Thanks for having me back again! Gin &
Jazz, an M/M romance set in the 1920’s, has been quite a journey for me.
Initially, my biggest concern was making sure all of the factual details of the
era were correct; food, fashion, slang, cost of goods, transportation, locales,
etc. What really ended up speaking to me however were the attitudes towards gay
men, and the genuinely scary challenges they faced.
Young Jack Stone, an orphan who was beaten
and thrown out of a boy’s home because he was caught with another boy there,
has to face the terrors of New York City on his own. That is, until he meets
the older and more streetwise Nick. Together, they forge a friendship that
eventually turns to love and becomes a borderline hero worship for Jack. If
only Nick wasn’t engaged to a woman back in his hometown in Philly. But there
have been some stirrings in Nick lately, and everything changes between them
eventually.
One of Nick’s original reasons for not
acting on his feelings for Jack involves fear. Fear of the unknown, what others
might think or do should they find out, the knowledge they would always have to
hide. It creates an incredible amount of tension for him, but it also did for
me as a writer. It was vital that I remain authentic to what they would both
have to face on an ongoing basis. I didn’t want it to be heavy-handed, but
there was always that underlying thread – exactly as it would have been if it
were happening back then. They could never be completely free of it – no matter
what.
While our current times are much better for
gay men, it is far from ideal. The Russian Olympics or the recent bills
proposing businesses be allowed to refuse service to homosexuals in Kansas,
Tennessee, Arizona and South Dakota are disturbing examples.
The following are a few snippets from the
four books in the Gin & Jazz series that reference this issue:
From Hollywood Bound (Gin & Jazz 1) Nick
struggles with his desire for Jack.
Nick swirled all the way around just in
time to see Jack running away. The kid was speedy, and Nick spurred into
action. He had no idea where Jack was headed, but he was filled with a sudden
terror that if he didn’t make things right, he might not ever see him again.
That thought alone filled him with dread, and pushed him to move faster.
Just as Jack rounded a corner into one of
the many filthy alleys that cut through the city, Nick caught up to him and
slammed him against the wall.
“Let me go, you jerk!”
Jack struggled with him, kicking at Nick’s
shins, but Nick held Jack fast, grasping his hands above his head and shoving
his thigh in between Jack’s legs, giving him no room to get away or strike out
at him.
Jack stilled, both of them out of breath
from running like crazy men, their chests heaving with their exertion. Nick
gazed down at Jack who was being careful to look to the side and not make eye
contact. All Nick wanted in that moment was to claim him. To tell Jack that he
belonged to him, with him, and nowhere else.
“I hate you,” Jack said softly, still not
looking at Nick.
Nick’s heart was breaking, yet he could
feel the hard outline of Jack’s dick pressed against his thigh. Jack liked it.
He liked having Nick hold him there, restrain him like that. Be rough with him.
“No you don’t.”
Suddenly, Nick used his free hand to turn
Jack’s head towards him. Nick pressed his lips against Jack’s and forced his
way into his mouth. He explored and probed, enjoying the sweetness of him. It
had never felt like this before. The hesitant little pecks he had shared with
Penelope had been sterile and cold compared to this glorious heat. He deepened
the kiss, sweeping the inside of Jack’s teeth and tongue, memorising every
little nuance that was him. His man. His Jack.
Jack had relaxed in Nick’s embrace and was
responding to him unreservedly. They were both hard and kissing with such an
urgency that Nick knew if they weren’t careful they would end up fucking right
there in the alley and risk getting arrested.
He pulled away abruptly, but still held
Jack prisoner.
“Not here. We can’t take a chance getting’
caught.”
Jack had tears at the corners of his eyes,
and Nick bent down to kiss them gently away.
“There, there, Jacky boy. It’s okay.
Everythin’s gonna be okay.”
****
This snippet is from Razzle Dazzle (Gin
& Jazz 2) when Jack is on a first date with the dashing silent film star,
Roman Pasquale.
“Here’s to our first date, my dear Jack.
Thank you for bringing me here.”
Roman waved his drink at Jack and raised
his eyebrows. Jack took a quick peek around to see if anyone was looking their
way, grabbed his glass and clinked it quickly with Roman’s.
