Michele Fogal on Men and Misogyny

Today my guest is Michele Fogal, who’s here to talk about her inspiration for the second book in her West Coast Boys series: the effect misogyny has on boys and men.

Hi all! Thanks for having me Shae! I love your questions about inspiration and process so I thought I’d tell you a bit about how my new book, King of Rain, came into being.

A Dark Place to Start

In book 1 of my West Coast Boys series, Jeremy was the cheating ex, and Logan was a giant competitive, shallow asshole with a surprising capacity for sexual assault. The King of Snowflakes boys were sweet in so many ways, and these two looked pretty rough next to them. But neither Logan nor Jeremy were content to take the blame and play the villain. It was like they were standing just a little behind me, patiently telling me little bits of their stories. Whenever I got curious enough to ask the right question, they would answer. Questions like, Why would you act like that? What are you running from? What does that feel like?

The Unrolling

Of course they both had plenty to hide, and when it all unrolled, it turned out to partly be a story about boys who are suffering from misogyny. When I was younger and a passionate feminist, I thought that men benefited from patriarchy. It certainly looks that way. Men earn more, own more, hold the vast majority of the high status positions of the world.

Then I had a son. Yup, motherhood is an education in all kinds of ways.

A Lesson in Boys

It was such a shock to me to see how boys suffer from the gender role bullshit in so many ways. They get told that any part of them that’s tender, or loving, or vulnerable is weak, shameful and female. I grew up hearing names like sissy, and wuss (‘a feeble or effeminate person’) but I never thought of this as misogyny. Then when I witnessed it as a mother, and realized that calling the softness of a man “feminine” and then humiliating him for being “less than” a man, is plain old hatred-of-women.

Bigotry

It’s pretty simple. Bigotry towards any member of a group, negatively impacts everyone in that group. That was a strong thread in the back-story of both Logan and Jeremy. Jer was brought up in a small town where being gay was really dangerous. To me, discrimination against gay men is clearly rooted in the hatred of women. He learned to give bigots the finger and embrace his sexual nature, but he also got hurt. He closed his heart off and never let anyone get too close to him.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

Bubbling Vats

Logan was raised by a family that looks pretty progressive from the outside, but on the inside, there’s patriarchy, misogyny, and a fierce lesson in fitting in at all costs. Logan wasn’t just afraid of being gay, he was afraid of the parts of himself that other people would label “feminine.” It’s one thing to battle against the world, and it’s another to battle against the poison you’ve absorbed and made your own. For Logan, internalized homophobia is also internalized misogyny, and hating yourself is not inert. It bubbles. Holding that in for years as it grows becomes a pressurized life for him. At the end of “King of Snowflakes,” he’s a bomb, ready to explode.

Cracks

When King of Rain starts, we get to see how Logan’s rage marks the end of his life as he knows it, and how Jeremy feels stopped in his tracks by what’s happened to him too. The story is an exploration of how these two young men challenge each other to grow a little, to break free a little, and to risk getting vulnerable enough to love a lot. Luckily, their broken cracks line up in some unexpected ways and witnessing them trying to handle each other became heart squeezing for me. It was terrifying and wonderful, all at once. I hope you enjoy their crazy ride as much as I have.

Give Away Contest

Here’s the Give-Away contest details – remember you can simply comment on THIS post to enter, if that’s easier for you!

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Question for Commenters

What do you think about the idea of misogyny and homophobia going hand in hand? Have you witnessed the men and boys in your life suffering from this prejudice?

Blurb for King of Rain

Being uber-tall and broad made it easy for Logan to hide his sexuality and vulnerability behind armor made of strength, ambition, and emotional detachment. His mask of macho success is shattered when he discovers the friend he’s carried a secret torch for has a boyfriend, and everything he’s always wanted now belongs to someone else. Logan can’t pretend not to care anymore, as his rage erupts in a horrible act of revenge. It’s impossible to hide his demons, now that they’ve broken loose.

Since losing his sweet boyfriend, Jeremy’s loud and proud life of sex parties and clubbing feels empty. When he meets the dark and self-destructive Logan, Jeremy recognizes the demons he sees in Logan’s eyes. After all, he has plenty of his own.

Logan isn’t looking for love, he’s looking for punishment and release, but with Jeremy all three seem momentarily possible… until he learns his victim was Jeremy’s lost love. Logan doesn’t expect forgiveness and knows he doesn’t deserve a real life, but after a taste of intimate closeness, finding salvation alone will mean he has to change, or die trying.

Purchase Links

Dreamspinner Press
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance Ebooks
Google Play

Thanks so much for having me Shae! Readers, here’s where to find out more about King of Rain.  I’d love to hear from you if you want to reach out, or follow the rest of the blog tour.

About the Author

Michele Fogal is a Love Story Novelist, in both SF & M/M Romance, a mother, a story addict, an endless student and a drooling xenophile. She is the author of the West Coast Boys series, published by Dreamspinner Press.

Author Links

Author Site & Blog
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The Books I Love & My Reviews on GoodReads
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