The Companion by Lloyd Meeker - a Review by Raphael Klarfeld, M.D.

Shepherd Bucknam is a young very attractive coach for those gay men who want to expand the boundaries of their sexual awareness and enjoyment. In that sense he is indeed a shepherd and in another sense he is also. He has taken Stef under his wing, a midwestern farm boy who is trying to make it in the big city, Los Angelos, in the same business as Shepherd. Shep is his guide in the process and as such is keenly aware of Stef's naivete. But it still came as a shock when Stef was murdered apparently by one of his clients. Shep thought that Stef had good judgement and an unlikely victim that sort of trap. His belief in Stef remained steadfast, and he was determined to get to the bottom of the murder even when the police had come up short on evidence and also ran up against political and dangerous forces that might be stronger than the police force itself.

Marco Fidanza is the cop, a gay cop, investigating the murder. He is a tough realist with a soft spot and a hard on for Shep. When he tells Shep that the police can do no more until perhaps other developments evolve, Shep, who is pursuing a solution with a private detective, decides he cannot sit back and wait even when his own detective advises him that the risks of chasing leads further are too great for himself to continue on the case. Shep is then caught between his own attraction and emotional attachment to Fidanza, the real dangers in taking things further and his burning desire to find justice for Stef and the grieving sister he has left behind.

Fireworks ignite when Marco finds out Shep is persisting with his own investigation when the information Shep's detective has collected endangers his position on the police force and presents a physical danger to Shep himself and others. These are very different men. Shep is independently wealthy and lives in a spiritual world. Marco has fought for all he has in life and is a died in the wool realist. The collision could have serious emotional and real consequences for both. It is rare that Shep runs across a man that he develops such feelings for, so there is a lot at stake for him.

This murder mystery and love story are woven by Meeker with a tension that grabs the reader in its tangle of apprehension and foreboding. It makes the book one that you cannot easily put down. I would recommend it for an entertaining suspenseful read.

How to Baby-sit a Porn Star

David Pratt is an exceptional writer. I was the moderator of the Stonewall Book Discussion Group (the book club at the Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale) for almost three years. This has been a premier book discussion group that I have been a member of for at least seven years. Monthly, we chose a book that was either a Lammie winner or a book known to be popular in the gay community for other reasons. I was first exposed to David's writing when we read Bob the Book, an amazing novel based on the life experiences of a gay book. What an outrageous idea?! Well, David outdid that one by coming up with the idea of Calvin's favorite porn star, Joey, popping out of the screen to enter Calvin's life or rather, first, Calvin popping into the screen to enter Joey's life then bringing Joey out with him kind of like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz clicking her heals three times.

Think about what your favorite porn star's life is like, four or five sex experiences in a row; one, the neighbor comes to borrow a "tool"; two, the pool boy shows up; three, he orders pizza after doing the lawn... You get the idea. He also never needs money, lives in a beautiful apartment, drives a Beemer, and never experiences sleep or nighttime, AND he never works unless it is to wear a suit to , (You guessed it.), have sex in. Such is the life of Joey.

Then, Joey enters Calvin's world. Calvin works, eats foods other than pizza, has a budget, and doesn't have sex ten times a day. When Joey enters his world Calvin or, rather Calvin and Peachy, Calvin's best friend, become baby-sitters, protecting him from unsuspecting straight women and men who don't want to have sex with him and bank-rolling his pizza diet, clothing needs, and unemployed status. Now, you can begin to imagine how much more there is to "looking after Joey".

Somewhere, I saw in a Pratt bio that he attended The New School in New York City. If this is the imagination and creativity you get there in your education, sign me up. Needless to say, I LOVED this book. It is hilarious, satirical, and, on another level, echoes the mentoring that many older, more sophisticated, wealthier gay men do with younger less sophisticated guys that don't know the ropes yet. The sense of humor and quality of writing are five-star. I would highly recommend it and look forward to David Pratt's next book.