Hi, Iyana, and a warm hello to your readers and writers at Iyana’s Rainbow. I’m Paul Fahey and I
write the historical gay romance series, LOVER’S
& LIARS WARTIME SERIES. I also dabble in gay nonfiction so thought I
might start off by telling you about THE
OTHER MAN: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving
On.
Please don’t forget if you comment on my post, you’ll stand
a good chance of winning an e-book of THE
OTHER MAN and also put your hat in the ring for a copy of BOMBER’S MOON, the first novella in my
series. (BTW I don’t write novel length books. All of my books in the series
are novellas.
Since it’s November, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo (National
Novel Writing Month), so I just might make a novel happen. We’ll just have to see
how far I get. Stay tuned.
I really enjoy getting email, so if you’d like to visit my
website, http://www.paulalanfahey.com,
I’d love to hear from you.
Here’s a short synopsis of THE OTHER MAN. Not to brag, but our anthology is a “2013 Rainbow
Award Finalist” in the UK, so I’ve got fingers crossed for the 21 writers who
contributed to the book, myself included. Oh, all of my books are published by
JMS Books, a wonderful LGBT publisher. Do take a look at the wonderful writers,
Iyana included who are published through JMS Books.
THE OTHER MAN anthology is a collection of personal essays by and about gay
men and their relationships. If you’ve ever been the other man, had him invade
your life, or if you’re just plain curious about this beguiling, sexy and
unpredictable creature, then this anthology of personal essays is for you.
Twenty–one of our most acclaimed authors--many Lambda Award Winners and Finalists, such as Rob Byrnes, Jeff Mann,
Tom Mendicino, Erik Orrantia, Felice Picano, and David Pratt, write candidly
about either being the other man, suffering the other man or having their relationships
tested by infidelity. What we learn from these gifted authors is we must take
heart, that it does get better and one day our luck is bound to change. We’ll
survive the bumps and detours in our relationships and weather the storms, or
we resolve to move on. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll meet someone new and
simpatico, maybe even our long awaited soul mate, and life is indeed good
again. Or is it?
Want
More? Here’s a short excerpt from “Husbands” by Austin Bunn:
This is how I find Daniel in my
memory: naked, in my closet, on the phone with his wife.
“Are you in a tunnel?” I heard her
ask. “You sound strange.”
“I’m driving with the windows up,”
Daniel said. “Love you.” He flung the phone onto the pile of his clothing and
slid next to me on the bed, his eyes closed, an over-eager smile warming his
face.
Daniel’s photograph, the one he
emailed yesterday, showed him wearing a bad tie and seated in an office chair,
the ghostly slap of a computer spreadsheet paling his face. He claimed to be a
photographer, for God’s sake. Yet the total inhibition of his picture, the
complete lack of self-awareness, was somehow the attraction. Or challenge. Or
maybe this was charity. I still don’t know. Here was a man who couldn’t see
himself. At least he laughed easily. When he did, he barked upwards, revealing
a top row of teeth that came to a point, like the prow of a boat.
Initially, Daniel proposed I visit
him at his office building during his lunch hour. This was to be my first
encounter in a new city, and the thought of sex on industrial carpeting
depressed the hell out of me. Driving to him, anyway, was out of the question.
So I invited him over after work. An amuse bouche, I called him. An
appetizer. He didn’t get the joke.
He was slim and shorter than me, with
tremendously bushy eyebrows. A pelt of black hair covered his body, which I saw
as some certification of masculinity, however imaginary. On his Manhunt
profile, he said he had “suckable” balls—a straight man’s idea of a gay man’s
idea of sexy. I felt like I was providing material to Daniel, fuel for his
fantasy life, which I couldn’t help but think, judging by his greediness,
occupied increasing real estate in his actual life.
