to tell him the whole story, as he went nuts when he discovered I shouldn’t have even been there because I was underage. His rant switched to the stupidity of a system that allowed people to vote and be killed while fighting for their country, but didn’t consider them old enough to drink alcohol.

I’d never seen that side of Dilbert before. Usually he was laid back and ultra cool. Almost as polite and law-abiding as a properly-brought-up Texan boy. It was lucky there was no one within earshot. I’d never heard anyone swear as much as he did. It was awesome.

Blog Tour – Tyler Knoll’s Just for Fun by A.B. Gayle

Title: Tyler Knoll's Just For Fun Series (Books 1-4)

Author: A.B. Gayle

Genre: Satire, humor, gay, gay romance, LGBT

Length: Novella

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing

Synopsis

Tyler Knoll was born one wild, stormy night in April 2013.

Of course, Tyler might tell you he was born twenty years earlier, but should we believe anything he says? That’s for you to decide.

In Tyler’s first adventure—like many a gay man before him—he was SNARED by gay porn, wallowing in tales of bigger, stronger, harder….

Then his fickle mind was seduced and SHREDDED by the prospect of BDSM and slavery.

When a Big Misunderstanding SLASHED at Tyler’s sanity, almost costing him his life, he turned to another genre for his salvation. But even this encounter proved potentially hazardous—not from freezing temperatures, but at the hands of irate fans.

Finally, tired and SCREWED by his all his trials and tribulations, he discovers—like many storybook heroes before him—that sometimes Mr. Right is closer than we think.

Buy links

Everyone who bought SNARED gets a 20% discount at buying the Just for Fun composite from the WIP website! Check the website for details.

WIP: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/?p=1278

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/Tyler-Knolls-Just-Fun-Books-ebook/dp/B00ZW6552U/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tylerknoll039sjustforfuncompositebooks14-1839904-149.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tyler-knolls-just-for-fun-ab-gayle/1122175760?ean=9781925222548

Book trailer

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Prize: $20 WIP Gift Card and 1 ebook copy of Tyler Knoll’s Just for Fun

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Unlike many authors, A.B. Gayle hasn’t been writing stories all her life. Instead she’s been living life.

Her travels have taken her from the fjords of Norway to the southern tip of New Zealand. In between, she’s worked in so many different towns she’s lost count. A.B. has shoveled shit in cow yards, mustered sheep, been polite to customers, traded insults with politicians. Sometimes she needs to be forgiven as she get confused as to who needs what where. 

Now living in Sydney, Australia, A.B. finally has time to allow her real life experiences to morph with her fertile imagination in order to create fiction that she hopes her readers will enjoy. 

A.B. values feedback on her writing, both negative and positive.

A.B. Gayle can be found at:

Website: https://abgayle.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abgayle.writer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abgaylewriter

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/abgaylewriter/

Review of Leather+Lace by AB Gayle

★★★★★ Five out of five stars.

I literally couldn't put it down! For anyone interested in a great story, I can't recommend Leather+Lace enough.

I love, love, love Stevie. He is an irreverent smart ass with a wonderful sense of humor. He's been through Hell and it may have twisted him a bit, but it didn't break him.

Master D, or Don the Dom as Stevie dubs him, is a bad ass. Or is that bad ass wannabe? He may know his way around Harleys and leather, but he's no stranger to the softer side of life.

Stevie Tricks may be a female impersonator and Don may be a Dom, but the story is not about BDSM or drag queens. It is about learning to trust again. The elements of both drag and BDSM are very limited.

So leave your expectations behind and enjoy the journey. But be sure to get everything you need handy before you open that first page because I pretty much read it straight through. And at roughly 300 pages, it is by no means a short story.

AB Gayle also put together a Stevie Nicks Leather+Lace playlist on YouTube of all the chapter titles. Something to listen to as you read the novel.

Leather+Lace is available at Dreamspinner Press.

Drag Queens Rule, Okay?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Getting to Know Me

Last week, I took a little "Getting to know you" questionnaire over at LRC. I don't think many people read it, but it occurred to me that my friends and fans might be interested in my replies. So here it is.

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.
What if I'm a good mother and like them all?
* Galen from Alexios' Fate is a real sweetie. He's put up with so much and is now trying to come to terms with his freedom.
* Cinder in From the Ashes is another sweet guy, but he's coming into his own as a young man.
* Andreas from A Spartan Love is a lonely young man, learning to trust.There lovers are princes and/or warriors.
I guess that means I root for the underdogs.

