Month: June 2020

Three Gay UK Friends Killed In Terror Attack; 90 Year Old Man Comes Out As Gay During Pandemic; Ryan Field Books

Three Gay UK Friends Killed In Terror Attack

It really bothers me that this story is not trending anywhere this week. It should be trending everywhere, because this sort of thing is still happening to us. Maybe we should all be out there looting and rioting. No one has been more oppressed and shamed by everyone than LGBTQ people. And we are still getting it, violently. 

Three gay men in the UK who were close friends were stabbed to death on Saturday evening.

The Thames Valley Police, which oversees Reading, arrested Khairi Saadallah for the crime. The 25-year-old, initially charged with murder, was rearrested under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act 2000.

Of course they go into a lot more detail, which you can read here.

Sounds as if they were all nice guys. RIP


90 Year Old Man Comes Out As Gay During Pandemic

You know how I’m always saying that we don’t know how many gay men there are out there because many are still in the closet, well here’s a perfect example of this. A 90 year old man who spent his entire life in the closet just came out as gay. This really is something so many straights do not understand. They all think the world is this wonderful happy place for gay people nowadays. 

Felts recently wrote a message on Facebook to friends and family.

“The message was: I am out, I am gay, I am free,” Felts said of the post.


The story goes deeper with a lot more emotion, and a long lost lover. 

You have to read it. It’s very bittersweet. This week I parted ways with a small publisher because her 20-something year old demisexual editor tried to censor me as a gay man. You can question a lot of things I do. But you don’t question my life or what I know about my own culture. You won’t win. When I read stories about people like this 90 year old, I know I did the right thing by parting ways.





The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field






A Gay Homeland In the Nevada Desert; A Black Owned Gay Bar In Manhattan; Ryan Field Books;

A Gay Homeland In the Nevada Desert

This is an unusual retro piece that I never knew about before. I never heard anyone even mention it. And that’s rare for me. I have many older gay friends. 

On Oct. 9, 1986, at the height of anti-gay hysteria during the AIDS crisis, a biracial gay couple from Reno, Nev., made a remarkable announcement: They were going to create what some called “a gay homeland” in the Nevada desert.

They wanted to call this place Stonewall Park and refer to it as a gay resort. 

It’s a fascinating story. Here’s the link to read more.  

A Black Owned Gay Bar In Manhattan

From what I gather, this is a story that’s part of a series of stories that will focus on how Covid has affected businesses. The hardship has been especially true for LGBTQ owned businesses due to the fact that all Pride events have been cancelled. 

For Alibi Lounge, which owner Alexi Minko says is the last remaining Black-owned LGBTQ bar in Manhattan, the last few months have brought significant financial and emotional strain.

As if it’s not already hard enough for LGBTQ business owners, Covid only made it 10 times worse. 

Here’s the link to more.



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field


Ryan O'Connell On Gay Sex; Most Popular LGBT Web Sites and Blogs; Ryan Field Books

Ryan O’Connell On Gay Sex

It’s not a secret I love Ryan O’Connell. I love his TV show, Special. I love the way he does things. I love his POV. And most of all I love that he represents all gay men so perfectly.

Here are a few of his thoughts on gay sex.

“I went to Barnes & Noble and got this book called Anal Pleasure and Health that was for straight people. L-O-actual-L… For, like, three months, I thought you could only have sex on your stomach.”

Here’s the full article. It’s so true. Most gay men learn about sex through proverbial trial and error. We don’t know a thing, and no one tells us. 


Most Popular LGBT Web Sites and Blogs

Almost 20 years ago, I worked for a web site called Best Gay Blogs. It was a generalized web page that focused on just gay blogs. They could be professional or personal, but most were personal. Blogging back in the early Internet days was like the first form of social media and everyone did it. My job was to scope out personal gay blogs and interview and review the personal bloggers. Although some of those personal blogs were a bit self-indulgent and amateur, I never gave anyone a bad review. It was all very polite. And I got to know a lot of people that way…people I’m still in touch with today. 

A lot has changed since those days, and we’ve all moved toward other forms of social media in order to connect. But there are still a few LGBT web sites and blogs around. 

  1. Advocate.com – 290,315
  2. AfterEllen.com – 203, 924
  3. Towleroad – 200,477
  4. Queerty – 196,806
  5. AfterElton.com – 145,255
  6. The Bilerico Project – 78,459
  7. homorazzi.com – 77,342
  8. gay.com Daily – 71,360
  9. Outsports – 68,573
  10. GayGamer.net– 56,550

You can read more, here. 