Roman took a swallow and set his soda down,
all whilst keeping his eyes on Jack.
He leaned over and whispered, “You know
there are many men in the world who have never even had a cock in their mouth,
yet still toast one another.”
Jack gasped.
“Let me worry about whether or not
something is safe for us. I know this town better than it knows itself.”
Jack lowered his head a moment. Roman
coaxed his chin up with one finger the same way he had earlier.
“I prefer seeing your lovely face rather
than the top of your head.”
“I’m sorry, Roman. I guess you never had no
one beat you up or turn you away because you liked guys.”
“Really? Who says I haven’t,” Roman said
the last part bitterly, and looked away for a moment before turning to meet
Jack’s eyes again. Roman’s smile was a little crooked, his eyes hooded with
sadness.
“Geez, Roman, I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Roman’s face changed back to his normal
above-it-all, slightly smug expression. “Hardly good table conversation on such
a glorious evening. Tell me Jack, what brought you here to Hollywood so that
the fates could intervene and bring us together?”
****
Tarnished Glitter (Gin & Jazz 3) Roman
holds Jack close in bed after an upsetting meeting with the studio heads.
Held fast in Roman’s embrace, Jack felt
closer to him than ever before. For once, Roman was just a man in love. Roman
wasn’t trying to fuck, impress or control him.
“I need to tell you something.” Roman kept
his tight hold on Jack, so he couldn’t see the look on Roman’s face. He stroked
Jack softly as he spoke. “The studio heads called me in today for a meeting.
They weren’t happy that I came in late, and that I was so…ill.”
“But that’s not your fault, Roman…”
“Shh, my love. Let me finish this. They
also told me that we need to be more discreet. That we can’t be together on the
set all the time.” Roman chuckled bitterly. “As a matter of fact, we are barred
from one another’s films until further notice. So, even though we work at the
same establishment, it would appear that the powers that be have decreed we are
to remain separate.”
Jack didn’t dare admit to Roman that he
thought it was a good idea.
“In addition,“ Roman continued, “from now
on when we go to public places, we need to have dates. As in two women with us
at all times. We need to be respectable.” Roman sniffed his disapproval.
“Ridiculous. Now I am to be forced to spend my time with people I care nothing
about.” He hugged Jack to him. “When all I care about is you.”
That part of it seemed rather extreme to
Jack.
“Can they do that?”
Roman grunted. “I’m afraid, my dear Jack,
that they most certainly can. The morals clause that both you and I signed
means that they can destroy us at will. Hollywood giveth, then taketh away.”
“I don’t understand. They’ve had parties
here, they know all about us. Why now?”
“I hate it too. But I suppose we have been
too obvious about it. I never dreamed that… Well anyway, I can’t—we can’t—lose
our contracts. What would we do?”
Jack wanted to tell Roman that none of that
mattered. That the only important thing was that they were together. But Jack
couldn’t imagine Roman without all of his riches and fame any more than he
could imagine the lawn turning purple.
****
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And finally, from Starring Role (Gin &
Jazz 4) Nick and Jack are at an outdoor café, discussing their future.
Nick gritted his teeth. If two other men
hadn’t already taken the place of the couple who had been eating when they’d
arrived, he would’ve grabbed Jack and crushed him in his arms. He hated having
to hold back. Now that Jack was near him again, all he wanted to do was touch
him.
We need to spend a few days in our room and
not leave.
Nick scooted as close as he dared and
whispered to Jack, “Listen to me, Jacky boy. I think it’s a great idea, the
whole thing. I just wasn’t prepared for it. Why don’t you tell me about
everythin’, and we can start plannin’.”
Jack opened his arms, and Nick shook his
head. Jack lowered his chin, and Nick whispered right next to his ear, “You can
show me how happy you are later. When we’re alone.”
****
The Gin & Jazz series is best read from
the beginning to be able to follow all of the ups and downs of Jack’s journey.
Here are the links to Hollywood Bound, (Gin & Jazz 1):
Totally Bound: https://www.totallybound.com/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
To follow what madness I might be getting
into, check out my blog here: www.morticiaknight.blogspot.com
Thanks for the great excerpts, Morticia! I wish you the best of success! Blak Rayne
Thank you for having me here today! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! Any time!
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