But my FRIEND (let's call him Justin's Friend) DID wake up in a twink's dorm this morning. And the first thing he texts me?
"Woke up in a twink's dorm room and saw this... figured you'd appreciate it."
And WHAT, pray tell, did Justin's Friend find in Unnamed Twink's Dorm?
I'll show you...
IT'S MY BOOK!
YES! YES! YES!
I cannot tell you how excited I get when I find out that gay boys own and are reading my book. I live a strangely disconnected gay author life. It seems like many people assume I'm some super-popular, hot-shot author who has no time for them. So, once a week or so, an intrepid gay man will send a message to me on Facebook or via email to the extent of:
"Hey, I assume you're super busy, and I don't want to bother you, but I wanted to tell you how much I loved Gulliver Travels"
I am always astounded by this. I am NEVER too busy! I would LOVE to hear who has my book, and what they liked or didn't like about it. I NEED the feedback. Because I'm crazy and have treacherously low self esteem. And yet, everyone assumes I'm just some super busy super star who couldn't be bothered to hear their piddling opinions.
I CALL BULLSHIT.
You reading my books? Tell me! I'd love to chat with you. It's good words like yours that keep me slamming my fingers on this keyboard day in and out. It's the gas that gets me driving.
Some other great things I heard recently that knocked my socks off:
1. A gay man in Italy who I didn't know saw someone he didn't know reading my book, and found me to tell me about it.
2. A twink with a terrible cold emailed me to let me know his friend had sent him a care package from Amazon which contained cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup, and my novel.
3. A couple is now dating because one was reading my book on the streets of Los Angeles, and the other one recognized it, and so they had their first thing to talk about.
4. I occasionally get approached by friends who tell me they see people reading my book, and, when they tell said people that they actually know me, the readers freak out.
Honestly, it shocks me every time this happens. I know my books are selling, but I need real world stories like this. God, they are so fantastic. So inspirational. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to find me and tell me their Gulliver stories.
And YES, I monitor my sales reports weekly. I see that I've sold over 7,000 copies of all of my stories. And I get the amazing royalty checks. But still, there's a difference between numbers (sales or royalty dollars) and some living, breathing person telling me they've read my book.
It's beyond a trip. I love it.
So YES I am BEYOND pleased that my friend got some with a hot twink last night. I'm even more pleased that that hot twink either bought my book, or had it bought for him, and that it probably shares storage space with the flip flops he wears in the communal showers.
So, yanno... if you're reading my book... TELL ME! I wanna hear about it :)
xo Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com
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