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field




Ryan O’Connell On Gay Sex; Most Popular LGBT Web Sites and Blogs; Ryan Field Books

Ryan O’Connell On Gay Sex

It’s not a secret I love Ryan O’Connell. I love his TV show, Special. I love the way he does things. I love his POV. And most of all I love that he represents all gay men so perfectly.

Here are a few of his thoughts on gay sex.

“I went to Barnes & Noble and got this book called Anal Pleasure and Health that was for straight people. L-O-actual-L… For, like, three months, I thought you could only have sex on your stomach.”

Here’s the full article. It’s so true. Most gay men learn about sex through proverbial trial and error. We don’t know a thing, and no one tells us. 


Most Popular LGBT Web Sites and Blogs

Almost 20 years ago, I worked for a web site called Best Gay Blogs. It was a generalized web page that focused on just gay blogs. They could be professional or personal, but most were personal. Blogging back in the early Internet days was like the first form of social media and everyone did it. My job was to scope out personal gay blogs and interview and review the personal bloggers. Although some of those personal blogs were a bit self-indulgent and amateur, I never gave anyone a bad review. It was all very polite. And I got to know a lot of people that way…people I’m still in touch with today. 

A lot has changed since those days, and we’ve all moved toward other forms of social media in order to connect. But there are still a few LGBT web sites and blogs around. 

  1. Advocate.com – 290,315
  2. AfterEllen.com – 203, 924
  3. Towleroad – 200,477
  4. Queerty – 196,806
  5. AfterElton.com – 145,255
  6. The Bilerico Project – 78,459
  7. homorazzi.com – 77,342
  8. gay.com Daily – 71,360
  9. Outsports – 68,573
  10. GayGamer.net– 56,550

You can read more, here. 



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field




The SCOTUS Marriage Decision 5 Years Later; Julius' Is New York's Oldest Gay Bar; Ryan Field Books

The SCOTUS Marriage Decision 5 Years Later

I can’t believe it’s actually been 5 years. And yet at the time it felt as though it would take forever for marriage to become legal on a federal level. 

Five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guaranteed a right to same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Friday, the nation remember the historic decision.

It goes into a lot more detail about same sex marriage in general, with Tweets, photos, and quotes. You can read it all, here. 


Julius’ Is New York’s Oldest Gay Bar

I didn’t know about this. I know exactly where this is. I just didn’t know it was the oldest gay bar. 

At the corner of Waverly Place and West 10th Street, Julius’ is the oldest gay bar in New York City. 

Here’s a link to the rest. They go into detail about “slip-ins.” It’s a nice history piece about gay culture, which you don’t see often. 





The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field


The SCOTUS Marriage Decision 5 Years Later; Julius’ Is New York’s Oldest Gay Bar; Ryan Field Books

The SCOTUS Marriage Decision 5 Years Later

I can’t believe it’s actually been 5 years. And yet at the time it felt as though it would take forever for marriage to become legal on a federal level. 

Five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guaranteed a right to same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Friday, the nation remember the historic decision.

It goes into a lot more detail about same sex marriage in general, with Tweets, photos, and quotes. You can read it all, here. 


Julius’ Is New York’s Oldest Gay Bar

I didn’t know about this. I know exactly where this is. I just didn’t know it was the oldest gay bar. 

At the corner of Waverly Place and West 10th Street, Julius’ is the oldest gay bar in New York City. 

Here’s a link to the rest. They go into detail about “slip-ins.” It’s a nice history piece about gay culture, which you don’t see often. 





The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field


US Embassy in Moscow Flies Rainbow Flag; LGBT People in Gabon Fear Backlash After Gay Sex Vote; Ryan Field Books

US Embassy In Moscow Flies Rainbow Flag

In order to push a positive Pride message in Russia, the US embassy in Moscow put out the rainbow flag.

This is what they posted on Insta…

Today, the US Embassy in Russia honors the LGBTI Pride Flag during the #PrideFlagDay celebration.

You can check it out, here. The article goes into more detail about what it’s like for LGBTQ people in Russia nowadays, and there’s a photo of the flag on their building.

LGBT People in Gabon Fear Backlash After Gay Sex Vote

Here’s more disturbing global news.

Gabon’s LGBT+ community said on Wednesday they feared a homophobic backlash after the lower house of parliament voted to legalise gay sex, less than a year after making it a crime.

Gabon is in Africa, of course.

You can read more, here. It’s another hideous anti-gay country in Africa. In 2019 a law was passed that states you can get up to six months in prison for having gay sex. Plus, a steep fine.



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field

How Straight Mainstream Publishing Screws Gay Authors; US Marines Mark Pride Month; Ryan Field Books

How Straight Mainstream Publishing Screws Gay Authors

Here’s something interesting that I saw yesterday in a group for LGBTQ authors. It’s not quite your run of the mill screw job that we usually get from mainstream publishing and straight authors, but it is clever…in a sneaky way.  

