The theme of your novel — based on a real-life mysterious kid no one remembers who probably wasn't murdered, yet your idea of him meant something to you — reminds me of a couple other books that have affected me.

One is The Long Hallway by Richard Scott Larson, a memoir of growing up as a gay kid, incorporating a memory of a murdered girl he hardly knew, about which I wrote for Prism & Pen.

Another — though it's not a gay story, I feel it relates to your theme — is Certain and Impossible Events by Candace Jane Opper, her memoir of a kid she had admired from a distance who died by suicide when they were young teens. She talks about what her idea of him meant to her.

I recommend both those books.

Please do remind us when your novel, Hollywood Pride, comes out in just a few short weeks!