My forthcoming novel, Kiss Me, Straight, is the story of a gay flight attendant in San Francisco chasing romance with a straight guy all around the world. It is not my autobiography, but they do say to Write What You Know. There are a few scenes in the book that are ripped from the pages of my journal, but the main character, his friends, and their mad adventures are all, of course, figments of my imagination.
So, while my novel is not about me or my life, I do sometimes use fiction to capture a particular travel experience. I am, after all, a Gemini, and we don’t especially like to be bound by narrow interpretations of “facts” when we tell stories. What follows is a snapshot of an afternoon passed on my last international trip before I transferred to Denver. It was originally published on a tiny and now-extinct Gay Flash Fiction site. (photo credit: me)
You know you’re in Asia when an overfed brown-haired white guy in a pair of jeans stands out in a lunchtime crowd. OK, I can admit to having a slight tendency towards overfed brown-haired white guys in jeans, but they’re hardly rare and exotic on the streets of any English-speaking country. And not just the U.S., despite our reputation. (Yes, Australia, I’m talking to you.)
mister stewardess 