Darryl Shelly's Blog - Posts Tagged "sex"

Received my first blurb for the book:

"In painstakingly, painfully precise detail, Darryl Shelly’s The Hobbyist walks us through the mind and experiences of a young male sex addict roaming the streets of New York, with an inheritance to spare and seemingly every Asian Mamasan on speed dial. While siding with Shelly’s protagonist, Dash, is a tall order, every single detail rings true—from the way this character forms relationships (as they are) with a succession of prostitutes to the gluttonous pace of an addict with inner beast fully unleashed. What Jerry Stahl did for junkies and Bret Easton Ellis provided for serial killing bankers, Shelly has done for sex addicts. Simply put, The Hobbyist is impossible to put down. It’s also a disturbing and alas all too accurate depiction of the way many people today view sexuality. And for however much of a tidy conclusion this gripping debut novel comes to, The Hobbyist doesn’t tie its character’s addiction up with a pretty bow; recovery is explored but never embraced and the overall sense the reader is left with is that there’s much, much more to the story."
~ Anna David
Author of Party Girl and Bought

“Reading The Hobbyist is like walking through a mysterious door off the street that's been hiding in plain sight. You've passed it a thousand times and never imagined the dark world that lurks beneath the surface of our ordinary lives. What I enjoyed most about this book are its riveting characters. The story’s a gallery of rogues, eccentrics, and the ever-present hobbyists who patronize the hidden brothels with amazing frequency, and provide drama and layers to the story. It was refreshing to read about the Asian escorts, who seem to work quite happily with a surprising lack of misery and subjugation, as portrayed in this black market of lust. Darryl Shelly's honesty is startling, and there's a sadness in this personal journey that's inescapable – but it’s what elevates this novel above a tell-all, show off memoir. In the tradition of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, William Burroughs’ Junky, and Charles Bukowski's Barfly, it shows that even in the modern, Disneyfied New York, the dark underbelly of the city that never sleeps is still alive and well.”
~ Michael Rymer
Producer: Battlestar Galactica and director of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned

http://vimeo.com/58495065

"Funny as hell ... dialogue is sharp and the narrative witty ... adult females may delight in discovering what certain men really think and feel about women, in and out of bed."

I will be on the Dereck & Kay radio show this Sunday (April 14th) at 4:25pm PST discussing my novel. Check it out if you can. http://bit.ly/120HQ2m

The Hobbyist is a cautionary tale and not for the faint of heart. Though there is much ado about sex in this story, it is not, as one reviewer noted, "a sexy book." Many readers who fancy erotica or romance novels are not likely to embrace the material. Whereas the previously mentioned genres deal primarily with transgressive fantasies, The Hobbyist – though a novel – is based on a true story. I also want to caution those expecting a book on recovery. The frank, sexual content could well serve as stimulus to acting out.

It is not my intention to dissuade anyone from buying the book, but since this book deals with frequent acts of wanton sex, it could mislead potential readers about the true nature of the book's content, and possibly lead to disappointment. I would be remiss if I didn’t note this distinction.

"I almost wish it would be like a Mad Men-esque TV show because I don't want it to end. I want it to keep going!"
~ Dr. Drew Pinsky: addiction expert and host of Lovelines and Dr. Drew on HLN

"I didn't read the book, I absorbed it. It was so good, I loved every single bit of it... Visually stunning and so incredibly appealing - it's hot! I wish I would have just been there to see it as a fly on the wall to witness the human behavior... Find this book because it's amazing!"