Are They Real?
So often I have been asked, "Jeremy Baker. Sheraton Rogers. Pris Moore. Are they real characters, Joe?" And the answer (not for the faint of heart) is: Yes and No.
This is not a bunch of double-talk. It's the honest truth.
You see, all the characters in my books are a conglomeration of different people that I have met over the years. How many times have you met a person and thought, "He reminds me of my friend so-and-so." Well, that is the way it is with the folks in my books: Especially the main characters Jeremy, Sheraton and Pris.
How did they start? Well, Jeremy is a product of what I saw growing up in Little Italy and embellished upon courtesy of the parochial school system here in NYC. Sardonic and defensive, Jeremy Baker represents the real person vs. the manufactured images that both society and the gay counter-culture produced. Confusion reigns supreme when you have a man (or woman) who does not fit the norm - at least as far as the Madison Avenue/ Christopher Street viewpoint is concerned. During the disco seventies, gays were all impossibly lean (now they are worked out buff), impeccably groomed and at least six months ahead when it came to wearing the latest fashions. Now how could a tall, overweight guy with little in the way of chic be a part of that world? What Jeremy does have is a rather dry sense of wit that borders on the sarcastic. He uses it as a defense weapon to shield himself which explains why no matter how much he grouses, he is always game.
Sheraton? Now there is a story. Sheraton started life as a character in a proposed cable television series I had planned. He was originally a haughty, arrogant person (think Paris Hilton with balls - or am I being redundant?) who knew Who's Who but not what's what. Overtime I travelled a bit and met many a midwesterner who not only made me soften the character of Sheraton but restored my faith in humanity. Once in Wisconsin at the state fair (don't ask) I was dumb struck by being surrounded by thousands of tall, blonde, clear skinned and blue eyed boys who had good physiques (natural - not a la Nautilus) and even better attitudes.
Voila! Sheraton Rogers was born. He is everything Jeremy wants to be but can't because he doesn't have the basic drive that is second nature to Sheraton.
And Pris Moore? Based a bit on several women (both gay and straight), she is an important part of the boys lives. Sometimes she is Jeremy's ally while at other times the bane of his existence. It does not matter. She is a bit Jerremy in her gruffness and lay-it-on-the-line attitude and a lot Sheraton when it comes to playing the wise person who knows how to compromise.