Rupert Smith (born 1960) is an American-born English author and journalist. Smith has written novels and biographies under his birth name, and is also known for his gay erotica genre novels. These novels are published under the pen name James Lear. A third name, Rupert James, is used for books aimed at a female audience. To date, these three pen names, which respectively cover mainstream,

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

, and

women's fiction Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women centered books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers, and includes many mainstream novels or women's rights books. It is distinct from women's writing, which refers ...

, neatly categorise and encompass all of his literary output. Under his birth name, Smith has written novels inspired by his more than twenty years experience in

entertainment journalism Entertainment journalism is any form of journalism that focuses on popular culture and the entertainment business and its products. Like fashion journalism, entertainment journalism covers industry-specific news while targeting general audiences bey ...

. These comprise his first three novels, ''I Must Confess'', ''Fly on the Wall'', and ''Service Wash'', the latter inspired by the author's time working with a soap opera, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', on its 20th-anniversary book. His fourth novel, ''Man's World'', was about two gay men living fifty years apart in London, where each explores the "scene" of his time. In 2013 he wrote ''Grim'', a

horror novel Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. ...

, and the following year a female-led

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

story, ''Interlude''. The author's first book, ''Man Enough to be a Woman'' was a collaborative memoir of the singer/performer/artist

Jayne County Wayne Rogers (born July 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), ...

. ''Physique'' was a collaborative memoir of the gay photographer John S. Barrington. The Lear novels include

Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

s, such as ''The Palace of Varieties'' (about a man's introduction to the secret gay scene of 1930s London), and Golden Age detective stories, viz: his Mitch Mitchell series, about an American at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. These books are often praised for their historical detail. The Lear name is also attached to a contemporary

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

series about Dan Stagg, a victim of America's now-defunct

Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...

policy. Lear novels feature handsome, muscular, and happily promiscuous young men. Each story has frequent, graphic gay sex. Their titles tend to be

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...

s, like ''A Sticky End'' and ''The Hardest Thing''.

Bibliography

As Rupert Smith

Biographies *''

: Man Enough to Be a Woman'' (1996, second edition 2021) *''Physique: The Life of John S. Barrington'' (1997) - written collaboratively with Barrington Novels *''I Must Confess'' (1998) *''Fly on the Wall'' (2002) *''Service Wash'' (2003) *''Man's World'' (2010) *''Grim'' (2013) *''Interlude'' (2014)

As James Lear

*''Hot Valley'' (2007) *''The Palace of Varieties'' (2008) *''The Low Road'' (2009) Mitch Mitchell series *''The Back Passage'' (2006) *''The Secret Tunnel'' (2008) *''A Sticky End'' (2010) *''The Sun Goes Down'' (2016) Dan Stagg series *''The Hardest Thing'' (2013) *''Straight Up'' (2015) *''In the Ring'' (2018)

As Rupert James

*''Stepsisters'' (2010) *''Silk'' (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Rupert Living people English male novelists British gay writers English erotica writers English mystery writers Entertainment journalists English LGBT writers 1960 births