Ryan Field's Blog, page 506

A Nice Surprise This Morning...

When I went online this morning I had three things on my mind: an interview I've been promising I'll do, getting up a new blog post about an interesting aspect in gay relationships/marriages, and getting out an invoice to my publisher for a book that was submitted last week. I like to get these things out of the way fast so I can start writing. Right now I'm working on a short story that I want to submit before the end of the week for Lori Perkins's new football anthology.

But while I was checking my e-mails I found the photo above. All things stopped and I went directly to facebook to say thank you. The photo was posted on my wall by my blogging buddy, Ryan. Here's Ryan's blog, a guy in love. His posts have always resonated with me because I can identify with a lot of the things he's experienced. I'm linked to him in two places here on the blog. I'm also linked to him way down deeper inside. I've watched him grow from a kid, blogging about what it's like to be a gay teenager, into a strong, smart man who just seems to get better and better.

I'm bad with time, but it has to be at least seven years since I first stumbled across Ryan's blog. I've seen him go through ups and downs...mostly ups. He's made me laugh more than anyone I know just by being there when I was going through downs. And we've established a trusting friendship through e-mails that I cherish. The only thing left to do is meet in person and give him a hug. He lives in Florida; I live in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. That's not easy to do. But I hope one day I get a chance to do this in person.

Update: Fred Karger in New Hampshire

While I'm not taking any sides politically in this primary...or in the upcoming election, I am posting info as I receive it about Fred Karger, because he is the first openly gay man to run for President and he's making history right now. Twenty years from now, he'll will be considered ahead of his time.

This e-mail was sent to me by the Fred Karger campaign:

Tomorrow is the first-in-the-nation Primary and Fred has been very busy campaigning all over the Granite State. Our final commercial, "Fed Up" has been running throughout New Hampshire for a week and getting an excellent response. It was produced and directed by Jhonmar Castillo, Interactive Creative Director of Moka Productions. Click on image below to view.[image error]

New Release: The Virgin Billionaire's Reversal of Fortune

The ninth book in the Virgin Billionaire series has been released today. I've already posted about it here. And I'll post more very soon.

You can check it out here. And I'm sure that if it's not on most web sites where e-books are sold now, it will be by the end of the week.[image error]

Interesting Gay Facts and Stories...

Most of the time I do these posts because I like to go back and read a lot of these things, too. Especially when I'm using my android tablet or iPhone. I find it more difficult to do searches on tablets than I do on a regular computer. So if it's on the blog, it's easy access.

Here's one with interesting facts and stories. They won't allow copying and pasting, not even if you give them full credit and promote them (one of those!) ...so I have to link and you have to click. But it's worth the effort.

Here's another, with a few samples below.

1. The first Gay Pride parades were held the weekend of June 27 and 28, 1970 in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They were organized to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

2. The rainbow flag as a gay pride symbol made its debut at the San Francisco Pride Parade in 1978. Harvey Milk asked his good friend Gilbert Baker to design a unifying symbol for the gay community and the rainbow flag was the result.

And this one is priceless.

•There are over 400 known animals that engage in homosexual practices
•Male lions will engage in same sex practices until they encounter a mixed pride
•Many cheetah brotherhoods only allow male members
•Male Orang Utans can retract their penises to create a cavity for other males to penetrate
•Rhesus Macaques and the Big Horn Sheep are one of the few animals that has anal sex
•River dolphins are known to insert their penis into the blowhole of another male's head[image error]

New Release Preview: "Cruising"

I have a story coming out in a new release from Cleis Press, "On the Bathroom Floor."

The title of the anthology is "Cruising," and it was edited by Shane Allison. I've worked with him before and I've always been more than happy with the end result.

You can read more about it here, on Amazon.

And here are the pre-release details:

List Price: $14.95
Price: $10.17 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Deal Price:
You Save: $4.78 (32%)
Pre-order Price Guarantee. Learn more.


This title has not yet been released.
You may pre-order it now and we will deliver it to you when it arrives.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

I'm sure it will also be available in digital format very soon and I'll post more when it is.[image error]

What do Fred Karger and RuPaul Have in Common?

This morning while watching the news on TV I heard that RuPaul visited New Hampshire. Then I read about it online. The info was easy to get; only one click. He wore an unusual pale blue blazer and some type of interesting cap.

