Chasing Happy, set in two towns I’ve called home—Gilbert, Arizona, and New Smyrna Beach, Florida—took three years to write. The story springs from a deep well of emotion that early readers say they sense in Ash’s tale.
A young man in my life struggled with same sex attraction throughout his teens. He dabbled in gay porn and felt he’d disappointed God.
Another man, long married to a woman, also struggled with this issue. He, too, was a deeply spiritual man.
I hurt for these guys and the battles they fought to obey the Bible. I ached for the guilt and shame they felt when they failed—all played out in solitary or anonymous secrecy. I admired them for bothering to fight what they believed was sin. Society all around them shifted and said they didn’t have to struggle anymore.
I prayed for them. Everyday. For years.
And because I invent imaginary people and write their stories, Ash was born. I believe in my gut that God birthed his story in me to do good.
Though I studied a stack of books on homosexuality and interviewed a slate of gay men, I’m an unlikely candidate to write a book about a guy who wrestles with same sex attraction. I am female. As early in my teens as I can remember, I had boys stamped across my pupils. I do not have a best friend or family member who is gay. I think I got the job because I’m pretty good at listening to God and I empathize with my friends who face this issue.
I care because my lovely lesbian next door neighbors are wounded and broken in so many of the same ways I am. If Jesus lived on my street, He would love to hang out with them like I do.
In the end, we are all just fractured people trying to find our way.
Not one of the men I interviewed for Chasing Happy, if given the choice, would have chosen to be attracted to his own sex. Most of them participated in the gay lifestyle. They talked about being ostracized or estranged from religious loved ones, feeling rejected by the churches they had been raised in or belonged to. They hungered for faith, but it slipped through their fingers. Some of them threw themselves into humanitarian causes instead. The men longed for an intimate, committed emotional relationship–something scarce among gay males, they told me. While they did not regret choosing to act on their same sex attraction, I sensed men who had walked away from a wreck dazed, their personal damages yet unassessed—even years after coming out.
They are loveable, likeable guys, people I want for friends. Pieces of each of them inhabit the gay characters of Chasing Happy.
A number of my single girlfriends live with their boyfriends—also considered sin in the Bible. I still care about them—like the men I interviewed—even if I don’t believe they’ve chosen a healthy lifestyle. I see God as a daddy who loves people with a pure heart. His rules are to protect us, not to prohibit pleasure. I don’t pretend to know how that works out for those with same sex attraction.
I have not walked a mile attracted to women. I cannot fathom how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to change one’s sexual orientation. Nor would I choose celibacy. How can I not have compassion for people whose choices appear so much more arduous than mine?
Sometimes God steps into people’s lives and does spectacular, impossible things like He did for one of the men I prayed for. He was able to shift his orientation toward the straight side of the scale. Today, he exudes joy.
His joy bubbles over and douses me with hope that others may find the way—though it appears difficult or impossible—to live in harmony with their convictions.
BACK COVER:
After an epic fail in the hetero world, Ash Jackson heads cross country to Arizona to figure out his bisexuality and make peace with himself and God.
Nashville Star Samma Templeton’s music career bankrolls her future husband’s political campaigns. But she throws up before every concert and feels relegated to an item on the senator’s calendar.
When Ash moves into Samma’s apartment building their childhood friendship resurrects, and Samma must choose between promoting a political agenda that will benefit millions or following her heart. Ash must face his inner demons for the girl who was his past and feels like his future.
Click here to read Chasing Happy, Chapter 1.
Chasing Happy goes on sale at Amazon.com and most online retailers September 1.
Check out my New Smyrna Beach novels by clicking on the covers.
Ann I think you took a big risk writing this book but it’s time has come as more gays are finding peace comfort and healing in the Lord and should be happening in the church and not judging those with this fracture in their lives. My brother is one of those who got to turn his back on that lifestyle because God forgave him as his sin was no different as any we commit daily. Please write more like this Ann. Our Christian culture needs to open our hearts and minds and love those who are struggling with this.
Thanks for commenting, Denise. A lot of heartache!