I can’t believe that PRIDE MUST BE A PLACE released SEVEN years ago today!
I remember writing that book like it was yesterday, I swear. I wrote most of it at the Muskoka Novel Marathon. Shortly after the marathon, Michael and I stayed a week at his sister’s cottage and I completed the first draft. We took long walks throughout the day and discussed the plot. It was amazing talking a story through prior to writing it down. We narrowed down the possibilities and I wrote in a fevered pace in order to get to the end. It was probably the most fun I ever had writing a book. The collaborative effort–of talking it out–was a new experience for me and a welcome one.
It was originally published by MuseItUp Publishing out of Montreal, Canada. They were the publisher who published my debut novel, SUMMER ON FIRE($3.99 on Amazon or free with Kindle Unlimited).
MuseItUp has since shuttered its doors. But you can still read PRIDE MUST BE A PLACE. I’ve since made it available on Amazon as a paperback or ebook. It’s $2.99 or FREE with Kindle Unlimited. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT ON AMAZON.
Here’s the synopsis for PRIDE MUST BE A PLACE:
Ezra Caine is gay. He’s sort of out at school but not at home, where he fears the wrath of his father’s bigotry. When Ezra’s flamboyantly out friend Alex Mills takes one too many beatings from homophobic bully Will Carter, Ezra finally snaps. Fed up with the situation at school, he decides to do something about it. With the help of his BFF, Nettie, and some unlikely allies, Ezra rallies to create their small-town school’s first gay-straight alliance. The Rainbow Alliance Club is formed. But the changes don’t come without hiccups, one of which being a messy scandal involving Alex and a gay hook-up app. As Ezra and his friends attempt to sway their school into an alliance of tolerance and acceptance, Ezra experiences a few surprises of his own on the home-front. He also learns the hard way that friendships out of convenience aren’t always a good idea, just as some enemies might not be as bad as he originally imagined them to be.
Would you look at the little baby holding the first copy fresh off the press!
Proud parent moment—holding your creation for the first time in book form is always a little piece of magic!
If you have KINDLE UNLIMITED, I have quite a few books in the program. Which means you can read them for free as part of your KU package. Here’s a list:
After an early morning flight, we found ourselves in Chiang Rai in Thailand’s north. Before this day, I was beginning to think that all temples in Thailand were basically the same. I was in for an eye-opening experience. Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) could not be more unique. Wow. It was stunning and jaw-dropping. It felt somewhat like a fairy tale land…only with dark undertones suggesting an unforgiving afterlife. I was stunned by its brilliance and sparkle.
a first glimpse of Wat Rong Khun – White Temple
The whole thing was surreal. There was really no way to categorize it, or describe it. It had all the Temple stuff going on, but in the midst of it all, you would find superheroes from virtually every comic book imaginable, along with souls reaching desperately out of the earth attempting to crawl back up out of the depths of hell. It was categorically one of the weirdest most fascinating places I’ve ever been.
Hello, my guy. What brings you here?Help! I’m stuck in this purgatory of nonsense and I can’t get out!Proof we were actually there in Bizarro Land.
The purgatory display was startling, terrifying, and absolutely the COOLEST.
Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline immediately sprung to mind. These were hands touching hands and, hey, they were reaching out. They were NOT going to be touching me, though!Is the dude with the pot trying to offer me something, or was I reading this moment incorrectly?
At every turn there was something sparkling in the sun. When we got up close to the temple, we could see why…
It was like they took the secrets of the disco ball and ran with it!Mirror, mirror…Such a fairy tale temple…
Photos were forbidden inside the temple. There was a creepy man sitting lotus who looked real…you could see people staring at him waiting for him to move. When they couldn’t see movement, they held their breath looking for him to take his next one. Then, there was speculation that he was dead and stuck forever in that pose. Friends, he was bonafide FAKE. Inside the temple was also where all the superheroes were painted on the walls. The photos being forbidden was probably their way of avoiding the huge copyright infringements they were pulling off. ALL the superheroes, as well as some historic cultural persons, were splashed about those walls.
The Gang – We could not have asked for a nicer group of fellow tourists. We were all Canadian and everyone was SO nice!
Buddha Baby…
There was also a golden temple on this sight.
Gold temple…
Oh…and a short bus ride away…a blue temple. After a quick lunch at a local buffet, we went to Rong Suea Ten Temple (Blue Temple). It was quite stunning. Not like the mysterious and obscure White Temple…but it had subtle beauty where the White Temple had shock value.
The ceiling inside the blue temple…
Buddhist artwork is always stunning. You can see the essence of mandala artwork in this…Where chaos and fear reigned at the White Temple, the Blue Temple suggested peace and silence…
Our hotel in Chiang Rai was gorgeous! I loved it. The Heritage Chiang Rai Hotel and Convention Centre. It was quite beautiful.
a staircase in the hotel lobbyStepping out of the hotel lobby…The room was SO lovely!
