Gulliver Takes Manhattan TOMORROW!

Two and a half years ago I sat down at a laptop at my local Upper East Side Starbucks on November 1st, 2010, Day One of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

I had done no planning, no preparing (it's against the rules).

All I had was a blank screen, and a panicking brain.

WHAT would I write about? Well... uh... gotta make up a character, right? But who? Well, my good friend Chris had just landed at JFK yesterday, suitcases in hand. He was moving to NYC to "start over" after spending many years in Los Angeles.

Okay, I thought. My main character just moved to NYC from LA. Why? What would he do? Why would it matter?

Well, those questions turned into a 50,000 word novel (that I finished 4 days before the end of NaNoWriMo... score!)

Over the next 2 years I would triple the size of the book, cut it in half, double it again, and cut it in half once more. I posted each chapter as a blog that (not intentionally) convinced a large portion of gay Manhattan that "Gulliver" was an actual person. They were convinced they saw him at clubs and on the street. They asked him out on dates and offered him jobs. In the end, one thing was apparent: lots of people became very, very invested in him. They cared about him. They sympathized with and found commonalities in him.

My gut said I had something here. My mind said "you've written over 13 novels since you were 12... what makes you think THIS one will be any more worth it than the rest of that crap?"

I went with my gut, and self-published it as "Gulliver Travels" and began very aggressively promoting the novel. I did giveaways. I did a nightlife world tour. I pitched my story to radio, TV, and magazines.

As a one-man marketing team, I successfully sold thousands of copies, and got the attention of AmazonEncore, Amazon's professional publishing house. They bought a copy of the book, they loved it, and they wanted to publish it internationally.

Jump another year, to today, April 30th, 2012. "Gulliver Travels" went through another 3 editors, another 12 rounds of edits... and tomorrow, May 1st, 2012, my first-ever professionally published novel, GULLIVER TAKES MANHATTAN, will go on sale around the world.

 In Germany. In England. In France. In Italy. At bookstores large and small. On Amazon and Barnes and Noble. In paperback, eBook, and audio book.

Tomorrow. In a little over 12 hours.

Wow.

To call this exciting would be an understatement. What can I say? When I started the book, I was doing it for fun. When I published it on my own, I was going with a hunch that some gay twenty-somethings might enjoy it. I never expected this. I never planned for it. And yet, here I am.

My dream is coming true.





So now, some thank yous:

• To my Mom and Dad and Brother for ALWAYS supporting my writing. From the first day I started scribbling in my notebooks instead of paying attention in elementary school. 
• To my boyfriend, Joe, for being one of my very first readers, and one of my toughest critics. 
• To my nightlife business partner, Alan Picus for turning me into a SOMEONE with a PLATFORM and an AUDIENCE. Without his investment and support, I wouldn't have sold more than five copies. 
• And my original editor, Chris Alexander, who, ironically, was the gay twenty-something who stepped off the plane from LAX -> JFK that inspired the entire novel in the first place.
• And, finally, to the amazing team at Amazon, my editor David Downing, the senior book buyer and man who discovered me and Gully, Terry Goodman.

Of course there are many others worth thanking: my friends, my editors, my readers, my fans, and everyone else who's helped me along the way. So a thank you to all of you as well... you know who you are.

And now, we wait and see. Will I sell thousands and thousands of copies around the world? I hope so. Will people love my book and want more? Yeah, I hope so. Will I get a movie or tv deal of some kind from a lovely producer or IdeaGuy who stumbles across the book? My fingers are crossed.

As Gulliver says in the end of Gulliver Takes Manhattan (it's not much of a spoiler in my opinion):

"Basically, absolutely anything can happen or not happen at any second. 

I should be terrified. 

I am so fucking excited."

xo Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com

Buy Gulliver Takes Manhattan in Paperback

Buy Gulliver Takes Manhattan in eBook

Buy Gulliver Takes Manhattan in Audio Book

Haters Gonna Hate (And Post 1-Star Reviews)

It is only a mere week until my new novel, Gulliver Takes Manhattan, is internationally released.

And I thought I was nervous before when I self-published the original version, Gulliver Travels.

As I'm sure someone once said: "Daaaah you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Let me level with you, folks. This has been a scary and challenging time. A bittersweet one. There's the sweet victorious bit: my dream came true! I'm finally ACTUALLY published! There's a legitimate publishing powerhouse behind me and my book will be in the hands of thousands in no time!

But, then there's the tougher part: Oh shit... people who don't know me will be reading stuff that came from inside me... and judging me for it!