Tell us about your current release.
My current release is From the Ashes. It is a Cinderfella, an m/m Cinderella, set in 16th century France.
Blurb: Cinder never thought that he could rise from the ashes of his life, but an unexpected encounter with a woman claiming to be his fairy godmother may be just what he needs. Finding himself flung into his very own fairy tale, she sends him off to meet his Prince Charming. But was the gown really necessary?

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
I do most of my writing during the week after the kids have gone to bed. One the weekends, I write in the morning while the kids play games. I would say I write anywhere from one to five hours, depending on the day and if the muse is talking to me.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Finding the time to do it. I have some of my best ideas while I'm driving to and from work, but I can't stop and get it down on paper. Then I get home and while I have the ideas, the really good words have already disappeared. :(

What does your family think of your writing career?
They don't really know about it.

What do you think makes a good story?
Engaging characters are a must. If I don't like the characters, I find it hard to keep pushing on. But I think my pet peeve is when the logic is lacking or the information is just plain wrong. Research, people! I love research.

Plotter or Pantser? Why?
Pantser. I have the basic idea, and some times it's really basic, and then I let my characters tell their stories. My best stuff happens when one of my character takes the bit in their teeth and runs with it.

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?
I get the basic idea and then while I'm driving to work, I do my best to make it both logical and plausible. It's kind of like solving a puzzle. How do I get from point A to point B?

What book are you reading now? Any favorite authors/books you want to do a shout out for?
I'm not reading anything right at this moment. Maybe later today, I'll start a new book, if I get my writing and other chores done first.
I did recently beta read two wonderful stories: Leather+Lace by AB Gayle and Easy Ryder by Deanna Wadsworth. You will want to get your hands on both once they are released.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
Cuddle up in my recliner with a blanket and a good book. Frequently, I also have a child in my lap. Good times!

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?
If you enjoy writing, write for fun. Don't get discouraged. It's also a good idea to start at one of the fanfiction sites to hone your skills. Write about something you enjoy.

What hobbies do you actively pursue?
Cross-stitch and writing.

Morning Person? Or Night Person?
Morning person. I pop right out of bed, often before the alarm goes off.

Coffee, tea or other drink to get you moving in the morning?
I post photos of hotties labeled "Morning cup of Joe" and "Double espresso", but I despise coffee! I rarely drink anything first thing in the morning. I do like a cup of tea when it's cold out. Doesn't happen too often in Houston, TX.

It's a new year so do you do resolutions or goals for the upcoming year?
I've got a few WIPs going right now. I intend to get at least half of them published. The Apollo's Men series first and anything after that is a bonus.

What is coming up from you in 2013? Anything you want to tease us with?
* I have an Alexios/Galen (Alexios' Fate 1.5) short story entitled 496 BC coming out in an anthology.
* I am also working on the continuation of Alexios and Galen's story, as well as another novel in the series called A Spartan Love.
* The first section of A Spartan Love I am calling Taming Theron, in which our young hero Andreas learns that food is indeed the way to a man's heart.

Red+Blue Is Up for BOM at Goodreads M/M Romance Group

The latest novel by my good friend and mentor, AB Gayle, Red+Blue is up for Book of the Month (BOM) at the Goodreads M/M Romance group. Of course, I voted for her.

I'm about 70% through the novel and am enjoying it immensely. It is the first in her Opposites Attract series.

Here is the link to vote for Red+Blue:
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/67355-new-author-book-of-the-month-poll-the-nomination-categories-are-ge

Blurb:

Fresh from backwoods Minnesota, actuarial student Ben Dutoit is ecstatic to land a job with Sydney Sutherland Family Insurance, one of the few companies that offers life insurance to people in the high-risk category. The fact that he gets to work in Gay Central, aka San Francisco, is just the icing on the rainbow-colored cake. Ben sets himself just three goals: be out and proud enough to participate in the Pride parade; seek out the company of like-minded souls in the clubs; and maybe, if he’s lucky, fall in love.

But the men Ben meets are everything he’s not: suave, confident, sophisticated, and sexy. Unlike redneck Ben, they’re blue bloods from blue states, born with status, wealth, and the responsibility that comes with the package.

Ben’s still wondering if red and blue can mix when he discovers what risk really means. The global economy tanks. The job he looked forward to is in jeopardy, and every dream Ben ever had is threatened, especially love, the biggest dream of all.

Introducing Red + Blue by AB Gayle

It's always a pleasure to host Ms Gayle. I enjoy her wonderful stories and she usually brings some fine looking men with her! She also brought a copy of her latest work, Red + Blue, for one lucky commenter.

My first contact with Ben occurred one October morning a couple of years ago. I was lying in bed, wandering half asleep in that inspirational dream world where you just wish you had mind-captcha to record all those great ideas that vanish as soon as you get up. Suddenly, this voice inside my head piped up, “I gather your shit scared because you don’t know what you’re going to write about for Nanowrimo.”