"I am not Ron Paul!" shouted RuPaul, the famous drag queen (wearing men's street clothes), at the top of his lungs inside a cramped diner here, a picturesque little restaurant that presidential candidates have visited for years. "And I am not running for president of the United States!," he added.


I know Fred Karger has been in New Hampshire, too. He's that openly gay dude who is making history by making a serious attempt to run for President. Whenever I see him he's usually wearing a conservative business suit or something equally tasteful. I had to do a longer search for find online info about Fred Karger in New Hampshire, as you can see from this link.

Fred Karger will not win the 2012 Republican nomination. But he has at least made history as the first openly gay candidate to run in the race.

Campaigning fiercely in New Hampshire last week, Karger, 61, does not really see it that way. He proudly wears a rainbow flag lapel badge on his suit and is (obviously) pro-gay marriage, but he finds most voters do not care too much about his sex life.

The problem was I didn't hear anything about Fred Karger in the mainstream media; just RuPaul. I have nothing against RuPaul. I like him/her. I also think she/he is extremely smart and knows how to work the gay deal better than most gays I know.

I just find it interesting that the only thing Fred Karger and RuPaul have in common is that they were both in New Hampshire recently. One of them clearly received more attention than the other, and I have a feeling the reason is exactly the same as it always is.

If I were Fred Karger, I would be very tempted to do something interesting; just for fun. I know Fred would never do this. It's just not his style. I might be tempted, but I'd probably never do it either because it's not my style. But wouldn't it be interesting to see what would happen if Fred Karger put on lipstick and earrings on one of his stops on the campaign trail?

I'd bet anything the mainstream media, from Fox to CNN, would pay attention to him then.

[image error]

Openly Gay African-American, Republican Mayor in New Jersey

I went to college in Florham/Madison, NJ, and my family had a summer home in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, for over forty years. I still consider this area home. I grew up, at least part of the year, in Morris County, NJ, not far from Chatham, where this news is taking place.

It seems times are changing in more ways than one. Now there's an openly gay, African-American mayor, who is also a Republican, in Chatham, NJ. For those who don't know, Chatham is a very exclusive town, not far from where Jackie O used to ride on weekends.

You can read more about it here.

Here are the first few lines, taken verbatim from LGBTQ Nation.

CHATHAM, N.J. — Bruce Harris was sworn in this week as Mayor of the borough of Chatham, N.J., and became what is believed to be the first openly gay, black Republican mayor in the country.

Harris, an attorney and 30-year resident of Chatham, said he did not enter politics to break barriers, but "I have felt it is my duty to serve the community," reported the Daily Record.[image error]

Subjunctive Mood...

At the risk of boring everyone to death, this is a post I've had on my mind for a while. This is something I see all the time. I make the mistake, too, when I'm rushing through blog posts or e-mails.

But I try to get it right in manuscripts. And I've even had experiences where editors have tried to correct something I did right by inserting incorrect edits with regard to the subjunctive mood.

It's basic En101. Here's a link where it's explained very well.

And here are a few examples that make it so easy you'll never have to wonder about subjunctive mood again.

If I were you, then I would not do that.
I am not you, however, so I use the subjunctive to express this hypothetical or counterfactual condition. Especially note that the modern usage If I was you is completely incorrect.

If only she were here, then she would speak up.
She is not here, however, so the subjunctive expresses that fact appropriately. Again, If only she was has drifted into modern usage and should be avoided.

We should act as if he were watching.
We doubt that he is watching or know that he is not.

It is as though she were here.
We know she is not here, but it seems so.

As stated above, these mistakes have "drifted into modern usage." And I know plenty who would argue the point. But it's important to know the difference.

There are more examples here.[image error]

Harry Connick Jr.- On The Street Where You Live

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Cover Preview: The Virgin Billionaire Reversal of Fortune

I'll post more about this book soon. This is an interesting book in the VB series because the title can be misleading.

For those who have read other books in the series, they know that Luis's last name is Fortune. The title revolves more around Luis's last name than it does around Jase's money.

I didn't like the idea of Jase losing his money, but I did like the idea of Luis finding out what it would be like to be with Jase when he didn't have money. So I set up a plot where Luis winds up going back in time and meeting Jase when Jase is only eighteen years old. Of all the books in the series I've written, I think I had the most fun with this one. Who wouldn't want to go back in time, if just for a day, and find out what it was like to meet the person they are in love with as an eighteen year old?