Many a confident urban gay man in the Castro, West Hollywood, and Chelsea was once a wide-eyed newcomer. Every year thousands of young men arrive in these queer-friendly neighborhoods, seduced by city life and its sexual possibilities. In Where the Boys Are, Richard Labonté collects raunchy memoirs and stories about these newly arrived country boys. Here are stories of first times, initiations, bars, backrooms, dance clubs, and parties, reading (or misreading) the codes—and sometimes teaching those city boys a thing or two.

"This collection of 'urban gay erotica' is about finding yourself—as long as the search includes hanky-panky." —H/X Magazine

" 'Taming the Trees' by Jeff Mann, is about a man who has not been able to let go of the love of his life. His longing for the man he lost to the city is intense. Years have passed, the man has changed and moved on, but the narrator is stuck in a mourning phase that will probably never end. Jeff is becoming one of my favorite erotica writers because of his ability to deliver a solid emotional punch along with raw sexual imagery." —Erotica Revealed

"Where the Boys Are delivers enjoyable prose that can be appreciated with two hands just as easily as with one." —Bay Area Reporter

RICHARD LABONTÉ has edited the Best Gay Erotica series since 1997. He writes the review column "Book Marks," for Q Syndicate, and edits the Gay Men's Edition of Books to Watch Out For. He lives in Ontario, Canada.

Also by Richard Labont