Jay Bell's Blog

Ben’s love for Jace is truly special. That made returning to their story an intimidating prospect, since I knew it would be an emotional journey. And boy was it! This book, like the previous, was written in character as Ben. The first-person narration makes the feelings so much more intense. Not only that, but we get a closer look at the shape of their relationship, from their most intimate moments to the most vulnerable. I hope you enjoy rediscovering the precious time Ben and Jace spend together. For me, it was an honor and a joy to write about.

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When Ben Loved Tim is here and about to rock your world. This full-length novel returns to Ben’s time in high school, when his lonely heart felt a spark of hope the night a boy in blue shoes jogged past him. But wait, haven’t I already told that story? Not like this. The new book focuses entirely on Ben and Tim’s first year together, back in high school, focusing on the young lovers with obsessive intensity and little else. When Ben Loves Tim is a tribute to their incredible love, and the first book in a new trilogy. So yes, there will be a When Ben Loved Jace, and a third book to wrap it all up. The story is so much more intimate and personal than before. One of the differences between it and Something Like Summer is the age of the characters. Ben and Tim’s relationship is so physical in those early days. They rely on it to communicate, since Tim can’t admit how he feels and Ben doesn’t want to scare him off. So the book begins in their senior year of high school, when they are both eighteen. That way I didn’t have to hold back.

And there’s so much MORE in general. The high school portion of Something Like Summer was around 50,000 words long. When Ben Loved Tim focuses on the same time period and is about 120,000 words in comparison. So it’s much more than rewriting prose to sound better, or including lots of hot bedroom scenes. This is the story I would have written over decade ago, had I known what I was doing. The characters and plots are more fully realized and nuanced. This is, in my opinion, the story perfected. When Ben Loved Tim is available in paperback or as an eBook. An audiobook will follow in the next couple of months with Kevin R Free returning to narrate. I hope you’re looking forward to reuniting with old friends!

Much love,

Jay Bell

A bullied teenager learns that he can switch bodies with other people, a gift that will lead him out of his small town and into a whole heap of trouble. Along the way he’ll experience love, meet a mischievous best friend, and discover that there’s more to his power—and the big crazy world—than he ever dreamed possible.

That’s the setup of my latest full-length novel Switch!, which isn’t my usual fare. This isn’t a book about a young man coming to terms with his sexuality or falling in love with another guy. A few years back, I felt like stretching my legs creatively and wandered into another genre. That’s when I wrote Switch!. Yes, there are gay characters and it can feel a little homoerotic at times, because I’m still me. Bullies are thwarted, big emotions happen, and there’s a lot of fun along the way. So it’s very much a Jay Bell book, just with a slightly different focus. I wanted to take a silly old trope and give it serious consideration. What would you do if you had the power to switch bodies? More than once. If you’re anything like the main character of this story, you’d make a mess of it. But what an adventure it would be!

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When I came out back in 1993, it was an exhilarating experience to say the least. I felt like the world was against me, but I had an amazing group of friends and was lucky enough to find love. That’s the inspiration behind Pride High, because although three decades have gone by, it feels like we’ve come full circle. Queer people are being targeted with just as much vim and vigor (Book banning? Really?!) but our happiness remains in our own hands. Gay love is a beautiful thing, whether you experience it yourself or witness it from afar. Ain’t nobody gonna keep us faeries down! We’ll keep sowing our seeds, singing our songs, or telling our tales.

On that note, Pride High: Book Two is here! I have huge plans for this series and appreciate your help in making it a success. Buying, reading, and reviewing is the holy trinity that makes this author smile. Mostly I hope it brings you some comfort and entertainment during these crazy times. Enjoy!

Pride High is back with even more cool characters, realistic relationships, and delicious drama. Is Ricky barking up the wrong tree with Diego? Will Anthony and Cameron show the world what true love looks like? Does Omar really have a chance with Silvia, and will she be able to keep her secret? (Which one?!) Love and adventure awaits you in the hallowed halls of Pride High.

If you read on any other platform than Amazon, please preorder the book now, even if you don’t plan on reading it until a later date. Most of my books are currently exclusive to Amazon, which was a tough business decision to make, but also the right one for the moment. In other words, I can’t promise that Pride High 2 will be available from any other retailer for very long.

