Madison Parker: Introduction and Giveaway

When Jeff first approached me with his idea of starting a website devoted exclusively to promoting Young Adult LGBT literature, I instantly wanted to be involved. I love reading stories about young adults, and I love writing stories about young adults. I’ve spent most of my life in a school environment. After graduating college, I became a high school teacher, and between that and raising my own son, I’ve spent a great deal of time around young adults.

I also have a lot of sympathy for victims of bullying. My son was bullied in school for years, both verbally and physically, and it breaks my heart to know that he suffered even for a day. And I’m sure I don’t know the half of it. I know he was called a fag on a daily basis. I know kids typed nasty messages about him into their graphing calculators and passed them around class. I know he was shoved into lockers and soda machines, and that he was hit in the head with a field hockey stick during gym. And it pains me that I couldn’t stop it.

I’ll never completely understand why he was a target, but I believe it had to do with the fact that 1) he’s very artistic--he excelled in drama, art, and music, and 2) he’s always had a certain air of superiority about him and has never been shy about expressing his opinions. He’ll argue with anyone about anything. He can charm the pants off of adults, but has always had trouble interacting with people his own age.

Many people at different times in his life have told me they thought he was gay. The first time someone said that to me, it came as a shock. I was angry that someone would jump to that conclusion based on stereotypes. So what if he hated sports? It didn’t mean he was gay. He was only six years old! But I decided right then and there, that if he did turn out to be gay, I wouldn’t want him to feel bad about it. Gay/straight/bi or anything else, it didn’t change who he was; he was the same person.

In middle school, he worked at a local dinner theater doing musical productions. After rehearsal one day, I saw two men hugging intimately, and that prompted me to finally have a talk with my son about it. I didn’t ask him if he was gay. I asked him if he knew so and so was, and told him that there was nothing wrong with it. Yes, he knew. He said there were a lot of gay guys who worked there. It was dinner theater, for God's sake! We joked around about it in a light-hearted way.

In high school, he continued in drama and went through a “phase” where he painted his nails and wore makeup. I even caught him shaving his legs once. He knew what I was thinking that day, but he insisted he wasn’t gay. After high school, he moved out of the house and rented a room from a gay friend and co-worker. That, out of everything, made me question his sexuality the most. It’s one thing to have gay friends; it’s another to live with them. I wouldn't have been surprised had he come out to me.

He’s twenty-four now, and as far as I know, he’s not gay. He’s only ever had girlfriends. He’s been living with his current girlfriend for almost two years now. He even asked me once if I was disappointed that he’s not gay!

I guess my point is that I’m sympathetic to the struggles and growing pains that young people face. Heck, parents face them, too! Coming out stories fascinate me. Stories that deal with stereotypes and people who break them fascinate me as well. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Young Adult fiction, and I’m incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to be involved with True Colorz. Helping young readers connect with stories that address their hopes/dreams/fears/struggles and most importantly, showing them their self-worth, showing them they are deserving of love and acceptance, is my ultimate goal.

To celebrate the launch of our website, I am offering a free copy of my book, Sock it to Me, Santa! to one lucky commenter. Please leave a comment and your email address below to enter the drawing. Winners will be announced January 8th!

Madison's Website: http://madisonparklove.com
Madison on Twitter: @madisonparklove

Sock it to Me, Santa!
Ryan is assigned to Jamie Peterson for his class's secret gift exchange. If word gets out that he has to make a handcrafted gift for flamboyant and openly gay Jamie, Ryan will be the laughing stock of the school. It's a good thing no self-respecting boy would be caught dead in a craft store, because otherwise he'd be at risk of being spotted when his mom drags him to her weekly craft workshops. He hopes Jamie will appreciate all the trouble he's going to for this assignment. Finding the perfect gift is gonna be tricky. Jamie deserves something good, though, after all the crap he has to put up with at school. At least, Ryan tells himself that's the reason he's putting so much thought into the gift. It couldn't be that he has feelings for Jamie, could it?