Ah, mid-July: The air is hot, the grass is brown, and my brain seems to be experiencing its annual shift into neutral.
My summer mix CD is playing, featuring such forgotten classics as "Wonderful Summer" (Robin Ward), "Summer Means Fun" (Bruce
& Terry), "Summer Nights" (Marianne Faithfull), "Summer" (War), "Beach Baby" (First Class), and of course "Those
Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat "King" Cole. Once I hear those songs my mind seems to flash back to my school
years when summer was a warm and sleepy extended goofing-off period. Too bad that seems to disappear in adulthood,
right?
The early part of the summer was dedicated to intense promotion for The Handyman's Reality. Since I've
been reassured that the book has been stocked at the appropriate locations for those folks looking for summer vacation
and beach-time reading, I suppose I can relax and concentrate on my own summer reading.
Let's see: I'm still recommending Clearcut by Nina Shengold, and still adding the warning for potential
readers that there's a hell of a lot more heterosexual sex than homo; still, it's one of the best novels I've read in
some time. There IS a strong man-on-man element in the story, and it's just far enough off the beaten trail to
really rock my world. As one of the book blurbs says, once you've met Earley Ritter, you won't soon forget him. In
some respects I think this book would make a better movie than Brokeback Mountain.
I'm still raving about The Brothers Bishop by Bart Yates. The drama and suspense in this one took me completely
by surprise, which tickled me enormously. I love to be caught off guard. If Bart Yates is anything like Nathan
Bishop, I think I'd like to hang out with him sometime.
I just finished reading Discreet Young Gentleman by MJ Pearson. Now, this was indeed a surprise for me.
I usually don't gravitate toward historical fiction, but the book was highly recommended to me by Mary and Tammara at
Out Word Bound Books in Indianapolis. So I bought it, took it home, and was instantly charmed by the story and Ms. Pearson's
style. This woman has definitely got it going on when it comes to writing gay historical romance. Her earlier
book, The Price of Temptation, is now on my "must read" list.
And if you haven't yet read Strings Attached by Nick Nolan, Foreward Magazine's Gay Fiction Book of the
Year, what are you waiting for? (Links provided on the Favorite Links page for this one!)
As I learned recently the burning question on some minds isn't what Nick is reading this summer, but rather what he is
writing. Well, as usual, my muse seems to have packed bags and fled to a cooler place. At some point, though,
I'm sure the muse will return, and I'll be writing fiction instead of blog entries.
I have also learned over the past month or so that quite a few folks are expecting a third book in the Handyman series.
That's gratifying, to say the least. I'll be honest here: I had no intention of beginning book three until I was
sure people still wanted to read more of the story. Ed and Rick's fans have spoken, and the verdict: There MUST
be a third book! Okay, okay. I hear you. Now I know, and I am making it my goal to deliver the next book
in 2008.
It really does help to get feedback, although some of the stuff readers tell me takes me by surprise. I jokingly
told a friend the other day that the working title for Book #3 should be Mrs. Penfield Must Die. Talk about
a bunch of vultures! I can't believe how many people want her dead so Ed and Rick can get their inheritance. If
she really existed in Real Life I'd probably hire security for her. We'll see...we'll see...I promise nothing, and will
reveal nothing...at least until the manuscript goes to the publisher.
Again though, it's mid-July; I'm listening to "Hot Summer Nights" by Night, and instead of creating new fiction my
mind drifts back to the summer of '79 and all the nonsense my friend Anj and I were up to back then. Now that would
be a book in itself, but as per our agreement on such revelations it couldn't be published until after we were both
dead. Anyway, Porterfield and Ed and Rick seem a million miles away, but at some point my imagination will return
to the corner of Spruce and Race Streets, and the words will begin to appear on the computer screen.
In the meantime, I'm off to Indiana Beach tomorrow with friends to ride the Hoosier Hurricane and prove once again
there is more than corn in Indiana. Anyone who hasn't suffered through the endless repetition of that advertising campaign
over the years doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about, but for those who do, I promise that if I see that damn crow
tomorrow I'll throw a rock at it, or do my best to drown it in beautiful Lake Shafer.
Here's hoping the kid in you is enjoying your lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer. I'm sure the minute I board the Scrambler
at Indiana Beach tomorrow I'll be ten years old again, and thinking school and responsibility are a million years away.
It's not a bad feeling, and I think every grown-up should give into it at least once every summer. Work will always
be there, but sometimes fun needs an invitation.
