Geoff Laughton grew up very near the locations he writes about. Raised in western Michigan, he attended high school outside Muskegon and Ludington. After college, Geoff moved a lot, traveled a lot, and ended up living at one time on both coasts. He currently works for a major corporation and writes in his spare time. Together with his partner of almost twenty years, Geoff still travels, collects antiques, read all kinds of old crap, and loves to get his hands dirty in the garden. He currently lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Q&A with Author Geoff Laughton:
In what way is your story unique compared to other books in this genre?
When I was developing by The Creek, I wanted to include an Amish character in order to explore characters that come from two very different worlds.
What part of the story was the most fun to write? The most challenging?
This story took me on a journey to my own teen years. I set the novel very close to where I grew up. The most challenging part of the book to write was coming up with a plausible happy ending.
What did you like to read when you were a teenager?
I was a real nerd in a country high school. I read the classics. Generally I took them from the school library and I sometimes had to blow the dust off them. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Great Expectations, Tess of the D’ Ubervilles
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?
I would love to be able to fly like Superman. Even as a child that was the one thing I always dreamed about. As a kid I wanted to use it to get away from bullies and the kids who picked on me.
What other interests do you have outside of writing?
I love to travel, garden, and spend time with my two nieces. I also collect antiques. Like I said earlier, I’m a real nerd.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
When I was growing up, there was no young adult gay fiction. The reason I wrote By The Creek was simply so that gay kids would know that they weren’t alone.
Now Available from Geoff Laughton:
By the Creek
Soon-to-be high school junior David Harper hates his family’s move to the country. There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.
At first, the only redeeming feature of David’s new home is the swimming hole across the field from his house. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, and suddenly life stops being so dull.
Benjamin is Amish, and cooling off in the swimming hole is one of the few liberties he and his brothers enjoy. A friendship with an English boy is not—but that doesn’t stop him and David from getting to know each other, as long as it's on the neutral ground by the creek. After David risks his life to save Benjamin’s father, the boys’ friendship is tolerated, then accepted. But before long, Benjamin’s feelings for David grow beyond the platonic. Benjamin's family and the rest of the community will never allow a love like that, and a secret this big can’t stay secret forever...
By the Creek Giveaway!
Geoff Laughton has generously donated a free copy of By the Creek for one lucky winner. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address. A winner will be chosen on August 19th.
Blurb: Soon-to-be high school junior David Harper hates his family’s move to the country. There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.
At first, the only redeeming feature of David’s new home is the swimming hole across the field from his house. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, and suddenly life stops being so dull.
Benjamin is Amish, and cooling off in the swimming hole is one of the few liberties he and his brothers enjoy. A friendship with an English boy is not—but that doesn’t stop him and David from getting to know each other, as long as it's on the neutral ground by the creek. After David risks his life to save Benjamin’s father, the boys’ friendship is tolerated, then accepted. But before long, Benjamin’s feelings for David grow beyond the platonic. Benjamin's family and the rest of the community will never allow a love like that, and a secret this big can’t stay secret forever...
Review: I'm a fan of Amish books in general because I am fascinated by the culture. It seems to be such a simple lifestyle, and yet at the same time, complex in its own way. Stories that involve LGBT members of the Amish community intrigue me even more because it is not a subject that is spoken of often, and I do not recall seeing any nonfiction book about the issue.
This novel takes a look at this issue. David is new to the area and lives in the beautiful country close enough to the Amish community to see them working in the fields. When he wanders and finds a swimming hole, he accidentally stumbles upon Benjamin. What follows is the tentative friendship and then relationship between the two boys.
I loved that the author took time for the two boys to not only become friends, but fall in love. Given the Amish reactions to anyone they consider English or an outsider, it was the best course of action. Their relationship was even more tentative, and I followed the slow course with just as much anticipation as they felt.
Whenever the two boys felt a bump in the road, I felt it. I'm an emotional reader, and I will admit, I did cry. The book is beautifully written and worth a look.
