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Distortion, a novel by Stephen Beachy; Harrington Park Press; 318 pages; $22.95.
Stephen Beachy's first novel, The Whistling Song, caused a sensation when it was published in 1991. Distortion, Beachy's new novel, is one of the first books published by the Harrington Park Press line of "Southern Tier" gay male fiction. In it we follow Reggie, a young, multiracial gay hustler and drug addict through a series of increasing surreal adventures in Los Angeles. What is real and what is a "distortion"? You will have to figure it out for yourself.
Rooney's Shorts by William Rooney; Harrington Park Press; 137 pages; $14.95.
William Rooney first appeared on my radar screen as the author of the novel Infidelity (also by Harrington Park Press). Though most of Rooney's Shorts are set by the sea in South Florida or Provincetown - hence the swimmer on the cover, I presume - they deal with a variety of gay people and issues, from the sublime to the ridiculous but mostly the sexy and campy. The quality of the stories are equally uneven, though the good outweighs the bad enough to make this book worth buying.
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Love, The Magician, a novel by Brian Bouldrey; Harrington Park Press; 189 pages; $19.95.
Brian Bouldrey, Southern Tier's first executive editor - later replaced by Jay Quinn - proves to be as good a writer as he is an editor with Love, the Magician, his latest book. This "mysterious and suspenseful tale of hidden secrets, emotional survival, and deceit" tells the tale of Tristan, who leaves San Francisco's gay ghetto to wander the desert and mountains around Tucson, Arizona. If you ignore the shirtless muscle stud on the cover - a device that's almost mandatory in gay books - you will find a fascinating and somewhat disturbing tale. Variously called a "gay novel" and an "AIDS novel", Love, the Magician is all that and much more.
A Night in the Barracks: Authentic Accounts of Sex in the Armed Forces,
Alex Buchman, editor; Harrington Park Press; 147 pages; $12.95.
A Night in the Barracks is one of Harrington's line of socio-sexual studies of same-sex behavior in the U.S. military made famous by Steven Zeeland (who wrote the Foreword). Alex Buchman, himself a former Marine, has edited an interesting (to say the least) collection of "authentic accounts of sex in the Armed Forces." Whether these stories are "authentic" or just wishful thinking I cannot say, though they are so enjoyable that I really don't care. A Night in the Barracks features a series of shots of military men in various stages of undress, for those of you who like that sort of thing.
Jesse Monteagudo is a Cuban-born freelance writer who has lived in South Florida since 1964. His book reviews, news stories, essays and fictions have appeared in over thirty gay or mainstream publications and over two dozen anthologies. When not writing (or working at his day job), Monteagudo spends his time with his life partner of over 16 years or doing volunteer work for one of several South Florida organizations. He was awarded a Stonewall Award in 1994 and a Stars of the Rainbow Award in 1997 for his contributions to South Florida LGBT organizations, media and journalism. Monteagudo is also working on a book. He can be reached at jessemonteagudo@aol.com