Gay teen romance! I wrote in the style/voice of an actual 15yo gay boy, I'm an adult woman... what do you think?

Way back in the summer of 2010 I was an adult woman in my late 20's who was writing a novel with a gay teenager protagonist. I knew I could only convincingly write this book from the POV of a 15yo gay kid if I managed to capture the voice of one. I wanted to be certain I'd done the best I could because the last thing I wanted to do in a YA novel was be an outsider telling a kid what he thinks or believes.<br><br>I was a Chambers lurker who never registered as an official Redditor, so instead I posted on a teen gay board on Livejournal... this board called Gayteenboy! (Which I'm not sure if it's still active or not today)<br><br>I posted a passage from my book and asked if I'd pulled off a genuine tone convincingly. Well, it was a hit. They loved it, and I was allowed to let other gayteens see the passages and scenes I wrote. This helped me improve it immensely. They all wanted more, so I wrote more and more and more. I wrote the whole book, and one of the boys I had gotten to know wanted to help me edit it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. James was 15, too, and he did an amazing job. I was a very bad writer and he was very patient. <br><br>For years after that, I wrote a bunch of these scenes while engaging with these teens. Jack, a 13yo boy named Jack from the UK also wanted to edit for me. He did more than James as he found mistakes James missed and also made better suggestions for changes or rewrites. Jack was 13yo and sharp as a tack. Jack was also self-taught, he had dyslexia and taught himself to read and write before he was 5yo, and by the time he was 13yo, he'd read so many classic novels and was an expert on grammar and spelling and even had a keen understanding of syntax. I couldn't have been more grateful to both James ad Jack for their invaluable editing skills.<br><br>When I got married in 2006, my husband just happened to have two brothers. One of them was openly gay, the other one was not. It was a big family controversy. We didn't push, but we always supported him. About three years ago, he finally told us he was gay and we'd known for years. His boyfriend of five years, Will, was 19yo and had grown up in a Christian household. Will was brought up Christian, but also gay. Will was thrilled I was writing about a gay teen in a 'normalize' way and asked if he could read it. <br><br>The more I posted on the teen gay board, the more feedback I was given. The more I posted to the teens, the more word of mouth spread and the more teens wanted to read it. They asked me to write more, and more. Will read it all and was blown away by how realistic it was. He was the first to tell me that he'd never in his life read something by a straight person that managed to accurately portray how he'd felt. And also the feelings of his boyfriend when he came out. Oh, the list went on and on. Will asked me to write more, too. Now I had a bunch of gay teens telling me what was realistic, and I was writing for them, by them, and with them.<br><br>Will was a college student, and he was so excited about what I'd written that he asked if I'd be ok with him sharing it with his college friends. He said they'd love it. He also said that if I was serious about publishing it, he thought it would be a great idea because it could help other gay teens feel comfortable with their identity. Will said it perfectly: 'When you hear the word "gay" you don't think of two men doing something sexual, you just think of two men who love each other.' I think most straight people automatically think about sex when they hear about gay people. And straight people, that's what they wanted you to think. Just like the media wants to make us view the word "trans" and picture a monster or a freak or a pedophile. <br><br>Instead, Will suggested, this book helps you just see *two people* who love each other. It didn't matter that they were the same sex. They were human beings who were equal and deserving of respect, love, and understanding. He told me that if I really wanted to "normalize" gay people and trans people, then I should get this book out into the world. <br><br>I went from not planning on publishing it, to going all in. I was resolute and decided to do it. I was going to publish this book because I had the support of gay teens and young men who told me they'd never read anything like it. They told me I should put it out in the world because it was a new and totally fresh perspective on being gay. That I'd nailed it, surprisingly enough. I was stunned. I felt so honored. I was proud. I was proud to be part of something. I knew I had to get it out into the world. And I'm proud to say that one day soon, it will be! I am proud of it. I am proud of what I wrote. And I'm proud of the boys I wrote for, and the boys who helped me write it. <br><br>For the teens: I want you to know that whatever I wrote, came from a very good place. I had the best intentions, even if I fumbled a bit. I promise I did my best. I did it for you. I wanted you to know how loved you were. I wanted you to know how perfect you were. I wanted you to know you weren't alone. I wrote it for you. Every word. Every sentence, Every page, I wrote for you. And I will always cherish the time I got to spend with you.