Apparently, a straight liberal woman author who is well known for a series of books is number 1 in an LGBTQ book category on Amazon. How did she get there? She’s with a large mainstream publisher, she’s highly vocal about her liberal politics, and she often includes minor gay characters in her work. She’s known for this. 

However, her books are NOT considered LGBTQ, and they are NOT real LGBTQ content. These are mainstream books, with mainstream content, written for a mainstream audience, that sometimes have an LGBTQ character. 

And yet her publisher classifies her book as LGBTQ on Amazon, and she’s number one in this particular LGBTQ category. 

Interesting. 

I have links, but I’m not posting them. It’s not the first time mainstream publishing has done something sneaky and it won’t be the last. I’m just pointing out that if you are writing mainstream fiction and you happen to have a gay character, that does NOT make it an LGBTQ book. That makes it a mainstream heteronormative book with a gay character. And I don’t care how liberal you are or how may gay friends you have. 

US Marines Mark Pride Month

Now here’s something more positive, and much more uplifting than what I posted above. 

The US Marine Corps has marked LGBTQ Pride Month. Anyone disagreeing with this gesture of support risks a blunt response from one serving member in particular.

It goes on to mention DADT, and the repeal which was 10 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. It feels like yesterday I was posting about it. Here’s a link to my post dating back to 2010. 

But for now DADT has been repealed, and it looks like it’s going to stick, ending one of the most discriminatory laws this country has ever seen.




The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field

Gay Sex In the Time of COVID; 20 More LGBTQ Sex Myths; Ryan Field Books

Gay Sex In the Time of COVID

It’s no secret that everything about life as we’ve always known it has changed since the coronavirus took over the planet. Here’s what it’s doing to gay sex lives.

Many men have changed their habits completely, and they aren’t having sex as often.

“They say, ‘I haven’t had any contact since I saw you last, so there’s no need to do any STD tests,’” said Klausner.

Here’s more. If I were single I would be thinking the same way. And I think it’s because we simply do not know enough about this virus. In any event, it’s an interesting article that covers a few things. 


20 More LGBTQ Sex Myths

There’s always been a lot of false information out there about LGBTQ sex, especially gay sex. This article tackles a few of those myths in a smart, clinical way. 

They’re all pretty good, but here’s one I like. Not all gay men love poppers. 

Or that we all like poppers

Some queer people don’t like to use poppers, or find drugs and sex an unpleasant experience. No problem there if it’s not your thing! It’s important to remember tastes come in all varieties.

You can read it all, here. 

And here’s one more myth from me. Not all gay men want to be called “queer.” If that’s what you want, fine. But pay attention closely: many of us find that word as offensive and insulting as the N word. I think we should all have the right to identify however we choose. I don’t find it offensive if other people want that, but I choose not to be “queer.” 



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field


10 Excellent Nude Beaches with Photos of Nude Guys; Mom Forces Teen To Come Out; Ryan Field Books

10 Excellent Nude Beaches with Photos of Nude Guys

I always try to post something about this every year in hopes that someone who’s never been to a nude beach might try it. It’s really a wonderful experience. You’ll never regret it.

If you’re looking for clothing-optional options that include the sun, sand, and surf get thee to a nude beach. The following beaches have all reopened for the summer season. Please check the safety guidelines at each location.

Here’s a link for more. There are photos, too. All SFW.

Mom Forces Teen To Come Out

Whenever I see a situation where someone is forcing someone else to come out, I grow livid. It bothers me just as much as whenever I see someone out gay people. Mind your own damn business and let closeted gay people come out when they are good and ready. You don’t get to choose this for them. In this case, the guy’s mom is forcing him to come out.

She’s forcing him to come out to his homophobic dad and he’s just not ready to do that. And for me that’s the point: he’s just not ready. Any back story is irrelevant to me. It’s up to the individual. Of course I also think the mom is correct and the kid should come out. I hope he does come out. But on his terms, and when the time is right for him.

You can read it all, here. The whole piece is interesting, especially the comments at the end.



The Straight Pride Parade: This is one night he’ll never forget! by [Ryan Field]








Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed, and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”

Altered Parts


Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


While the book is easily readable, it also addresses emotions stereotypes and relationships. I would have preferred it be 3 times as long and tragically most guys don’t find happy endings as depicted.. but in a short book, it provides food for thought, clarity and insight.. far more and better expressed than 99% of gay fiction . I don’t think it could have been done better.


Kendle's Fire by Ryan Field