Synopsis:

At Conrad’s wedding, everything appears perfect as he embarks on a life with the woman of his dreams and a legal career that holds every promise. By contrast, his best man and childhood friend, Marcus, works at a dead-end job parking cars after coming out at home and dropping out of college. Building on his traditional upbringing, Conrad successfully pursues a calculated plan for professional success, while Marcus rejects that life and drifts, drinking with friends and clubbing in San Francisco. But as Conrad locks in his law firm partnership, his marriage suffers. And when a relationship for Marcus finally blossoms, he finds himself unsure. While their choices have predictable results, the old friends are surprised to discover a rekindling of their youthful bond and an unexpected peace as they find their way during unforgiving but changing times.

In a love story that reverberates from beliefs that stigmatize and laws that discriminate, these boys becoming men resonate with the power and elegance of the concertos they choose to perform.

Book Excerpt:

The Stone family home elegantly epitomized the lifestyle of its residents: traditional, conservative, and wealthy. “Just shoot me,” Marcus softly said to himself while gazing up at the intimidating profile of the two-story Tudor. “Somebody—anyone,” he added, before apprehensively opening the front door and walking past the rich mahogany staircase. The memories flooded his mind—standing there, before, also in his tuxedo, waiting for Eleanor to come down for their date to the Junior Prom. It felt exactly the same. But so much had changed.

He wondered how his life would have been if he’d stayed there in his hometown of Gillette. He wondered if he’d be happier. He remembered the many days he’d spent there with Eleanor, including the lazy afternoons making out in her bedroom upstairs. He chuckled. That was a long time ago. And yet it seemed that with only minor variation, he’d be happily marrying Eleanor instead of begrudgingly satisfying an uncomfortable obligation to be best man for his childhood friend, Conrad. It was silly. But he couldn’t help feeling envious—and disappointed. It was all so pathetic, he thought. He was pathetic.

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Author Comment:

The author has donated the net royalties from the sale of the book to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation or other charity.

Topics/Categories:

American literature, Gay Fiction, gay marriage

Genre:

Family - Relationships, Fiction, General LGBT, General Religion - Spirituality - Doubt, LGBT Fiction, LGBT Literature, LGBT Studies - Interest, Literary Fiction, Marriage, Music, Religion - Spirituality , Romance, Romance Novel

Best Sellers:

Amazon.com Bestseller: Gay & Lesbian Literature Genres

Type of Work:

Novel

Publishers:

PD Publishing

Purchase From:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Author Autographed Copy

Original Publish Date:

2008-11-06

ISBNs:

978-1-933720-55-5

Publishing Notes:

In this moving and intelligent novel, lovers, friends, faiths, and families are both lost and found, like motifs in a piano concerto that rediscover themselves over time, changed yet familiar. If the collaborative and connecting nature of music is one emblem in A Matter of Choice, the business of law is another: it too can order, but also divide and betray. Between the two motifs, G. Carlos Smith's characters, whether gay or straight or somewhere in between, face the difficulty and rewards of composing a life. The rewards are also ours just for listening--if we choose. -- William Handley, Professor of English, USC

Formats:

Trade Paperback