Robert Charles "Rob" Byrnes, Jr. is a 21st-century
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
American,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and
blog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
ger, whose fiction focuses primarily on
gay men
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual men, bisexual and homoromantic men may dually identify as ''gay'' and a number of gay men also identify as ''queer''. Historic terminology for gay men has included ''Sexual inversion (sexology), in ...
and other
sexual minorities
Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) comprise individuals whose sexual identity, sexual orientation, sexual behavior, or gender identity differ from the majority of the surrounding society. Sexual minorities include lesbians, gay men, bisexual peo ...
. He serves on the Steering Committee for
The Publishing Triangle
The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. After graduating from
Union College
Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
(
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
) he worked in politics and government. While working as Chief of Staff to two Members of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Ass ...
, he ran as a minor-party candidate for Monroe County (NY) Legislature in 1981 and the United States Congress in 1986. In 1996, he moved to
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, and has worked as an executive in the not-for-profit business development field since then.
Work
Byrnes's first three novels were gay comic romances. His acclaimed debut, ''The Night We Met'', was released in 2002. His second novel, ''Trust Fund Boys'' was released in 2004 and his third, the Lambda Literary Award-winning ''When The Stars Come Out'', in 2006.
Beginning with his 2009 novel ''Straight Lies,'' Byrnes began a series of comic crime capers featuring a hapless gang of gay and lesbian criminals led by partners in life and crime Grant Lambert and Chase LaMarca. The second novel in the series, ''Holy Rollers'', was released by
Bold Strokes Books
Bold Strokes Books is a midsized independent publisher headquartered in Cambridge, New York that offers a diverse collection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer general and genre fiction. Their list includes romance, mystery/intrigu ...
in November 2011; and the third, ''Strange Bedfellows'' (not to be confused with the 2000 anthology), which was published by Bold Strokes in September 2012.
Byrnes has also published short stories in ''Best Gay Romance 2014''; ''Men of the Mean Streets'' (2011), a collection of gay noir short stories edited by
Greg Herren
Greg Herren (born August 20, 1961) is an American writer and editor, who publishes work in a variety of genres, including mystery novels, young adult literature and erotica.J. M. Redmann; ''Saints & Sinners 2010: New Fiction from the Festival'', edited by Amie M. Evans and Paul J. Willis; ''Fool for Love'' (2009), a gay romance anthology, edited by Timothy J. Lambert and R. D. Cochrane; and ''Strange Bedfellows'' (2000), a book of erotic
political fiction
Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fant ...
, edited by Dominic Santi and Debra Hyde (not to be confused with the 2012 novel.)
Awards and honors
His 2006 novel ''When the Stars Come Out'' won the Lambda Literary Foundation's award for Best Gay Romance, and ''Straight Lies,'' published in 2009, was a Lambda Award finalist in the Best Gay Mystery category.
Personal
Byrnes's writing is often set in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He lives in
West New York, New Jersey
West New York is a Town (New Jersey), town in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census ...
* ''Strange Bedfellows'' (2000), ( / 978-0738838908) -- Political erotica. Byrnes's "Media Relations" is a humorous short story about an encounter between a gay ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reporter and a conservative presidential candidate.
* ''The Night We Met'' (2002), () -- Gay comic romance. Andrew Westlake, a struggling writer, falls in love with the closeted son of a
Mafia boss
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization.
Description
A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent, as they struggle to save their relationship and their lives.
* ''Trust Fund Boys'' (2004), () -- Gay comic romance. Failed actor Brett Revere tries to take a short-cut up the ladder to success by pretending to be wealthy and fitting in with a gay moneyed crowd, but falls in love with Jamie Brock, a charming conman who is playing the same game. As his adventure unfolds, Brett discovers a lot about himself and the price he is paying for hiding his identity.
* ''When The Stars Come Out'' (2006), () -- Gay comic romance. When Hollywood heartthrob Quinn Scott realized he was gay in the late 1960s, his wife—the girl-next-door actress Kitty Randolph—exiled him and wrote him out of her life. Almost forty years later, Quinn's about to write his autobiography (with the assistance of the cute yet arrogant Noah Abraham), and Kitty is now a major entertainment mogul. This novel examines the effects of the "closet" on numerous levels, from the biggest celebrities to the person-next-door.
* ''Fool for Love'' (2009), () -- Gay romance anthology. In Byrnes's story, "Happy Hour at Cafe Jones," a man awaiting his blind date encounters his ex-lover. This anthology also features contributions from
Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran is the pseudonym of Eric Garber (born 1944), an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer, born on the island of Aruba. Most of his adult life has been spent in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a small town in Florid ...
,
Felice Picano
Felice Anthony Picano (February 22, 1944 – March 12, 2025) was an American writer, publisher and critic who encouraged the development of gay literature in the United States. His work is documented in many sources.
Life and career
Felice Ant ...
, Greg Herren,
Joel Derfner
Joel Derfner (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer and composer. He is the author of three gay-themed books: ''Gay Haiku'' (2005), ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead'' (2008), and ''Lawf ...
, and other major gay writers, as well as a number of new voices.
* ''Straight Lies'' (2009), () -- Gay comic crime caper. The story of a pair of small-time gay criminals who learn about a sex tape proving that the world's hottest openly gay celebrity is actually heterosexual. What should be a simple plan—retrieve the tape, blackmail the celebrity, and live happily ever after—gets complicated when the tape is left in the back of a cab, setting in motion a madcap crime caper involving a misfit group of gay and lesbian thieves.
* ''Saints & Sinners 2010: New Fiction from the Festival'' (2010), () -- Gay and lesbian anthology. In "Saint Daniel and His Demons," Byrnes tells the story of a man eager to lose his too-good reputation. Contributors include Greg Herren, Jeff Mann, and
Jewelle Gomez
Jewelle Lydia Gomez (born September 11, 1948) is an American author, poet, critic and playwright. She lived in New York City for 22 years, working in public television, theater, as well as philanthropy, before relocating to the West Coast. Her ...
.
* ''Men of the Mean Streets'' (2011), () -- Gay noir anthology. Byrnes's dark short story "Patience, Colorado" was his first non-humorous work. Other writers in the anthology include
Michael Thomas Ford
Michael Thomas Ford (born October 1, 1968) is an American author of primarily gay-themed literature. He is best known for his "My Queer Life" series of comedic essay collections and for his award-winning novels ''Last Summer'', ''Looking for It' ...
, Jeffrey Ricker, and ' Nathan Burgoine.
* ''Holy Rollers'' (2011), () -- Gay comic crime caper. The inept gay and lesbian criminals introduced in ''Straight Lies'' return. This time, their target is $7 million in "petty cash" hidden in a mega-church located in Northern Virginia, and their adversaries include a powerful preacher, scheming congressmen, and an extremely aggressive
Homeowner association
A homeowner association (or homeowners' association OA sometimes referred to as a property owners' association OA common interest development ID or homeowner community) is a private, Incorporation (business), legally-incorporated orga ...
.
* ''Strange Bedfellows'' (2012), () -- Gay comic crime caper. When a racy cellphone photo is used to blackmail a congressional candidate, his campaign manager hires the gang of gay and lesbian criminals to retrieve it.
* ''The Other Man: 21 Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, & Moving On'' (2013), () -- Essay. Byrnes's essay in the anthology, "A Brief History of the Divorce Party," details the breakup of a long-term relationship.
* ''Best Gay Romance 2014'' (2014), () -- Gay romance anthology. In "Carver Comes Home," a young man returns to his hometown to make amends for past lies.