Hey, I'm Jeffrey Masters, and today on LGBTQ and A, I'm talking to Alexander Chi.

Alexander is the author of the new essay collection called How to Write an Autobiographical

Novel, and we talk about that, about being a professional gay writer, as Alexander calls it,

how that's affected his career or not, and then also has

experienced living in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic, and how what that period in time

felt like feels very similar to what we're going through now. So all that's coming up. Before we get

to it, though, if you like the interview, please subscribe. Subscribing, ranking as five stars,

leaving a comment on iTunes is one of the biggest

ways you can help new people find our show. So big thank you for that. And then as always,

don't forget to check out our old home at AfterBuzz TV. They are the number one place for all

your TV after show discussions. All right, without further ado, here's the interview.

Thank you. or show discussions. All right, without further ado, here's the interview. You know, it's possibly generational with how things have changed, but one of the things in

your writing that it brought up for me were the feelings of when you're young in the closet,

even just the possibility of someone else being gay

can consume your entire thoughts. And for me, it's like every waking moment. Right, right.

I was thinking about this actually in the context of Love Simon, actually, where I was watching it

and thinking, wow, things are so different. And yet also not, you know.

There was nobody liked that exactly at my high school when I was thinking about coming out.

But there was this kind of stunningly beautiful but also very effeminate queer punk named Brandon, I remember, who I was obsessed with and also

afraid of at the same time because I was so afraid of how much of a target he was.

And even then, at that point in my life,

kids were already calling me faggot and making fun of me.

...