Showing Hot Off the Presses by Elliott Mackle

As editor of a gay newspaper, Henry Thompson thought he had enough problems dealing with the conservative, old-money owners and the cor-rupt mayor of Atlanta—an evangelical clergyman who denies that African-American men are at risk with AIDS and sees no benefit in accepting federal safe-sex-education funds just months before welcoming the world for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

Henry lost his lover to AIDS and sees the casual sex happening in the community as almost criminal and certainly lethal. He relies on a good friend’s skilled Tantric massages to release the tension in his life and raise his spirits.Then, while taking in a good, voyeuristic sweat at a men’s-club steam room, Henry finds himself in a tryst with a handsome local athlete.
What happens to a crusading journalist when he finds himself falling for a closeted gymnast favored to win gold medals at the upcoming Olympics? When CNN and Sports Illustrated hound him in their never-ending demand for sensationalism that threatens careers? Henry must fi nd the answer to moral dilemmas: integrity versus propriety; passion versus restraint.

Author Elliott Mackle, himself a former journalist, offers readers a glimpse back to a remarkable era and events in the life of the Gay South