Please welcome Andrew Q. Gordon!

A Closed Door – Part of the Love, Loss, Laughter & Lust Anthology

From Wayward Ink Publishing

First, thank you, Kim for letting me use your blog to talk about my newest story.

With the progress of LGBT rights, the challenges of gay men and their coming out is also changing. Once upon a time—like when I came out 27 years ago—you were considered among the lucky if your family didn’t disown you or freak out. Have them accept your boyfriend and you were even luckier. It was the rare person who would come out in high school and usually it was because they had no choice, not because they’d made a choice.

But as more and more people accept us as we are, as we now start to marry in numbers, have children—either through adoption or surrogacy—it isn’t uncommon for gay men to be completely accepted and supported at home. I won’t say it’s easy, or that no one is rejected—because sadly there are still far too many cases of those—but suddenly it’s not some ‘fantasy’ that a person comes out in high school or college and finds acceptance among his family and friends.

In LGBT fiction and MM Romance in particular, this creates a new dynamic. Happy, well adjusted and well accepted characters are cropping up where the tension and conflict has nothing to do with gay bashing, being disowned, bullied or rejected. Now we’re more likely to see main characters struggle with problems everyone else has, the difficulties of dating, work, school, and relationships.

In my entry in the Love, Loss, Laughter & Lust anthology, the main character—Orin Merritt—has the full and total support of his family and friends—well his college and beyond friends at least. The tension and conflict in the story revolves around the loss of Orin’s family and how he deals with his one time best friend who struggled coming out. Moving forward I expect we’ll see more stories where the main source of conflict won’t be the struggles of coming out. Instead we’ll see a broader swath of stories where the MCs deal with situations more mundane, but no less stressful—dating and relationships and how difficult those are all on their own. It’s something of a brave new world and I for one look forward to this changing face of our main characters.

Blurb:

A Closed Door; by Andrew Q. Gordon

Orin Merritt left home after high school hoping to escape the hell his life had become since he’d been outted at thirteen. When a tornado destroys his childhood home and kill his parents, Orin finds a new kind of hell. Blaming himself for failing the two people who always loved and supported him, he returns home and confronts his past in the person of his one time best friend, Thomas Kennett. Thomas not only rejected Orin when he came out, he led the group that caused him to leave. As he struggles to deal with his grief , he tries to fulfill a pledge he made to his parents before their death. In the process, Orin learns that sometimes when you leave to find something, you might have left what you’re looking for behind.

Love, Loss, Laughter & Lust Anthology, by Wayward Ink Publishing.

We’ve all loved.

We’ve all laughed.

Sadly, we’ve also probably all known loss in one form or another.

And, yes, we at Wayward Ink are sure we’ve all experienced lust!

In Love, Loss, Laughter & Lust, you’ll experience one or more of the “L”s as we take you on a roller coaster of emotions. Whether you like to sigh over the sweet, cry for the broken-hearted, enjoy a good laugh, or get a little hot and bothered, there’s something for everyone in this collection.

Buy Links:

Wayward Ink Publishing:

Giveaway:

As part of the release of the new Anthology, Wayward Ink is holding a giveaway. Just click the code below for a chance to win a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card. Two people will also win a paperback copy of the book, and three people will win a WIP USB Extension Cord and Fridge Magnet. There are 11 ways to enter and you can earn up to 20 chances to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write. He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his partner of eighteen years, their young daughter and dog. In addition to dodging some very self-important D.C. ‘insiders’, Andrew uses his commute to catch up on his reading. When not working or writing, he enjoys soccer, high fantasy, baseball and seeing how much coffee he can drink in a day and not get the shakes.