I write a "Whatever Happened To..." column each week for my newspaper and thought Cindy Birdsong, the singer who joined Diana Ross and Mary Wilson in 1967 (replacing Florence Ballard) would be an ideal subject since she has mostly kept a low-profile in recent decades.

I sent a note to her via her MySpace page and received this prompt reply:
Dear Greg,
My name is Jim (Alias Motown Jim) here on MySoace and am managing Cindy's page for her. I spoke with her last night and she told me she wants to hold back for a while with anymore interviews, as she is still busy writing her final chapters to her book."

Jim said she would get in touch when the time is right. While I was disappointed to not snag an interview with this Motown legend, I'm so intrigued about her writing a book! What a story she could tell from being a member of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells then being plucked from that group to become a member of the most successful female singing group of all time.

Cindy, Mary and Diana performed and recorded together for three years before Diana left for a solo career. The group went on with replacement singers and Cindy, I believe, ended up being a Supreme longer than anyone other than Mary who stayed with the group in its various incarnations for close to 20 years.
I hope she will dish although I don't expect her to settle scores the way Mary did in her 1986 best seller "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme." But, you never know! Cindy was on the stage 25 years ago at the group's first reunion in 14 years and Diana ended up shoving Mary and their medly of songs was cut short halfway into "Someday We'll Be Together."

The drama!

Then in 2000, there was the scintillating possibility of Diana, Mary and Cindy reuniting again for a concert tour but negotiations fell apart over money. Diana and Mary gave dueling interviews to Barbara Walters while Cindy stayed above the fray it seemed. Diana went on tour with two later Supremes who she had never performed with and her "Return to Love" tour was such a disaster that it had to be cancelled midway through leaving ticketholders (like me!) majorly disappointed.

Anyway. good luck with the book Miss Birdsong!

Here are a few clips of Cindy performing as one of the Supremes. The first is Diana's final TV appearance with the Supremes in 1970 on Ed Sullivan singing "Someday We'll Be Together" and the second clip is a post-Ross hit "Stoned Love" with her replacement, Jean Terrell, in the lead. It's terrific!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Don't you just love sitting by the pool reading a good, dishy book. I'm reading Julie Andrews' "Home" right now, am looking forward to Barbara Walters' "Audition" out next week and most of all, John Barrowman's new book: "Anything Goes." Love, love , love John Barrowman whose book has been excerpted on Out.com.

Here is part of a story John tells about being invited by The Royal Air Force to be part of the Tattoo launch partly because Captain Jack is in the RAF:

I eventually emerged from the Hawk as if I'd been doing this all my life, which in Captain Jack's world, of course, I had. In my world, though, this was the experience of a lifetime. In fact, I was so high from the adrenalin rush and so in awe of the Hawk itself, I was almost speechless.4

This is what it means to be alive.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Was at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove this morning doing a post-breakfast browse and spotted on the bookshelf "The Q Guide to Designing Women" by Allen Crowe. Regular readers of this blog know that this is one of my favbrite shows of all time . I had written a series of newspaper articles and blog posts about a "Designing Women" reunion that took place in the fall of 2006. It gave me the opportunity to interview star Dixie Carter and creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason before the event. At the event, I got a second-row seat directly behind Delta Burke and met all four of the main leads: Burke, Carter, Jean Smart and Annie Potts. It was heaven.
A short time later, the author had called me to interview me for the book. I didn't give it another thought until I saw the book this morning. I saw my name in the acknowledgments and as I leafed through it, found myself quoted in Chapter 12 ("The Cast's Favorite Episodes") on pages 124 and 135).

The episode he writes about is "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" Here's the excerpt: In addition to "Dash Goff, the Writer," the episode when Delta first met Gerald McRaney, her favorite show was the one dealing with her weight issues. Los Angeles Daily News entertainment journalist Greg Hernandez also picked this as his favorite episode. He was very moved by a conversation between Julia and Suzanne the morning after Suzanne's high school reuniin: "Julia told Suzanne, 'In the end all that matters is what was true and truly felt.' As a closeted gay man (at the time), it really resonated with me. It was something to go on and try to live by."

A few pages later, the author provides the entirety of what Julia said to Suzanne - words that have stuck with me forever: "In the end it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about you. You have to be exactly who and what you want to be. Most everyone is floating along on phony public relations. People who say being beautiful or rich or thin makes them happy. People who are trying to make their marriages and their children seem better than they actually are. And for what?! Appearances. Appearances don't count for diddly! In the end, all the really matter is what was true and truly felt and how we treated one another."

