COMING SOON!
THE MAGIC PART is an LGBTQ+ novel.
Michael Wells, a 35-year-old college professor, came out as gay during college in the late 1960s but then married in an attempt to be straight. After his marriage fails, he struggles to come out of the closet—again. But this time it is the 1980s in the midst of the horror, fear, and confusion surrounding a mysterious “gay cancer.”
The novel opens with Michael leaving a message on his ex-wife’s answering machine. He wants to apologize for the lie he made them live. Fran misinterprets the message, thinking he wants to get back together. Michael wants to be a sexually free gay man, but the fear of contracting AIDS stymies him. His college friend, Clay, cautions him to simply “play safe.” But everyone knows Clay is promiscuous. They go on vacation to Provincetown, where Clay introduces Michael to a friend, Jon Whittaker, a computer programmer from Boston. Michael and Jon are attracted to each other and become sexually involved. But Michael goes back to New York City, and Jon to Boston. Fran visits Michael on a business trip, and they resolve their differences. Michael’s fear about Clay comes true. Not wanting to lose Michael in a long-distance relationship, Jon says he’ll move to New York. Because he and Michael have not been practicing safe sex, Jon insists they be tested. They have to determine if, together or separately, they can discover a magic part in their lives that will sustain and not separate them.
