Release Date: December 19,
2014
Blurb:
Cameron
Cody, one of the biggest-ever gay adult film stars, returns to his small-town
Alabama roots during Christmas season, intent on coming out to his sharecropper
parents.
December 23, 2003 Enterprise, Alabama
Cameron Cody, a principal character in MLR's Frame of Reference, returns to
small-town Enterprise, Alabama, just before Christmas, intent on coming out to
his sharecropper parents, now that he has found The One - namely Frame of
Reference's Grant Jackson. But how do you come out to a father who thinks of
homosexuals and lesbians as "those queers," and to a naive mother who
has little, or no, background with sexual orientations beyond heterosexual?
Understandably, Cam approaches this revelation, His Own Private Alabama, with
apprehension and anxiety. The saving grace: Waiting at home, come what may,is
Grant Jackson, the love of his life.
Excerpt:
Tuesday,
December 23, 2003
Enterprise,
Alabama
7:37
p.m.
Cameron Cody's tightly muscled
physique was slouched on his parents' lumpy sofa, the same one he used to sink
into during his school days. Since that time, tatters, wear and fading had been
added to the sofa's lumpy nature. It was incongruous that his lounged body was
the very same physique that thrilled countless horny fans each and every time
it appeared nude and in sexual situations in Hottie International theatrical
and home video gay adult films. But here in Enterprise, Alabama, in his
parents' modest home, it, and he, were nothing special.
In truth, until puberty had its
unpredictable way with Cameron Cody, transforming him from an odd-looking
duckling into the handsomest of swans, he had only been known as Fred and Bev's
beanpole kid-the boy with the freaky gold-flecked lavender eyes-the one who
wore the scoliosis brace in grammar school.
More recently, fame, time and
California living had compelled him to reassess that small-town Alabama
upbringing. The longer Cameron Cody lived in Los Angeles, the shabbier his
childhood home, as well as his hometown, seemed. And this mental downgrading
wasn't just his imagination running away with him; nor was it the result of his
becoming a spoiled celebrity. Pretty much everything in Enterprise, Alabama, as
well as in his folks' house was in
decline.
Cam reflected on the truth of
the matter: Growing up, he hadn't really been aware of his family's modest
means, nor the town's nowhere special status. Back then, no one he knew had
anything better, or newer, than what he saw at home, or in his hometown.
Of course, even in grade
school, Cam had been aware of the big houses, the mansions on Cherokee Street,
and the even bigger estates with acreage, off of Shellfield Road. But his
sharecropper family hadn't known anyone who lived on that side of the
tracks-the wealthy side.
Television and movies had shown
Cameron Cody a world of big cities, where beautiful people lived large. But
growing up in Enterprise, they had seemed as far away from his reality as the
moon and the stars.
And, even though the Cody
family lived on the poor side of town, Cam had come into adolescence feeling
blessed-more blessed than many of his childhood peers-the ones who lived in
mobile homes. At least, the Cody's house was not on wheels. And it had been
large enough to comfortably accommodate him, his parents, and even his paternal
grandparents, during their final years.
As for his folks, Fred and
Beverly Cody had always made ends meet, if barely. The family's bills had
always been paid in a timely manner. There had never been a bill collector at
their door, or calling on the phone.
Slouching further down into the
sofa, Cam smiled to himself. It was a secret, sly smile. In conversation with
his parents, he always called them, Mom and Dad. But when Cam thought about
them, the small voice in his head - the voice with a naughty sense of humor - always
morphed their first names, Fred and Beverly, into Food and Beverage. Sometimes,
in conversations with friends, and even with some of his cousins, that's what
he called them. "Of course, Food and Beverage would have none of it,"
he might tell Cousin Linda. Or, to a high school friend, he might quip,
"You can just imagine how Food and Beverage felt about my coming home
three hours after curfew, and with a snootful."
But despite his frivolous
nicknames for them, Cameron Cody loved and respected his parents.
Yes, Food and Beverage Cody
never had bill collectors knocking on their door, or calling them on the phone.
But there had never been money to upgrade to things new, and one bad crop could
bring financial disaster. That's just the way things were for small-town
Alabama sharecroppers. At one time, Cam had believed that was how it was for
most everyone, until, at age twenty, he had moved to Los Angeles.
Over the past five years, Cam
had done very well financially, and he had tried repeatedly to help his
parents. But his father, a proud man, had torn up, and then returned, every
check he had sent. When he had bought them a new freezer to replace their
broken old one, his dad had refused delivery of the appliance.
Truth be known, just last week,
on the telephone, Cam and his dad had gotten into a verbal scuffle about things
financial. When Cam had insisted upon renting a car at the Montgomery airport
for the drive into Enterprise, Fred Cody had argued that it was a waste of good
money. "Your mother and I will be happy to pick you up."
