Lynley Wayne is the pen name of a thirty-something female living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When not writing, she can usually be found reading and thinking up creative ways to avoid housework. She is married to a very understanding husband who doesn’t complain when she spends hours in front of the computer and he ends up having to fix supper on occasion. Or when she asks random off the wall questions. Or when she talks for hours about whatever story she’s working on. Yeah, basically he’s vying for sainthood.
Lynley strongly believes everyone is entitled to their own version of happiness, no matter how it may differ from the norm. She writes characters she wants to read and hopes others enjoy them as much as she enjoyed writing them.
While most people who know her wouldn’t guess, she’s a hardcore romantic at heart and loves nothing more than a happily ever after. Lynley may have come to romance later than some, but once she found it she never looked back. It was years later when she accidentally stumbled onto the male/male genre and knew it was where she was meant to be. From then on she’s spent endless hours writing about love in its many forms.
It is her hope that one day society will be able to look past the labels and see the person behind it. That they will realize we are all the same. Until that time comes, she will continue telling stories of a love others may believe is wrong, but she thinks is nothing short of beautiful.
*Lynley is a 2014 Lambda Literary Finalist.
Fans of Teaser Tuesdays know what’s going to happen here:
I’ll post a snippet from one of Lynley’s Wayne’s books with the character names asterisked out.
Your mission is to guess which of Lynley’s books the excerpt comes from! Email your answer to me, zamaxfield (at) zamaxfield DOT com. Please be sure to put “Teaser Tuesday” in the subject line! I’ll draw a random winner each week. Winner gets an ebook. It’s that simple! Come play along…
Here’s Lynley’s snippet:
“Can I ask you something?”
“You know you can ask me anything.” ****** pushed his plate away, giving ***** his full attention.
“Well,” ***** fidgeted. “I mean, it’s not really my business, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”
“Ask whatever it is you’re trying to. I have no secrets. Not from you.”
***** let out a sigh. “**** said you’re not close to your family, and there’ve been a few times you’ve alluded to something along those lines. Can I ask what happened?”
The pain was still too fresh most days. No doubt his face showed it. When ***** started to backpedal, that only confirmed it. “It’s okay; you don’t have to tell. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, it’s okay.” ****** reached across the table for *****’s hand, needing the contact. “Like I’ve told you, I’ve pretty much always been aware that I am gay. **** says that’s why we became friends; like is drawn to like.” Reaching for his glass, ****** took a drink, wetting his suddenly tight throat. “I also had no illusions that my father would ever accept it. As far back as I can remember, he was always trying to ‘make a man’ out of me. While you learned to cook, I wasn’t allowed near a stove. According to my father, cooking is woman’s work.”
“I’m sorry.” ***** gave his hand a squeeze.
“Thanks,” ****** smiled. “Even though I’ve never been the least bit feminine, I think my father always suspected the truth. I’m not sure how, but as hard as he tried to make a man out of me, there had to be a reason.” Clearing his throat, ****** finished off the rest of his water and watched as ***** refilled his glass. “I didn’t exactly hide my sexuality, but I didn’t flaunt it either. I never introduced them to any of the guys I dated. I told myself it was because it wasn’t serious; we were having fun, nothing more. The truth is, I was scared. When I realized it, I knew it was time. I had to be honest with my family about who I am. I couldn’t continue living a lie.”
“That was very brave of you.”
