The Summer They Came: A Novel » (1ST)

There was a time when the seaside town of Long Spit was known only to a few wealthy families and a straggle of New England beachgoers. But when gay developers from Man-hattan, searching for a new place for summer shares and tea dances, get a look at its gently curving beaches, they hatch an ingenious plan to transform the sleepy Rhode Island hideaway into the next gay hotspot. If only someone would tell the townsfolk.

As a contingent of gym-buffed and cell-phone-toting vacationers descends on the village, some locals are outraged, others strangely titillated. Hollis Wynbourne, a reclusive antiques dealer and longtime subject of gossip, is drawn from his cocoon by the sight of sunbathing beauties; wealthy Wesley Herndon suddenly finds the town overrun with his two favorite attractions, frisky hunks and yachts of pedigree; and Anthony, a callow eighteen-year-old, embarks on a sentimental education he never expected to get in his own backyard. An uproarious send-up of both small-town provincialism and the absurdities of contemporary gay life, The Summer They Came will capture you with its portrait of a town you thought you knew, run amuck.

Publishers Weekly

The Rhode Island shore plays host to an invasion of sorts in Storandt's comical tale (after Outbound: Finding a Man, Sailing an Ocean) of a seaside town that is discovered and transformed by gay men one summer. Once a destination for the wealthy, Long Spit languishes as a sleepy seaside haven for artists until two Manhattanites transform it into a gay "sex mecca." Within weeks, bed-and-breakfast owners observe a curious spike in business (and one finds a leather sling in one of her rooms). The demographic change has several residents up in arms, but others, like gallery owner Hollis Wynbourne, don't mind. Soon, throngs of muscled sun worshipers descend on Long Spit. Among those hoisting rainbow flags are Jim, a shy plastic surgeon from Nebraska, city gallery owners Tracy and Derek, and nubile Anthony, Hollis's vocal student. All this infuriates right-winger Sam Jenkins, who thinks the town should banish the "weirdo outsider scum" that have taken over. A new nightclub applies for a liquor license, but is challenged by Sam's Community Decency Committee, and soon both sides must deal with a police raid, a hate crime and an illicit affair involving Hollis that garners national attention. An old landmark hotel becomes the site of a giant rave in a rousing, overblown finale. Storandt's large cast of colorful characters is amusing, though seasoned gay readers will find most of their meandering pageantry routine and stereotypical. (May 14) Forecast: An ingenious "East Coast beach tour" (including Provincetown, Fire Island and Rehoboth Beach) is the perfect way to reach the target market. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.