Becoming Andy Hunsinger
Jere' M. Fishback
Genre: Historical romance, GLBT,
Historical,Edgy Young Adult
Publisher: Prizm Books
Date of Publication: December 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61040-858-5
ASIN: B00RN6L8HS
Number of pages: 208
Word Count: 65,800
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde
Book Description:
It's 1976, and Anita Bryant's homophobic "Save Our Children" crusade rages through Florida. When Andy Hunsinger, a closeted gay college student, joins in a demonstration protesting Bryant's appearance in Tallahassee, his straight boy image is shattered when he's "outed" by a TV news reporter.
In the months following, Andy discovers just what it means to be openly gay in a society that condemns love between two men.
Can Andy's friendship with Travis, a devout Christian who's fighting his own sexual urges, develop into something deeper?
Available at Amazon Prizm Books
Excerpt
On my seventh birthday, my parents gave me a Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.
I still have it; the book rests on the shelf above my desk, along with other Seuss works I've collected. Inside The Cat in the Hat's cover, my mother wrote an inscription, using her English teacher's precise penmanship.
"Happy Birthday, Andy. As you grow older, you'll realize many truths dwell within these pages. Much love, Mom and Dad."
Mom was right, of course. She most always is.
My favorite line in The Cat in the Hat is this one:
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
***
Loretta McPhail was a notorious Tallahassee slumlord. On a steamy afternoon, in August 1976, she spoke to me in her North Florida drawl: part magnolia, part crosscut saw.
"The rent's one-twenty-five. I'll need first, last, and a security deposit, no exceptions."
McPhail wore a short-sleeved shirtwaist dress, spectator pumps, and a straw hat with a green plastic windowpane sewn into the brim. Her skin was as pale as cake flour. A gray moustache grew on her winkled upper lip, and age spots peppered the backs of her hands. Her eyeglasses had lenses so thick her gaze looked buggy.
I'd heard McPhail held title to more than fifty properties in town, all of them cited multiple times for violation of local building codes. She owned rooming houses, single family homes, and small apartment buildings, mostly in neighborhoods surrounding Florida State University's campus. Like me, her tenants sought cheap rent; they didn't care if the roof leaked or the furnace didn't work.
The Franklin Street apartment I viewed with McPhail wasn't much: a living room and kitchen, divided by a three-quarter wall; a bedroom with windows looking into the rear and side yards; a bathroom with a wall-mounted sink, a shower stall and a toilet with a broken seat. In each room, the plaster ceilings bore water marks. The carpet was a leopard skin of suspicious-looking stains, and the whole place stank of mildew and cat pee.
McPhail's building was a two-storied, red brick four-plex with casement windows that opened like book covers, a Panhandle style of architecture popular in the 1950s. Shingles on the pitched roof curled at their edges. Live oaks and longleaf pines shaded the crabgrass lawn, and skeletal azaleas clung to the building's exterior.
In the kitchen, I peeked inside a rust-pitted Frigidaire. The previous tenant had left gifts: a half-empty ketchup bottle, another of pickle relish. A carton of orange juice with an expiration date three months past sat beside a tub of margarine.
Out in the stairwell, piano music tinkled -- a jazzy number I didn't recognize.
McPhail clucked her tongue and shook her head.
"I've told Fergal -- and I mean several times -- to close his door when he plays, but he never does. I'm not sure why I put up with that boy."
McPhail pulled a pack of Marlboros from a pocket in the skirt of her dress. After tapping out two cigarettes, she jammed both between her lips. She lit the Marlboros with a brushed-chrome Zippo, and then she gave me one cigarette.
I puffed and tapped a toe, letting my gaze travel about the kitchen. I studied the chipped porcelain sink, scratched Formica countertops, and drippy faucet. Blackened food caked the range's burner pans. The linoleum floor's confetti motif had long ago disappeared in high-traffic areas. Okay, the place was a dump. But the rent was cheap, and campus was less than a mile away. I could ride my bike to classes, and to my part-time job as caddy at the Capital City Country Club.
Still, I hesitated.
The past two years, I'd lived in my fraternity house with forty brothers. I took my meals there, too. If I rented McPhail's apartment, I'd have to cook for myself. What would I eat? Where would I shop for food?
Other questions flooded my brain. Where would I wash my clothes? And how did a guy open a utilities account? The apartment wasn't furnished. Where would I purchase a bed? What about a dinette and living room furniture? And how much did such things cost? It all seemed so complicated.
Still . . .
About the Author:
Jere' M. Fishback is a former news editor and trial lawyer. He writes Young Adult novels, short fiction, and memoirs. A Florida native, he lives on a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico, west of Tampa/St. Petersburg. When he's not writing, Jere' enjoys cycling, surfing, lap-swimming, and watching sunsets with a glass of wine in hand.
Interview
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida,
and except for my undergraduate days I spent at University of Florida, and the three
years I attended law school at Florida State University, I've always been a Florida
Gulf Coast guy; I love the beach. For the past ten years I have lived on a
beautiful barrier island called Pass-a-Grille Beach. It's west of St.
Petersburg, and the Gulf is 100 yards from my front door.
