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One of my favorite movies is Groove the Rave Movie

I really denied this one for as long as I could. A couple of years ago I bought a cheap VHS copy of Groove the Rave Movie at a Blockbuster that was going out of business, and I told myself it was out of nostalgia for my college years and my rave days. But now I find myself watching Groove the Rave Movie at least twice a year. It’s my rainy-day movie, a guaranteed entertainment.

Here’s a story. In 2000 I was driving with some friends to see a movie, not Groove the Rave Movie, though I did end up seeing that in the theater eventually. Anyway, we were driving along and we had no weed. So we were smoking resin and we were stopped at a stoplight. Suddenly the guy in an SUV in front of us got out of his car and ran back to ours. He handed us a bud of really good weed and some flyers for his club night. We were like, “Thanks,” and he was like, “Come to my club night.”

That was sort of how it was in those days. Oh I know that I missed the “real” rave culture by years and years, but when I discovered it (and ecstasy) at the tail end of the nineties when I was in my early twenties, it certainly felt like something to me. The air of acceptance, of opening up (brought on by ecstasy, sure, but no less authentic), of casual intimacy with hundreds of strangers…it was intoxicating for lack of a better word. [Feel free to read a more cynical and depressing account of my rave days here]

So I’m not going to try to argue that Groove the Rave Movie is a great movie or even a good one. It’s a personal favorite because it reminds me of a certain time. And it has specific elements that always endear me to films: the whole “everything changes in one night” trope, the youth culture element, the drug element (okay, basically it’s a cheap facsimile of the far superior Dazed and Confused, another of my rainy-day movies).

But Groove the Rave Movie definitely does some things right. Sure, the acting is B-rate…everything in it is B-rate. But it captures those times perfectly, and the characters, broad as they are, feel recognizable to me. The morning after/comedown montage gets me every time – the candy ravers passed out in their dorm room, the anxious intellectual cruising down the highway with an E-afterglow. I was there. For real.

And yeah, I do love Go and I have seen Human Traffic but neither of those really hit me in the same way.

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New Story Alert!

Hey! It’s been a while since I wrote ‘New Story Alert!’ at the top of a post. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything related to a post, but there ya go.

I know I’m prolific. I know this. But during down times (which can last weeks if not months) when I’m thinking about writing every hour of every day yet never managing to sit down and work, it feels like I’m not. It feels like my life is slipping away and I’m gonna die any day without having accomplished the things I want to accomplish.

Then something like this happens: I find a story I totally forgot I wrote and published. This one, Knows Best, appeared in the Dec 2009 issue of Handjobs. It’s about incest (duh). If I would’ve remembered at the time I probably would’ve included it in my ebook Daddy/Boy. Instead, I’m putting it on my website. Fun! It’s kind of ramble-y and monologue-ish but I guess it works on a certain level, hell if I know, you tell me. I’m working on banishing the words “good” and “bad” from my vocabulary, lest I give credence to the fallacy that there’s some Ultimate Truth Oracle who determines the worth of all ventures.

ANYWAY, I hope you like it.

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Life Update

Lately I feel like my apartment is closing in on me. It doesn’t help that I live in an attic and it’s hot as BAWLZ outside. I’m chipping away at ‘691 Suburban Dr’ but the fact of the matter is that it has become a chore in recent days. I think my current goal is to find a way to make writing fun again, and failing that, continue to party and socialize and worry about completing projects later. It’s like the last thing I want to do lately is sit somewhere in an enclosed space and press my head into my stupid computer until it overheats.

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The Lambda Awards were Super Fun!

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…even though I LOST [sad horn sound]. But in all honesty, the real disappointment for me would’ve been if I hadn’t been a finalist. I was counting on that shit! I just wanted a chance to go to the awards and see how the other half lives. So what can I say? I looked like a million bucks (adjusted for inflation, of course, because my clothes were from the 1970s). I hugged Armistead Maupin. One of the dudes who used to be on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy said he liked my jacket. I told Olympia Dukakis that I always get her mixed up with Shirley Maclaine (no I didn’t, but she was there). I schmoozed Susie Bright and made connections with some interesting writer/publisher folks. And afterward I tore shit UP on the dance floor with fellow Rebel Satori author Emanuel Xavier and (London…Paris…) Dwayne Milan. </namedropping> Had a blast and couldn’t have asked for much more. Except for maybe the award. But it’s good to have something to work toward.

Also, it is possible that my fly is down in that photo.

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My Boyfriend’s Horny Brothers

In honor of the official release date for Never Easy, the anthology I helped produce with Johnny Murdoc and Rob Wolfsham, here is the beginning of “My Boyfriend’s Horny Brothers,” one of three stories I wrote for the book.

Never Easy is available on Amazon or you can order it directly from us via Queer Young Cowboys (physical or ebook version).

My Boyfriend’s Horny Brothers

By Natty Soltesz

When I was just out of college I went on a trip with Joe, my boyfriend at the time, to the mid-sized Illinois city where he grew up. Most of his family still lived there including his brothers Mike and Lee who, on our first night staying at Joe’s parents’ house, came over for dinner.

