an interview with E. Lynn Harris

I see the gay characters as multidimensional. If I only wrote about them being gay, and their sexual activities, that would be one-sided. It would be dreadful for me, as a gay man, to be writing things that only dealt with sex. tin this book, with [Leland] -- what's Leland's issue? He's out. He's been gay all his life. He's not hiding. So what's gonna make him an interesting character? I know a lot of gay men have lost lovers and friends, and no one's ever really dealt with that. And these are long-term relationships. I heard a straight man say that Leland and Donald seem like such a wonderful love story; they really love each other. That's what I was trying to convey: that we love very hard, just like men and women do. And when we lose someone we love, be it through a break up, or be it through death, it's very painful, and it takes its time to go on with our lives. People know how to handle a widow or widower when they've lost someone. But so many times now, when gay men are visible and out, when we've lost lovers and loved ones, no one really knows what to say m us, or how they can help us ease the loss.