Strings Attached

2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Winner in Gay & Lesbian Fiction

From BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR by RICHARD LABONTE, Volume 4 number 1—Adolescence is a hazardous way of life for 17-year-old Jeremy Tyler; his father died in a mysterious accident when he was a child, and his mother has since descended into alcoholic hell and forced rehab; that's when he's sent from the Fresno slums of his childhood to the posh estate of his overbearing great aunt Katherine and her censorious husband7mdash;liberated from an economic prison, only to land in an emotional one—and is overwhelmed by the change. It's not easy for him to fit into the upper crust, particularly because he's trying to hide how much he's attracted to other boys. Jeremy's story of breaking free from the strands of dishonesty, deceit, and self-doubt has its parallels to the tale of Pinocchio, but Nolan's take is totally contemporary: think the TV series The OC—girls with mean cheekbones, well-built guys with snotty attitudes, and Jeremy in the role of heartthrob Ryan Atwood. He's a good-looking kid, with a sleek swimmer's physique—and the swim team's champ is out to get him. He dates one of the smart-set girls in an attempt to keep his hormones at bay—but that doesn't do him much good. Nolan's debut novel is a kitchen sink of genres—coming of age, coming out, mystery, romance, erotica, even a dash of the supernatural—that add up to an impressive story about the passage from boyhood to manhood.

Nick Nolan was born and raised in Los Angeles, the city he has haunted for over two decades. Working nights and weekends selling furniture to put himself through college, Nolan went on to direct a group home for homeless and abused GLBT youth. During his scant spare time, he began writing. Inspired by the works of writers like Armistead Maupin, Paul Russell, and Paul Monette, he penned his debut novel, Strings Attached, the first in a planned trilogy. Shortly after its release, Strings Attached was named the 2006 Gay/Lesbian Book of the Year by ForeWord Magazine, hit #1 in Gay Fiction on Amazon.com, and spent nearly a year in that genre's Top 10. Two years later Nolan's second thriller Double Bound won Book of the Year awards for Gay/Lesbian Fiction by both ForeWord Magazine and ReaderViews.

In 2009 Nick was delighted to sign with AmazonEncore, so that his two novels might reach a wider audience. AmazonEncore is releasing an edited and improved Strings Attached on March 9, 2010, and Double Bound will follow on May 25.

Nick, his partner and their two beloved dogs divide their time between their home in the San Fernando Valley and their cabin high in the mountains of California. A third novel is expected soon.