Jay Bell's Blog, page 14

Our ten year wedding anniversary!

Andreas and I were living in sin for three glorious years. He was a college boy with the body of a Greek god, and I was… uh… me. For reasons still unexplained, he said yes when I popped the question. That was ten years ago. Ten years! A decade! I’d say it felt like yesterday, but that would be trite and not at all honest. But still, it only feels like five and a half years. Maybe six. So anyway, to commemorate the luckiest event of my life, I made a video. It tells our story, gives you a glimpse of our wedding, and features nine billion photos of us. Putting this video together, that really drove home our history and reminded me of how much we’ve been through. Time flies when you’re married to a guy like Andreas. Relationships are a lot of work, but he makes it so damn easy. And I love him. I love him, I love him, I love him! *sigh* Okay. Enjoy the video!

A hint of Spring

Happy Birthday, Tim Wyman! Now please move out of the spotlight because there’s a new guy in town. Speculation has been rampant over who the main character in Something Like Spring will be. When I announced it would be an all new character, I should have been more specific and said a newly invented character. My easily misinterpreted statement led some to believe that “new” meant anyone but Ben, Tim, or Jace. Many people thought Eric would be getting his own book, or even Victor or Ryan. I’m afraid this isn’t the case. The season of spring brings with it a fresh start, so it seemed appropriate that we would meet someone we’d never had before.

Why? Well, we’ve already gotten into Ben, Tim and Jace’s heads, and seen each character from the perspective of a person who loves them, or in some cases, a person competing with them. Those are all very intimate perspectives, which made me eager to see Ben and Tim through the eyes of a stranger. That stranger’s name is Jason Grant. I know the name doesn’t mean anything to you right now, but when you’ve finished reading Jason’s story, I hope he’ll become just as special to you as the other guys.

So what exactly is Something Like Spring about? Will Ben and Tim adopt a kid? Is that who Jason is? Not exactly. After three books, a definite theme has emerged for this series. Each book starts with a teenager on the verge of becoming an adult and takes us through their first great love. Then there are jumps in time, allowing us to see their life over multiple stages, with themes of love, loss, and death being tackled along the way. Something Like Spring will be no different, and yet, like each book in the series, it will very much be its own unique journey. But never fear, Spring does tie in with the other books. Rather than give us familiar scenes from a new perspective, this book is supported by a slew of characters from the previous three, and yes, we do get to see what happens to Ben and Tim after the events of Winter. While Jason isn’t an adopted child in the traditional sense, he’s very much the spiritual successor of one character… maybe two. I’ll let you discover who on your own.

That’s all I’m willing to reveal for now. Much work remains. With such a rich history to draw from, so many new characters to meet, and untold stories to explore, Spring is shaping up to be another fat book. It continues to be very exciting to write, and I hope that translates to a thrilling read for you guys. I can’t nail down a specific release date at this point, but Something Like Spring should be ready to go this winter. As usual, you can be notified the moment it’s released by signing up for my newsletter. The quick and easy form is on the left and down a little. Oh, and the Something Like Summer ninety-nine cent sale continues all this weekend, so please spread the word to your friends and family! Love you guys! Peace out!

End of summer Summer sale!

It’s Tim Wyman’s birthday! Almost! To celebrate, in the week leading up to the big day, Something Like Summer will be on sale for a mere ninty-nine cents. Ninty-nine cents!!! “But Jay,” you are probably saying. “Why put Summer on sale when Winter is Tim’s book?” Well, my sexy little friend, the idea is to get more people reading this series, and we all know that Summer is a gateway drug to the other seasons. This is the perfect time to get your more stingy and skeptical friends to read one of the greatest gay love stories ever told. Tell them about the impending movie! Tell them about the sex scenes! The angst! The love! The arrrrgh! Ideally, by the time Something Like Spring is here, there will be so many Ben and Tim fans that Amazon’s servers crash on the day of release. So please please please spread the word about this sale. I’m not really going to make any money off it, but I would love for new folks to discover this story.

And speaking of Something Like Spring, on Tim’s actual birthday, I’ll be posting a blog entry revealing who the new main character is. I’ll also tell you what to expect from the latest, and perhaps final, installment in the series. So please come back on August 24th, Tim’s birthday, to help celebrate the hottest fictional guy in the universe. At least I think he is. *blush* Oh, and if you haven’t heard, we’ve got Something Like Summer shirts available and a slew of art for any sad barren walls. Check it all out here!