Tell us your latest news?
My latest news is the publication of my new novel, Becoming Andy Hunsinger. I worked very
hard on the book and I'm very proud of the final product. I had a great editor,
Belea Keeney, who made insightful suggestions for improvements.
When and why did you begin writing?
I'm a former journalist and newspaper editor, so in
a sense I've been a writer since my college days, but I only began writing
fiction after I retired from practicing law.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have considered myself a writer since I sold my
first short story to a publishing house. That was in 2008.
What inspired you to write your first book?
The first book I wrote was titled Josef Jaeger. It's a Young Adult
Historical novel set in the early days of Nazi Germany. In the late 1990's I
hosted two German exchange students who I later visited in Germany, and then I
fell in love with the country. The people there are so nice. I've always been a
history buff, and I simply couldn't understand how such an advanced society
could have allowed the Nazis to come to power in the first place, so I decided
to write a novel about it. Josef Jaeger was
the result. It won first place in the Young Adult division of the international
Rainbow Awards competition in 2009.
Do you have a specific writing style?
You might say I write with more of a journalistic
style than most fiction writers. I keep my sentences and paragraphs relatively
short, and my chapters aren't long either. Particularly when writing Young
Adult of New Adult fiction. I think it's important to keep things simple. I also like writing in first person because it
helps the reader get in close contact with my main character.
How did you come up with the title?
For Becoming
Andy Hunsinger? Well, firstly, I think your main character is always more
memorable if he or she has an unusual name. I went to school with a friend
whose last name is Hunsinger, and I always thought the name would be a good one
for a main character. Also, the book is all about Andy Hunsinger's personal
journey over a year's period. During this time, Andy comes to terms with his
sexual orientation. He deals with hostile attitudes gay men faced back in the
mid-1970's , in North Florida. And he searches for love from another male. So,
throughout the story, you could say Andy is "becoming" himself.
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
Yes, and it's pretty much summed up by a Dr. Seuss
quote that appears in my book; it comes from The Cat in the Hat. The quote is "Be who you are and say what
you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't
mind."
How much of the book is realistic?
I attended FSU's law school in Tallahassee during
the mid-1970's, but this book is not autobiographical.
Some of the events in the book—most importantly the civil demonstration
protesting Anita Bryant's "Save Our Children" campaign appearance in
Tallahassee—did occur. But I'd say 90% of the story is pure fiction, and truthfully
none of the characters are modeled on real people; they are all a product of my
imagination.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
As to Becoming
Andy Hunsinger, I think I pretty well answered this question in my last
answer. As to my other books, there are certain events that stem from my
personal experiences, and those of my friends and family members. I suppose
that's inevitable, especially if you're not writing SciFi or Urban Fantasy.
What books have most influenced your life?
Oh, there are so many. Gone With the Wind really turned me into a historical novel lover.
Reading To Kill a Mockingbird at age
ten convinced me I wanted to become a lawyer like Atticus Finch. Of course, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
resonated with me as a teenager in so many ways. I would say that all of Kurt
Vonnegut's work inspired me to write fiction; he had such a unique style. And
then John Irving's book, The World
According to Garp, blew me away
when I first read it.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
John Dufresne. His book on creative writing, The Lie that Tells a Truth, really
influenced my writing style when I first began writing fiction. I still consult
the book on a regular basis. Dufresne's a great writer and teacher, which is a
unique combination. Even though I have
never met John, I feel like I know him through his books.
What book are you reading now?
I just finished a biography of Harry S. Truman by
David McCullough; it's a huge book and very well written. Now I'm reading a
collection of short fiction by Charles Bukowski, who I actually met once in
Tallahassee back in the 1970's. Many people find Bukowski work offensive, but I
don't. And I love his writing style; it's very to-the-point.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Tom Franklin is a wonderful fiction author. I met
him at a writer's conference a few years back. His books titled Poachers and Hell at the Breach are terrific, but he's under-appreciated. Maybe one day he'll hit the bestseller list; he
deserves to.
What are your current projects?
I'm about 90% of the way through the first draft of
a new novel. I've worked on it since last spring. It's a huge book, already
over 115,000 words, and it involves elements of the occult. I've had to do
quite a bit of research on astrology. The main character, Nate Ziegler, is an
eighteen-year-old high school student who's gay and a cross-country runner. He
has a ghost living in the crawl space above his bedroom closet, and one of his
teammates is a neo-Nazi who wants Nate to buy into his racist of thinking. Needless
to say, it's a complicated and quirky book.
What would you like my readers to know?
First of all, I'd like to say I'm grateful to them
for taking the time to read this interview. Secondly, I want them to know I don't
write fiction to get rich. (Few writers do.) I write fiction because I love to,
everything from creating characters and writing dialogue, to the editing
process and creating the cover design. I write almost every day, for at least
2-3 hours, and the time just flies by.
Thanks for having me here. If any of your followers
want to ask me questions they can certainly do so. I'll answer promptly and
honestly, and that's a promise.
https://www.jeremfishback.comhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2920032.Jere_M_Fishback
Tour giveaway
5 ebook copies Becoming Andy Hunsinger
10 print copies open to US Shipping
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