Wednesday, May 10 is D Day (debut day) for my novel “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press), about a gay, biracial quarterback’s search for identity, acceptance, success and love amid the brutal beauty of the NFL. It’s set against the backdrop of the 1-percenters I’ve long observed as a luxury magazine editor and senior cultural writer.
When the quarterback of the hapless New York Templars is injured, backup QB Quinn Novak takes the team to the playoffs. There he attracts the attention of two other quarterbacks who’ve been rivals since high school – Mal Ryan of the Philadelphia Quakers and Tam Tarquin of the San Francisco Miners. Quinn begins a volatile relationship with the narcissistic Mal and a loving one with the open-hearted Tam, keeping each secret from the other. What he doesn’t know is that the two had a romantic history of their own.
“The Penalty for Holding” is unquestionably a male/male romance – one of fiction’s hottest genres – but it’s also a timely tale of leadership, the American workplace and the extent to which those who belong to two worlds can navigate a place in both.
This is the second novel in my series “The Games Men Play” – stories of power, dominance and rivalry – which is also the name of my sports/culture blog. The first novel, “Water Music,” about the professional rivalries and personal relationships of four gay athletes, was published by Greenleaf Book Group in 2014.
Both books are available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For more, visit me at thegamesmenplay.com.
– Georgette Gouveia