And here are some handy links to the Summer eBooks on sale:

Amazon Kindle US – UK – FR - IT - ES - DE

Barnes & Noble Nook

Apple iTunes (iPhone and iPad)

Epub, Mobi, Palm, eReader, PDF, and more at Smashwords

Get the audiobook for free:

If you’re not yet a member of Audible, you can get your first audiobook for free, and that includes Something Like Summer. Learn more here. Or buy from: Amazon, Audible, or iTunes

Summer T-shirts, Winter’s new look, and art art art!

We’ve got Something Like Summer shirts for sale! Art prints too! We’ll get to that in a minute. First I want to talk about something else that’s changed. The cover art for Something Like Winter has been overhauled. To an extreme. Why? Well, Andreas doesn’t have much time to work on these covers. First he’ll read a late draft of a book to get the vibe. Then he has to dream up a cover and start creating it. My final drafts tend to go pretty fast, leaving him almost no time to revise his ideas. Thankfully, Andreas is used to working under the wire and keeps cranking out masterpieces. But with Something Like Winter, he was never completely satisfied. Personally, I like the cover we had, but when Andreas asked if he could change it, I wanted him to be happy. I figured he would touch up the cover a little. Instead, it’s almost an entirely new composition. Check it out!

The guy up on stage playing the piano? Yeah, that’s Tim Wyman. I’m always willing to let Andreas chase his own artistic vision, and this is perhaps the very best example because no, Tim cannot play the piano. Luckily, we’d always envisioned the cover to be Tim’s dream of seeing Ben up on stage before their second reunion, and it’s not hard to imagine Tim wanting to play some music for Ben to sing along to. The good news for those of you with the old cover art is that it will never be sold again or reproduced in any fashion. You have a genuine collectors item that will remain rare, especially considering that the old cover was sold for a mere six months or so. But what if you want to get your hands on the new cover?

Well, that bring us to the new merchandise. We’ve teamed up with Redbubble to provide you with quality art prints of all Andreas’s book covers. Sound too fancy? There are posters too, which are sure to please your inner-teenager once taped to the wall. A variety of his illustrations from the Loka Legends books are also available as prints or postcards, as well as a selection of his non-book related art. My favorite though is the new Something Like Summer T-shirt, which is available in all sorts of colors and sizes. These shirts are the perfect way to subtly communicate your love for books and all things gay. Forget Grindr! I’m already dreaming of someone meeting their true love by wearing one of these shirts. Not guaranteed of course, or even likely… but not entirely impossible either.

If you guys like the idea of T-shirts and these sell okay, I have some really cool original ideas that don’t utilize the cover art. Or feel free to make your own suggestions, because we’d love to hear them! You can visit our store on Redbubble right here.

Still not convinced about all of this? Check out this video of me showing off some of the new merchandise. Did I mention my father was a salesman? It’s in my blood!

Kamikaze Boys wins a Lambda Literary Award!

I was twelve years old when my family moved from small town Warrensburg, Missouri to The Woodlands, Texas. Much like Jace in Something Like Autumn, I was keen to escape to somewhere more exciting and much less sleepy. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand that I was just as uncool as the town I came from. Things were okay until that first day of school. That’s when it became clear that I didn’t fit in. Maybe it was my dopey clothes, or my lack of athletic ability. Or perhaps, on some subconscious level, the other boys could sense there was something different about me. I was out at recess one day when a group of about ten guys came up to me and started shoving me around. They pushed me down, picked me back up again by the ankles, and held me upside-down like they wanted to shake me down for change. When they were done with me, they dropped me to the ground and wandered off. Then a guy from my class sauntered over and explained he had paid them each fifty cents to do this to me. This experience pretty much set the stage for the next few years of my life.

I went to school every day with a crippling sense of dread in my stomach. I pleaded with my parents not to take me there. They did the best they could, taking to teachers and such, but every kid knows how ineffective this is. My response was to lose myself in books. I’d always been crazy about reading, but now I escaped into fantasy realms with a vengeance. The lady who ran the local used bookstore felt like my only friend. Or my dealer. Things got a little better as the years went by. I fought back a few times, which helped a little, but I remained a frequent target. By the time I reached high school, I freaked out. I indulged in destructive behavior, vandalizing and other terrible things because I felt like I would go insane otherwise. If you’ve read Kamikaze Boys, this is probably starting to sound familiar. You also have a good idea of how it all played out. Like David in that story, I eventually found my way to a better place, both mentally and physically. The journey wasn’t easy, but I survived.

Andreas and I at last year’s award ceremony.