THE EMMY THAT GOT AWAY: Delta Burke was nominated for her first Emmy Award for her performance in the episode but had the misfortune of going up against Candice Bergen who won her second (of five overall) Emmy that year for "Murphy Brown."

Related posts:
- A Night with the Designing Women: Part One
- A Night with the Designing Women: Part Two
- The Dazzling Designing Women

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rosie's book, "Celebrity Detox," hasn't even come out yet but little tidbits are being "leaked." According to "The Insider," Rosie reveals a painful childhood secret that is much worse than the time Oprah smashed her glasses then made it look like her house had been broken into to cover up her deed.
She writes that as a child, she used to break her own limbs with "a baseball bat" or a "wooden hanger." "My hands and fingers usually. No one knew. My secret." Why? "Proof," she writes, "that I had some value, enough to be fixed." And later, Rosie cryptically adds, "There were many benefits to having a cast. In the middle of the night, it was a weapon."
OK, I have no idea why she needed a weapon in the middle of the night but it can't be good. Anyway, Rosie's book comes out on Oct. 9.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who needs her on "Hot Topics" when we have Rosie O'Donnell's memoir "Celebrity Dextox."
Yesterday, I posted about her and Trump with much glee but I'm disappointed in some of the things Rosie wrote about Barbara Walters.
“At some point, a person gets tired. It’s inevitable,” O’Donnell writes, "Barbara Walters is almost twice my age ... at some point it becomes necessary to step back....Everyone has to go. Going is part of the gig.”
Walters may be 77, but she is a pro. She looks terrific, she shows up and she has much to contribute not just to "The View" but as part of ABC News where she has worked for 30 years. Walters report on transgendered children earlier this year was one of the most important pieces of journalism on the topic - ever.
So Rosie, I don't agree and think what you wrote was off-the-mark. I'm still a fan, but maybe a little less.
Walters, who has read the book, expressed her reaction to it in a statement to “Access Hollywood”:
“Rosie has written a sad book, but I choose to focus on the happier times that we had and the happy times that we hope to have in the future.”

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When Rosie O'Donnell goofed on Donald Trump last year on "The View," he went on a rampage, going on various shows to call her fat and to say Barbara Walters wants her off the show etc. In my opinion, he made a big jackass of himself.
Rosie writes about it some in her forthcoming memoir "Celebrity Detox" ...
"It is Trump's falseness that angers me more than anything . . . I spoke my mind. People found it funny. I honestly did not anticipate the malice of his response...I assumed Donald believed he had money. I did not assume Donald believed he was money. But apparently he does...The stuffing of his self spilled out - think of a torn scarecrow, only instead of hay, it's crisp $100 bills blowing through the cornfields."
Rosie also said Trump reminds her of "garden slugs. I could write one small comment on my blog, and Donald would predictably distend, flowing forth with a torrent of insults...Then he'd appear on some talk show looking wrinkled, old and empty, with a Jell-O orange combover. I did not anticipate that he would be cruel enough to do what he did to Barbara [Walters - whom he called a liar]. She should have been left alone."

Well put.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found this blog entry on Rosie.com amusing:

so i just got my first hard copy of my new book
CELEBRITY DETOX
there on the front flap
in print
“when rosie odonnells mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1968, ten year old rosie thought fame could cure her”

i was born in 1962
my mother got sick in 1973

WTF !!!!!!!!!!

