October 18th, 2024

August 13th, 2024, I clicked on Instagram and saw I was tagged in a story by a stranger, Andrew Karo (@ohhey_ak). The title read Queer Book Club, and Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club was playing. Under their October pick, I saw my little red book.

queer book club J.Q. Gagliastro the diary of a sugarbaby

I was instantly happy. I ran downstairs to share the news with my partner! Andrew replied to my repost and invited me to their gathering.

I had a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in West Hartford scheduled the following day. Philly to New York to Connecticut. Two events. Twenty-four hours. I knew I’d be cutting it close, but I had to make it work. So, I booked the trains!

I’m happy I did. Meeting the QBC has hands-down been the best experience I’ve had this entire past year along my literary journey. At this point, I had already completed six out of eight stops of my Sugarbaby Book Tour. I’ve spoken with journalist Sean Lewis on Chicago’s WGN TV. And I’ve become a two-time bestselling author for my debut novel. While all those experiences are unique and special to me in different ways, I think what made this experience more unique and special was that I got to speak with a group of likeminded people who read my book and were touched by my words. That’s what authors want. That’s what I want! I know for a fact most authors do not get this experience. The moment was not lost on me.

It was surreal listening to people talk about my fictional characters and dystopian world and the little details I didn’t think anyone would pick up. Forty-seven people attended. It did occur to me they might very well hate my book and read me for filth. But I didn’t let that possibility hold me back. I’m confident my book is special and amazing and brilliant. Fear seemed irrelevant. (I baked them cookies just in case!)

But I didn’t have to. They all loved TDS! Not only did they love it, it spoke to them. Everyone was kind and damn smart too. They posed thought-provoking questions and made intelligent and emotional and sociopolitical reflections. It could’ve easily become an all-about-me show, but I’m happy it didn’t. They tied in their own experiences and made comparisons between our reality and Dime’s world.

Several of them wanted more knowledge of how the Divided came to be, specifically the dictatorship. One person asked me if I looked to real-world examples to write the dictatorship. “J.K. Rowling looked to Hitler for inspo to write Voldemort,” they said. I also know Arthur Koestler looked to Stalin and the Soviet dictatorship to write Darkness at Noon. But I didn’t look to dictatorships for inspiration. Instead, I looked to the people affected by the real-world dictatorships. For example, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was a huge inspiration for TDS. It was touching to hear them all say they want a sequel. I don’t think that’s in store for Dime, but I appreciate the sentiment.

I am so lucky and grateful for this experience! Thank you, Queer Book Club!