If you put together a syllabus for How to Be a Better Boyfriend 101, what readings would you include? Following a vote from our members...

Our October book is The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver!

Bestselling and award-winning author Mason Deaver’s adult romance debut follows a journalist in a dead-end job who agrees to teach his disastrous blind date how to be a better boyfriend. Readers will delight in this sweet and steamy queer romance with trans representation!

Eli Francis is stuck. Stuck in an assistant position at the online magazine Vent when he should be a writer. Stuck with a boss who dangles a promotion but would rather he just fetch the coffee. Stuck working alongside the ex who has had no trouble moving up at work…or moving on.

When Eli’s roommates push him to date so he can get over his ex once and for all, they set him up with Peter Park. Tall, handsome, and unbelievably awkward. The date is a complete disaster, and further proof to Eli that love isn’t for him. But when his boss overhears Eli recounting the catastrophic night, he suggests teaching Peter to be a better boyfriend through a series of simulated dates so he can write an article about it.

But Eli has other ideas…Eli plays along, pretending to write the article, while secretly interviewing Peter about growing up queer in the South and coming-of-age dating wise in adulthood. Eli hopes writing this sort of piece will finally get him the promotion he deserves. And in exchange, he will teach Peter how to be a better boyfriend.

But the more time Eli spends with Peter, the closer they become, and the lines between what’s real and what’s fake begin to blur. Before long Eli is forced to face his greatest fears to become the writer he wants to be and secure the love he’s always needed. 

Mason Deaver* is the bestselling and award-winning author of young adult books like I Wish You All the Best, an NPR Concierge pick with a movie adaptation; and The Feeling of Falling in Love, which earned a starred review from BookPage. The Build-a-Boyfriend Project was their adult romance debut. Born and raised in a small town in North Carolina, Mason now calls San Francisco home, with three feline roommates.

*Don't miss our interview with Deaver, exclusive to Fat Forward Books subscribers!

Fat Forward Book Club will meet Friday, October 17 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT to discuss The Build-a-Boyfriend Project in the community Discord!

Meeting on the third Friday of every month at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT via Discord, Fat Forward Book Club will read and discuss a variety of books by fat authors, about fat experiences, and/or featuring fat characters based on votes from Bindery subscribers. We'll explore books across multiple genres and target audiences/age groups to discuss depictions of fatness in fiction and nonfiction, as well as how perceptions of fatness in the book world have changed or stayed the same in recent years.

All subscribers are invited to participate in monthly book club discussions! They can also vote on each month's book club pick and to suggest future titles for consideration, among other additional perks. Please see the membership tab for details!

If you're not already following this Bindery Page, please click the link in the top right corner to sign up! It's free, easy, and takes just a few seconds. Every community member helps us reach our goal of creating a fat-focused publishing imprint.

Once you subscribe, don't forget to register for the Fat Forward Books Discord server for bookish discussion all day, every day, and for our monthly book club meetings!