His brothers were a total trip – loud and funny, constantly cracking jokes at everyone’s expense, but so charming and good looking that you just didn’t care.

Both of them were confirmed bachelors and they shared an apartment together a few miles out of town, which I gathered was something of a love den. Joe said even in high school his brothers were always fucking the same girls, trading them back and forth like baseball cards.

“How was the trip down?” Joe’s mom asked me as I forked up some mashed potatoes.

“Not bad at all,” I said.

“That’s a long one,” Lee said. He was a couple years older than Joe and was pretty husky, but it worked on him. He had sandy blond hair and a blond beard and dimples when he smiled, like a sexy teddy bear. “But I guess the great thing about being gay is you could always just pull off at a rest stop.”

“Meet a nice trucker…” Mike added. Mike was the oldest and, at first glance, the most strikingly hot. He had black hair like Joe and blue eyes, and was very tall with a killer body. His hairline was receding a bit but it only made him cuter.

“Shut up,” Joe said.

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Joe’s mom said, and got up to get dessert.

“So Nate,” Mike said, turning to me, “You guys are sleeping in separate beds. Did you know that? Siriani house policy – can’t get laid under this roof.”

“Goddammit, Michael,” Joe’s dad said.

“Dad, I’m just saying, our apartment is available if you guys need to, you know, have a little time to yourselves…”

“That’s enough,” Joe’s dad said.

“Yeah, for Christ’s sake guys,” Joe said.

“We’re just putting it out there,” Lee added.

“It’s very kind of you but I just figured we’d hit up the truck stop a little later,” I said. Joe and his dad looked at me, shocked, but Lee and Mike just up and lost it.

 

After dinner I was sitting on the porch with Joe and his brothers, drinking the beer they’d brought. It was Friday night and Lee and Mike were talking about going out.

Joe didn’t drink at the time and I could tell he was getting annoyed with me. My relationship with Joe had been deteriorating for months up that point. I was as exhausted by his judgmental, controlling ways as he was by my childish, irresponsible ones.

“Hey Joe, why the long face? Who jizzed in your pudding?” Lee said.

“You gonna let your boyfriend go out with us, or what?” Mike said.

“He can do what he wants,” Joe said, delivering a pithy look in my general direction.

“Yikes,” Mike said.

“Lighten up, Joe. Jesus. Let him have some fun. Just cause you shit the bed doesn’t mean he has to lay in it.” I took another gulp of beer. The ride from New York had been excruciating – we hadn’t talked to each other almost the entire way. Now I was getting a buzz on and enjoying the company of Joe’s cute, fun brothers, and I just did not give a fuck.

“I’ll go out with you guys,” I said, shrugging.

“Right on,” Mike said, reaching over. I gave him a high five. Joe got up and went inside without a word.

“I think we got you in hot shit,” Lee said.

“I think I already was,” I said. Mike slapped my back.

“C’mon gay boy, let’s go have some fun.”

More…

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New Anthology Announcement

So this, my friends, has been a long time coming.

I’m pleased to announce a new erotica anthology featuring stories from me, Johnny Murdoc and Rob Wolfsham. We’ve been working on this book for the past two years and it’s now available for pre-order through Queer Young Cowboys.

This book was made in the spirit of DIY. I was fed up with the pithy compensation I was getting from other anthologies, so when Johnny asked if I’d be interested in self-publishing a book with him and Rob Wolfsham it sounded like a great idea.

I put a lot into the three stories I wrote for this book and I think it’s some of the best stuff I’ve written in the past couple years. “Ocean City Maryland” is my angsty, literary contribution. “My Boyfriend’s Horny Brothers” is…about what you’d expect, and hopefully a bit of fun. And “Total Sausage Party” is a goofy deconstruction.

Johnny and Rob also pushed their craft forward in a pretty significant way, and overall it’s readable and sexy.

But don’t take my word for it – pre-order today and you’ll get a download of the ebook.

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Anybody Out There?

Hey! I feel like I need to post something on here given how dormant this blog has been in recent weeks/months. I haven’t been writing much lately, though I did bust out an entire story in like four hours the other day – a highly erotic story, no less. This was comforting to me because I’d been feeling like I’d outgrown erotica or something – the two major projects I have in the works at the moment are definitely about sex but definitely take some detours from straight-up porn writing. But I just got the urge the other day to turn myself on, so I went with it and it was so fun. I need to revise it and then I might submit it to Handjobs and then of course I’ll post it on this website. Mainly I’ve been taking the time to see the world and meet new people, which seems like a good thing to do for the spring and summer. In the fall I plan to start serious work on a major project which I am so, so excited about. Thanks for reading!

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Short Update

Cripes it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Not much to say. I’m headed out of town soon for a long and hopefully magical camping trip in the wilds of Tennessee. Writing continues at a more sporadic pace than when I last checked in. Mostly I’ve been working on this big collage so I figured I’d post a picture of it. Have a good one!

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