Equal Rights Blog Hop - Learning Equality

Welcome to my stop of the Equal Rights Blog Hop, hosted by Queer Town Abbey. The central theme is “What does being a member of the GLBT community mean to you?” and many authors have set out to answer that question. 
I’ll be frank with you. Growing up in a tiny, rural village had left me with a fairly narrow-minded, traditional attitude despite the fact that my family was neither one of the old, local ones nor a traditional family.
I’ve always been different, so maybe I just tried too hard to blend in. Maybe I learnt too much from my long-term girlfriend’s family which just happened to be one of the old, local ones. They also happened to be pretty intolerant when it came to accepting alternate lifestyles or even different views, although they would never have admitted to that. Far from it. They considered themselves open and outgoing. After all, they loved to travel and explore countries way off the paths of mass tourism—which didn’t keep them from dropping snide comments whenever conversation turned to the one, rather effeminate and obviously gay teenager in the community or frown upon everyone whose opinions didn’t quite match theirs. Whatever the reason behind my beliefs was, until just a few years ago, I thought that the ideal way to live was being married with children, although I wasn’t sure whether that was the right option for me. I’ve been attracted to gay men since my first celebrity crush (George Michael, long before he came out, by the way), so at least I’m not guilty of homophobia.
When I finally pulled my head out of the sand and took a look around, which was incidentally triggered by my writing career, the GLBT community was one of the first places to go, and guess what? Suddenly I was surrounded by people whose beliefs fit mine—not the opinions I was taught by a bunch of bigots who never even realised just how stuck-up they were, but the convictions I’ve always known to be my truth, deep inside.   At this point in my life, I believe that everyone, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, age—whatever, really—deserves to be treated with respect and acceptance. We’re all human beings. We’re all equal, no matter how different we may be. We shouldn’t even be discussing equal rights—we should have implemented them the moment we realised we didn’t have them. 
I also believe that people shouldn't be condemned for their so-called moral failures. There's a story behind every single one of us and events that have made us who we are. Nate, one of the heroes in my new book Fantasy for Sale, is open-minded enough to see beyond the fact that Cam, the man he's interested in, is a hooker. He just accepts Cam and tries to understand why he does what he does and when Cam needs a friend, Nate is there for him, offering love and support. In a way, that is what being a member of the GLBT community means to me. Even though people don't necessarily understand why others are who and what they are, they still offer support and acceptance--and sometimes even love. 
Here's Nate and Cam's story

What's the price of reality when a fantasy is for sale?
Cam is young, sinfully sexy and willing to play without limits, a combination which makes him a fantasy turned to flesh for men and women alike - and he's for sale. Nate is curious when it comes to carnal delights but hasn't found the right man to explore his desires with. When a friend buys Nate a few hours of pleasure with Cam, it's not much of a surprise that Nate ends up intrigued. He keeps coming back for more and the attraction between them appears to be mutual but while Nate finds himself falling for the sexy hooker, Cam makes no secret of the fact that for him, sex is just a job.  Determined to win him over, Nathan tries to show him that sex is about more than physical satisfaction but Cam's walls seem impenetrable until a dramatic event forces him to reveal some of his secrets and Nate begins to understand that Cam pays more than just the price for the reality behind the fantasy.


Buy links:Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DP13JPYAmazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DP13JPYTotal-E-Bound: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=2177All Romance e-books: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-fantasyforsale-1225636-149.htmlBarnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fantasy-for-sale-sage-marlowe/1115773654?ean=9781781843567 
Please remember to go back to the main Equality Blog Hop page and keep hopping—there are loads of interesting posts by great authors waiting for you, promise!