Today I woke up to the news that Kamikaze Boys won a prestigious Lambda Literary Award. Unfortunately, Andreas and I couldn’t make the trip to the awards ceremony in New York this year. Had we gone, I can only imagine what my acceptance speech would have been like. It would have been made up on the spot, because I never expected to win. As I tried to imagine myself on stage giving an impromptu speech, I considered who I would thank. Andreas, of course, and all of you readers, but then I thought of all those bullies. Weren’t they the most responsible for this book being written? The idea of thanking the people who made my life hell is laughable. My heart isn’t that generous. But winning this award does go a long way toward healing old wounds.

I’ve often fantasized about travelling back in time, showing up on that playground and protecting my younger self from that gang of bullies. But now, maybe I’d show up after the fact. My younger self would consider this a betrayal, but I’d explain to him that this is the way it has to be. Those bullies shaped who I was, put me through a number of trials that—as painful as they were—make it possible for me to write about such experiences today. Hopefully, others going through similar situations can take refuge in the pages of my books, just as I once hid in the pages of so many novels. Of course my younger self would probably hate this explanation and kick me in the shin. Then I’d have to wipe his memory to prevent a paradox. Come to think of it, I could probably beat those bullies up and then wipe their memories too!

Looks like I need to power up my time machine. Before I do, I’d like to say thank you to the Lambda Literary Foundation for working so hard to support and celebrate gay literature. As for anyone out there that might be going through a rough time as I once did, all I can tell you is to keep on fighting. Don’t let the bullies win. Survive long enough to build yourself a wonderful life full of laughter and love. That is the best revenge.

Book release: Something Like Autumn

Joey, our top sales associate, is pleased to help you with any of your needs.

Something Like Autumn is here! Forget all the stupid blah-blah-blah that follows. You can come back and read that once you’ve finished the book. For now, go get yourself a copy and get lost in the story! It’s available in all the usual flavors: trade paperback of course, or an eBook for Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBookstore (see note below), Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and everything else at Smashwords. Have fun!

Still here? Oh, very well. I have a confession. I used to feel like you guys cared about Jace more than I do. Not that I didn’t care about him. I too found the guy charming, was glad he was there for Ben, and I totally cried when… you know. Despite all that, there just wasn’t enough “screen time” for me to fall head over heels in love with Jace. Until now. I didn’t really know what I was getting into when deciding to write Something Like Autumn, but I did expect a challenge. How can such a nice, well-adjusted guy be explained? Was he always that way? Surely not! Picturing Jace as an angsty teenager seemed near impossible. Then I wrote the fist page of the book, and I understood. I knew where Jace was coming from, what he had been through, and how he became the all-too perfect guy we meet in Something Like Summer. Most of all, in the process of writing Something Like Autumn, I fell madly and deeply in love with him. As you read the book—a whopping 150,000 words that finally give Jace his due—I hope you guys will fall in love with him too.

*-A quick note on iTunes-* Apple manually reviews books with naked body parts in them, which means it can take a week or two longer to show up at their store. It’s out of my hands, sorry! In the meantime, there are apps for Kindle and the like, or Smashwords can provide you with Apple compatible file formats.

Something Like Autumn cover art!

I love revealing cover art. When it comes to my books, I’m a pretty humble guy. I like them, but I don’t really expect anyone else to. So while the big sales pitch is a necessity, I don’t honestly feel like screaming: “Look! I made the best thing ever!” When it comes to Andreas’s art, I feel the exact opposite. So with that in mind… *clears throat* Holy shit! Check it out! Andreas created the best thing ever!

Take a moment. Ignore the text and my clumsily worded blurb on the back. Just take in the art and feel.

Are you feeling stuff? I’m feeling stuff.

Okay, now let’s talk. This cover is a slight departure from the previous two. Summer and Winter were a pair. Summer has Ben looking at Tim. Winter has Tim looking at Ben. For this cover, I told Andreas he didn’t need to stick to that pattern and he didn’t. We have a mysterious new character in the forefront—Victor. You haven’t met him yet. He’s looking across the lake at the guy in the green shirt. That’s Jace, and yes, he has long hair. It was the nineties. You’ll have to forgive him. On what will be the back of the book, we have another look at our punky new friend as he leans up against a tree and slowly inhales cancer.

Of course once the story is released, you’ll see this art in a new context, but for now let your imagination run wild. At least until May 31st when Something Like Autumn hits the virtual shelves. I hope to see you back here then!

Something Like Summer audiobook release and movie update!

