A Gay Romance Without Sex
The topic of sex in books comes up every now and then on social media and I’m usually left on the sidelines wondering because it’s always so subjective for everyone. For me it’s about the story more than the actual sex…or whether or not there is sex in a gay romance. Or any other romance for that matter.
In other words, if the story doesn’t need sex scenes I don’t put them in. At least not in my indie books. If I think it does need sex scenes, I put them in. I think readers who buy gay romance…the majority…want sex scenes that will move the story forward.
I also add sex scenes for either sarcastic (or light humor) reasons. Sex is funny sometimes.
With that said, I think everyone who has read anything I’ve written knows I’m no prude. And yet there are times when sex scenes just are not needed in a book and that’s what happened with Meadows Are Not Forever. It’s never an easy decision to make either because writers never really do know what’s going to resonate with readers. So when I released Meadows Are Not Forever as an indie book and I decided not to include any sex scenes I did it because the story just didn’t call for it. If anything, this particular story line called for NO sex.
You can check it out here on Amazon in both e-book or paperback. It is free with Kindle Unlimited, and I’ve been happy with the private responses I’ve received from readers about releasing it in paperback. I never realized how many readers get frustrated because they can’t get a print copy of a digital book. I know that now.
Gay Shooting In Mexico
There’s a gay festival referred to as The Reina Gay festival in Acapulco and a gunman went on some kind of rampage. Allegedly, three are dead and five more injured.
Those killed were aged between 23 and 33.
The shooters’ motives are still unknown but their surviving victims have been hospitalized and are receiving medical attention.
However drug related violence in Mexico has killed more than 150,000 people in recent years and Acapulco has the highest homicide rate of any city in Mexico.
I don’t know much about Mexico, except what I’ve heard from Tony because he used to travel to Mexico City on corporate business all the time. In short, he always said he didn’t feel safe anywhere but inside the hotel, and even then it was questionable.
Hot Cop of Castro Arrested
I posted about this “Hot Cop of Castro” a while back. Armistead Maupin, the old time writer, posted about this dude on facebook and hot cop gained Internet celebrity in gay circles almost to the point of Ellen’s gardener. I know, it doesn’t take much anymore. People used to need some kind of talent to become famous, not just have an ass.
Here’s the latest on hot cop…
Christopher Kohrs, 38, is being accused of allegedly running over two pedestrians at 2.2am Sunday and then fleeing the scene.
Officers arrived at the scene, where they learned the pedestrians, two men in their 40s, had been struck while crossing the street.
Both men were treated at hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries.
I actually don’t think there is anything worse any person can do than leave the scene of an accident like that. I see it all the time on the news, and Tony’s mom was actually in a terrible accident thanks to a hit and run driver who fled the scene. I would think someone’s first thought would be to get out and see if the people are okay. Evidently, not.
You can read more about the “hot cop” here.
Another Gay London Pub Closes
This isn’t the first time this year I’ve posted about a gay venue in London shuttering its doors.
The London gay scene is suffering another loss as much-loved Shoreditch venue The George & Dragon is officially closing down.
Opened in December 2002, the East London pub has played host to a mixed scene with a big LGBTI following.
Despite seven years remaining on the lease, a recent increase in rent has forced the owners to put the pub up for sale.
On Facebook, pub owner Richard Battye said: ‘It’s almost 13 years since we opened our doors and from pretty much that night we have been blown away with the amazing response and all the amazing things which have their origins inside Number 2 Hackney Road, a former Victorian boozer, squatted and turned into a shoe shop which we reboozerified back in 2002.
There’s a list of other gay venues in London that have closed at the bottom of the article. I’ve seen the same thing right here in my small town, New Hope, where we used to have three gay bars that flourished. We have one left and I’m not sure how that one’s doing because I haven’t been there in about a year. There was a time when Sunday afternoon was tea dance for us at the gay bar…not so much anymore. It’s only the older guys we know who still do it. But I could be wrong about age as a factor…it’s just what I’m seeing personally, here.
Let’s face it, the majority of gay men out there just don’t go to gay venues the same way they did in the past. Tony and I don’t do it anymore and we met in a gay bar 23 years ago…a gay bar that has closed down. They’ve been predicting the end of the gay bar for a while and I think it’s finally happening. The only gay bars that seem to be flourishing are in gay ghettos like Wilton Manors or Provincetown, and I think that’s going to change eventually, too, because a lot of gay men don’t even want to live or vacation exclusively in gay ghettos anymore. They want to assimilate. I do, and that’s why we’ve been taking long weekend excursions to Vermont or The Hamptons in the past few years instead of Provincetown.