i feel like jeff lewis right now
i want to scream
NO ONIONS at every one

Rosie later reported that the book flap issue had been resolved. Can't wait to read it!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the cover of Lance Bass' forthcoming book which he posted for fans on his MySpace page (would Elton approve?) I love how Lance continues to grow as an out gay man and come so far from a year ago when he was a self-proclaimed S.A.G. (Straight Acting Gay) and didn't think he'd become some kind of gay spokesman. He is evolving and it only seems to be making him happier (well, that and the hot Brazillian boyfriend).
He writes: "... I just want to say I do not want my book to flop! One funny night I decided to "jokingly" say "oh it will probably flop" to a TMZ "reporter". (like all my quotes?) Again it was a joke. Im not an idiot-- I wrote this book so that it might help those out there interested in the music industry, space, and/or coming out story. "
He also shares this: "Rehearsal is going great for Hairspray and I am having the best time ever!! I hope you all get to see it, because it really is an amazing show and the cast is incredible!"
He starts his Broadway run August 14 and will be with the show through Jan. 6, 2008. "But, remember I am taking 2 weeks off to do book tour mid October. Made a photo album just for the book tour-- so every city I can post all the pics of you all!"
Lance also throws out some props to his great pal and fellow NSYNC bandmate Joey Fatone: "How great is Joey doing on NBC's The Singing Bee?!! Such a great show!!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On Wednesday night, after the Outfest party at The Abbey, I decided to head over to A Different Light Bookstore on Santa Monica Boulevard. I could barely get in the door!
No, NOT because I had drank two vodkas with pink grapefruit juice at The Abbey, it was hard to get in because there was this huge crowd listening to readings from a intriguing new book "Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys: True Tales of Love, Lust, and Friendship Between Straight Women and Gay Men." I quickly made my way to the front (pushy reporters just know how to do that I guess) and settled in. Glad I did. These essays look beyond the Will & Grace cliches these gay man-straight female relationships that have also been prominent in such shows as "Sex and the City" and the books and miniseries from "Tales of the City." Through 28 personal essays, the book delves deeper look into the complexity and varieties of straight woman/gay man relationships in the real world.
After the readings had ended and the book signings began, I gabbed with Melissa de la Cruz (pictured, right) who is one of the editors (along with Tom Dolby) of the just-published anthology. She was very excited by the turnout and the response from the crowd. You could hear a pin drop during the readings by several of the authors who showed up to share their stories. She herself is a contributor to the anthology with "A Manhattan Love Story" which details the intensely intimate relationship she had during and post-college with her gay friend, Morgan. She has commented that straight women and gay men seek each other out because they are natural allies since both have both been marginalized. They can be honest with each other without the sexual tension.
Of course, the experiences shared in the book vary. Theater director Philip Himberg wrote moving story of his high school girlfriend, who is now the mother of his child, and read it Wednesday night for the crowd. (That picture is Himberg and his daughter at the reading) His essay alone is worth the price of the book it is so good, so well told, and so real. It took me back to high school and to a time when gay boys like me really could hurt the girls who loved us and didn't understand why we didn't love them back...at least romantically.

For more information about the book and to buy it, here is a link to AMAZON.com.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Far from keeping a low departure since her expolsive departure from "The View" a few weeks ago, Rosie O'Donnell spoke Sunday at BookExpo America. At the annual publishing industry convention, Rosie talked up her forthcomijng memoir "Celebrity Detox" due out this fall. She says the book will focus on the highs and lows of fame, including her thoughts on what she calls "an interesting year." But don't look for TV's one-time Queen of Nice to rake former co-host and friend Elisabeth Hasselbeck over the coals because Rosie insists the book will be neither "vindictive" nor "mean-spirited," according to the Associated Press. It will be an open and honest look at life in the spotlight, including her eight-month run on "The View."
"[Fame] is, in fact, a drug," she told those in attendance at the convention.
Rosie often xpresses her feelings by way of her Rosie.com Internet blog and she said that her book will be "half-blog," half-"straight" writing.

