The Ab Fab Impossibly Glamorous

The Ab Fab Impossibly Glamorous

impossibly glamorousI’d like to introduce American Expat returnee, Charles Ayres. Charles is funny and talented, and quite famous in his own lunchtime. He’s written for Harper’s Bazaar and Metropolis, handled the international PR for Tokyo FM’s annual Earth Day concert and popped up the big and small screen, most notably on the Japanese TV show “It’s OK to Laugh” (Waratte ii Tomo) and film “The Billion Yen Jackpot!” (Juoku-en Kasegu!)

Charles lived in the Land of the Rising Sun for 12 years and left after the 2011 earthquake. After experiencing the Big One, he moved to San Francisco to wait for the next Big One. He’s released his autobiography, Impossibly Glamorous, “The rudest book you’ll ever love,” detailing his life growing up as a raver in the American Midwest and taking over New York and Japan.

Charles has been a great supporter of Perking the Pansies, virtually from the beginning, and jumped in to help with promoting the book. He was one of the first to review Perking the Pansies

Check out Impossibly Glamorous on…

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

Perking Across the Pond

I first stumbled across Jared a while ago. I can’t remember how. It was one of those chance meetings. I was immediately drawn to his writing – witty, eloquent, reflective, sometimes broody, sometimes ironic, always interesting, always honest. Two recurrent themes seem to re-surface – his relationship and love for his children and his relationship and love for his late father. These touching refrains are both intertwined and separate at the same time. It’s a fascinating and compelling paradox. You won’t be surprised to hear, therefore, that I’m delighted to be featured as a guest blogger on lick the fridge.

Hop over to Jared’s blog for Perking Across the Pond.

AussieBum

Russell is a hunky Brit vetpat who’s travelled across three continents with his gorgeous Aussie wife, Sarah, in search of a life less ordinary. He’s found it in Sydney (who wouldn’t?). Although Russ bats for the majority team, he’s very much a modern metrosexual kind of man and looks absolutely fabulous in his AussieBums (or so Sarah says). For those who have no idea what AussiesBums are, I’ve added a link for your titillation.

Russ kindly interviewed me as part of my virtual book tour. Hop over to A Life Less Ordinary to find out what I had to say. While you are there, why not check out the book?

Cue the naughty video.

Every Little Helps

Book Tour Intermission

Liam and I spend most of our festive time in Blighty apart. It is our habit. He dispenses TLC to his folks while I tour the Capital like Elizabeth the First dumping myself on various friends and family. Two experiences stick in my mind.

I joined Liam at his folks for a couple of nights and helped with the festive shopping. Picture it – Tesco’s, Christmas Eve, 2011. A cast of thousands weaving over-laden shopping trolleys through the heaving aisles like bad-tempered dodgem drivers. Their faces gave the game away – London during the Blitz. The frayed staff wore festive plumage and forced smiles, praying to the Baby Jesus for closing time. It was as merry as Christmas Day at the Queen Vic.

We shuffled our way along the mile-long till queue, manoeuvred the unfamiliar hire car out of the bumper-to-bumper car park and snaked back to the house, emptied of festive joy. After we packed away the calorific goodies, I stepped outside the front door for a cheeky cigarette. I spotted a corpulent covered lady in Horn of Africa robes wander down the road towards me. A young boy skipped along at her side singing Jingle Bells. She smiled as she passed. That simple, single act of cheer recharged my yuletide spirit. I stepped back inside to recharge it further, courtesy of my father-in-law’s bottle of Jameson’s.

Have you checked out the cheery book?

Crash, Bang, Wallop

Book Tour Intermission

I’ve interrupt the book tour for a heavy weather warning. After a gloriously long Autumn, winter violently thundered ashore – all crash, bang and wallop. We rushed to get old towels strategicaly placed around the house like thin sandbags to stem the impending flood. We’ve learned our lesson the hard way. Once again the street light next to the house blew up like a Roman candle with sparks flying hither and thither. Thankfully, the house lights stayed on but it was touch and go for a while. Light bulbs flickered like a slow strobe until the storm blew over. We lit candles and unplugged the fancy electricals as a precaution. This was on the same day that the water pressure dropped to a trickle. No bracing showers for us. Just a whore’s wipe.