The group, having dinner on our first night in Chiang Rai. I was out of sorts at this dinner. I don’t know if anyone realized it or not, but I was just not having it. I felt miserable…but I don’t know why. Just grumpy and I did not feel like eating at all.
I didn’t eat much here. Just was NOT in the mood…
Another day in Chiang Rai was in store for us. I’d have to get out of my funk and get out of my own way in order to enjoy it. I don’t think anyone in our group realized I was in a mood, but I knew I needed to shake it.
We were going to the Golden Triangle…that place where Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos meet near the confluence of Ruak and Mekong rivers. It promised to be a big day. There were Buddhas, river cruises, an opium museum, and the Karen tribe in our futures. Chin up!
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We woke up the next morning in Bangkok. But we would not be staying there much longer. We all got up extra early in order to stop at the famous Train Market. We were warned ahead of time by Rio that the people in the stalls don’t really like tourists. He explained that we come to take our videos and photos, stepping over everything, causing havoc, and blindly walking in front of the train, etc. Picture clueless stampedes of migrating wildebeest charging through a market while a train barrels through it. But they’re all holding phones and talking to their Instagram followers in live Reels. He also suggested that all the vendors know we are not there to buy anything, and that mostly we do not.
We were warned to be on our best behaviour, and not to be stupid.
The narrow path of the Train Market…
With practiced disdain for the ‘other tourists’, we blended ourselves into the market and waited for the train to arrive. We were not like the other tourists. We were orderly and polite and aware.
And if you believe that hocus pocus, I have a tree farm in Albuquerque to sell you.
I immediately saw the reason the vendors have grown weary of tourists. We’re like a plague of locusts spreading over something, making it untenable, and then disappearing forever…not caring about the chaos left in our wake.
See the train go down the tracks…
Turns out there were tourists ON the train as well. Tourists taking photos and videos of tourists taking photos and videos. Makes you think…
It was quite a thing to see, however. I’m glad we did the sideshow side trip.
Chaos!!!
Just imagine how chaotic this is several times a day for the vendors. People stepping all over their stuff trying to watch a train go by. Thousands and thousands of pounds of metal capable of ripping them all asunder. It’s no wonder they’re tired of seeing tourists.
After the Train Market we stopped at a coconut farm. It is absolutely astounding how many things one can make with coconuts! As it is with all tourist locations, there was a souvenir shop…resplendent with coconut merchandise.
spoons…
It was a gorgeous place, too. So much to take in.
memories of Monet’s gardens in Giverny…Sitting on a swing at the coconut farm…Just a swingin’…
After the coconut farm was the big event of the day…the floating market.
boarding a boat for a ride to the floating market.
This event was a little misleading. We did not really participate in the floating market. Rather, we were taken to where it is and then dropped off on land. It was definitely a gorgeous boat ride, though.
We made our way through various canals until we came upon the actual floating market…
The floating market…
Once we were dropped off on land, inside a market, we could look down into the floating market from a little foot bridge. But we did not participate. We had a walking market. Talk about false advertisement. Oh well.
The Floating Market – as seen from a foot bridge.
After the floating market, where we had an amazing lunch, we went for a river cruise. As you can see from the photos below, it was a little wet. It wasn’t the greatest weather during our trip. It was warm, but the sun didn’t come out so much and there were occasional rain showers. Anything is better than snow and cold, though.
Later that evening, a few of the tour group took the dinner cruise option. Our group of four among those who chose this option. It began at the iconic Iconsiam shopping centre. This place was the literal lap of luxury. They had every high-end store you could think of…including boutique car dealerships right inside the mall.
ICONSIAM MALL
We had some time to snoop around the insanely upscale mall prior to boarding our dinner cruise. They had a gorgeous rooftop lounge. Of course we imbibed.
The troop…atop the ICONSIAM.
We had GORGEOUS views of Bangkok from the top of the Iconsiam…
gorgeous views and perfect selfie opps!
The dinner cruise was buffet, which was a little chaotic. Not a lot of space for the buffet and everybody wanting to get to it at the same time. Rio guided us into a little nook and we were able to attack it before it got too overcrowded.
dinner cruise…
There was lots of entertainment on the dinner cruise and lots of fireworks on the shore. It was nonstop wonderment.
Singers and dancers abounded…The views were stunning…the world was all lit up.fireworks…The shore looked like a magical wonderland. Not a thing was not lit up to the nines.Rio and I being super silly…
With my guy sometime during the night…I want Rio’s camera. Takes such great shots.
It was a brilliant night and such a great way to end our time in Bangkok! The next morning we would leave Rio (and Bangkok) behind. It was time to move on! We all wished Rio could follow us for the rest of the tour. What a great guide!
If you’re enjoying this series on our Thailand adventures and would like to support this page, you can do so by buying me a coffee!KevinCraig-BuyMeACoffee
KEVIN CRAIG 