What I'm talking about, of course, are bad reviews. I have been getting my fair share of 1- and 2-star reviews since Gulliver Takes Manhattan was put into Amazon's VINE program - which is a great program that allows the site's top reviewers to get a free copy of the book, so long as they review it in advance on the site.

Well, while a handful of those reviews have been glowing and quote-worthy 5- and 4-star ones, some have been rather rough. I've been called a hack. The book has been called "Kensington Romance Trash." A reader in London said he only read through the book in the hopes that the main character would die.

Well then. You have to understand that this is tough. Yes YES I know that not everyone can love something. I get that. But, still, I've been so wonderfully supported since I self-published the novel, that I guess I got stupid and assumed EVERYONE would love it.

But BUT I have found some consolation. Let's look at some quotes...

"I started reading it with an open mind. But the simple fact is that it's rubbish. I am really amazed that someone read this and said "This is wonderful!"

That's one of 59 1-star reviews of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City. And as we all know, the 1-star reviews ensured that that book would never go anywhere, and Candace died in vain.

An additional note: Sex and the City has more 1-star reviews than it has any-other-star reviews. In fact, ALL of Bushnell's novels are panned by reviewers on Amazon. Seriously.

But wait. Let's go on.

"After finally finishing the book I realized "Oh, wow, that was such a page-turner, I'm surprised it wasn't some cheap dime-store pulp."  I agree with many of the comments that I've read, but mostly the negative ones, which are severely lacking"

That is one of the 173 1- and 2-star reviews given to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

And then, one more... just because I need to:


"Do you like 2nd rate sex scenes/references?
Do you like main characters getting killed off or never catching a break?
Do you like the rug continually being pulled out from under you in the name of a sweeping epic?
Do you like books that have no individual goal to be resolved?
Do you like stories that end abruptly with no conclusion?

Then this series for you."

Well that's one of the 171 1-star reviews slathered onto Game of Thrones.

In the end, I suppose the point is exactly what I said in the beginning: People are going to hate what you do. I won't even get into Stephen King, who has more 1-star reviews on his novels than higher... and yet is one of the richest and most frequently published in the WORLD. Or other polarizing authors.

I just need to take a deep breath and stop doubting my talents and skills every time someone hits my Amazon page with a rough and rash review. ANYONE can say your plot is contrived. ANYONE can say your characters are 1-dimensional. Or there's no goal. Or there's no action. Or there's too much sex. Or not enough sex. Or they hope you never write again.

How do I know? Because I just read a bunch of them on the reviews of Candace Bushnell, JK Rowling, Stephen King, and George R.R. Martin.

So, let me brush this off and say this, readers: Let me be your inspiration. I STILL think you should put yourself out there. Whether it's as a writer, an artist, an actor, a musician, a whatever.

Allow me to add that you should expect haters, angry people, and those who think you are a hack.

Let me conclude by saying: work on building a thick skin and press on. You have to. And, when you start to feel some doubt, go to one of the most famous musicians, writers, directors, or whoever... and check out some of the 1-star reviews on their Amazon pages. It helps a little, and there's plenty of them.

xo Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com

Texting on the Dance Floor!

How do I love thee, Gay Pimp Jonny McGovern? Oh, let me count the ways.

It's pretty normal to expect a high-production, nearly-naked-guy-filled music video from the internationally infamous pimp... but this time he took it a step further.

Johnny, in his newest single and video takes on something I see EVERYWHERE: Texting on the Dance Floor.

It's the name of the song, it's the conceit of the message, it's a perfectly timely video to be released.

Because I throw some of the largest dance parties in NYC. And what do I see? Sure, lots of people dancing. But I also see lots of people texting. (Okay, I'm one of those people. Shut up.)

Anyway. It's funny. It's sexy. It's Texting on the Dance Floor (or, as he titled it #TOTDF).

Watch it. Love it. Share it.

xo Justin Luke
www.JustinLukeNYC.com

Hell's Kitchen Hate: A +1 Guest Post

The following disappointing, frightening tale written by my friend and fellow Hell's Kitchenite, Thomas Dolan, serves as a sober reminder that, while we New Yorkers may live in the gayest city in America, there are still mean, hateful assholes out there who have it in for us.

We're safer, but that doesn't mean we are safe. Just... be careful, everyone. Be wary. Be observant. And be smart. And, for god sakes, if you ever witness a hate crime, stick your neck out and help whoever is in need. It's the right thing to do. It's the only thing to do.


- Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com

---

In an especially ironic early morning of MLK day, I realized that I should have known better than to cast stones so liberally, a propos of nothing.  Around 2am, a friend and I stumbled through Hell’s Kitchen, hopping toward whichever bar had the biggest crowd.  As we crossed onto 52nd Street, perhaps the gayest block in the gayborhood, I saw a man push another in what I assumed was some bar brawl. Being more of a lover than a fighter, I rolled my eyes and sauntered to the other side of the street. I soon heard the predictable crack of bone connecting with flesh, but was surprised that the attacker kept swinging even after the other fell to the curb. Instead of anger, though, the victim’s response was one of bewilderment: “What are you doing?! I don’t even know you!”  This only incited the attacker, and he began stalking up and down the street, punching random men from among the gaggles heading home.

As the attacker’s friends began a too-familiar chorus of slurs, my mind leapfrogged from confusion to recognition - never disbelief. Though I hadn’t seen something like this in Hell’s Kitchen, the specter of hate crime is never too far out of mind for most gay men. However unexpected, the reality of what was happening became immediately clear.

I cowered behind an SUV and called the police, but the assault ended as quickly as it had begun. A silver car flew down the block in reverse, before picking up the attacker and disappearing into the lights of Times Square.

As the half dozen witnesses and victims fumbled introductions and entered into a strange brotherhood, I finished my call to 911. I asked that they send an ambulance, gave what a witness remembered of the license plate of the get-away car, exchanged contact information with the other witnesses and waited.

As I shivered in a mix of cold and adrenaline, I didn’t know quite what to think but knew it felt awful.  Fundamentally, I knew I had been right not to intervene and get into a fight myself, but I felt emasculated to have done nothing. I also reassured myself that I had done the right thing in calling the police, but after officers arrived and doodled some notes, I felt like a fool for so blindly believing in a system that barely took my concerns (and community) seriously.
  
Once I finished relating my story, I headed into the bar - both a practical decision because of the cold and an attempt not to “let the terrorists win.”  When I got inside, everything was as if nothing had happened. A part of me wanted to shout from the top of the bar that something terrible had just happened and that we weren’t doing anything, but an apparently stronger part of me wanted to fade into the background of just another night at the gay bar.

I thought of other moments when I felt both a call to action and the far easier (and more selfish) call to join the party. I remember the guilty pleasure I took in marching, shouting and invariably flirting in the streets after Proposition 8 passed. I thought of my trip to see Normal Heart, when I felt inspired by Larry Kramer, handing out a flier in the rain, but ultimately capped off the evening with a surfeit of brown liquor and banter. These experiences left me, metaphorically and more literally, unsure of where to go from there, but I somehow always chose the simpler option of escapism. 

I realized that I have tried to avoid these moments  - the loss of marriage equality in California, a play about the holocaust of AIDS, a gaybashing close to home - because they are reminders that my existence as a gay man remains precarious, even in 2012. I cringed at the time and energy I would spend dealing with the assault not because of the value of my time, but because to treat this attack seriously would mean acknowledging that this sort of ugliness still exists and that things aren’t as great as I want to think.

As a generation, we have witnessed an unprecedented deluge of LGBTQ images and rights, but we must remember that these victories have been accompanied by increasing conservative retrenchment and heartbreaking stories of bullying and violence.  We (presumably) stand on the cusp of an unprecedented era of equality and acceptance, but much though I hate to admit it, we’re not there yet.

I didn’t suddenly become Larry Kramer, but the proximity of this assault reminded me that I need to strike a better balance between guilt, escapism and actually doing something. I have sought my next drink, next party, next paramour, because I hoped they might validate what I know deep down remains a precarious existence.  There’s nothing wrong with a little escapism – that’s what bars have always been for – but there is a problem when escapism becomes so pervasive as to preclude any action. 

By all means, we should take advantage of the comfort in which we lead our lives – why else do I scrimp for this overpriced corner of Tenth Avenue – but we should also acknowledge that our complacency is premature. For many, this kind of assault is a common, rather than extraordinary occurrence. We all know that.  However, we do ourselves a disservice by burying our heads in the sand or simply meditating on change from a comfortable distance.  I’m proud to have had the courage to come out and embrace who I am, knowing that that entails certain risks, but rather than give me carte blanche to retreat into hedonism, my being out should require me to do whatever I can to ensure that my sort of life is possible for all LGBTQ persons, should they choose it.

I’m grateful to report that this assault is now being investigated as a hate crime, however unlikely it may be that the attacker is ever brought to justice.  Beyond sympathy and public flagellation, I hope that my writing is in some small way a step toward ensuring that there isn’t a next time.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Hey! Hey you!

What the fuck are you doing?

That's the question I want to ask each and every single one of you today. Let me repeat it nice and clearly:

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Think it through. I don't mean "I'm having lunch, JL." or "I'm at my day job, JL." That's fine. That's cool. No, I mean something deeper and more meaningful. So let me get more specific.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DOING?

