Full Frontal, to make a long story short

My second book...

It is August of 1957, and Tim Halladay, a caddie at the Longshore Country Club, is looking forward to beginning eighth grade at Assumption School. Tim and his best friend and fellow caddie, Jimmy, are oblivious to the fact that they are slowly transforming into young men with secret desires.

As Tim embarks on a journey of emotional and sexual development, he approaches the world around him with a "full frontal" attitude that allows him to somehow not only survive but thrive, beginning with his first gay experiences as a shy teenager in suburban Connecticut and moving through his escapades at a Virginia army base, the Hotel Manhattan, the Museum of Modern Art, the Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, to his first three-way with cute Greenwich Village neighbors, or tending a mafia-owned gay bar, or becoming involved in unexpectedly hilarious jury duty sequestration. As Tim moves from one encounter to the next, he gradually transforms, moving toward a future as a rising star.

FULL FRONTAL shares an intriguing glimpse into the life of a gay man, as told through his eclectic relationships as he eventually discovers that true happiness is all about give and take.

Excerpt

They both got the bibs, melted butter, and corn on the cob. Penny brought cups of beer.
"You guys behaving?" she flirted.
"We rented bikes today and rode along the dunes," Bobby explained.
"Romantic!" Penny teased. "You guys queer for each other?"
"Hey, no," Tim responded, irritated. "We're in school together; we just wanted to have some fun on the Cape."
"Coulda fooled me," she said, swaying back to the pickup stand. She was obviously pissed off.
"Hell," Bobby laughed. "She's just looking for some fun. Want to ask her back?"
"I'm ready to leave," Tim said taking off his bib and pushing the lobster shells into the middle of the picnic table and onto the newspapers that had been laid out as a tablecloth. “I’ve had enough of the Clam Shack.”
“Me too,” Bobby agreed as he pulled out money to pay the bill…
The boys walked back to the Surfcomber without speaking. Penny’s comment had struck a nerve. Tim didn’t really think they were queer for each other. What was wrong with two friends having feelings?

Reviews

FULL FRONTAL, to make a long story short.

by Tom Baker, New York & Bloomington, iUniverse 2012.

Reviewed by Amos Lassen
December 5, 2012

I was lucky enough to meet Tom Baker right after his first book, The Sound of One Horse Dancing, was published. He had come to Provincetown and invited me to have lunch with him and I really enjoyed it (but that in no way influenced my review). One of the things that I really enjoy about Tom Baker is that he had already finished one career when he started a new career as a writer and this gives him the advantage of being able to look back on life and use his own experiences in his writing.

About Tom

Tom Baker

TOM BAKER is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. He enjoyed a successful career in the advertising world, winning many awards for ads and commercials he produced. He left the corporate world in 2010 to devote full time to writing. He has published three novels and a book of short stories, all featuring the same central character, Tim Halladay. After 42 years of living in a tree house in Santa Monica Canyon he relocated to his roots in New England and now resides in Gloucester, MA on Cape Ann.

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Full Frontal, to make a long story short

My second book...

About Tom