A serious person

By Orland Outland

Subjects: Gay men, Singers, Competitions, Fiction, lgbtq+, gay, Singing, Fiction, Gay men, fiction, Reality television programs

Description: Becoming America's top singer on a nationally televised contest takes more than talent, drive and really good cheekbones when the stakes include true love. Songwriter Adam Holt is in trouble. First, his star client, teen pop sensation Christie Squires dumps him, deciding she is tired of singing songs like "Can I Have a Taste of Your Ice Cream," one of the many hits Adam penned for her, and wants to be taken seriously. Then underground music sensation Sam Sparks--brilliant, gorgeous, overeducated Sam Sparks--sets his sights on Adam's boyfriend, Lyle, a political analyst who appears regularly on Meet the Press-type Sunday talk shows. When Sam and Christie throw their hats in the ring on a new reality TV contest to find the best singer-songwriter in America, Adam sees a chance to save both his career and his relationship. He'll enter the damn thing himself! Maybe he should have thought a little harder about that, but it's too late; Adam is going up against Sam's sensitive solo performances, Christie's squad of text messagers, and the amorous advances of Ronny Wycoff: a chiseled, hot-eyed U.K. pop star who is one of the judges. Can Adam set aside the flip attitude that has served him well so far and find depths within himself that he never knew existed to write the sort of songs that will keep him in the competition? But most important, can he prove to himself that his talent is something worthwhile--and that he himself is worthy of Lyle's continued love?