I have found that a lot of people I meet do very little outside of what they have to do. They do the day job thang. They do the workout thang. They do the eatin, peein, poopin, sleepin thang. And then...? The TV thang? The... video game thang?

That's cool. It is. But I am here to challenge you to do more than that. As my Grandpa still says to this day: DO MORE THAN WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU. This applies to life.

Take me for example. What is my answer to WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Well... (deep breath)

1. I am a the co-director and head promoter of BoiParty.com, a gay nightlife promoter, throwing two or more parties a week.
2. I am a writer, with my first published book coming out May 1st, my second November 1st, and my third May 1st, 2013.
3. I am the creator and head moderator of Gorgeous, Gay and Twenty-Something, the private Facebook group with over 6,500 international members.
4. I run CluelessGayBoy, a Twitter account with almost 3,000 followers.
5. I am a blogger (duh)
6. I run over 12 different Facebook fan pages and groups.
7. I am the senior New York correspondent for the gay radio show, The Swish Edition.
8. I am the writer of the gay web comic, Open Bar.
9. I am a freelance social media consultant.
10. I am the director of media and relations for a local professional wrestling syndicate.
11. I am a senior producer at an interactive marketing agency.
12. I am a freelance videographer, filming trailers for parties, events, companies, and organizations.

I think there may be more than that... I'm not sure.

Now... this is NOT me bragging. This is me, making a point. Each and every one of you reading this has a passion. You MUST. You HAVE TO. It's written into your DNA. It's in your very genetic code. Whatever that passion may be: technology, music, art, whatever.

Are you spending time every day indulging in your passion? Are you writing a song? Sketching out a comic book? Writing a play?

And, if not, what the FUCK are you doing?

I'll tell you what you're doing: you're wasting time.

I'm not saying stop going out. I'm not saying quit your day job. I'm saying you should invest at LEAST 30 minutes a day creating.

In my opinion, the meaning of life is Creation. We are here to create, and to share what we create. Every day, I create. Because I feel empty, pointless, useless, and lonely if I don't create. I also have enough irons in the fire that I can create something different every day.

What about you? Are you creating? If so, keep on doing it. If not... it's time to get started. You can only enjoy life so much by eating, drinking, dancing, and watching TV.

You like watching TV a lot? Start a web series. It's astoundingly affordable. You like playing video games? Get together with a bunch of your nerd friends and try making one.

This isn't about making money (though, I do believe that when you work long, hard, and continuously on something you actually love and enjoy, you're almost guaranteed success in it).

It's about making. Period.

And NO EXCUSES...

"I would, but I don't have the time!"
 Sure you do. You're reading this right now. You could be doing that instead. I'll bet if I followed you around for a day, I could identify at least an hour's worth of time that you unconsciously squander.

"I would, but I don't have the money!"
Shaddup, Shmidlap. Thanks to the Internet, basically everything is free these days, or astoundingly cheap. Don't have enough money? Do a kickstarter. But, if you're creative enough, you'll find that whatever you want to do can be done for nothing, or for cheap. 

"I would, but I have to plan it first!"
NO! No PLANNING. Planning is nothing but an excuse to NOT do something. Plan in progress. Start doing something and figure it out as you go along. Do you know how many novelists I know who have been "working on" a book for years? It's just not there yet? Right. I wrote my novel in thirty days, edited it over 9 months. It comes out May 1st. Will everyone like it? No. But it turns out, according to sales figures, that thousands of gay people do. And that's good enough for me. 

"I would, but I'm not passionate about anything!"
Take a closer look at thyself, friend. You have a passion. Figure it out. Think around it. And if you have a bunch, try 'em all on for size! There are no rules here, because YOU'RE in charge because YOU'RE creating it. Fuck everyone else. This is about you enjoying yourself and making something where there was once nothing. Whether it's a recipe website, a new type of sock, or a monologue.

"I would, but I'm going to do THIS thing instead, so I can make money and be successful."
Big mistake, bub. You NEED to love the thing you're doing. That way, when it's not an immediate success, you don't give a shit... because you love doing it any way. Each and every single one of the things in my list above I would be doing whether I got paid or not. I am now being paid for most of them, which is awesome. But I wasn't for the first decade I was doing them.

Make something. Do something. Next time you see me out at the clubs or on the street or in an IM box on Facebook, I'm going to ask you WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

And you better have an answer.

xo Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com

The Top 10 Things I Hate

Usually I like to keep things positive and lovey-dovey here on Justin + 1. I like to entertain! I like to spread love, teach lessons to younger gays, and share things that everyone will enjoy.