Meanwhile, "The View" continues without Rosie and I tuned in today to see how things are going. Of course Rosie leaves a void but Joy Behar is once again the funniest person on the panel and she was on fire today. Barbara Walters does a solid job as moderator while with Rosie gone, Elisabeth comes off as a lot less defensive and shrill even though her conservative politics are at odds with the rest of the panel. Today's guest host, Kathy Griffin, is a lot of fun and I've been impressed by her. There are clearly some auditions going on here.
At one point, Griffin and Hasselbeck started to clash on terrorism (what else?) and Walters said pointedly that "This show is called 'The View'" and that it was possible to express those views without getting into a fistfight, or something to that effect.
Griffin told the other gals how she wanted to do a show for the gay inmates in the LA County Jail (apparently there's a gay wing?) but she says Sheriff Lee Baca put the kibosh on the idea which, obviously, was a stunt for her "Life on the D List" show. The topic of Baca came up when the panel discussed Paris Hilton and Kathy and Joy stood up and re-inacted Paris taking her glam mug shot. Said Joy: "She needs to wash a few toilet bowls." Added Griffin: "She represents entitlement in America and she's famous for notjing...young people looking up to me is very depressing to me."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just days before she joins Cyndi Lauper on the "True Colors" tour, Rosie O'Donnell will be among the nearly 1,000 authors to make an appearance this weekend at BookExpo America in New York. She will be speaking at a breakfast panel Sunday with novelists Alice Sebold and Ian McEwan. If she says something provocative )imagine that) I'll try and post about it over the weekend.
Her upcoming memoir, "Celebrity Detox," will provide an insider's perspective on her experiences on the show, as well as on the circumstances that led her to abandon her wildly successful talk show five years ago.
"celeb detox/is about leaving my show 4 yrs ago/and doing the view this year/its all in there," she wrote on her Rosie.com site this week.
According to EOnline.com, Rosie originally planned her book as a chronicle of how she became a fame junkie, then kicked the habit when she walked away from her Emmy-winning talk show to focus on her family. But when she decided to join "The View" last year, it became necessary to rework the book to reflect her return to entertainment.
Sheesh, the chapters about "The View" should be the most interesting!
The memoir's promotional materials describe it as "the admirably forthright story of O'Donnell's 1,098-day celebrity detox, brimming with the stuff of life—family, friends, and her soul-expanding journey from feeling lost to feeling found."
"Celebrity Detox" is due to hit shelves on Sept. 18.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Cheney, the pregnant lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney (I'm sure Mitt Romney would so disapprove of her!) had a chance to really be her own person and say something when she received a nearly $1 million advance to write a book last year. But since she is such an apologist for the bumbling Bush-Cheney) administration (which has no problem retaining Gen. Peter Pace who thinks people like Mary Cheney are immoral) her book, "Now It's My Turn," certainly wasn't embraced in gay circles or by the conservative GOP base. can now be purchased for SEVEN CENTS on Amazon.com under the used section. If you really want to splurge, a brand-new hardcover goes for a whopping $1.89.
If ya ask me, the thing is still over-priced!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few weeks back at the TV Academy's terrific "Ugly Betty" event, I spotted Marc Malkin who I had never met but whose column, Planet Gossip, I enjoy and quote from sometimes. Marc introduced me to his writer friend, Robert Rave, and I sat with them during the evening and had a great time.
Robert (pictured) mentioned a book he had written with his mother called "Conversations and Cosmopolitans (How to Give Your Mother a Hangover)" and I asked him to send me a copy. Got it in the mail a few days ago and started reading it last night. I'm about two-thirds through but thought if I don't post about it now, how am I going to let you know in time that this is the PERFECT MOTHER'S DAY GIFT! It is so special, so full of wit and honesty.
Robert Rave and his mother, Jane Rave, alternate chapters in a book that covers a diverse range of subjects starting with the coming out letter that Robert sent to his parents after he moved to New York. His mother refers to it still as "the gay letter." The letter is reprinted, typos and all, in the book and it just tears your heart out to read the thoughts and fears of this then-21-year-old kid who loved his parents so much. So while you feel the emotion of it, you get to laugh because as he waits for his parents to respond, he goes to a Gambler's Anonymous meeting (he's not a gambler) because he needs a distraction.
Life goes on and it is so amusing this Weight Watchers thing that Robert begins to share with his mom when he accompanies her to a meeting during a trip home. I also LOVED the chapter about whether or not men should wax. The conversations are priceless and Robert has a real gift for recounting them here. What most gay men are looking for in a potential mate is covered but I have yet to get there in the book and I also look forward to reading about Jane Rave's "M'Lynn moment," based on Sally Field's character in "Steel Magnolias" when she lashes out at her friends in a fit of despair. Remember when Sally Field is at the cemetary and screams out: "I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!"
Mostly, this is a book about how empowering (and fun) it is to live the truth.
Check out the Conversations and Cosmopolitans site for more information and links that make it easy for you to order the book.
It's a gem!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm tidying up the desk in my home office (a scary task) and I find the advance copy of "Boston Boys Club" that its author Johnny Diaz sent to me some time ago. I'm planning to finish reading it soon and plan to post a review. Johnny, a writer at The Boston Globe, and I have been exchanging emails here and there over recent months and I love his Beantown Cuban blog. Advocate.com has just posted a pretty cool article on him during which he confesses to experiencing what he calls "first-book jitters."
It's exactly one month before the national release of his debut novel, "Boston Boys Club" and in it, he says he's determined to depict a multifaceted professional Latino who happens to be gay.
"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to write this book." he explains. "Hispanics are always portrayed as either street thugs, cleaning people, or as the gardener. And the Latin gay guys I've seen are always hot, overly sexualized tricks from Miami."