The Love That Dares Not Speak its Name Finally Gets a Voice

Hats off to Ayse

Blog Tour Intermission

Three hours into the flight from Istanbul to London I finally succumbed to the dubious pleasures of the Pegasus inflight magazine – all pretty pictures and shallow articles, as is the nature of these things. A piece on the current Turkish bestseller’s list caught my brief attention. The number one book in Turkey right now is Gizli Anların Yolcusu (Passenger of Secret Moments) by Turkish author, Ayşe Kulin. The English translation of the review read:

“Passenger of Secret Moments is about the kind of love that most of us would have trouble understanding and have prejudices about (speak for yourself, matey). With her usual mastery, Ayşe Kulin addresses a subject most fear to approach head-on in order to break taboos.”

According to a Bodrum Belle of my acquaintance, Ayşe Kulin is a prolific writer who has mass appeal and flogs books by the shedload to the growing middle class, just like Jeffrey Archer. And just like Jeffrey Archer, she isn’t particularly well-regarded by the literati. Who cares? I doubt I will be either. Good for her for writing a book in Turkish with a gay theme that’s made it to the top of the charts. Such people have more influence that many realise. Power to her pen, I say.

Check out my book. There’s a bit of gay theme in it too and the reviews aren’t bad either.

Istanbul Angels

Pioneer Sabiha

Book Tour Intermission

Our flight back to Blighty a few days before Christmas was smooth and relatively uneventful. We flew to Stansted via Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Istanbul, with Pegasus. Sabiha Gökçen is an ultra-modern airport, all shiny and new, in stark contrast to Stansted which is looking distinctly shabby these days. The airport is named after a Turkish aviator who is reputed to have been the world’s first female fighter pilot and one of Atatürk’s eight adopted children.

Istanbul’s airports provide an exotic visual banquet as travellers from across the Balkan, Anatolian, Caucasus and central Asia regions mingle around the highly polished halls in their ethno-religious finery. The most striking group this year was an angelic-looking troupe of people dressed from head to toe in bright white towelling and biblical strappy sandals. I don’t know which country they hailed from or what religion they observed (if any), but I was fascinated by them as they shuffled along through the rowdy crowds. Vive la difference!

Check out the book

Gidday from Turkay

To my eternal shame, I’ve never been to Oz. Liam, has. He loved it and wanted to stay. Forever. He even considered re-training as a hairdresser to gain enough points to emigrate (crimpers were in short supply at the time, apparently). From civil servant to coiffeur would have made a dramatic career change. He thought better of it when he realised it was a gay cliché too far. That was before he met me, of course.

More at stop two on my virtual book tour. Hop over to Gidday from the UK.

Perking the Pansies Book Tour

For generations, book tours have been a vital part of promoting the published word. The famous get to hop from country to country. The not-so-famous get to hop from town to town. Nobodies like me don’t get to hop at all. Then someone came up with a marvellous idea – the virtual tour. No hopping involved. Just sit back and let other people promote your work courtesy of the blogosphere (in the best tradition of I scratch your back, you scratch mine). Ladies and gentlemen, please hop across to the wonderfully rustic Archers of Okçular for the first stop in my stimulating, simulated tour. Enjoy!

Amazon Bestseller

Liam got very excited this morning (not that kind of excited – get your mind out of the gutter). He woke me with a cuppa and glad tidings from Amazon UK. Perking the Pansies, Jack and Liam move to Turkey has hit the bestsellers’ lists.

  • Top Ten – Gay and Lesbian Biographies (in the company of Jeanette Winterson and John Barrowman),
  • Top Ten – Turkey Travel Guides (alongside the Rough Guide, Lonely Planet and Orhan Pamuk),

AND

  • Number One for Gay and Lesbian Travel.

I’m rather pleased.