The Dec. 19 issue of The Guardian features an interview with Felice Picano, whose 1979 novel, The Lure, has just been reissued by U.K.-based Muswell Press with a new introduction by the author. (It has never been out of print in the United States.)
The Lure was the first gay-themed book to be picked up by the Book of the Month Club, and was an instant hit. In the Guardian interview, Picano notes that his publisher did him "a wonderful favor, writing 'Warning: Sex and Violence' on the cover". Stephen King's blurb deeming Picano "one hell of a writer" probably helped, too.
At the same time, Picano received heavy criticism for the thriller not only from the usual suspects among homophobes, but from gay activists for exposing "the dirty laundry of gay life, the whole night-time scene. In order to get mainstream acceptance, a lot of organizations said we should never show that side. My feeling was, I'm a modern author, I need to show what life is like, the good side and the shady side. I absolutely stand by that."
Picano was even shot at in his apartment while working, by an unknown assailant. "My windows were open to the street. I heard the bullets and dropped down from my desk. We found the marks on the wall."
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An even odder U.K. re-release is that of the Great American Gay novel, Andrew Holleran's Dancer from the Dance. A good thing, that re-release, for Alan Hollinghurst, the author of the Great British Gay novel, has written an acutely laudatory introduction. Not available in the States as yet but readable by going to this Amazon page and clicking on "Looking Inside ⤵️".
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