Readers' Forum Friday

Naming the Husky!

Wow, I had no idea how many dog lovers, (or dog name lovers), there are who read the comic strip! I've been inundated with e-mails this past week with name suggestions for the new Siberian Husky. Which is so sweet... the snow dog seems to have captured a lot of folks' hearts!

I actually already had several names picked out, and even had some of my friends vote on which ones they liked. (And of course, my friends then passed along to me their own name suggestions! More to consider!). So, I'm going to share some with you now, a mixed bag of name suggestions that were e-mailed to me by readers, that were posted on the blog comments board, and that my friends here on Long Island suggested. Some highly imaginative, some a bit unexpected, some downright bizarre... but all greatly appreciated! (If you did send me one, and I happened to leave yours out here, I apologize... I've been trying to keep track of all these names, but I may have not saved all of the e-mails sent).

• "Kudo" from Ken
  
• "Minnesota" from Dave
• "Wolfgang" from Allan
• "Snowcone" from both Melissa and Eric
• "Sergei", also from Eric
• "Fjord" from Kevin
• "Bear" from Leihzel
• "Tangerine" from Gerry (this one I don't quite get!)
• "Lobo" from Charlie
• "Neo" from Ben
• "Nikita" from ?
• "Polar" from Tom
• "Gilgamesh" from Erin
  
• "Snowflake" from Griffin
• "Ice Cube", also from Griffin
• "Tundra", also from Griffin
• "Romeo" from Andy
• "Valentino", also from Andy
• "Blanket", also, jokingly, from Andy, (I think I'll let Michael Jackson keep that one, Andy!)
  
• "Elio" from ?
• "Nitro" from Glenn
• "Blizzard" from Pete
• "Avalanche" from Michael
• "Teemu" from Anne, (this is Norwegian... what it means, though, I'm not sure)
• "Snowball" from George
• "Nevada" from Steven
• "Jinx" from Louis
• "Gleek" from Isaac (perhaps if he was a Siberian Husky from another planet!)
• "Jordan" from Jordan (OK, that's one way of getting yourself into the comic strip!)
• "Pepper" from NH
• "Leif" from Shelly
• "Whitman" from Peter (I considered this myself, as a tribute to the poet whose hometown I happen to live in. Lots of things around here are named after Whitman. Walt Whitman High School, the Walt Whitman Mall, Walt Whitman Road, etc etc)
• "Bosley" from ?
• "Morgan Fairchild" from Tommy, (maybe if he were a drag queen Siberian Husky")
• "Dakota" from Jonelle

And, in a rather bizarre series of suggestions, the following three:

• "Pizza" from Jimmy
• "Lasagne" from ? (UPDATE: This one was also sent by Teresa, from below. Thanks for pointing that out to me, Teresa. Kinda hard keeping track of all these names!)
  
• "Manicotti" from Teresa

I'm not sure where the Italian food connection is coming from, but being partially Italian myself, (25%!), I can appreciate it!

Well, that is all for now. If you happen to have a name suggestion of your own, feel free to post it on the comments board, or e-mail it to me at kylesbnb@aol.com

And thank you to everyone for all of your kind words and comments... it's always a pleasure to hear from you. Have a great weekend!

Episode # 223 - January 29th, 2008

Hey, we're sorry.... this episode is no longer posted online. But you can see it in the third Kyle's B&B
book collection "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: Hot Off the Griddle".   (This is the first Kyle's B&B book
to feature FULL COLOR episodes!). By the way, if you prefer Kyle's B&B in black & white,
there is also a special black & white edition available of the third book, too!

Both are easily available to order on Amazon.  Just click on either of the banner links below to get there!


Additionally, if you want to see the strip from the very beginning, you can order the first two book collections,
"Kyle's Bed & Breakfast" and "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: A Second Bowl of Serial".
Both are also easily available from Amazon by clicking on the banner links below:




One more thing: if you're not already a fan of Kyle's B&B on Facebook, well.... you really ought to
be! It's a great way to keep up with the B&B guys between episodes, and get all sorts of fun pics
and interesting tidbits that don't make it here to the B&B website. Just click on the banner link
below, and click on "Like" when you get there. Don't be left out in the cold!

