Grab Bag 20 is an eighteen-story collection in habu’s eclectic anthology series of active gay male life and tribulations short stories. These stories, presented in the order in which they were written, were composed during the fall of 2019 into the spring of 2020. Half of these stories—nine of them—are “now” timeframe stories set in the United States. Habu is a student of history, who writes historical stories as well under the pen name of Dirk Hessian, and six of the stories in this collection are historical, using settings ranging from ancient Rome, to late nineteenth-century United States, to the 1920s in China. Habu is also well traveled, and seven of the stories are set outside of the United States, from Bermuda to the UK, Italy, and Cyprus, and on to Bangkok and China.Most of the stories are set in the United States, though, and most are set on the East Coast, from Boston down to Jacksonville, Florida. One is set in New Orleans and one in Los Angeles. Several of the stories were written for writing contests conducted during the collection period. These include “Forever Young” (Halloween)l “Smokescreen,” “The Hazing,” and “Chinese Takeout” (all for a short short contest); “Blind Date Foolery” and “Played for a Fool in Kibris” (April Fools’ Day); “4-Way Nude Capitulation” (National Nude Day); and “Summer Course Correction” (Summer Lovin’).All of the stories are set in a hedonist world where being actively gay and on the make is the norm and rough sex is sometimes the goal and the fulfillment, and we hope readers enjoy them with this in mind.