"Boston Boys Club" follows a trio of friends as they search for that perfect guy at an ultrahip boy bar in Boston, the Club Café. While Diaz insists his story is a fictionalized account of his life after moving from Miami to Boston five years ago, the 34-year-old author admits that he intertwines real-life locales (like the Club Café, which is in Boston's South End), events, and yes, people in Boston Boys Club.
"The main character, Tommy Perez, covers Hispanic-related issues at a paper similar to The Boston Globe," he says, adding that his alter ego works at a pub called The Boston Daily. "Tommy lives in Harvard Square, and I used to live near Harvard Square."
To read the complete story, click on Advocate.com.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We heard from James McGreevey last fall when he paid a visit to Oprah Winfrey. Now his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey, the one who smiled awkwardly as he made his "I am a gay American speech," will be getting equal time, according to Queersighted.
The date has not yet been announced but it will be "later this Spring." Mrs. Matos McGreevey will be promoting her new book, "Silent Partner"-- billed as "a story of a marriage that was anything but happily-ever- after, told by a strong and resilient woman who can, and finally will, speak for herself." The book is due out on May 1 and the author is already scheduled to sign copies and answer questions at Barnes & Noble on Route 22 in her hometown of Springfield, New Jersey, so it is certain that her Oprah appearance will occur before the end of April.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't wait to read this book!
Next month, "Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film" will be published. Its content was selected from among the most compelling writing on The Ultimate Brokeback Forum. These writings are said to convey the remarkable power of "Brokeback Mountain" to affect the lives of all sorts of people—straight and gay, old and young, male and female—on six continents.
Ranging from the amusing to the emotionally devastating, the pieces collected in "Beyond Brokeback" crystallize the deep, frequently life-changing reactions of its often-unsuspecting viewers.
It's been more than a year since "Crash" upset "Brokeback" for the best picture Academy Award. The slight just seems more and more egregious as time goes on, doesn't it?

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well, he will no doubt have a less interesting life to write about than say, Maya Angelo or Bill Clinton, but hey, if Paris Hilton can write a book why not Lance Bass? People.com reports today former boy-bander and aspiring cosmonaut Bass is adding a new title to his résumé: author.
Bass, 27, plans to reveal "all about his life, his music and his sexuality" in a memoir, "Out of Sync," his publisher, Simon Spotlight Entertainment (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), announced Wednesday.
The book will hit stores in October.
In it, Bass will tell readers about his childhood in small-town Mississippi, his experiences as a member of the hugely popular boy band (which started with a phone call from Justin Timberlake when Bass was 16), and, in 2002, his four months in Russia training to be a cosmonaut on a space mission (though he was forced to drop out because of a lack of funds).
He will also talk about his life as a gay man, including his struggle to keep his sexuality hidden from fans and his decision to come out of the closet on the cover of PEOPLE in July.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I loved Rupert Everett when I saw him in "Another Country" all those years ago. Then again about a decade ago in "My Best Friend's Wedding" opposite Julia Roberts. I didn't even mind him in "The Next Best Thing" opposite Madonna. But then I saw him on "The View" a few weeks ago and he was so boooooring! He was plugging his memoir "Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins" and his segment was a snooze. And yet, I can't give up on him so I've just read a new interview with Rupert in Out magazine and found it to be far more interesting than his chat with the ladies of "The View."
ON FAME: "No one realizes how boring it is. You get an awards ceremony every four days. You take part in this ludicrous backslapping circus; I'd rather go to a back room and get j***** off. I'd love to have been cross-dressing with Garbo and having sex with everybody in 1930, but frankly, it's not that exciting now."
ON HIS MOVIE WITH MADONNA: "["The Next Best Thing"] cut my career dead. It was finished from then on. It was one thing being a gay success; it's totally another thing being a gay failure - it's unmarketable."
ON BEING OUT: "It's a difficult challenge. If you were trying to promote yourself as Anderson Cooper, are you gay first and foremost or are you Anderson Cooper? If he does agree to talk about it, well then you can't talk about anything else, and no one WANTS to talk about anything else, which is understandable."
ON GAY CULTURE: "Being gay is not an identity' that's the bottom line. It's a sideline. But through no one's fault and everybody's fault, it's become a subject for identity, so you run away from mainstream culture into a kind of offbeat culture, and then the offbeat culture becomes a little mainstream culture of its own - just as brutal, actually, as the culture you thought you were leaving behind."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TV Guide has a rave review in its current issue (the one with "American Idol" judges on the cover) for the wonderful book, "Forgiving Troy" written by Thom Bierdz, a former soap star ("The Young and the Restless") who is now openly gay and has had to endure unimaginable family tragedies.
Here is the review by Michael Logan: "Thom Bierdz, the 80's soap opera sensation who played Phillip Chancellor on The Young and the Restless, has written Forgiving Troy (www.ThomBierdz.com) , a gut-punching memoir that chronicles his triumph over an unspeakable tragedy: In 1989, Bierdz's mentally-ill brother, Troy, beat their mother to death with a baseball bat. And there's so much more. Now openly gay and an acclaimed painter, Bierdz talks about his painful, closeted years on Y&R and how, when the acting dried up, he was forced to work at the Soap Opera Digest Awards, serving drinks to the very people with whom he once costarred. Chilling, hopeful, spiritual. You'll never read anything like it."

To read my previous item on Thom, click HERE.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)