Friday, June 24, 2011

Taboo Tens Day Twenty Four Lee Brazil

Greetings!

Welcome to day twenty four at Michael's and I'm thrilled to welcome back Lee Brazil for a fab guest post. Have a look at the interview also if you have time. It was done last month.

Lee Brazil

He wrote one of my fave books of the year, Keeping House and has a followup to the wonderful book called, Telling the Truth part 2 of the Truth or Dare series from Breathless Press.

He's giving away part 2 today, so make sure to comment.

Give him your undivided attention!





Commercializing the GLBT Movement: Progressive or Shameless?

   
In the last week or two, a major retailer unveiled a line of GLBT supportive t-shirts.  My first thought when I saw the posting in FB was awesome!  Hundreds of thousands of people will see these shirts, wear these shirts, and ultimately share the message- GLBT is okay.  In a world where it’s now illegal to say GAY in a classroom in some parts of the country, and where the issue of marriage is a hot topic, when our lifestyles are constantly marginalized, that’s important.  I read on.  Ten percent of the proceeds from the t-shirt sales will be going to the It Gets Better Project.  Bonus.  Say what you want about Dan Savage- maybe he’s an asshole, he’s certainly got enough opinions, but- as far as I’m concerned It Gets Better is a stroke of fucking genius and second only to The Trevor Project in delivering a needed message to GLBT youth today. 
Then a friend said- whoa- you don’t seriously believe this major retailer has our best interests at heart, do you? They’re just out to make a buck for themselves on the backs of the movement.  Ouch.  I thought about it.  And thought about it some more.  But ten percent of this retailer’s sales is a lot of money.  Does it matter what their motive is if the result is good?  If men and women and children across the country are clothed in shirts that say- I give a damn? If the message of tolerance and acceptance is spread, does it matter if some executive in an office somewhere is getting pats on the back for his genius idea?  Hey, Gay is trendy- even the president is supportive.  But, trends fade.
So, ultimately- I didn’t buy a t-shirt.  I might.  But probably not.  Because I decided that for me, personally, being trendy isn’t enough.  What do you think?
Oh- but I hope every school kid in the state of Tennessee shows up in Rainbow apparel of some kind on the first day of school next year.  And I don’t care where they buy it either. 



Anyway- Here’s Telling the Truth: available June 24th from Breathless Press

Blurb:
Paying his debt for a losing hand of cards sets Terry Blake free to pursue a fantasy he never dreamed could be reality.
Terry has lived his life according to the guidelines...studying accounting, getting an MBA and working for the family business. And while handling the family and business finances has its own rewards, something has been missing and his eyes have only just been opened to what, or rather, who exactly that something is.
A losing hand of cards on a Wednesday night gives Terry’s youngest brother the chance he’s been waiting for. Terry can handle any dare his brother dishes out, but Mischa’s demand for Truth is a different matter.
Unable to hide behind his pristine reputation and fancy business suit, Terry is honor bound to divulge secrets he’s been ashamed to admit even to himself in the privacy of his own bedroom.
Dex and Trick have finally found acceptance for their relationship in the homes of their friends. They would never do anything to jeopardize that new found sense of belonging. Fooling around with Mischa’s prissy, domineering, oh-so-sexy older brother is risky. A one night stand might be ok, and the boys happily indulge, but then close ranks afterward, pushing Terry aside.
Terry isn’t going to take a dismissal without a fight. He’s convinced that Dex and Trick are meant to be his, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make them realize all the safety and protection they need can be found in his arms.
 Excerpt:
When he opened his eyes again long moments later, he caught sight of two young men, nearly identical in appearance standing in the shade of a leafy palm tree directly in his line of vision. Stunned, he stared in disbelief. They were absolutely beautiful. Were they actors from the studio? Pale skin, black hair, identical bright blue eyes,  rosy-red lipped mouths, slender athletically built, they were so absorbed in one another they seemed alone in the crowded yard.

As he watched, the boys turned closer in to each other, leaning forward to whisper together. Lowering his lids, Terry watched covertly. There was something illicit about the pair, something almost sexual. But surely they were related? Two young men who looked so much alike had to be brothers.

One of the boys tugged the other deeper into the shadows of a tree and the privacy fence. They looked around, and when one bright blue glance settled on him for a minute, Terry's heart rate increased and his skin heated. They couldn’t tell he watched from under his lashes could they? Apparently deciding that he was asleep and no threat, the two embraced, sharing gentle kisses and petting each other with slim white hands.

Enthralled, Terry stifled a groan as his cock stirred against the zipper of his khaki shorts. Damn. That hadn’t happened with so little effort in a long time. What the fuck? He tried to look away from the boys, told himself he should be disgusted, but he couldn’t. Bottom line, he’d never been so turned on in his life. He’d spent his whole life doing and feeling exactly what everyone felt he ought, and what had it gotten him? A corner office in the family business and a lonely bed at night. Fuck it. He was done living for everyone else. If Mischa could find his own way, then Terry damn well could too.  And he’d get started on doing that as soon as his erection subsided enough to get out of this chair without causing himself a lot of embarrassment. He crossed his hands over his lap and continued to watch the boys in the corner of the yard.