But, for once, Cam had
prevailed. He wouldn't have his parents driving the seventy-seven miles to
Montgomery, not when he could well afford the rental. And not when they, and
everyone else, were extra busy in advent of the Christmas holiday.
Cam shifted uneasily on the
uncomfortable sofa. He ran a hair through his coarse blond hair, cut to a crew
for his upcoming role in a 1950s-set, sex romp, The Seven-Year-Bitch. And
no, he wasn't playing the lead role-not this time. That part had gone to an
eighteen-year-old, raven-haired boy, Cal Fontenla, who had literally walked off
Hollywood Boulevard and into the offices of the adult entertainment
conglomerate that had made Cam a star.
About
Author:
Born in Bronx, New York, and raised in
Fresno, California, Christopher Stone’s early years were dominated by school,
watching television and motion pictures, bicycling, skating, and reading
avidly. Summers were spent swimming, and doing whatever it took to survive the
oppressive San Joaquin Valley heat. But he also remembers fondly the yearly
summer trips to New York, to visit family and friends – and to see Broadway
shows.
Christopher left Fresno, for Hollywood,
California, during his college years after being accepted into the Writers
Guild of America’s Open Door Program, a two-year, scholarship, training ground
for aspiring screen and television writers. As it happened, rather than a
teleplay or screenwriting gig, his first professional writing job was in
journalism – as the Los Angeles Editor for Stage Door, at that time, Canada’s
equivalent of the U.S. entertainment trade weekly, Variety.
Christopher would later use his Writers
Guild of America training to co-author and sell the original screenplay, The Living
Legend, with Jon Mercedes III, to the Erin Organization, and later, and also
with Mercedes, to write two seasons of The Party Game, a Canadian TV game show.
As a young freelance entertainment
journalist, he contributed to many Los Angeles-based publications, among them
The Advocate, for which he wrote a breezy film column, “Reeling ‘Round,” and
the Los Angeles Free Press. During this time, he became a member of the Los
Angeles Drama Critics Circle.
Christopher dipped his toes into the world
of motion picture advertising and publicity, as assistant to the West Coast
Director of Advertising and Publicity for Cinerama Releasing Corporation, in
Beverly Hills. At the same time, he also did special advertising and publicity
projects for 20th Century-Fox. Christopher went on to become an Account
Executive for David Wallace & Company, a public relations firm specializing
in entertainment accounts – and located on West Hollywood’s legendary Sunset
Strip.
Returning to his first love, writing,
Christopher became a full time freelance contributor to national consumer
publications including Us, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, McCall’s, In
Cinema, and The National Enquirer, among others. Many of his stories were
syndicated worldwide by the New York Times Syndication Corp.
Another important area of endeavor for
Christopher Stone was Re-Creating Your Self. A Blueprint for Personal Change
that he first developed for himself, the journalist went on to teach the
principles and processes of Re-Creating Your Self to others – first, in private
sessions, later, in workshops and seminars, and, finally, for California State
University Extended Education. Eventually, one of his students suggested he
write a book version.
Re-Creating Your Self was first published
in hardcover by Metamorphous Press, and subsequently published in a trade
paperback edition by Hay House. It has since been published in Spanish, Swedish
and Hebrew language editions.
When not writing, Christopher used his
longtime interest in, and study of, metaphysics, to teach meditation and
psychic development classes – first in Beverly Hills, then later, in Manhattan
Beach.
He went on to co-author, with Mary Sheldon,
four novellas for a Japanese educational publisher, and then, also with Mary
Sheldon, the highly successful The Meditation Journal trilogy of hardcover
books. Subsequently, he returned to journalism, this time, contributing
hundreds of print and online entertainment features, columns and reviews to
magazines and websites. For eight years, Christopher was the Box-office
Columnist for MatchFlick.com, a popular online motion picture site.
In his private life, Christopher Stone met
David M. Stoebner on May 17, 1994, and they have been together ever since.
In 2008, they were married in Los Angeles.
They share a home with their three pets in
Coastal Los Angeles County.
In 2013, Christopher’s pet project has been
transforming their rarely used kitchen table area into a killer, retro 1950s
Diner Nook, complete with a 1952 Seeburg Table Top jukebox, a neon diner sign,
and a malt machine.
Christopher’s first novel, Frame of
Reference was e and print published, in fall 2012, by MLR Press. A short story,
Sweet Homo Alabama was published by MLR Press, December 19, 2012.
Stone spent much of 2013 writing Frame of
Reference 2: The Dark Side of Stardom, a sequel novel to Frame of Reference, as
well as, Abracadabra, and a short story, published at Halloween. But the
indefatigable scribe also found time to contribute weekly reviews, columns and
interviews to Queer Town Abbey.
As 2014 begins, Christopher looks forward
to the publication of The Dark Side of Stardom, and he is developing a short
story, Camelot Conundrum, as well as a metaphysical mystery novel, Going and
Coming.
Find Christopher Here
