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Praise for Johnny Diaz and Boston Boys Club!
“Breezy…fun…”
—Edge (Miami)
“A charming cocktail.”
—Out
“Make way for the boys of summer! Johnny Diaz has written a sexy beach-read romp that you won’t be able to put down.”
William J. Mann, author of Men Who Love Men
“Sexy, funny, you savor every page…a great summer read…all you have to do is sit back and open it and enjoy.”
—Eureka Pride
“Boston Boys Club entertains, amuses and is the perfect compliment to a long, lazy day at the beach and cold tropical drink of your choice. But don’t be fooled, there is a serious side to this book, which make it all the better a slice of LGBT life. There are issues and illnesses, losses and things falling apart. But in the end, things come together and these boys will win your heart. This book is a keeper and Johnny Diaz had better start working on a sequel.”
—La Bloga
“Boston Boys Club is racy, funny and smart. With his unforgettable trio of narrators, Johnny Diaz ushers the reader through the sex-filled, weirdly skewed world of contemporary gay Boston. You’re going to love this book.”
—Scott Heim, author of Mysterious Skin
“In case you haven’t heard the buzz, Boston Boys Club is the book to read on the beach this summer…fast paced and lighthearted.”
—Bay Windows
“A fun summer read…one hopes that the author will grace readers again with another story of New England’s favorite city.”
—AfterElton.com
“A bubbly beach read…the author clearly knows Boston inside and out, and readers from New England will appreciate the attention paid to the surroundings and the many local insider jokes.”
—Bay Area Reporter
“A love letter to Boston.”
—The Gay & Lesbian Review
“A winner…sexy, rich and charming, this one is a true page-turner.”
—Out Smart
“Sure to make an appearance on many a beach towel this summer.”
—Here! Magazine
“A winning book, especially for a summer read.”
—Boston Spirit
“Johnny Diaz brings to palpable life the ins, outs, ups, and downs of gay city life and its most dangerous pastime: dating. In chronicling the love lives—or lack thereof—of three good friends who meet weekly at a popular watering hole, Mr. Diaz gives us situations, hopes, fears, and, especially, characters, that all readers will identify with, and may even recognize as themselves. At turns comic, touching, and tragic, Boston Boys Club is sure to serve as a testament of American gay life in the new millenium, and the timeless search for Mister Right—or Mister Right Now. An addictive read.”
—J.G. Hayes, author of This Thing Called Courage
Miami Manhunt
Johnny Diaz
KENSINGTON BOOKS
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Acknowledgments
I’m such a goof. I forgot to write my acknowledgments the first time around with Boston Boys Club so this one will be a little long. So sit back.
A big thank you to my editor, John Scognamiglio, for his patience, kindness, and literary insights. Without John, Boston Boys Club and Miami Manhunt would not be in your hands.
I’d like to thank Juan and Milagros Diaz for supporting their only gay Cuban son even though they can’t read in English. Their support is boundless and not limited to Spanish. A thank you to my sister, Cary, who supports me in her own quiet way.
I’d like to give a shout out to my Boston Boys Club: Antonio DiPierro and my Cuban “loca” Rosco Cortinas for making Beantown feel like home. To my Miami Boys Club: Tom Welhaf and Carlos Castillo; Eric Vasallo and Eric Boylan who make leaving Miami so hard whenever I visit. To the Perez and Cuervos, my big Cuban family in Miami. A special gracias to Maria Sanchez, my loving godmother in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She has been one of my biggest readers since I began writing her letters from Miami when I was a lonely 12-year-old boy.
I want to thank my first creative writing teacher, Ricki Weyhe from Miami Beach High who always pushed me to show more than tell. A big thank you to my first real news editor, Patty Shillington, who saw something in a skinny, curly-haired 16-year-old kid and hired him as an intern at The Miami Herald in high school.
A heartfelt thank you to my old friend Rene Rodriguez, my newspaper mentor and dear friend for the past 10 years, even though we always disagree on movies.
I’d like to dedicate this book to the late Maria Krok, of Miami Beach, who wasn’t just a caring neighbor but who adopted me as one of her grandchildren. She not only invited me into her home every Thanksgiving and Noche Buena for 10 years, but she also invited me into her heart. By her example of helping others, this world is a better place, and I know her favorite granddaughter Cynthia Casanova would agree with me on that.
A huge thank you to la doctora Isabel Gomez-Bassols and her family, the Vasallos, for making me an honorary Vasallo all these years.
A thank you to dear FIU college friend and former Globe intern, summer of 1995, Anne “Martinez” Vasquez for always believing in my talent and looking out for me, especially when I was homesick during our first weeks in Cambridge. Ditto to Joanne Skerrett, another former Globe intern and fellow author.
A special thank you to my dearest friend Ryan Andrews for his unconditional support and love and for all those late-night, long-distance chats these last seven years when I needed to bounce dialogue and some ideas off him.
And last but not least, an infinite thank you: to my blue-eyed “Muggle.”
Author’s Note
Many of the Miami and Boston businesses, locations, and events that appear in this book are real. The narrators and their supporting characters are not. The businesses and locations were used to make the settings as realistic as possible for the fictional characters who are products of the author’s imagination.
Contents
1. Ray
2. Ted
3. Brian
4. Ray
5. Ted
6. Brian
7. Ray
8. Ted
9. Brian
10. Ray
11. Ted
12. Brian
13. Ray
14. Ted
15. Ray
16. Ted
17. Brian
18. Ray
19. Ted
20. Brian
21. Ray
22. Ted
23. Brian
24. Ray
25. Ted
26.