Jerry Wheeler and Shawn Stewart Ruff have a few things in common, both known for writing LGBTQ literature, particularly with a focus on gay male characters and themes. Both have made notable contributions to LGBTQ literature, often exploring identity, relationships, and the nuances of queer life in their work. They’ve been recognized or involved in circles that celebrate queer writing.
While their styles and focuses differ, both authors incorporate themes of marginalization, desire, and self-discovery. Ruff often delves into intersections of race and sexuality, while Wheeler frequently explores eroticism and queer storytelling through short fiction and editing.
Days Running is Shawn Stewart Ruff’s fourth and latest novel. His first, “Finlater,” was awarded a 2008 Lambda Literary Award for Debut Fiction and was a finalist for the Edmund White Debut Fiction prize. He is also the editor of the landmark “Go the Way Your Blood Beats: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Fiction by African American Writers” (1996).
Jerry L. Wheeler has been shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award three times, edited multiple volumes of erotica for various publishers, and is the author of two novels, “Pangs” and “Mercedes General.” He lives and writes in Denver, Colorado and shares book reviews on his website, Out in Print.
I had a chance to speak with both authors about their books.
Michele Karlsberg: What is “Days Running” about?
Shawn Stewart Ruff: It’s about 16-year-old Clifford Douglas, a precocious Black high school senior who dreams of attending college on the West Coast. On a cold wintry night, he is brutally attacked after being seen kissing his boyfriend. The attacker is no stranger or enemy; that is, until that tragic night. The novel is about what actually happened and what Cliffy does about it.
Is this Clifford the Cliffy from your debut novel?
Yes. I believe in the muses, and through my writing muse, I learned he had a remarkable story to tell. I was all the more keen, because back in 2017, while serving on a Manhattan grand jury, we heard a teen Black boy describe being attacked and sexually assaulted by the foster-care brother he shared a bedroom with. What I heard in his unforgettable testimony wasn’t fear, it was fury, that this person he perhaps trusted could do what he did.
Why do you say it is a sad, depressing read?
The novel is true to itself, so it’s emotional, but readers describe it as riveting. If anything, the novel is a call to action. With the re-emergence of Trump, queer people are under assault by a white rightwing, Christian nationalist vision of America that holds us — all of us! — in the crosshairs. Our personhood is settled law. Until it isn’t!
Michele Karlsberg: Jerry, tell us about your latest book, “Mercedes General.”
Jerry L. Wheeler: “Mercedes General” is a novel in short stories that details the lives of two gay men, Kent and Spencer, who met as children and grew up as a couple, enduring enormous pressures from their families and friends, encountering enemies and pedophiles, and eventually beginning an AIDS hospice out of their New York City brownstone at the beginning of the epidemic.
Why a novel in short stories?
Actually, they started out as flashbacks, all featuring either a literal or metaphoric death, that went along with a present-day frame story. I never found a frame story I liked or thought was worthwhile, but I really loved the flashbacks.
I became involved with my vampire novel, “Pangs,” and they fell to the wayside. After “Pangs” came out, I was looking around for another project and came across the flashbacks.
By this point, I really didn’t have much of an objective viewpoint about them, so I asked my publisher (Sven Davisson at Rebel Satori Press) if he thought they were worthwhile. He was pretty enthusiastic, but we were short about thirty thousand words, so that’s where the last two stories come into play. When I had them all together, I finally realized they already told the story I wanted to tell.
What would you like readers to take away from the book?
A sense of permanence, that queer folk have always been here and always will be. That’s one of the reasons all the stories have some sort of death in them. Even though Kent and Spencer lose loved ones, they remain.
That’s especially true of the title story, which I tried very hard to give; not a happy ending, because that’s sort of tough during an epidemic, but at least a positive one in which we were taking some action in the face of inaction from the government and other officials. I’m quite proud of that story because it illustrates a side of our reaction to the epidemic which hasn’t been explored as thoroughly as it might.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
www.instagram.com/shawnstewartruff
www.rebelsatori.com
www.outinprintblog.wordpress.com
Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management specializes in publicity and marketing for the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Karlsberg celebrates 36 years of successful campaigns. www.michelekarlsberg.com
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