 Also, to follow Kyle's B&B on TWITTER, just click here: Follow @KyleComics



Also, be sure to check out the latest feature here at the B&B website.... Readers' Forum Friday, (see the 2 posts below). It's where readers get to write in & have their say, and ask me all kinds of questions about the strip, (no matter how off the wall you might think your question is. I like those kinds of questions! Well, usually...). Scroll down after you read this new episode, and maybe you'll have a question for this Friday's edition!

Readers' Forum Friday

TGIF, and another edition of Readers' Forum Friday! I’m happy to say that the latest episode, featuring the Siberian Husky guest star, has inspired a flood of e-mail. Many of which are offering name suggestions. Which is sweet & thoughtful, but…hey, folks, let’s wait and see if he’s actually going to be staying around first! (Uh-oh, I think that might inspire another flood….).

Randy S. of California implores me to increase the episodes to weekly, as opposed to every 2 weeks. This is something I’ve been asked quite a bit from readers over the past few years. Hey, I would love to, but schedule-wise, I don’t know if it would work. Most of the papers that print the strip are on a biweekly schedule, (some print even less frequently, monthly, or even bimonthly). It would make it harder for those publications to keep up with the storylines. And then, there’s the matter of my own schedule, and production time. Which has gotten more full now, with the strip going color starting in episode # 224. But, ultimately, weekly episodes are something I would like to do if possible at some point, so…. I’m not ruling it out. As always, stay tuned!

In regards to the growing number of residents at the B&B, I’ve gotten some mixed comments, largely positive. Most folks seem to like that Jeff Olsen is back, and T.N. of Baltimore, MD, urges me to have Nick move back in to the B&B full time. (T.N., he’s not too far away… the garage is only a 10 minute drive from the B&B!). But Peter of Phoenix, AZ thinks the supporting cast is too distracting, and would like everyone to move out, save for the “five stars”. (Even Dave, Peter? You can’t mean that!). And then there’s Rory of Fort Lauderdale, FL, who would like to see a reunion episode featuring EVERY guest who’s ever stayed at the B&B! (I don’t know if they’d all fit into one episode, Rory, but it would be interesting!).

Sam P. of Michigan and James of unknown origins both asked if I could show more of Eduardo’s nude figure drawing class modeling experiences. (It’ll happen, guys… just not sure when. But there’s definitely some storylines in the works). A. R. of Olympia, WA, wants to know if Jean-Pierre is still in Northport, or has he returned to France? (He’s still here, A.R.… living next door to the B&B, at Andrew & William’s house, working at an art gallery on Main Street in Northport, and also being a part-time nanny for Heath. I hope to show him soon).

Fred T. of Kansas City, MO wants to know the zodiac signs of all the B&B residents, and if possible, their exact birthdays, so he can do their charts. (That may take me a while to figure out, Fred, but I appreciate the interest, and the offer to do the charts. That’s really sweet! The only birthday I know of, at this point, is Brad’s, which I think is July 6th. Even that I’m going to have to check on to make sure. Eduardo’s is in December, but I don’t have the day. Everyone else? I think Kyle’s is in November. Sorry if I’m a bit vague on this, but in developing characters for the strip, I focus on their histories, personalities, geographic backgrounds…but for some reason, I haven’t really considered their birthdates. But perhaps I will from now on!).

Well, that’s all for now… thanks to everyone who wrote, and if I didn’t use your comment or question in this week’s edition, don’t worry… it’ll probably show up in an upcoming edition. I appreciate everyone who wrote, and by all means… keep those comments & questions coming. You can e-mail me at KylesBnB@aol.com

And please let me know how you’d like to be referred to in the column, as well as whether I can print your hometown. Stay tuned for a new episode of the strip, (the final one in black & white!), this coming Tuesday, and until then, enjoy the US Figure Skating Championships this weekend!

B&B seein’ ya’!

Readers' Forum Friday

Welcome to the second edition of Readers' Forum Friday! I got some tremendously positive feedback from readers on this new feature, and plenty of new questions & comments to address in this week's edition. I won't be able use all of the questions this week, but I will save them for future weeks. And please, by all means... keep those questions & comments coming. It's very cool! (Note to Bobby... yes, you were right about my grammatical error. I've changed the name of the feature from Reader's to Readers'. ).

