Author Interview: The Gay Icon’s Guide to Life by Michael Joosten & Illustrated by Peter Emmerich

A book that took four years to create, we can finally welcome The Gay Icon’s Guide to Life by Michael Joosten & Illustrated by Peter Emmerich to the world! Today we are sharing an interview with the author and we implore you to pick up this gorgeously illustrated book full of queer icons and advice!

The Gay Icon's Guide to Life

by Michael Joosten, Peter Emmerich
Published by: Weldon Owen
on April 2, 2024
Genres: LGBTQIA+, Non-Fiction
Bookshop
Goodreads

The world's most famous gay icons share everything you need to know about life in this bright and lively illustrated book of pithy preambles and indispensable quotes from Liza to Lil Nas X.

If life had its own GPS system, navigating it would be a far less stressful slog. Alas, we suffer this pothole-filled dirt road alone… guideless. Thankfully, there’s one thing more knowledgeable and dependable than a GPS, and that’s a Gay Icon!

From Beyonce to Betty White, and RuPaul to David Bowie, no one understands the highs and lows, loves and losses quite like a gay icon. Featuring inspiring and entertaining quotes and dynamic illustrations of the icons who said them, you'll find these musings priceless, refreshing, and relatable... even if they're coming from Oscar-winners, music legends, and fashion royalty.

MORE THAN 70 ICONS are featured in this all-star collection of quotes and illustrations, including Judy Garland, Madonna, Cher, Ariana Grande, Billy Porter, Bowen Yang, and Leslie Jordan.

ACCLAIMED ARTIST: Peter Emmerich has worked with such clients as Dreamworks and The Walt Disney Company, and provides his signature style to the illustrations in The Gay Icon’s Guide to Life.

PITHY PREAMBLES: Michael Joosten, the author of My Two Moms and Me and Pride 1 2 3, provides hilarious context to each of the icons’ impactful quotes.

Author Interview: Michael Joosten

1. Where did the idea for The Gay Icon’s Guide to Life come from? Who was the first icon that came to mind?

It was actually in a group text that three other friends and I are in (called SHADY PINES in tribute to the Golden Girls). My friend, Ricky, mentioned a quote from Cher, and I thought, “hmmmmmm – that’s good advice.” Then I did a bit of research to be sure there wasn’t a book exactly like this already out – and in my looking – I didn’t come across one that was framed in this way. Then everything spun out from there. And no doubt about it . . . Madonna was my very first Icon I wanted in the book. I feel like I owe a lot to her (and with the price of her concert tickets – that I happily throw money at – she’s definitely seeing a return on her investment).

2. How was writing this book different than the other books you’ve written?

Writing this book was different from all my others, first and foremost, because it wasn’t a children’s book. I had the leeway to use the part of my sense of humor that I’d never put in a children’s book. I feel like it truly encapsulates my voice, in that, people that know me who read it will definitely say, “That is such a Michael thing to say.” As for people that don’t know me, hopefully they’ll feel like I’m a friend by the last page.

3. When researching the icons you chose, did you come across anything that surprised you?

I can’t say anything took me by surprise in terms of the quotes, but I certainly didn’t expect that in whittling down the list, I’d have to get so granular. I was literally texting my friends having to play some form of America’s Next Top Model with these astonishing talents and personalities that were all worthy of being in the book. It was very much me asking friends, “What would piss you off more? Not seeing Icon 1, 2, or 3?” There’s a particular one that I always think of who got the chop, and I’m just grateful the friend who adores her the most is still speaking to me. Also, the potential Icon definitely wouldn’t have taken it to heart. She’s far too – refreshingly so – no frills.”

About the Author Michael Joosten

Writer and editor Michael Joosten is the author of such titles as My Two Moms and Me, My Two Dads and Me, Pride 1 2 3, #baby, Mom Hugs, My Little Golden Book About Airplanes, and My Little Golden Book About Construction Vehicles. He currently lives in New York City where he attempts to put into practice the wise words of the Gay Icons featured in this work.

About the Illustrator Peter Emmerich

Peter Emmerich is the illustrator of A Is for Audra: Broadway’s Leading Ladies from A to Z, B Is for Broadway: Onstage and Backstage from A to Z, and It’s Raining Tacos. He has worked with DreamWorks and the Walt Disney Company, for which he illustrated the U.S. Postal Service’s “Art of Disney” stamp series. 

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