about Jamie...
By way of a brief personal introduction I am both gay, and a writer (you may of course check out a few other brief details in my profile found on this site). Although I am gay, out, and extremely grateful that I was born with this unique and special orientation, I prefer at this point not to go into any great detail in regard to my present day personal life, other than to say that as you read this work, if it generates additional interest and curiosity on your end, I will be more then happy to hear from you if you have individual or personal questions about myself or my work.
It’s not that I wish to be secretive but instead of generating a detailed personal autobiography, I prefer to allow my work to speak for itself, although I feel that as a potential reader of The Scrolls of Icaria I should present to you some background as to my inspiration and motivation in writing this work of fiction.
As a young somewhat reclusive and shy gay boy growing up along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, I spent many quiet hours alone pursuing one of my favorite passions – reading. As I entered late primary school, and my reading interests moved from children’s stories to more challenging subjects, I found myself irresistibly draw into the literary genre of Science Fiction. Using the money I made from a paper route I inherited from my older brother and a small weekly allowance, I amassed a remarkably decent collection of Science Fiction books and stories purchased one by precious one from the local used book store in my hometown.
Many a night I would hide under the covers of my bed – flashlight in hand - reading Isaac Asimov's and Ray Bradbury's visions of a future time and world. Later as a young teen, I fell in love with the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, Harlan Ellison and the legendary science fiction writer and sage Robert Heinlein.
At the age of 12, thanks to a much older cousin's large collection of Marvel and DC comics that I rescued from the rubbish bin, I followed the countless adventures of Superman, The Fantastic Four, Batman, Spiderman and a host of other super heroes and villains.
At 14 my boyfriend lent me his copy of JRR Token’s Lord of the Rings and although I had always been a fan of classic "hard science fiction," I instantly became hooked on the world of Science Fantasy where almost anything could (and often did) happen.
The one regret that I often felt as I journeyed through the marvelous worlds and universes that Science Fiction/Fantasy and comic books often took me to, was the fact that I never once encountered any characters who were like me – gay.
Superman had Lois Lane, Dick Tracy’s love interest was Tess Trueheart and Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat character James Bolivar DiGriz had the beautiful sexy and sociopathic Angelina, but none of the characters I encountered ever liked someone of the same sex romantically. Sure science fiction and fantasy along with comic books are full of that macho camaraderie between characters of the same sex (usually male), but as if to squash any approval of homosexuality there was never any hint or indication of any sexual attraction or true love – something I was always interested in changing.
Eventually the shy boy I started out as, became a much more confident and assured young man (thanks to many great friends and mentors along the way who offered strong support, positive examples along with warm and sincere love). And while my own career path has lead me to become involved in a diverse range of fields, activities and interests, I find that I take the greatest pleasure in writing – mostly for myself and my friends.
I often thought that it would be interesting to create a universe populated by gay characters cast in the traditional “heroic” epical roles that have been defined and used as literary vehicles from Homer’s ancient Greek Odyssey up to George Lucas’s present day Star War’s saga. And while it may sound presumptions to some, I thought it would be fun to expand the literary Science Fiction universe in the direction of gay characters so that a new younger generation of gay Science Fiction/Fantasy readers might discover, enjoy and relate to characters that fit a bit more closely into their view of the world.
And so I present for your entertainment The Scrolls of Icaria – my construct of an alternate universe populated with legendary heroes, strange creatures, dark evil villains, epic battles, an assortment of characters with special powers and abilities, and two very special boys whose love for each other is the constant that never wavers and ultimately triumphs in a place, a time, an idea known as
Jamie
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