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Something Like Daybreak, a new novella, is now out! This one takes place after all the other books in the series. I honestly didn’t plan on writing more, but characters have a way of whispering in your ear. (Marcello especially, along with some tongue.) This time it was Victor, who is usually content to remain in his clearing while contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Which is fine, but it isn’t much of a happy ending. The story itself is short but packed with emotion and familiar faces. The audiobook version of Something Like Daybreak is also available! The magnificent Kevin R Free has once again returned to narrate. He always delivers an emotional performance, which is exactly what this story needs. Click here to start listening or reading now!

Pride High is now available on audio. The first book of my new series has already gotten a slew of good reviews. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do so. The series focuses on a group of queer teenagers, and in my usual style, we’ll watch them blossom into adults while they try to navigate life and love. If you enjoyed the Something Like… series, you’ll feel right at home with Pride High.

You know what I’m tired of? Fat cat corporations who keep cranking up prices on us. The greedy jerks! With that in mind, I’ve put together a couple of budget friendly box sets. The Complete Something Like… Series : Volume One collects the first three books in the series, Summer, Autumn, and Winter for one low price. It’s a great deal if you don’t have the eBooks yet, or if you’ve been pressuring your friends to read the series. Gift it! I also have a Boys in Love box set which includes Straight Boy (one of my personal favs), The Boy at the Bottom of the Fountain (I’m so proud of this one!), and Kamikaze Boys (it won a Lambda!).

If you’re rolling your eyes because you’ve already read those books, you can get started on Pride High Book 2 over on my Patreon page.

Best wishes and happy reading!

Jay Bell

Nineteen years ago today, I married my husband. Had we never met, I doubt there would be any Jay Bell books. Or if so, they wouldn’t be the same. Tim wouldn’t be a handsome artist, Jace wouldn’t be an amazingly kind cat dad, and getting a little closer to home, Ben wouldn’t love with as much intensity. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I focus on relationships in my writing. A dream I once thought impossible came true over twenty years ago, and I want others to know that they can have that too. Or at the very least, experience how it feels. So I thought it was appropriate to let this special day be the official release date of my new series, Pride High, which takes me right back to those early years filled with longing and wishing.

You can read the summary on the product page. I won’t discuss the plot here, but I will tell you my intentions for the series. Much like the Something Like… books, Pride High allows us to follow characters through the different stages of their lives. Except instead of dedicating each book to a single point-of-view, now we have an entire cast. Imagine if Something Like Summer had let us slip into Tim and Allison’s perspective as well as Ben’s. And what if the high school years weren’t squeezed into one third of the book, but allowed to play out day by day, week by week? You’ve heard of long-form podcasts. This is long-form LGBT drama. And it’s going to be amazing.

I hope you’re willing to join me on this new adventure. As an added incentive, the first book also includes a brand-new short story, Something Like Daybreak. That should help ease the transition from one series to another. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m eager to continue writing Book 2 in between loving on my man.

Much love to you as well! -Jay Bell

Most of us are familiar with the myth of Icarus. It’s that old “don’t aim too high” myth that needed a serious overhaul. So I took it upon myself to fix it by making it MUCH more gay. The result is my latest novella, Icarus and Apollo. In it, a handsome young man—Icarus—becomes obsessed with attracting the attention of a gorgeous god—Apollo—no matter how unlikely their love might seem. Of course there are plenty of complications that get in the way, but hey, that’s nothing a pair of wax wings can’t fix. But like the story of old, will Icarus find himself falling in love while also falling to his death? The answer can be found in the story itself, which is now available here.

I’m also happy to announce that I’ve begun work on a new series called Pride High. I consider it the spiritual successor to the Something Like… series, since it’s also about a group of young people in the nineties who are attempting to navigate the game of love. The first book is already complete and will be out later this year, but you can read it RIGHT NOW over on Patreon, where I’m sharing four chapters a week. That’s in addition to all the other goodies that are available there. If you’ve ever wished you could’ve given an author feedback before they published a story, this is your chance. You also have the opportunity to see you name included in the front of the final book. And it’s a great way to keep this fool writing the kind of stories you (hopefully) love. You can become my patron for as little as two bucks a month. It might not sound like much, but it sure makes a difference to me. Pride Month is a great time to read queer books by queer authors. Start turning those pages, my friends!

A couple of years back, I made the difficult decision to go exclusive with Amazon, meaning my eBooks couldn’t be purchased anywhere else. That kind of sucked, so the Something Like… series is once again available on a multitude of retail sites, along with all of my other books. If you’re looking for a complete list, this page will be your new best friend. There you can learn more about each title, including your buying options. Thank you for bearing with me during this experiment. It’s good to be among friends again.