Harold from London, (England, I'm assuming, although there is a London Ontario, and plenty of others, too), would like to know why none of the B&B characters have been married yet. Well, Harold... aside from the fact that gay marriage is still illegal in most of the USA, I don't think any of the characters feel they've reached that level of commitment yet. Except for Andrew & William, who live next door to the B&B, and probably would get married if it were legal. Perhaps there will be a commitment ceremony for them in the future?

Tom of Chicago, (is that a play on Tom of Finland?), wants the B&B guys to make a road trip to Chicago. Almost anything's possible, Tom... although it's not in the immediate plans. I do appreciate all of the loyal readers of the strip who see it in the Chicago Free Press, so... who knows? Stay tuned.

Speaking of road trips, several readers have asked if I've used that plane ticket to anywhere in the continental USA or Canada that I won in last summer's Lambda Legal cartoon contest. No, I haven't... I've been so busy, I haven't had time to travel anywhere, save for a quick weekend jaunt to Arlington, Vermont last October. Any suggestions on where I should go? I'm open to 'em. One slight downside of that prize I won, (and believe me, I'm not complaining here... I'm very grateful to Lambda Legal, and everyone who voted for me, for the win!), is that the prize is only a plane ticket... it doesn't cover lodging at all. So, wherever I do choose to go, I have to be concerned with lodging expenses. Who knows, maybe a gay B&B owner somewhere out there will invite me to come for a free visit! I'll keep you posted...

A reader simply known as "M" posted the following on last week's edition's comments: "I like it when you include details from Long Island. Are there gay B&Bs in Long Island proper or just in Fire Island? I would like to hear more about the community/town. What kind of people live there? What is their reaction, if any, to the B&B. Also, how is the couple who adopted a child doing?". Well, M, thanks for that. I actually don't know of any other gay B&Bs on Long Island, but I could be wrong. (I'm sure I'll hear now, if there are any). I do like to think that the town of Northport adds more than bit of character to the comic strip. What kind of people live here? Well, gosh... a whole range of folks, I suppose. Northport is a friendly town...despite being fairly close to New York City, it still has a smalltown feel. What is the reaction in the comic strip to the B&B? We haven't really seen much neighbor reaction, but... I would assume, at this point, they're pretty OK with it. Perhaps that will be explored in the future. And Andrew, William, & Heath, (who also happen to be next-door neighbors of the B&B), are doing fine. They show up in the strip as often as time, (and space) permits. William was seen most recently in the book group episode last summer; Andrew seems to be headed in an activist direction; and Heath & Brad are fast friends.

HKevyn, (no, that's not a misprint!), along with a whole lot of other readers, wants to know when the next volume of Kyle's B&B will be published. (Hopefully, in about a year.... I'm working on it!).

Finally, in light of the recent Siberian Husky appearance in the comic strip, Terese wants to know how my cat Ginger is doing. (She's fine... as much of a crazy green-eyed lynx as ever! Here's a pic of the wildcat, taken on January 2nd of this year. And no, that's not fat, that's just fluff. Her winter coat is thicker than ever this year, which seems to mean we're in for a cold, snowy winter. Click it to enlarge!):

Episode # 222 - January 15th, 2008

Hey, we're sorry.... this episode is no longer posted online. But you can see it in the third Kyle's B&B
book collection "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: Hot Off the Griddle".   (This is the first Kyle's B&B book
to feature FULL COLOR episodes!). By the way, if you prefer Kyle's B&B in black & white,
there is also a special black & white edition available of the third book, too!

Both are easily available to order on Amazon.  Just click on either of the banner links below to get there!


Additionally, if you want to see the strip from the very beginning, you can order the first two book collections,
"Kyle's Bed & Breakfast" and "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: A Second Bowl of Serial".
Both are also easily available from Amazon by clicking on the banner links below:




One more thing: if you're not already a fan of Kyle's B&B on Facebook, well.... you really ought to
be! It's a great way to keep up with the B&B guys between episodes, and get all sorts of fun pics
and interesting tidbits that don't make it here to the B&B website. Just click on the banner link
below, and click on "Like" when you get there. Don't be left out in the cold!

 Also, to follow Kyle's B&B on TWITTER, just click here: Follow @KyleComics

Reader's Forum Friday!!!

