Saturday, October 25, 2008

Book Reviews for Island Song are all 5 star reviews!


Hi Everyone,

the book reviews for my debut novel, Island Song, are starting to trickle in and I'm very please and proud to say that they are all 5 star reviews so far. At the risk of boring you with some blatant self promotion, I'd like to share what some reviewers are saying about my work:


Bryl Tyne wrote:
"I recommend this novel to anyone searching for a deeper meaning to life and love.

Although marketed as paranormal gay romance, this book is SO MUCH MORE! Island Song is full of page turning, artfully depicted adventures and involves many touching issues that could make the toughest of hearts weep.

However, erotic - Island Song is not. I found the love scenes tastefully written. Without adding the "gag" of purple prose, the scenes were descriptive enough to visualize while bearing just the right amount of enticing sensuality.

Don't get me wrong, the romance between Garrett and Songoree is one of the most beautifully mastered tales of male love that I have ever read. Let me share with you one example...While reading through a scene where something as innocent as a shoulder massage that Songoree, out of concern, administers to Garrett, I found myself blinking back the tears.

Alan Chin's writing is breathtakingly descriptive, and yet his vivid scenes and accurate scenarios, his multifaceted character depictions, and the overall movement throughout the book was never tedious. I picked Island Song up, and four and a half hours later, closed it feeling as if I had taken the deepest breath of fresh air imaginable in years.

This book was expertly crafted, and I can't wait to see more from this new author."

Rainbow-Reviews said:

“Alan’s description of the Hawaiian Islands was absolutely breathtaking. I could feel the wind on my face. I could smell the ocean. I could feel the beat of the drums and hear the songs. I felt like I was there with these wonderful characters. The book sometimes alluded to sex, and when they actually made love it was the most beautiful thing that I could imagine. I learned so much about Hawaii and the book made me want to go there. This book is awesome and I would recommend it to everyone. Applauds go to Alan Chin”

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fight Hate by Voting Down Prop 8

I’d like to share with you the following quote that came up in my online writing group during a discussion of gay marriage and the importance of voting down Proposition 8 in California -- a proposition that would repeal the court ruling allowing gays and lesbians to marry:

“I've always wondered why a couple should care about whether they're considered "married" by the state or not. What's the problem with just living together?”

As a recently married man in California, let me take a stab at answering that question. Beyond the obvious financial aspects of being able to file jointly for taxes, being able to put your partner on your company insurance plan, and social security and survivor benefits, there are some social aspects of being married that go beyond these financial motivations.

Granted, the glue that holds a relationship together is not the marriage license, nor the state’s approval, but in the strength of the relationship it codifies. But there are times in every relationship when things get strained, those times when the grass looks greener on the far hill, but being legally, financially, and socially bound to a partner helps give people the strength, or will, to put more effort into making their relationship work. Marriage provides an explicit structure, a legally formalized relationship that is highly valued by society. It is a form of legitimacy that supports the efforts necessary to make relationships work and prosper.

On another tack, being able to marry symbolizes full equality and social acceptance in our country. It is the last hurdle. Giving heterosexual couples the right to marry while giving gay couples civil unions, even when they offer essentially the same rights, is still a form of discrimination. It would be similar to the Southern Sates in the Forties saying that separate drinking fountains for whites and coloreds was not discrimination because is was the same water from the same source. Separate is discrimination. It allows heterosexuals to pretend that they are somehow inherently superior, and separate rights will validate that claim.

Lastly, I believe it is of the utmost importance for society at large to formally honor the love-bond between couples, be they gay, lesbian or straight. Social legitimacy in our society should not be ignored. As an example, I had lived with my husband for over fifteen years before he and I were married, and I had attended all of his family’s get-togethers over the years: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, Chinese New Year’s celebrations. During that time all my in-laws were always friendly, but they never really warmed to me, and consequently me to them. But at the first family gathering after our marriage, Herman’s sister rushed up to me, gave me a warm hug, and said: “Welcome to the family!” I wanted to ask her what she thought the last fifteen years had been, but she was so sincere that I couldn’t say anything. In her mind, until Herman and I were actually married, we were not a legitimate couple and I was not really part of the family.
My point is: marriage not only allows us to see ourselves as a socially acceptable couple, but it allows the rest of society to see us as that, too. And that, in my opinion, is priceless.

Dear Friends, marriage equality in California is now losing by 5 points, according to the latest poll numbers. Please help us combat the lies that anti-LGBT groups have been spreading everywhere. Join me in the fight by donating today to the Human Rights Campaign California Marriage PAC - and your gift will be DOUBLED. Just click below:https://secure.ga3.org/03/caequalpac_match

Thank you for your help.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Book Review of Andy Stevenson vs The Lord of the Loins by Kage Alan









Andy Stevenson is back with a hilarious vengeance in this sequel to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Sexual Orientation. This time around, college sophomore, Andy Stevenson is now comfortable with his sexuality and is on the hunt for a monogamous relationship. When the man of his dreams -- a sexy and questionably gifted poet in Andy’s Creative Writing class -- invites him to his apartment for a sexual escapade, Andy can’t believe his luck.
But of course, Andy’s luck is never what it seems and his life is turned upside down when his dream-man turns out to be a nightmare in the form of a sexual predator known as the Lord of the Loins. Before Andy can fully recover from the disastrous one-night affair, he meets Alan, a sensitive, well adjusted, and domineering half-Asian who wants to give their fledgling love a chance to flourish. But as things begin to jell with Alan, Andy is pulled into a battle with the Lord of the Loins. Armed with only his superhuman sense of sarcasm, Andy is forced to defend his relationship with Alan.

Kage Alan paints a hilarious yet touching portrait of a young man battling his principles to define the kind of relationship that will bring fulfillment, then finding and nurturing that relationship against all odds. As with Kage Alan’s first Andrew Stevenson novel, this is a breezy romp though the time in a young man’s life when his lofty morals battle against the realities of the social norm. It’s a time of confusion and discovery, and Kage Alan’s observations of it are funny, intelligent, and very entertaining.

The one minuscule criticism I experienced was that towards the end of the story, after quite a buildup, when Andy and the Lord of the Loins have a showdown, I was a bit surprised it was not something more momentous and malicious. But that did not stop me from enjoying this story all the way to the last page.

This is a story that I can heartily recommend. If you’re the type of reader who enjoys a funny, sexy, breezy story, then this could be right up your alley.