Soon-to-be high school junior David Harper hates his family’s move to the country. There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.
At first, the only redeeming feature of David’s new home is the swimming hole across the field from his house. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, and suddenly life stops being so dull.
Benjamin is Amish, and cooling off in the swimming hole is one of the few liberties he and his brothers enjoy. A friendship with an English boy is not—but that doesn’t stop him and David from getting to know each other, as long as it's on the neutral ground by the creek. After David risks his life to save Benjamin’s father, the boys’ friendship is tolerated, then accepted. But before long, Benjamin’s feelings for David grow beyond the platonic. Benjamin's family and the rest of the community will never allow a love like that, and a secret this big can’t stay secret forever...
When Gray snowboards his way to the fork in the road, who will you choose for his happily ever after? An interactive ending.
Eighteen year old Grayson has been training hard to make it onto the Snowboard cross circuit until he hits a major growth spurt and his riding goes south. When he finds out he has an opportunity to get professional training and all is not lost, he realizes he has some tough decisions to make if he wants to make a go of being a professional snowboarder. He finds support from his best friend, Brody, and also from a most unexpected place—his brother’s training partner, Parker. While each of them help Grayson along the way, he also realizes both may be more interested in him being more than just friends. And now with his growing feelings, he needs to make a choice between the two. Who will be Grayson’s choose? An interactive ending where readers will get to choose the happily ever after.
A battle is brewing in the conservative little town of Webster’s Glen. Gay activist Dylan Cussler stirs up the establishment when he moves in with his boyfriend and sues the state over its gay adoption ban. Sixteen-year-old Jericho Jiles and his best friend, Mac Travis, decide to do their bit to convince Dylan and his boyfriend to leave town. But when Dylan turns up before they can finish trashing his house, Jericho panics, leaving Dylan unconscious and wounded.
Drowning in guilt, Jericho returns to Dylan’s home to make amends. He is surprised when Dylan forgives him and opens his eyes to the world around him. Soon Jericho comes to a life-changing realization: he is attracted to boys as well as girls. That’s a problem, considering Jericho has a girlfriend and very strict, very religious parents. Accepting his sexuality means he must question not only his identity and his place in the world but his relationship with his girlfriend, his parents, and with God.
Sometimes the ones you love can hurt you the most of all.
Devlin is used to others thinking that he’s a jerk. He likes it that way. It makes it so, nobody ever expects too much of him. Only his close friends really know that soft side of him, and, that he’s never exposed enough so he can get hurt. Then Christian, Devlin’s boyfriend, needs him more than ever. Will Devlin be able to let his guard down enough, or will he risk losing Christian forever?
During the Second Civil War, a new U.S. political party called the Family Protection Movement established The Divide, which separates Normal people from those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
Seventeen-year old Serenity Blackwater lives in the normal Midwestern town of Mapleville, but she is not normal. She hacks into an illegal gay chat room and meets Dawn, a lesbian who lives in a gay community less than a mile away. Serenity discovers normal people can bribe their way inside the walls and decides to go, both to meet Dawn and check out what may be her future home.
Dawn is even more beautiful than Serenity hoped, and the two soon become a couple. But Serenity only has a few months before she must take the Normal Verification Test, and then she’ll be separated from her family forever. So she joins the Human Equality Organization, an underground group working to end The Divide. Dawn thinks the rebellion is too dangerous, and since Dawn’s ex-girlfriend Malaki is also a member, Serenity doesn’t tell Dawn about her involvement.
Serenity reveals to the HEO that her parents are leading a campaign to organize attacks on all Gay Communities. With her help, the HEO creates Project Jericho, in which all Gay Communities walls will implode at once. But after too many delays, and when Dawn discovers Serenity has been spending more time with Malaki than her, Serenity knows she has to start the revolution herself. She heads to D.C. to contact a group of senators secretly against The Divide ... or straight into a trap set by the Family Protection Movement.
By the Creek
Soon-to-be high school junior David Harper hates his family’s move to the country. There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.