Now, contrary to public opinion, I’m not quite ready for the insane asylum, and don’t normally speak out loud to people who aren’t really there, so my reluctant affirmation of “Spot on” was more mental than verbal. I had recently signed up for the National November Writing Month and was starting to panic about the required minimum of 50,000 words. However, don’t ask me how Ben knew of my predicament.

“I can help you.”

His voice sounded so certain, so real, that I checked under the bed to make sure I was really alone. Nope. Only dust. Makes mental note to stop spending so much time staring at the blank computer screen and do some housework! Oh, well. Looked like a little white pill was going to be on the menu tonight!

“How are you going to help me?” I muttered to myself, snuggling back under the covers.

Ben set off on this convoluted tale in which the names Jason, Mick, Adrian, Carl and Chris cropped up at regular intervals. Still, not willing to admit I was really hearing things, I focussed more on the young man’s accent instead. Every now and then, a slow drawl would break through, as if he was going to great pains to disguise his place of origin. Unfortunately, I’m no Professor Higgins and unless the speaker is from Brooklyn or the Deep South, most Americans sound the same to me. He stopped for a moment to take a breath.

“Where are you from?” I interjected before he could start up again.

There was wariness in his reply. “Minnesota.” Before I could get a chance to mention that I’d been there and to find out which part, he was off again, telling me that he was living in San Francisco now and his adventures there would make a great story. From the sounds of things, he was young, possibly early twenties, and ...the penny dropped...gay.

Okay, that sounded promising. “Sounds interesting,”  I hedged. I hadn’t really been paying attention. “Why me?” Those words would occur again and again over the next few months, normally accompanied by a few handfuls of hair being torn out. However, I distinctly remember his first reason.

“You know how you were thinking the other day that a lot of m/m romances are about alpha males in dramatic professions like fire-fighters, cops and soldiers...”

Obviously, someone who only existed in my imagination would be totally cognisant with my every thought, so this time I didn’t bother wondering how he knew.

“...and you were bemoaning the fact that none of them were real men in everyday jobs....”

Momentarily setting aside his offhand dismissal of some wonderful romantic heroes, my affirmative response was guarded. I could tell I was being softened up for something terrible. “And...?” I prompted.

“And your website www.abgayle.com says you like a challenge....”

“True.” Unfortunately, I was never one to take the easy option. “Put me out of my misery.” I begged. “ Where do you work?”

“For an insurance company.”

An insurance company?????? “What the...? Are you an accountant?” He’d warned me it would be a challenge, but really? Visions of Monty Python skits, featuring men in bowler hats, carrying briefcases and furled umbrellas flashed through my mind. Was I about to write the gay version of “Ethel the Aardvark goes Quantity Surveying?”

“No!” His voice almost broke, so strong was his indignation at my unvoiced cynicism.

Woops. Note to self. When carrying on a conversation in your head, the other person knows exactly what you’re thinking.

“I’m an actuary. Well, studying to be an actuary at any rate. You do know what they are, don’t you?”

As it happened, I did. Both the ones I knew were super intelligent, but not nerds. Good at sports. Definitely not your typical bean counter. Maybe I could do this. “But stories need conflict? Where’s the drama? Where’s the pathos?”

“Conflict? There’s plenty. Most insurance companies discriminate against gay men, by not letting them purchase life insurance once they’re diagnosed as having HIV.” He proceeded to tell me a tale of how one company had even been taken to court when they refused to pay out on a policy because the guy died of AIDS.

“My readers will be yawning after five minutes if I tell them all that, Ben.”

I almost felt the air around me move as he mentally let out a deep sigh. “I know, but things like that matter. It makes gay men feel like their life’s not worth anything once they become positive. Don’t forget that contracting HIV isn’t a guaranteed death sentence anymore and insurance companies have limited cover for people with other terminal diseases.”

“It’s still not a topic for a romance.”

He was silent for so long I thought at first that I’d scared him off. But I should have known better. Ben is persistence personified. Even though this interview was not taking place in the real world, I felt an instant empathy for the young man. His heartfelt passion and righteous indignation were palpable, real. I stretched out an imaginary hand. “Tell me a little bit about yourself. Maybe there’s a story there. What about the guys you mentioned. Are they your boyfriends?”

“No!” he spluttered indignantly and smothered a laugh. “Well, not exactly. I work with Jason, Carl and Adrian, Mick is a friend and Chris is one of my brothers.” His tone became reproachful as he added, “Just because someone is gay doesn’t mean they want to get into bed with every man they meet.” An infectious cackle burst out. “Only the good looking ones!” 

