Glbt

[close] Discharged under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, former Marine major Cole Hammond is struggling to find a new identity. But PTSD casts a pall on everything, and his hard-nosed, homophobic father can’t even bear to look him in the eye. To top it all off, he’s pretty sure he’s flunking out of law school.

Marc Sullivan is a kind, sensitive romance author-slash-waiter with a thing for men in uniform. Cole’s not wearing his anymore, but there’s no mistaking the warrior Marc meets in the diner one rainy afternoon. Cole’s sexy smile and Carolina drawl prove irresistible, but Marc’s played this game before, and he always loses. Once a Marine, always a Marine, and if there’s one thing Marc knows about such men, it’s that they all leave him in the end. It doesn’t help that Cole’s practically closeted in public, or that he refuses to seek treatment for his PTSD.

But like any good Marine, Cole’s willing to fight for what matters. And like the characters in Marc’s stories, he’s certain that if they try hard enough, together they can find their own happily ever after. [close]

[close] Composed from true life events and 10 years of memoirs, This Shadow Follows Me, is a riveting fiction novel of Alec Andrews and the friends and family that faltered around him.

The story begins at the death bed of Andrew's ex boyfriend Troy who was dying of AIDS complications. Alec tries to tell his life story in hopes that he can make up for all that he could not tell Troy when he was alive. Alec’s life story lurks with the self destruction of a family that drove him to crucify himself, in hopes they would be correct with their religious beliefs. From a homophobic family to a homophobic upbringing, Alec fights to find himself free from the illusions that capture him.

Alec is ultimately haunted by a dream where he took his own life. In the dream he killed himself, only to be told he would have to live his life over again without making the same mistakes, but not able to remember the previous mistakes to stop them from coming true.

Will Alec and the other characters have the strength to create a life worth living or destroy themselves in the process? This novel is a history of coming out of the closet, being gay and proud, and learning to respect those that are different.

Will Alec and the ones around him find their ways to claw out of the pain of life? Find out in this fictional and painfully honest story and memoir of This Shadow Follows Me. (Suggested Reading Age 18+) [close]

[close] Kierce has a rule for everything, not to mention his whole future planned out. Jay has bad grades, no plans, and could care less. As for Danny, he’s stuck somewhere in the middle and can’t stop stressing out about it. His dad keeps nagging him about his post-high school plans, his friends won’t stop bugging him about girls, and a run-in with the cops means he has to to get a summer job – about the last thing he had planned. Worst of all, the secret he’s been keeping for years is threatening to spill out into the open.

Just when he’s beginning to wonder how he’ll get through the summer, let alone survive another year in Deep Cove, Danny meets Lisa Walsh. Lisa is dynamic, beautiful, and different from any girl he’s ever known. She’s also from New York City, which is about as far from Deep Cove as the dark side of the moon. For the first time in a while, things begin to look like they might turn out all right after all – that is, if friends, family, and reality don’t get in the way.

WAY TO GO is Tom Ryan’s first novel. [close]