Paul Alan Fahey on The Other Man

The Other Man by Paul Alan Fahey is now available in e-book format!

The road to finding the right publisher for your literary labor of love can be a rocky one; this was definitely the case with The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly about Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving On. Most editors and writers will tell you that having an agent, a solid book proposal and a great list of contributors are definite assets, but they don't necessarily guarantee publication.

What I've learned is this: Unless you are a well-known commodity as a writer/editor, have edited numerous best selling collections, and have had previous books featured in major book clubs along with great sales, there are too many other variables in the marketing process that conflict with automatic success. This is not to say it can't happen to someone like me: an unknown someone with a list of decent publication credits, professional contacts and an excellent agent. Against all odds -- cue the Phil Collins movie soundtrack -- The Other Man became a reality. It's true, and I have a copy of the book sitting on a shelf by my computer to prove it. It just took a lot of patience, time and a tremendous amount of luck to make it happen.

The Other Man's journey from proposal to print took almost three years. My writer friends tell me this was fast. Really?

Here's what happened:

By late fall, 2010, I had what everyone considered an excellent book proposal, the go ahead to write the gay companion to The Other Woman -- a huge national best seller -- from that anthology's editor, Victoria Zackheim, and by early 2011, a terrific agent in my corner. My agent sent the proposal out to LGBT publishers. Some responded. Many didn't. In summer, 2011, given the feedback my agent received, I revamped the proposal and wrote a new introduction, asked contributors for samples of their essays, etc. My agent sent out the second proposal. We waited.

In late 2011, The Other Man got a bite from a respected LGBT publisher. The editors were split down the middle. Half loved the proposal, half didn't. We were down to the wire. Our emails crisscrossed cyberspace for several weeks. I asked a few of my contributors to send me more essays for the editors to review; my guys were terrific and sent me their work. Then a week or so later, the final decision not to publish arrived in my inbox, along with a comment from one of the editors -- I'm paraphrasing here -- "Why would gay men be interested in reading about infidelity?" Hmm.

In early 2012, on my own and without my agent's involvement -- she doesn't handle short works -- I published a novella, The View From 16 Podwale Street, with JMS Books. At some point, I told my publisher, J.M. Snyder, about the proposed anthology and she wrote back saying she was interested. I was thrilled. The anthology was going to be a reality. Things were finally looking up for The Other Man. But then came another unanticipated problem: Several contributors, thinking the book wasn't happening, had dropped out and had gone on to other projects. It was then back to the drawing board and another search for well-respected, high quality writers to complete the contributor list.

In short, The Other Man, my three-year labor of love, is out today as an e book from JMS Books, with a print version to follow on May 31. How did I get so lucky? And the best part of the bargain is this: A portion of the proceeds from all sales will go to a charity near to all of our hearts, the It Gets Better Project. A win-win situation for everyone. Yes, it can happen. And it finally did.

Read an excerpt or buy a copy today!

The Other Man by Paul Alan Fahey

The Other Man by Paul Alan Fahey is now available in e-book format!

Who is the other man?

He’s an accident waiting to happen: the skateboarder round the bend, the smiling barista with the extra hot mocha, the computer geek eager to retool your mate’s hard drive. He’s a relationship gatecrasher bound by no rules and with no sense of fair play. Like Caesar, he comes, he sees, he conquers. On the flip side, you or I can be the other man, charging in and breaking the bonds of a committed relationship without a thought to the pain and misery inflicted upon the injured parties. Face it: We’re not all innocent bystanders in other-man scenarios.

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, 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?

Contributors include: Perry Brass, Austin Bunn, Rob Byrnes, Mark Canavera, R.W. Clinger, Lewis DeSimone, Paul Alan Fahey, Wes Hartley, William Henderson, Allen Mack, Jeff Mann, Tom Mendicino, Erik Orrantia, Felice Picano, David Pratt, Glen Retief, Jeffrey Ricker, Rodney Ross, Jason Schneiderman, Philip Dean Walker, and Chuck Willman. Edited by: Paul Alan Fahey.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this anthology will go to the It Gets Better Project.

Read an excerpt or buy a copy today!

Of Fiends and Fairies by Allen McGill

Of Fiends and Fairies by Allen McGill is now available in e-book format!

Eclectic is the theme for this collection of stories, which span from memoirs to imaginings to projections, introducing characters and settings across time and space, in reality and beyond. Meet new fairies, a coming-out brother, ghosts, witches, a plain old working girl, an embarrassing moment in church, theatrical folk, and young people determined on gruesome revenge -- all in a lighthearted vain ... or should we say vein?

The new and unusual worlds filling out these 26 stories are many-faceted, populated with idiosyncrasies, yearnings, and the everlasting search for the ultimate pleasures life (or death) has to offer.

Read an excerpt or buy a copy today!

Different Breeds by Thomas Kearnes

Different Breeds by Thomas Kearnes is now available in e-book format!

Derek and Blake have an understanding -- they can hook up with whoever they want, but they always came back to one another. So Derek is doing exactly that while in town for his cousin's wedding. A family gathering, a quick lay, and he'll be back in Blake's arms in a few days.

What Derek doesn't expect is for some clingy guy to actas if Derek's his last, best hope.

Leonard throws the best parties around, and he has killer dope, but he's more than a great host. He's a lonely man who has to buy friends. When he offers Derek a future on a horse ranch in Florida, Derek thinks he's kidding. But he soon learns Leonard never kids. When their casual encounter takes a turn for the worst, Derek wants to forget Leonard even exists.

What happens when a man who can't take no for an answer comes up against a guy who doesn't want any strings tying him down?

Read an excerpt or buy a copy today!

When Darkness Falls by K.C. Grim

When Darkness Falls by K.C. Grim is now available in e-book format!

Shadow Chasers are dark and mysterious creatures of the night, among the oldest supernatural beings walking the earth. Their strength and ability to manipulate the darkness makes them powerful, but everyone has a weakness.

Jet is no exception. He's always used his good looks and sex appeal to his own advantage. Never being the settling down type of guy, Jet is content with loving both men and women and then leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

After jilting one too many lovers, Jet suddenly finds himself banished to the farthest reaches of the world, the Arctic Circle. Can a creature who has existed for centuries locked in darkness survive in the land of the midnight sun?

Read an excerpt or buy a copy today!