Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 29 - Brandon House Books / 2 of 4

Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 29

Brandon House Books / 2 of 4

This is the second of four posts dedicated to Brandon House Books.

As you learned last week, Brandon House published works between 1935 and 2007 and were one of the three largest adult publishers in the late 1960s. You can learn a lot more about them, including an inside look at how they conducted business, in my previous post.

Here are 11 more great titles...

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Homo Farm

Author: Victor Jay

#2059

"After five years, he feared Kenny's return to the farm - no one had forgotten the scandal surrounding Kenny and he couldn't help wondering if his fear was that he wanted Kenny for himself."

Victor Jay is, of course, the godfather of popular gay fiction, Victor J. Banis. His works are featured throughout this series, beginning here. 

That title. Sounds like my idea of a great vacation destination!

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Known Homosexual

Author: James Colton

#2074

"Steve had known fear before, but now he was a prime suspect for murder: he was also a negro and a..."

James Colton is a pseudonym for Joseph Hansen, who has 40 books to his credit. 

Born in 1923 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Hansen grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Altadena, California. He published his first work, a poem, in The New Yorker, in 1952.

While he wrote books in a wide variety of genres, Hansen is best known for his series of ground-breaking crime novels featuring Dave Brandstetter, a hardboiled, openly-gay insurance investigator. The first of twelve in the series, Fadeout, was published in 1970 - a banner year for Hansen, for that was the same year that he helped found the first Gay Pride Parade in Hollywood. 

In addition to writing, he was a folk singer and radio talk show host.

Hansen won the 1992 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, as well as a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Mystery from the Lambda Literary Foundation for A Country of Old Men: The Last Dave Brandstetter Mystery (1991). He also won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction for Living Upstairs (1993).

Throughout his life, Hansen disliked the term 'gay' and chose to describe himself as homosexual. Married to Jane Bancroft, an artist, scholar, teacher and a lesbian, they had one daughter, Barbara, who had a sex change operation and became Daniel James Hansen. Bancroft and Hansen remained married for 51 years, until Bancroft's death. He said their relationship was that of "a gay man and a woman who happened to love each other." 

 

According to a friend quoted in an obituary, Hansen also had two long-term male lovers.

Hansen died from heart failure in 2004 at his home in Laguna Beach, California.

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Homo in the Guesthouse

Author: Jack Michaels

#2081

"There is nothing wrong in allowing a man to spend a week in your guesthouse. Unless, of course, he's your husband's former lover..."

Excerpt:

"Jase poured another drink for the boy in the beaded, Nehru jacket. "I know," he said. "I know all about women. They are no damn good! Of course, if you love her, then..."

Rod Bentley weaved slightly. "I do, but... you know... she doesn't deserve me. I'm... I bet you don't know what I am. But I'll tell you." He took a sip from his glass. "I'm... you know... perverted! I want... you know?" He looked into the large blond man's eyes.

"Yeah... I know," Jase said, setting his glass down. "But there's nothing wrong with wanting..."

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The Boys

Author: Gilbert Justinsen

#2083

"A cross-section of homosexuals reveal - in taped interviews - how they live in today's society, and how they were first introduced to perverted sex practices."

"Perverted sex practices?" 

Well, I did date a Republican on and off for about two years... is that what they're talking about?

I do love this cover design. Grapes.

I wonder if the interview subjects are all bitter and whine? (hee hee.)

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Weekend Homo

Author: William Charles Spatari

#3036

"Chad was a happily married man... until that day when he wandered into a gay bar by mistake..."

Mr. Spatari has six books - all published by Brandon House. They include two about wild youth (Here Come the Hippies and The Wild Street) one about crazy lesbians (Lesbians Obsessed), one about a jazz musician who can't keep it in his pants (Someone to Walk Over Me) and the two gay-oriented titles shown here - Weekend Homo and The Magnificent Maricon.

As for The Weekend Homo... sounds like a very special episode of Bewitched. Oh, those whacky married men... always 'accidentally' waltzing their flaming ass into a gay bar. Sigh.

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Man to Man

Author: Jacques Saison

#3040

"The setting was exotic... Saigon. His job was crucial... The Embassy. And his passion for other men was overwhelming..."

This is a little confusing, but I also found The Man's Man, credited to Jacques Saison, published by Lamda Press featuring the following tagline: "Madame JoJo's provided all the erotic gay pleasures Alan could ask for, except for the one he wanted most - Rich Carnell." I'm not sure if it's the same book or not, as very little information was available about either the books or the author.

Love that brief case outline on the cover!

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Murder on Queer Street

Author: Gene Evans

#3044

"Mix together the most attractive members of the gay society, put them in an erotic setting, add love and lust... 

you'll get murder every time!"

Really? Every time?

Man, then I sure have been cheated out of my share of intrigue and homicide.

Wait... they said 'attractive', didn't they?

Oh.

That explains it.

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Homos Don't Cry

Author: George Anthony

#3049 

"Michael was a very lucky gay... he had his choice between Ruth, Helen, and - Charles!"

I guess Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice were busy that night.

Hmmm... any chance George Anthony is the same George Anthony who helped found The Toronto Sun? He is the author of Who Killed The Broadway Butterfly, along with a series of memoirs regarding his encounters with entertainment figures like Peter Allen, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Barbara Stanwyck, Mae West and Peggy Lee, among others.

Well... he is age appropriate. But... I can't seem to find more than the one site that credits them to him.  So... Just thought I'd put it out there.

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The Magnificent Maricon

Author: William Charles Spatari

#3052

Eros was different from everyone else at the ranch; he was braver yet more effeminate, he was reckless yet delicate... he was a man who was not a man!

Hmm. While I am sure Eros wouldn't be opposed to taking something up the ass, I don't think the horns of a bull are what he had in mind. That matador had better shut his back door - behind a nice set of traje de luces, or he's going to have some explaining to do the next time he visits his proctologist.

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Homo Playboy

Author: Meredith Gorman

#3063

"Jay needed admiration, he thrived on praise; when he couldn't get what he wanted from girls, he turned on with men..."

It was not uncommon for male writers to adopt a female pseudonym when writing gay pulp fiction. This is the only book credited to Meredith Gorman.

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You're a Hard Man, Jamie Coxman

Author: Kym Allyson

#3064

"When Jamie was sold into bondage, the shock was greater to the people who bought him!"

Gothic novelist, John H. Kimbro wrote eight gay-oriented titles under the pseudonym Kym Allyson. You can learn more about him by scrolling through here. Just look for a book titled The Boy Watcher.  There's a picture of him and a brief bio.

That tagline kills me. Yes, that is the downside of buying a human being... you never know what you're gonna get! Was that... was that also an episode of Bewitched?

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Well, that's all for this week.

Next week we'll continue to make our way through the gay-oriented titles offered by Brandon Books. 

Until then...

Thanks for reading. 

Boys Don't Cry - The Cure