About the Book

 

TWO DEEPLY CLOSETED GAY MEN STRUGGLE TO ACCEPT THEMSELVES. IN A PARALLEL DIMENSION, THE CLOSET MONSTERS BRING HOPE.

A LGBTQ GRAPHIC NOVEL
Justin Case and Father Peter struggle to come to terms with who they are. Each has closed the door on the possibility that he might be gay and made a pact with himself to never open it. Luckily for them, members of The Closet Monster’s Guild – a legion of magical creatures that reside in a parallel dimension – are about to come along and open that door from the other side. A journey of faith, love, and family, this poignant story blends mythology, campy wit, and fantasy to show that while Justin’s path out of the closet has many hurdles, he learns that he is not alone in his quest to accept himself and find true love.

Content Note
The book's main character, Justin Case, is 27 years old. He is in the closet, struggling with his sexuality. This story is about his journey to self-acceptance. This work contains mature themes, sexual innuendo, and discussions about sexuality. This work contains no nudity and no depictions of violence. 

Full colour. 200 pages. 8 1/2 x 11. Perfect bound softcover. Printed and bound in Canada. 

Why I Wrote the Book

In 2005, I lost my father to Alzheimer’s disease. I was never ready to tell him that I am gay, and that I had found the love of my life. He never got to know the real me. I had run out of time. Life in the closet is a very lonely and painful place to be.

I was bullied for being perceived to be gay, beginning in middle school and right through high school. I internalized that hatred and homophobia for many years. I lived my life in denial, trying everything that I could not to be the thing that my bullies hated so much. As a result, I was homophobic, scared, full of shame, and for the longest time felt like I had no voice.

A lot of people have written about what it is like to come out of the closet. And while those stories are important, it was my days in the closet that truly defined the man that I am today. Combining my love of mythology, theology and irreverent, campy wit, I created a story about how to navigate life’s challenges having one foot firmly in the closet and the other planted on the path of self-acceptance. I like to think of it as the conversation that I should have been able to have with my Dad; a way to tell him all of the things that I lacked the courage to share with him when he was alive.

Rejected by multiple publishers and feeling that my story would never be read by others, I decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 and was overjoyed that it was successful and enabled me to self-publish my first edition print run. Clearly, there was an audience looking for such a story to read and to embrace.

I have found my voice. I am a proud gay man. I have a lot to say. There are far too few stories out there for gay people, their family and allies. I created the Closet Monsters for those that are alone and struggling. More than anything, my book is about hope.