I've been showcasing different novels from Kyle Michel Sullivan. I requested that he save my personal favorite for last. I know what you're thinking, "A book entitled How To Rape a Straight Guy is your favorite?" Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you. When I first requested a copy, Kyle warned me that it was much darker than any of his other novels I had read.
The day that I received the book, I began reading it and didn't put it down until I was done. I would describe HTRASG as a cross between American Psycho and Pulp Fiction. What was most intriguing was the empathy I developed for the lead character, Curt. His actions are twisted and disturbing, but by the end I wanted to cradle him in my arms and comfort him. Trust me, it's worth checking out. Curt's story stuck with me for days.
Synopsis
There's more than one way, and Curt's been through them all during his life, including six years in prison. Now demands from his wife and zero prospects of a decent job are making it impossible for him to even think of building a normal life...until he hustles two gay men in a bar, one afternoon, and mentions his experiences in prison -- which included forcing straight cons to get off as he raped them, as a form of revenge.
It seems the two men, Wayne and Lenny, want some revenge of their own against a straight guy who's given them trouble. If Curt can get him off while being assaulted, they'll give him a car, cash, and a chance at a new life. Being in the mood to do some damage, Curt agrees...but things quickly spin out of control and aim him straight for disaster.
And he's not sure he wants to stop it.
Kyle was kind enough to give us a glimpse into the inspiration for his novel...
With this one, I honestly don't know where it came from. I've always thought of myself as low-key and easy-going...which is not to say I didn't hold definite political opinions; I've been a liberal since 1980, when Reagan and the "moral majority" took over the GOP. And I was living in LA, not exactly a hotbed of conservative thinking. Even the people I worked with were pretty much liberals and forward thinking. I think the first germ of the story hit me when a guy I knew in West Hollywood was busted by a sheriff's deputy for soliciting public sex, and he swore all he'd done was say "Hi" to the little bastard. He was especially upset about how the DA's office was handling the case and he couldn't find a lawyer who really believed him. What made it disgusting was, he owned a business in the city and had no criminal history. I wondered, what if he'd been poor or uneducated and already a one-time loser?
That's when Curt came knocking on my brain...and yes, I do mean Curt came to me to tell his story. Read "The Lyons' Den" to understand. But to put it in simpler, more psychotic terms -- to me, stories and characters are close to all of us, and sometimes you connect with them but have no idea why, except they need to be told and you've been chosen as the teller. Because the story I wound up with -- about a straight, married ex-con using male-on-male rape as a way to regain control of his life -- was not how this started out and has nothing to do with my own life story.
I've been criticized because I wrote the story in Curt's vernacular...but that's how it wanted to be told. And I've been attacked because of the title; Amazon and Kobo won't even carry it in e-book form, and Amazon banned it, back in 2011, because it "violated their ludicrously vague standards." I got them to agree it wasn't pornography and they re-listed it...until this twerp in the UK decided no one should be allowed to read pornography and spooked many of the major distributors into dumping their erotica titles. Now all they carry is the paperback. That's why I started publishing my e-books through Smashwords.
What's funny is, it's my best-seller. I read where the average book sells 500 copies in its lifetime, and HTRASG has sold nearly 4 times that many. I've even had a couple of people tell me I ought to make it into a movie. Yeah, right -- Chris Evans as Curt and Ryan Gosling as Shayes...sure.
Oh...and my friend wound up pleading guilty to disturbing the peace. He got a fine of $500, and considered himself lucky. I don't; I think it was vile.
To order your copy of How To Rape a Straight Guy, visit Direct Text Books or KoBo Books.
To learn more about Kyle Michel Sullivan, visit his blog, Jam the Cat.
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