Reichen talks to Out in Hollywood

Traffic was bad last night. So when I arrived at A Different Light bookstore in West Hollywood last night, I expected the book signing event for Reichen Lehmkuhl's "Here's What We'll Say" to be well underway.

But there was a line out the door and things had not yet begun. I bought a copy of the book for him to sign then thought, what the heck, I'll see if he's here already so we could have a quick chat. His assistant took my card back to him and then waved me back a few seconds later. There was an exhausted Reichen text-messaging someone (I didn't ask if it was to boyfriend Lance Bass). He was exhausted from a morning book signing appearance in San Francisco then a quick flight back to LA to appear on the "Trya Banks Show" before rushing over to the bookstore. On Monday, there was a big, splashy book party at WeHo hotspot "The Abbey" as well.
"I'm so tired right now," Reichen confessed. "But I love it."
He told me his book published by New York-based Carroll & Graf Publishers has been two years in the making. "When I was given a publishing date of October 2006, I thought, 'that is so far away. That's plenty of time.'"
He found himself in a time crunch but did manage to finish the book on time. Subtitled "Growing Up, Coming Out, and The U.S. Air Force," "Here's What We'll Say" is a 343 page account of Reichen's difficult life as a closeted gay man in the Air Force. While he was able to find refuge in a secret society of gay cadets, he at one point was sexually assaulted by other cadets.
Reichen, who went on to win season four of CBS' "The Amazing Race" with his former partner, says his book is not "anti-Air Force" but is more an effort to pull back the veil over what is really going on there under the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
I asked Reichen about what it has been like for he and Bass since the former member of NSYNC came out publicly over the summer.
"It's been amazing," he said. "We'll go to events and the media will treat us just like any other couple and not even bring up that we're gay."

Knowing that a crowd was waiting outside, I kept our chat brief but when I walked out of the store, some dude in line says, "HE'S the one who is making us wait!" I got dirty looks you can be sure. Gay men can be such bitches.
For more on Reichen, visit www.Reichen.us.