But, dammit, I hate some things too! I noticed there's been a significant lack in rants on this blog as of late. I have been accused of being opinionated... and it's true! I have opinions! Some of which people don't quite like.

So I'm gonna air them all out in one post. Right here. Then I'll go back to dating and partying tips and all of that fun stuff.

- Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com



THINGS JUSTIN LUKE HATES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

1. GLEE
I liked all of 1/2 an episode of this claptrap. Since then it's gone downhill. Downhill so far that it's created an opposite hill, one that stretches many, many miles underground. Oh Glee, whatever happened to you? That trailer looked so promising! Now you are the equivalent of a porno film. Just substitute the sex scenes for random songs, and the lines of dialogue for dumber lines of dialogue. No one should watch this show. No one. Don't encourage them.

2. REALITY TV
It doesn't matter what kind of show, I don't like any of them. Whether you're pawning things, fishing for crabs, driving on an icy road in a truck, living in a house with a bunch of other randoms, a mobster's wife, a mobster's child, a resident of the Jersey Shore or a master of couture on the Jersey Shore. DOESN'T MATTER. It's all so bland to me. I can only see weaves yanked from heads so many times. I can only see so many drag queens lip sync for their lives. If I wanted to see these things, I would go see them in real life, since they are real. I DO see drag queens live, and love them. And I may someday go see an Ice Road Trucker. Just because. Give me something scripted. Something funny. Something GOOD. Thank you. Good day sir.

3. RAIN AND SNOW
Fuck you, bad weather! Simply put, I don't like getting wet when clothed. Jeans. T-shirt. Jacket. A bag I'm carrying. I resent being soggy and sodden. It's not my thing. Rain or snow is enough to make me depressed, causing me to lock myself in my apartment so that I can sit and stew and curse out the window.

4. HYPOCRITES
I don't like these at all. I am all for behaving as you please (so long as others aren't hurt). But the second you behave one way, and give shit to people for behaving in the same way... then I get Incredible Hulk-y, complete with green skin and the smashing of things. NO HYPOCRITES! Monitor your actions, and be okay with having them turned around on you. Then we all good.

5. MONSTER ENERGY DRINK
This is the WORST energy drink EVER. Actually, Rockstar is pretty terrible too. They taste like cough syrup, and don't even take care of my cough. It's Redbull or nothing. I'll just run to Starbucks and grab a coffee to chug if I need energy, and all there is in the club or bar is one of these "other" energy drinks.

6. THE MTA
The only people who love the Metropolitan Transit Authority are the fatty fat fat cats at the top who are raking in all the money while we sell our kidneys to afford monthly MetroCards that won't work in their busted turnstiles and that won't get us on a train because their trains are never running. For this reason I only take cabs or use my feet in order to get to places. Brooklyn and Queens are all but off-limits, since the MTA REALLY works hard to never service those areas properly. For this reason, I don't tend to travel very far in the city. Luckily, I live near Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, so it's not that much of a loss.

7. RAW TOMATOES AND FIELD GREENS
Worst things ever created. They are bitter. They are sour. They get caught in your teeth. And the tomatoes even smell like puke. Keep field greens away from anything I'll be eating, and keep raw tomatoes out of a 3 mile radius of me.

8. THE PEOPLE AT THE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Talk about a bunch of bullies. I'm talking the Pope. I'm talking Cardinal Timothy Dolan. I'm talking the pundits on televisions around the world. They hide behind religion to avoid responsibility for hundreds of their clergy raping young boys and to avoid taxes, and then they spin around and swing religion like a battleax to get their way - whether it's involving same gender marriage or women's reproductive rights. Whatever happened to feeding and clothing the poor and being all about love? Must have forgotten all of that troublesome responsibility when Jesus died.

9. FOX NEWS
Well, it's a coin toss. I might LOVE Fox News because watching it, for me, is akin to a straight man watching football while his favorite team loses. I scream! I yell! My boyfriend gets turned on by the screaming and yelling! Every bloated sack of breadcrumbs that makes up the Fox News "journalistic" team inspires both anger and hatred in me. Hearing people I know talking about how Fox News is "unbiased and fair" gets me even angrier. How can people not see the truth? I don't know. Whatever. They can keep watching, and I'll keep laughing when I watch the Daily Show's weekly recaps of the 24-hour televised idiocy.


10. REPUBLICANS
No, not all republicans. Just the ones I read about all the time. The senators and pundits and everyone on that level. The ones screaming about how Obama has ruined America (he hasn't) how gays will ruin America (they won't) and how they will fix America (they've yet to do this). Why do they still exist? Same reason that Fox News does, is my guess.