Episode 178: What is love and friendship? – Tom Conner - a podcast by Rick Clemons - Bold Move Expert & Coming Out Coach

Remember when you were 11 years old? Or maybe not. But for most of us, those younger years were filled with admiration towards older siblings or friends, especially when life gets rough. Add to it, the confusion of pre-adolescence and the stirrings of “Who am I?” and you’ve got the making of a typical made for TV movie…or a at least a great novel. In this case the novel is Goodbye, Saturday Night.
Author Thomas Conner steps into the Coming Out Lounge to share his passion for writing, love of his LGBTQ community, and the story behind the story of Goodbye, Saturday Night.
Show Highlights

* Not being able to identify with anyone led to struggle for this guest
* Writing his book was his “final come out”
* Why Tom felt he needed to develop a macho man character over the years
* The word “queer” will never sit well with him…
* Be patient with yourself  – when you’re comfortable you will come out!

Connect with Tom Conner
Thomas Conner, also known as Tom, Tommy, and TC by friends and family, was born in Florida two miles from the Alabama state line. He spent most of his early years living on the Alabama side. He graduated from the University of West Florida in Pensacola with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities. Conner wrote his first novel when he was 12 (which burned in a house fire) and has been writing ever since. He published a family history book in 2000 entitled The Conners of Conecuh County, Alabama, and has published several articles.
Since 1980 he has resided in Central California’s Big Valley, where he has worked in higher education at a prestigious private university in Student Life. He served four years as the university’s staff advisor to Pride Alliance, the campus LGBT community. When not writing or working his daytime job, Conner is involved with classic movies, serving on a classic cinema committee and promoting a summer classic movie series.
About Goodbye, Saturday Night
A Southern story of love and friendship, of betrayal and redemption. It’s early May in 1956 in the small South Alabama town of Farmington and eleven-year-old Bobby Crosby’s life is about to change forever. He’s still anguishing over the death of his father even though it’s been five years and he’s come to despise the life centered around his mother’s cafe, a place that becomes the revelrous hot spot of the community when the sun goes down. Bobby escapes his real world by going to the movies every night. There, sitting alone in the dark, he leaves Farmington far behind and melts into the world of the silver screen. Bobby’s best friend is Hucker Nolan, a twenty-two-year-old drop-out from the swamps across the tracks who drives a taxicab in the daytime and works concession at the movie theater at night. Now, Bobby’s world seems to be collapsing and there’s nothing he can do to stop it; his mother has a boyfriend Bobby deeply resents and his feelings for Hucker are confusing and ever changing, often filled with anger and jealousy Bobby doesn’t understand. Then, the worst thing possible happens— Bobby is betrayed by the one person he trusts the most.
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