He dropped some pictures into my mind. I scanned through them. Nice eye candy.

“Still, not enough conflict, though.”

“What about the fact that everything gets affected by the recent global financial crisis?” A note of desperation had crept into his voice. “That’s really made life difficult. Adrian and Carl have been tearing their hair out, making sure the business survives.”

“Yeah, but my readers don’t want to be reminded of things like that. They want exotic settings. Not dreary offices.”

“What about Northern Californian vineyards and millionaires’ mansions on Long Island?”

“Still, not sold. Sorry, Ben.”

“Is the Quetico exotic enough? That’s why I approached you. You’ve been there. You know what it’s like.”

“True, but canoeing isn’t sexy and sex sells.”

“Well, now you come to mention it, there is some sex in the story. Let’s face it. I am a twenty three year old gay guy. Naturally, there’s sex.”

A conglomeration of images filled my head based on what he had told me so far. His personality shone through his words. Full of life, vibrant. Still, readers are pretty hard to please.

“Maybe if you send me an outline and a picture of yourself.” Naked preferably, I added mentally and immediately kicked myself. He must have heard that!

“Okay,” He sounded shy and a bit hesitant. “I’ll send a recent one that my brother, Chris, took when we went paddling last year. It’s a bit goofy and only from my waist up.”

I blushed and told myself to stop being a perv. “That’s fine!”

Then he sent me the photo and the introduction. Well, I couldn’t not write the rest of the story, then, could I?

Introducing Red

Some men can wear red, some can’t. Being a redhead, I avoid it like the plague. The color suits my buddy, Jason. With his tanned olive skin and dark hair—thanks to his Spanish mom—when he wears red, you start looking for the charging bull. His ass looks great in tight black matador pants too. Pity he seldom finds an excuse to wear them. Mind you, in his dark pinstripes, he can double as a GQ model any day. He has that mandatory slim-hipped sexiness and the pout to match.

I, on the other hand, always look exactly like what I am—a country bumpkin. As for tans, I gave up trying after overdosing on UV as a kid, hoping my freckles would join up. All I got for my trouble was sunstroke, a face as red as a lobster, and a walloping from my dad.

Jason hails from Long Island but never talks about his folks much, always more interested in tales of my family. When we first met, he kept bugging me to do some Minn-speak. “Say, ‘Ya, sure, ya betcha’, Ben.”

I told him to suck my cock for supper instead. Geez, one of the reasons I came to San Francisco in the first place was to get away from Minnesota. Why would I want to advertise where I came from once I got here? Yessiree, Bob. My older brothers might be happy staying there, but I wanted out. That’s why I jumped at the offer of a summer internship when a rep for Sydney Sutherland Family Insurance came scouting around college back in February. My talent for number crunching gave me the chance to follow my dreams to Gay Central.

I met Jason in a bar in the Castro not long after I arrived. There I was, talking to my friend, Mick—well, I’d known him for ten minutes and he was still speaking to me, so that made him a friend in my book—anyway, Mick had asked me to ride on a tandem with him in the upcoming Pride Parade when this good-looking dude in a silky red shirt and black leather pants elbowed him aside and pulled me onto the dance floor. He acted like he knew me, but it wasn’t until I was fucking him into the mattress two hours later that I finally figured out he was one of the firm’s top-gun salesmen.

You see, my traineeship role as an actuary keeps me apart from the snake-oil peddlers and their expense accounts. I assumed they were all conservative breeders with a wife and 2.5 kids, struggling to stay afloat with too much gearing on their five-bedroom McMansions and Porsches. It was real good to find I wasn’t the only gay guy working for the firm.

I hadn’t recognized Jason, but my hair makes me stand out in a crowd. Being six-two in bare feet also helps. Jason claims he’s six foot, but hey, that’s only if he’s wearing his high-heeled Cubans.

We don’t broadcast our relationship at work, although he always pinches my ass on the way to his weekly meeting with Adrian Sydney Sutherland, the head honcho of the western division. For some reason, my daily visit to the water cooler coincides with the time Jason walks past. No, wait, I remember—we planned it that way. Heh. Lucky no one has ever caught on. I think the boss saw him grope me a couple of times. The clichéd narrowed lips and hard eyes when he glanced our way indicated that something upset him, but maybe it was just acid reflux.

Thank you for joining me today AB Gayle. It's always fun to find out how a story came into being. And what an unusual tale you have spun for us today.

Ms Gayle is offering a copy of Red + Blue. Just comment below and leave your email address. A winner will be chosen at the end of the week. Good luck everyone! The rest of us will have to wait until May 25th to order our copies, print and ebook. I know I am looking forward to reading this story.