Welcome to a new feature here at Kyle's B&B ... I was actually going to call this "Reader's Question of the Week", or something like that, but I thought that "Reader's Forum Friday" would open it up a bit more, and enable me to develop the concept as it goes along.

In any case, I thought it might be fun to use this one day a week to answer several random reader's questions, as I tend to get a lot of e-mails asking me all sorts of things about the strip. This way, y'all can learn a little something about the strip each Friday you may not know yet! (Or you can correct me if I'm wrong!).

Because this is the first week I'm doing this, I figured I'd use 2 questions from several regular readers: Griffin, (a frequent commenter on this blog), and Sean Sullivan, (who also happens to live nearby here on Long Island). Sean, never having a lack of questions for me about the strip, was glad to provide the following question:

"Is Dave still residing at the B&B, or has he moved in with Nick yet? And is Breyer still living in the apartment over Nick's Garage, or has he moved back to the B&B to be with Kyle? And what is the current official lineup of residents at the B&B?".

OK, that's actually three questions, Sean, but who's counting? Here's the answers:
1. Dave is still at the B&B, (although I'm sure he spends a fair amount of overnights at Nick's).
2. Breyer is still in the apartment at Nick's Garage, (although I know he spends a lot of overnights at the B&B, to be with Kyle. And, as we've seen recently, Kyle spends some overnights at Breyer's apartment, too, as when he came across Breyer's hidden CD collection).
3. The current lineup of full-time residents at the B&B is: Kyle, Brad, Lance, Richard, Eduardo, Matt, Dave, and Jeff. Which still leaves 2 rooms vacant for short-term guests and new arrivals. I do have to say, though... this current lineup, 8 guys, may actually be the all-time high for full-time residents at the B&B.

And here's Griffin's more succinct question:
"What is Eduardo studying in college?"
He hasn't declared a major as of yet. I think his progress in college is going slowly, as he's not attending full-time, and he's been working lots of hours at his job at the Thatched Cottage, (a local, real-life, very gay friendly catering hall that is known for hosting many glittering, high-profile Long Island gay-community events, as well as a bunch of gay commitment ceremonies). And then, he's also doing a fair amount of modeling for figure drawing classes, which I believe, at this point, has become more than just being a "fill in" for Jean-Pierre.

Well, there you have it! If you'd like to have a question featured in an upcoming week's Reader's Forum Friday, just e-mail me at kylesbnb@aol.com with your question. Please put Reader's Forum Friday in the subject line of your e-mail, and also let me know in the e-mail how you'd like to be credited on the website, (full name, partial name, pseudonym), and whether or not I can publish your hometown and/or country.

Episode # 221 - January 1st, 2008

Hey, we're sorry.... this episode is no longer posted online. But you can see it in the third Kyle's B&B
book collection "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: Hot Off the Griddle".   (This is the first Kyle's B&B book
to feature FULL COLOR episodes!). By the way, if you prefer Kyle's B&B in black & white,
there is also a special black & white edition available of the third book, too!

Both are easily available to order on Amazon.  Just click on either of the banner links below to get there!


Additionally, if you want to see the strip from the very beginning, you can order the first two book collections,
"Kyle's Bed & Breakfast" and "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast: A Second Bowl of Serial".
Both are also easily available from Amazon by clicking on the banner links below:




One more thing: if you're not already a fan of Kyle's B&B on Facebook, well.... you really ought to
be! It's a great way to keep up with the B&B guys between episodes, and get all sorts of fun pics
and interesting tidbits that don't make it here to the B&B website. Just click on the banner link
below, and click on "Like" when you get there. Don't be left out in the cold!

 Also, to follow Kyle's B&B on TWITTER, just click here: Follow @KyleComics






A New Year, a new day, and a new episode of Kyle's B&B to start the year off right! I hope you had a happy & safe New Year's celebration, and I wish you all the best in 2008. There are some exciting things coming in 2008 for Kyle's B&B... including the fact that starting with Episode # 224, (only 3 episodes away!), Kyle's B&B will officially go FULL COLOR!!! (But don't worry... if you prefer the black & white version of the strip, I will continue posting those, too, in addition to the color ones).

I'm so glad you were able to stop by and start off 2008 with your friends at Kyle's B&B!