Thursday, May 28, 2015

History Week Part II: Paul Alan Fahey




We are taking a break from romance and historical fiction to talk about his non-fiction book. 

Hi and thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about our anthology, The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving On. From the beginning, this project has been a labor of love, especially since the charity involved, the It Gets Better Project, is one near and dear to all our hearts. (A portion of the proceeds from sales of the anthology goes to It Gets Better.)
Here’s how the book happened:
In 2010, I met writer, Victoria Zackheim, editor of The Other Woman, at a local writer’s conference. I was immediately fascinated by her book of essays and asked if anyone had considered editing an anthology on the subject of infidelity from the gay male viewpoint. To Victoria’s knowledge, no one had written a follow up and she immediately gave me her blessing to edit the gay companion to her wonderful book.
I immediately sent out invitations to some of my favorite male writers and asked them to contribute to the anthology. In the process, I discovered that writers either had an other man story to tell or they didn’t. It was that simple. Eventually I had a strong list of contributors and we were off and running. By early 2011, I had written a detailed book proposal, acquired an agent, the wonderful Jill Marsal of the Marsal/Lyon Literary Agency, and had a complete list of contributors attached to the book.
            If I said the road to publication from this point on was an easy one, I’d be lying. It wasn’t. There were bumps and detours ahead. Jill shopped the proposal to small publishers open to LGBT work. After a year, we had one interested publisher who kept us hanging until they decided against the book because one of the editors felt the reading public, and gay men in general, wouldn’t be interested in the topic of the other man scenario. Hmm. Crazy, I know, but like I said, the road was pretty bumpy.
            In the interim, J.M. Snyder, of JMS Books, published my first e book novella, The View from 16 Podwale Street, a lesbian historical romance, and immediately said she was interested in publishing The Other Man, especially with the It Gets Better charity sharing in the profits. In May 2013, The Other Man became a reality and was released as an e book and also in print.
            The Other Man went on to win a 2013 Rainbow Award for nonfiction and was selected by the American Library Association for their Over the Rainbow Nonfiction List for Adults.
It’s been a great ride all the way. I’d love to talk more about our book. Please feel free to comment and ask me whatever you like. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

And here’s the best news yet: The Other Man is currently being adapted as a one-act play and a reading is set for the end of July at Chicago Dramatists.
           

 BOOK BLURB:

WHO IS THE OTHER MAN?

THE OTHER MAN is an artistic collaboration by and about gay men and their relationships. If you’ve ever been the other man, had him invade your life, or are just plain curious about this beguiling, unpredictable and dangerous 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 they tell us is we must take heart, 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 resolve to move on. Along the way, we’ll hope to meet someone new and simpatico, maybe even our long-awaited soul mate. Life will be good again. Or will it? 


MINI REVIEWS:

“Full of bad behavior and ugly emotions. Contains some fine truths and excellent
 storytelling.” -- Christopher Bram, author of Gods and Monsters and Eminent Outlaws

“By turns sprightly, poignant, piquant, sexy, scary, keen, naïve, heartbreaking.”
--Richard Stevenson, Lambda Award-winning author of the Don Strachey private eye
novels

“Impassioned, witty, powerful voices examine infidelity and its effects on love, trust and truth.”--Dennis Palumbo, psychotherapist, author of Night Terrors: A Daniel Rinaldi Mystery

You'll find a lot of entertainment in the many emotions of Paul Alan Fahey's
extraordinary anthology, The Other Man ...as expected, the pieces run the gamut from
hilarious to heartbreaking.” --Jerry Wheeler, Out in Print

“I devoured it. An absolutely addicting book.”--Kilian Melloy, Assistant Arts Editor
EDGE Media Network

“Every essay is fascinating -- and what a great cause!” --Anne R. Allen, author of The Camilla Randall Mysteries and host of the award winning Anne R. Allen's Blog


BOOK BUY BUTTONS

Buy Link and JMS Books Excerpt for E book


Buy Link and JMS Books Excerpt for Print


Buy Links at Amazon and B and N for E Book




Buy Links at Amazon and B and N for Print




BIO
Paul Alan Fahey writes for JMS Books. He is the author of Lovers & Liars, a gay wartime romance and an honorable mention in the 2014 Rainbow Awards. Paul is also the editor of the 2013 Rainbow Award-winning anthology, The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving On. His first LGBT novella, The View From 16 Podwale Street, won a 2012 Rainbow Award. Over the years, his writing has appeared in numerous literary journals such as Byline, Vestal Review, Palo Alto Review, Long Story Short, African American Review, The MacGuffin, Thema, Gertrude, Kaleidoscope, The Feathered Flounder, and in a variety of fiction and nonfiction anthologies from Carry the Light, Cup of Comfort, My Mom’s My Hero to Writing on Walls, and Somewhere in Crime. He lives on the California Central Coast with his husband, Robert Franks, and a gaggle of shelties. For more information, visit paulalanfahey.com.

Giveaway:

Paul is giving away 5 copies of The Other Man as part of our History Week. Comment to win, which qualifies you to enter to win A Place to Call Their Own!

In celebration of History Week Part II, I will be giving away an Ecopy of my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own, which is available from JMS Books.  Comment and follow me and the other folks on Twitter to enter to win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

6 comments:

  1. Hi, Dean and readers, thank you for having me here today. Would love to answer questions. I'm here if you want to ask. One thing I'm very excited about is the news that The Other Man is being adapted for the stage in Chicago. I'll keep you posted. Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's my pleasure to have you!

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Dean. Do appreciate it. Take care and best to you and your readers. Paul

      Delete
  2. A play coming, Paul, how exciting! And the reviews are very good. Putting a collection together, I'm thinking, is no easy task. And it's sound like the publishing part wasn't easy. Kudos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Madeline, for leaving a comment and saying those nice things about our reviews. Really do appreciate it. All the best and appreciate your stopping by. Paul

      Delete
    2. Thanks so much for stopping by!

      Delete