"We have traded tales, my buddies and I; of affairs, encounters, secrets, fears, self-promotion-of fantasies that we make real in the telling." In this, the first volume in Ethan Mordden's acclaimed trilogy on Manhattan gay life, he introduces a small group of friends-Dennis Savage, Little Kiwi, Carlos, and the narrator, Bud-and chronicles their exploration of the new world of gay life and the new people they are in the process of becoming. In a voice at once ironic, wistful, witty, and profound, Mordden investigates his suspicion that all of gay life is stories and that, somehow or other, all these stories are about love. Ethan Mordden investigates the stories that gay life in the city engenders -- the fantasies, the secrets, the fears, the joys. Ultimately all the stories are about love, and Mordden is a master at painting love with a delicate brush. “Ethan Mordden is a master craftsman. His style combines the satirical urbanity of Juvenal, the wit of Oscar Wilde, the intelligence and drawing room sophistication of Jane Austen.” ― Bay Windows “There are too few writers who can turn a phrase with as much wit and style as Ethan Mordden. You are dealing with an unusually major talent.” ― Torso “Undeniably a major gay writer, with Manhattan to the Pines as his turf.” ― Kirkus Reviews Ethan Mordden is the author of dozens of books, both fiction and nonfiction, including Buddies and I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore . His writing has appeared in The New York Times , The New Yorker and numerous other magazines and journals. He lives in Manhattan.