Wanna hear Ben and Tim talking? How about arguing? How about them… uh… well, you know! The Something Like Summer audiobook is here! This isn’t an audio play with sound effects and a cast of actors. This is a true, unabridged reading of the book, and yet narrator Kevin R. Free lends each character such a unique voice that at times it does feel like a play. The boy can act too, so be prepared to have a good time! No need to wait. Check out a free sample of the first chapter right here:

The Something Like Summer audiobook can be bought from Amazon, Audible, or iTunes. At the moment, it’s only available in digital format, so you folks still listening to shiny coasters will have to buy the files and burn them to disc. I figure the audiobook is also a great way to expose friends who don’t read to Ben, Tim, and Jace’s story. Or something to hold you over until the movie comes out.

Speaking of which, the producers of the Something Like Summer movie have released new publicity images. The one above is of Ben, although not the actual actor who will be staring in the movie. Casting hasn’t taken place yet. These images are just to get investors interested and us excited. Check out the recreation of the cover art in this image:

Neat, huh? The movie is currently set for a 2014 release. Sounds far away, I know, but I’ll try to help ease your pain by releasing Something Like Autumn on June 6th and Something Like Spring later this year. Assuming all goes according to plan, by the time you’ve read the complete series, the movie won’t be so far away. It’ll make a nice grand finale too, but let’s not think about the end right now. Not when things are just starting to heat up! Instead, take a look at how the Something Like Summer movie came to be in this recent article on the Huffington Post!

Autumn Update, Summer Sounds, and another Lambda Award Finalist

The first draft of Something Like Autumn is complete! The story took me much longer to write than I expected. The reason was obvious when I checked the statistics. Weighing in at 150,000 words, Autumn is the longest book I’ve ever written. By way of comparison, Something Like Summer is about 95,000, and Something Like Winter nearly 130,000 words. Of course the editing process will trim Something Like Autumn down some, but I expect it to remain the biggest of the three books so far. While it’s still too early to guess at release dates, the most time consuming part is now over. We’re getting closer!

Speaking of Something Like Autumn, in a new interview I briefly discuss the general concept of the novel. Spoiler free, so don’t worry. I also touch on other subjects, such as what I’ll be doing ten years from now, or why I’m doing any of this in the first place. I’ve also updated the “About the Author” section of this site to include links to many of the interviews I’ve given online.

In other news, I’ve decided to commission an audio book version of Something Like Summer. The most common question I get asked, is if multiple actors will be performing different roles. There’s only one narrator assigned to the project, but believe me, he’s exceptionally talented at making his voice sound unique to each character. The audio book should be out in the next month or two. I’ll update here when it gets released and send out an email via my newsletter. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do so on the left. I only email when there is a new release, so I’m barely annoying at all!

Last but certainly not least, the Lambda Literary Awards have announced this year’s finalists… and Kamikaze Boys is one of them! Something Like Summer was a finalist last year, and it’s a great honor to be nominated again so soon. I wish David and Connor were real so I could kiss their beautiful faces! I guess the cover art will have to do. Excuse me please while I go make out with my paperback copy. Also, is it too early to pack my bags? I gotta get to New York!

New Interview and Freshly Won Awards! Yeee-haw!

Curious about Something Like Autumn and Spring? I drop a few hints in a recent interview over at True Colorz, a new site that’s chock-full of gay goodness. Book reviews, author interviews, reading lists, freebies—the resources over at True Colorz are amazing and growing every day. Please check them out! Quite a few gay book sites bit the dust last year, so it’s great to see a big ol’ rainbow phoenix rising from the ashes. Aside from the next two books in the Seasons series, I also talk a little about my troubled past and the inspiration for Kamikaze Boys. Read the article about me all the way to the end for details on how to win a free paperback or eBook copy of Something Like Winter!

In other news, the results of the 2012 Member Choice Awards are in, and you guys were very very good to me. I won five awards in total, or more accurately, you won five awards for us. This particular award is very special to me, since it’s based on what readers like. That’s the only criteria. Read it, love it, and vote. And man oh man, thank you guys for all the love! Something Like Winter won an award for Best Cover, which made Andreas very happy. Ben and Tim won an award for Best Couple. Don’t tell Jace! Kamikaze Boys won an award in the Best Coming Out Story category. At first I thought that was a little odd, since the book begins with both characters already out, but then again, living with the consequences of being openly gay is also part of coming out. David and Connor also scored in the Best Story Featuring Young Adult Characters category. Last but not least, Something Like Winter nabbed a prize for Best Contemporary Story. I literally couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thank you so so SO much. The only way I can think to repay you is by writing more. Rest assured, Something Like Autumn is progressing nicely!