YA LGBT Books discussion

Our Spotlight author this week is Gene Gant - he writes...

Bio:
I live with my family in a small, rural community near the Mississippi River, in west Tennessee. I have been a ghost writer for a few years now. I'm looking forward to publishing more works under my name.

My e-mail address is writegenegant@gmail.com
Link to my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gene-G...

Book info:

Blurb:
Kyle Manning is sixteen years old, openly gay and comfortable with himself for the most part. But his life has begun to unravel. His parents are separated and headed for divorce. One of his closest friends is on the verge of an emotional breakdown. And he is hopelessly attracted to his mother's handsome new boyfriend.

Then Kyle meets Dwight Varley, a smart, athletic boy from another school who takes an instant liking to him. Dwight becomes a much-needed oasis in Kyle's turbulent life. But Kyle discovers that Dwight's life is complicated than it appears. That, and a devastating betrayal by Kyle's father, pushes Kyle into a dangerous betrayal of his own.

Published by Harmony Ink Press. Available at Amazon.com, Rainbow eBooks, and Barnes and Noble.
Buy Links:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Thunder-His...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-t...
http://www.rainbowebooks.com/store/pr...

Excerpt:

Chapter One

I STOPPED at the curb and grabbed the mail from the box. Bills for Mom. Preemptive child support check from Dad. Hey, my learner’s permit. And my report card.

The afternoon was sunny and quiet. Most of the people on our street were older, empty nesters, and you hardly ever saw them outside. I walked up the drive and came in through the kitchen door. There were hot dogs and French fries baking on a cookie sheet in the oven. Mom was either tired or in a lousy mood. I plopped my backpack on the table and ripped open the neat, square envelope from school, which was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Manning. Bs in World History and Geometry, As in everything else. No heart attacks there for the folks.

“Kyle?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

I heard the lid on the washer bang shut, followed by the hiss of rushing water. Mom emerged from the laundry room. She was wearing pink sweats and barefoot. Lousy mood, definitely. “How was your day?” she asked, frowning at the torn envelope in my hand. She hated it when I opened her mail, especially when it was about me.

“My day was all right. Are you okay?”

She seemed surprised by the question. “I’m fine. Are you flunking anything?” She held out her hand.

I gave up the report card. “Nope. My learner’s permit finally came. Can we go driving after dinner?”

“Oh, God, no. My nerves are shot. Call your dad and get him to go with you.”

“Can’t stand to see me run anybody down, huh?”

Mom ignored that one, focusing her attention on my grades. Her long black hair was still tied up in the crisp bun she’d worn to work. She got a pen from the side pouch on my backpack and applied the required parental signature to the report card. She tucked the card into my backpack, along with the pen, so I could turn it in to my homeroom teacher tomorrow.

I could smell the fries. They were starting to burn. I got a towel and pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven. “Want me to fix you up a hot dog?”

“No, thanks.” Without another word, she took a huge bowl of freshly assembled spinach, tomato, and mushroom salad from the fridge. Using tongs, she began dumping mounds of veggies onto her plate. I washed my hands at the sink. Mom is usually all smiles and chatter when I get home from school. Something at work might have stressed her out today—she’s a columnist with the Commercial Appeal, the Memphis newspaper, and she’s always up against some deadline—but I suspected my dad had done something to upset her. They’d been separated a whole year, they were all lawyered up for the coming divorce, and they fought more now than they did when they were living together. There was no point in asking what was bothering her. Mom never talked to me about the problems between her and Dad.

I grabbed three of the six hot dogs Mom had baked, slapped them onto buns, and pasted them with mustard and relish. As I reached for the fries, Mom dumped a big heap of salad on my plate. Nice to know she wasn’t too depressed to foist veggies off on me.

“Get your pack off the table.” She poured olive oil and lemon juice over her salad.

I put my backpack on the floor. At the stove, I sprinkled a handful of overcooked fries over my salad and then topped everything off with ketchup. I snagged a can of Sprite from the fridge. Mom shook her head, so I put the Sprite back and got bottled waters for us both.

We sat down in our usual spots, facing each other across the table. Mom looked right through me as she ate, her mind on another planet.

I was starting on hotdog number three when somebody rapped on the back door. I turned and saw Mom’s boyfriend, Reece Simmons, waving at us through the glass.

You’d have thought Mom was a model in a toothpaste ad, the way her face lit up. I got up to let the guy in, but she brushed past me so fast I lost my balance and had to sit down again. “Hey, don’t mind Inviso Boy here,” I called after her, irritated. She ignored that, too, as she practically yanked the door open.

“Hey, you.” Hopefully, the sunlight wouldn’t hit her teeth. It would blind poor Reece.

Reece grinned right back at her. “Lela, hi.”

I studied the mustard stain on my napkin to keep from seeing them kiss.

“What’re you doing here?” Mom asked when she surfaced for air.

“I just dropped Ty and Jami at their mom’s. Thought I’d stop by and surprise you.”

“Well. I’m surprised.”

I rolled my eyes. “Hey, Reece.”

“Hey there, Kyle.” Reece had a nice, mellow voice. It went well with his nice, mellow personality. Put that together with his tall, hard body and his square-jawed, handsome face, and it was easy to understand why Mom was crazy for him. “Ty just made the basketball team. Did you know that?”

“Yeah, I heard. That’s cool.” I got up and reached for the hot dogs. “Want a dog and fries?”

“No, thanks.” Reece shot me a smile before sliding an arm around Mom’s waist. “I was actually thinking that I might take this pretty lady out for dinner.”

“Oh.” My face dropped.

Reece noticed and got the wrong impression. “You’re welcome to come too….”

“That’s okay, thanks. I’m kind of stuffed.”

He turned back to Mom, trying not to look relieved. “Sounds like it’s you and me, then.”

Mom forced a smile. “I suppose.”

“Hey.” Reece frowned at her. “Is something wrong?”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “It’s nothing, really. It’s just….” She gave me a look, as if just remembering I was in the room. Then she took Reece’s hand and started pulling him toward the hallway. “Come on down while I change into something decent. We can talk on the way to wherever you’re taking me.” She flicked another look my way, this time over her shoulder. “Kyle, clean up the kitchen. And make sure you do your homework.”

“Okay, Mom. See ya, Reece.”

He flashed a smile. “Bye, Kyle.”

I watched them disappear down the hall. Reece was forty-one. I knew that because it was my first question to him when Mom introduced us four months ago. Mom had looked as if she wanted to strangle me for asking, but I was curious. Reece didn’t exactly look middle-aged, and I didn’t want my forty-year-old mom running around with some dude barely old enough to be my big brother.

I got up, shoved the rest of Mom’s salad and my hot dog down the disposal, and started clearing the table. Reece was nice enough, but having him around was majorly weird. Even though I’d known for almost a year now that Mom and Dad’s marriage was over, it still felt wrong to see them cuddling other people (Dad had a girlfriend). It also bugged the hell out of me that Mom talked so easily with Reece about problems in her life that she would never discuss with me. I felt guilty for getting pissed with her, but that was hardly the worst part of this crazy situation. Of all the guys I could be hot for, why’d I have to get a big-time crush on my mom’s boyfriend?