Unable to return home and looking to survive, Joey joins of a troupe of runaway teens.   The young men survive by selling drugs and themselves to the Johns and addicts of the gay community.  Surrounded by prostitutes, drug dealers, and killers it becomes increasingly difficult for Joey to see the differences between happiness and the simple cessation of pain.  In this wild decadent world the price Joey paid to be a part of the troupe was pieces of his humanity.  Buying acceptance and love with acts of depravity to ‘fit in’ he would eventually lose sight of what he ran away from.  In the dark, lost and confused, he would drive right into the arms evil, but hope would come from an unexpected place.

The predators and peers that victimized him never understood what they were taking.  For every bit of his soul they consumed they gained back a little of theirs.  In pretending to be his friend they truly became friends.  When Joey is taken by a child killer the troupe decides to come together and save him.  When forced to see themselves for what they are it shatters the bonds that had been holding them in place. Not everyone is able to live with what they have done and only four of the five boys survive to the other side of the rainbow and home.

Crybaby Queer explores the path of the monster, when victim turns to predator. It is The Wizard of Oz meets Dante’s Inferno, as the main protagonist travels through a strange and wild land to find his way back home.  Joey, Dorothy, and Dante all start out as victims, but unlike the classic tales, Joey chooses to embrace the wild world.  No supernatural benefactor can come to his aid.  There are no wizards in the Castro to guide him home.  It is love, in all its varied forms, that protects and guides him through his journey.  Joey doesn’t walk into the darkness because it's dark.  He walks in to find those lonely flickers of light that, when gathered, are more than the sum of their parts.

Gay Fiction Novel written by Jo Vasquez  and developed by ICHRONstudio.