More info, including a longer
synopsis of THE OTHER MAN, a different excerpt and buy links for the e book and
print versions can be found here:
On to the LOVER’S & LIARS
WARTIME SERIES:
I really enjoy writing this series,
mainly because I can explore what it might have been like to be a gay couple
during the 1940’s in wartime Britain. I have two couples, one gay, one
straight, and they get themselves involved in all sorts of trouble. I suppose
you can guess by the title of the series, that the couples are spies for the
British government…well one character isn’t a spy, but is in love with one who
is and he joins the others when things get rather dicey. The first book,
BOMBER’S MOON is set in London during the Blitz.
Here’s a short synopsis:
After losing his lover in a tragic motorcar
accident, Leslie Atwater goes about the motions but doesn’t really feel alive.
Not without Edward. In a time where “one of us” was a euphemism for being gay,
Leslie and Edward managed to live a quiet, private life together, but nothing
prepares Leslie for a world without his partner. During the day, Leslie works
as a clerk in a modest bookshop in central London. By night, he’s an air raid
warden in his district responsible for the safety of his “flock.”
In an effort to feel closer to Edward, Leslie
spends evenings in his flat reviewing Edward’s portfolio of sketches. Edward
had worked as a freelance artist, and his depiction of Londoners suffering
through the Blitz appeared daily in The
Globe. Leslie discovers irregularities in the sketches from Edward’s final
assignment that he simply can’t explain. He begins to question what he was told
about Edward’s death, and his investigation leads him down a tangled trail from
the center of London to the coast of Great Britain. Tension mounts and nothing
is what it seems.
In a showdown with German spies at a lighthouse
overlooking the English Channel, bombs fall, people die, and Leslie gets more
than he bargains for in his search for the truth behind his lover’s untimely
death.
A
Short Excerpt from BOMBER’S MOON:
Leslie
climbed the stairway to the flat he once shared with Edward. On the landing, he
glanced at his reflection in the large, beveled mirror. A thin, haggard-looking
face
stared back with blond hair combed straight back, and bifocals, offsetting his
deep blue eyes, making them seem more brilliant, larger than they actually
were.
“You’re
just my type, Les,” Edward had said the night they met. “Sweet, unassuming and
sexy as hell.” Leslie was equally drawn to Edward’s olive complexion, his hazel
eyes, and jet-black hair. As a couple, they were indeed a study in contrast and
once again proved the time worn adage that opposites did attract.
Leslie
had learned over the past weeks—were they months? —to make his way in the dark
with the aid of a small pocket torch. Lately, he felt as if he were being
guided along through the darkness by some unseen hand. How many times had he
and Edward come home tipsy from the pub and found the light burned out in the
hallway? They’d had to hold on to each other for fear of banging into a table
or knocking over a vase, and waking the other tenants from a deep sleep.
Leslie
pointed the torchlight at the door lock, turned the key, and heard the click of
the latch. He was home.
Everything
in Leslie’s world these days was defined by sounds; he was tuned in,
constantly
aware of what was happening around him—another gift from the Blitz. With his
hand still on the doorknob, he paused and listened. Was that the rumble of a
train in the Underground? An ambulance siren in the distance? Simple, everyday,
taken for granted street sounds also became magnified. What kind of world was
this where even birdsong could seem menacing?
More info, including a longer
synopsis, a different excerpt and a buy link for the e book can be found here:
I’ve
really gone wild with LOVER’S & LIARS and enjoy the characters so much,
especially Caroline, my female protagonist. Caroline is witty and sophisticated
and great fun to spend time with. I hope you’ll agree.
I have
two sequels in the L & L series published through JMS Books: WEEP NOT FOR THE PAST and A MANX TALE.
Both are available as e-book novellas. There’s also a short Christmas story, A CHRISTMAS IN KENT, that continues the
storyline through December 1941 and is due from JMS next month.
Info,
synopsis and excerpt for WEEP NOT FOR THE
PAST:
Info, synopsis and excerpt for A MANX TALE:
Well, more information than you probably needed, but do
comment and take a chance on winning e-copies of THE OTHER MAN and BOMBER’S
MOON and/or drop me a line on my website.
Thank you, Iyana, for letting me chat today with your
readers. And here’s to all the lovers and liars everywhere, and I mean that affectionately.
My best,
Paul
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