Mmm, and why rush off? This lovely couple was really getting into their embrace now, and since no one else seemed to notice, Terry felt kind of included, almost as though he were participating in the act instead of witnessing it. He could practically feel the sweep of tongues in his mouth, the touch of two sets of hands tracing his shoulders, his abdomen. Damn, he really wished he had Dan’s bold personality or Mischa’s rebellious streak. He’d be over there in a heartbeat taking his share of kisses.

Down boy, he whispered to his newly overactive libido. Baby steps; we’ll get there eventually. Jumping from mild-mannered straight accountant to gay threesome in seconds made for too drastic a change.
“Terry? Are you all right?  Do you need a drink or something?”
Damn. Somehow Mischa had walked up and knelt next to him without him noticing.
“I’m fine. Fine. It’s a little hot here, that’s all.” Terry spoke, but he didn’t look at Mischa. 
***
Fab guest post and hot excerpt.
I felt it was a nice gesture but, when I heard they were only being sold in certain parts of the country, I thought, whats the point?
Still good to support the movement. The LGBT community needs to be accepted. Bottom line!
I'm really looking forward to part 2 of this series. The first book was awesome, very enjoyable, light hearted. I read it in like 2 hours. *laughs*
Look for both and buy them, you wont be disappointed.
Join us tomorrow for another fan post as well as my new friend Xakara who writes Polyamory romance. 
Two in the same day huh? I know, great stuff!
See ya then!

9 comments:

Havan said...

Love your insight as always Lee . . . but trust me, you are so much more than a trend! *winks* An addiction maybe . . . hee hee

My kiddos may not have those shirts either, due to the fact they are severely limited to certain areas . . . but there are other ways to support the importance of equality for everyone and my kiddos and I try to share our voice! :)

I love Telling the Truth . . . love this whole series! <3 *hugs and kisses and lots of loving obviously* *giggles*

Erica Pike said...

I think those T-shirts are a great idea, no matter the thought behind it.

I live in Iceland, where GLBT isn't generally frowned upon (homosexuals can get married in a church with a priest, our most popular singer is gay, our Prime Minister is lesbian, and we even have our very own Kim Kardashian who's a transsexual (boy turned girl - and believe me, she's sexier than most other women, this coming from a straight girl (me)), so I hate it whenever I hear about or see people discriminate against others based on their sexuality. Apparently a lot of that is going on in America. It's just weird for me.

I've been scribbling slogans of my own, because I got a similar idea when I started writing m/m stories (one of my characters wears a lot of tops with slogans on them), but I probably won't print any T-shirts until maybe next year - if I do it at all. It's not that I'd be nervous about selling such T-shirts, it's just that I like to use my time writing. Who knows, though. Maybe next year's Gay Parade ^.^ I do know that I'd donate a bunch of it to the Icelandic "The National Queer Organization" (as they call themselves) and wouldn't really be in it for profits - more for the fun.

All I can say is the more awareness, the better.

Angel Martinez said...

Retailers are businesses. They're not charities. Are they in it for the money? Damn straight.

However...

When a retailer decides that a cause is important and hot enough to MAKE money, we can spot waves of public opinion behind it. The retailer wouldn't make these shirts if they thought said shirts wouldn't sell. And the reason they know the shirts will sell is the groundswell of support.

It's the tide behind the greed that's important. Trends or not.

S.Lira said...

TY all for the visits and comments and thx to Lee for being a guest!

Monika said...

I totally agree, Angel. Homophobia and the like isn't going to go away overnight, but I think the more 'positive' attention and light that can be cast upon it, the better. Of course, this company isn't going to make these tees and give them away. That's ridiculous. And, like you said, Lee, 10% of sales from THIS company will amount to a whole lot of cash going to a great cause. I think it's a great thing they are doing.

Is it because gay is cool right now? More than likely, but isn't that better than nothing? A company like this has a bottom line and that is to make money. I don't see any other company with this kind of exposure stepping up to the plate. I LOVE those tees. I wanted them for my whole family. I was going to send my kids to school on the first day in them, but I do live in Tennessee, and not only can we NOT say gay in school, they wouldn't sell the shirts here either.

I am sad that this company didn't get to make a dollar off of me. The bigger picture would have been worth it.

You're donating sales of your own to The Trevor Project, isn't that the same thing they are doing? You should buy a tee if you can and wear it for me.

Lee Brazil said...

turns out the tees are available in only ten stores nationwide- not sure what that's about- testing the market?

Thanks for having me here, and thanks for all the thoughtful comments, everyone!

Pender Mackie said...

We can't even buy them at all in Canada. Congratulations on the release of "Telling the Truth"!

Em Woods said...

*blinks* How did I miss this?? What the heck?

I think Angel said it best, so I'm not going to repeat it, but yeah, the company would want to test the market. That's actually common place in the retail industry.

I think it's awesome that they are donating to the IGB charity. Simply amazing. :)

Great post, Lee!!

Havan said...

Yeah Mons baby, it's kinda the same thing. But the Story Orgy is actually donating 100% of the profits from our first anthology to the Trevor Project.

So yes, we are donating like Old Navy is - but we haven't limited it to 10% . . . we have put our own money and time into this antho and are giving 100% of the profits for the first 90 days of sale . . . it's something we strongly believe in and take great pride in also!

Thanks for giving it a shout out Mons *hugs and smoochez* and oh yeah - if I can find these shirts my girls would love them!