Let's Hear it for the Boy

By T.A. Webb

Auntie Social is the biggest, baddest drag queen in Atlanta—she knows what she wants and she gets it. She’s tough, merciless, and top dog. That’s what Paul Stewart, reporter for the Journal, had heard, and all he expects when he’s assigned to interview the legend.. But nobody really knows the person behind the make-up.

What if...what if the person behind the sarcasm and music was more than just a man in a dress? What happened in his life that, thirty years later, made him a successful CEO, a philanthropist, and a legend in the gay community? Thirty years and almost a million dollars raised for people living with HIV/AIDs, yet still no one knows the real story.

Until one night, one man breaks through the shell, and Matthew Trammell—Auntie Social—opens the door he closed many years ago and lets his secrets spill out.

Pain is like rain, it covers your skin and soaks in bone-deep, but it eventually recedes and allows fresh things to grow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: T.A. Webb
• Release date: Nov 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310987670

T.A. Webb

T.A. Webb is the writing name for the Mean Old Bear That Could. By day, he's the director of finance for a non-profit agency. He's worked with people living with HIV/AIDS and with children in the foster care system for over twenty years, and takes the smaller pay for the chance to make a difference for those who can't help themselves. After hours, he's the proud single papa of four rescue dogs, was born and raised in Atlanta, where he still lives, and is a pretty darned good country cook. His sister taught him to read when he was four, and he tore his way through the local library over the next few years. Always wanting more, he snuck a copy of The Exorcist under his parents' house to read when he was eleven and scared the bejesus out of himself. Thus began a love affair with books that skirt the edge, and when he discovered gay literature, he was hooked for life. T.A. can be found at Facebook under AuthorTAWebb, tweeted at #TomBearAtl, or if you really want to, you can email him at [e-mail].

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Let’s Hear It for the Boy

By T.A. Webb

Copyright

Let’s Hear it for the Boy is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by T.A. Webb

Cover photograph from DWS Photography

Cover Art by Laura E. Harner

Edited by Jae Ashley

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-310987-67-0

Warning: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any many without written permission, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this book.

Contact the publisher for further information: [e-mail].

Smashwords License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To Jim, who I still miss.

To Laura, Havan and Lee, my partners in crime.

To Will, Amy, James and Jo for friendship and because I trust you.

To Jae, who is nothing short of terrific.

Trademark Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Barbie Glamor Mirror: Mattel, Inc.

Coke: The Coca-Cola Company

Depeche Mode: Venusnote Limited

Dolly Parton: Dolly Parton

El Camino: General Motors, LLC

Footloose: Paramount Pictures Corporation

Grady: The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority

iPhone: Apple, Inc.

Jack (referencing Jack Daniel beverage): Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc.

Madonna: Madonna Ciccone DBS Madonna

Sprite: The Coca-Cola Company

Varsity: Varsity, Inc.

Walgreens: Walgreen Co.

Table of Contents

Front Matter

Copyright

Dedication

Trademark Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

About the Author

Also by the Author

Chapter One

Present Day

When Paul Stewart walked into the small dressing room, he stopped to take in the chaos. There were wigs, boas, rhinestone and sequined outfits…it looked like Dolly Parton exploded and settled like feathers all over the room. The blaze of colors and fabrics slowly came into focus, and he recognized that there seemed to be some subtle order at play here, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

But what drew his attention was the man sitting in a battered office chair, primping in front of the Barbie Glamor Mirror. Even seated, he could tell the man was tall and well-built. His goatee and shaved head were in stark contrast to the huge amount of black eyeliner around his eyes, and the fuck-me red lipstick he was applying like Paul had seen his sisters doing—lips rolling inward and then pressed together.

Paul must have made a noise, because sharp blue eyes met his in the