Courtesy Of Tom Of Finland

Three-time Lambda Literary Award winner Michael Thomas Ford is comfortable writing in many genres, including literary fiction, comedy and erotica. He is the author of the best-selling man-man sex manual, Ultimate Gay Sex, and he has written many stories for magazines and collections of erotica under the name Tom Caffrey. Last year, Kensington published Tangled Sheets, a volume of his Tom Caffrey stories, for the first time under the name Michael Thomas Ford.

In June 2007, Ford will launch his biggest - and, he says, most exciting - project to date. Dollaraword.comis a Web site built around a unique concept: Ford will write a novel in real time as sponsors donate $1 a word.

"The idea is to get people to think about what art is worth to them," says the 39-year-old Ford, who has published more than 50 books in his 20-year career.

"It occurred to me that without the help of patrons, we wouldn't have things like Don Giovanni or the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel," he explains. "We tend to forget that, historically, artists have not received the bulk of their financial support from sales, but from individuals who believe in what they're doing."

Dollaraword.com will focus on the question of what people will pay to support art. Ford will write one word in real time for every dollar that sponsors contribute. He expects the primary sponsors to be businesses, which will receive advertising space of various sizes and prominence in exchange for sponsorship. In addition, sponsors at higher levels will receive signed first edition copies of the book and, for the right price, the opportunity to appear in one of Ford's upcoming novels as a character.

As sponsorships come in, Ford will write the novel and post it online, stopping mid-sentence if necessary when sponsorship dollars run out, until a new sponsor contributes.

So far, the story is a secret, but Ford says, "It's a contemporary thriller. I want to write something that will appeal to a wide range of people. Also, it's a nice break from what I usually write."

His goal is to raise $150,000. When the resulting book is sold to a publisher, an amount equal to the amount of the sponsorships will be donated to the PEN American Center's Writers' Fund, which provides grants to writers (particularly those living with HIV) in financial crisis.

"Obviously, the site is a way for me to draw attention to my own work," Ford says. "But I want it to have value beyond that. In addition to starting a discussion about the value of art and the difficulty artists have in sustaining their work, this will provide concrete financial support to many other artists. Sponsors will receive a lot of publicity for themselves at bargain prices, so everybody wins."

There are a dozen sponsors already, even before the site launches. They include superstar clothing designers the Nice Collective, Nancy Boy bath products, DIAKADI Body personal gym, and the San Francisco Fog rugby football club, as well as individual artists and several nonprofits.

To jumpstart the site, Ford will auction an original, signed Tom of Finland sketch on eBay. (see sidebar). And while he waits to begin work on the novel, he's deep into his next book for gay readers. Dollaraword.com launches on June 1. In the meantime, you can find out more about Ford and his work at www.michaelthomasford.com.


SIDEBAR

Tom of Finland's style is unmistakable for its stylized hot men in lusty action. Since Tom's death in 1991, examples of his original art have become increasingly scarce, as collectors of erotic art have eagerly snapped them up. To launch his new website, dollaraword.com, Michael Thomas Ford will offer for auction on eBay an original, signed TOF sketch from his personal collection.

"I think this piece is absolutely amazing," Ford says of the pencil sketch, which measures 8x11 inches and is matted and mounted in a museum quality black frame. "Because it's unfinished, it shows how Tom painstakingly created his scenes."

The central figure of the sketch is Tom's ubiquitous Leatherman. While he is fully rendered, four other men in the picture are drawn in various stages of completion. A disembodied hand grips the Leatherman's impressive cock.

"Tom clearly had an idea of what he wanted there, but he didn't get to finish it," Ford says. "To me it represents pure erotic energy. The whole scene is incredibly hot."

As for the auction, Ford days, "The buyer will get a thank-you in the resulting book. And if someone pays $5000 or more for the piece, I will make a person of their choosing a character in either this book (which is not gay-themed) or in my next gay-themed one. Of course, signed copies of any of my books can also be sent to buyers as thank-yous. I'm also not above attending a dinner party if a buyer finds that idea amusing."

The sketch, which was displayed in a show at the Western Project, the official gallery of the Tom of Finland Foundation, bears Tom's distinctive signature. The one-week auction begins on eBay on June 1. A search for "Tom of Finland Original Pencil Sketch" will take you to it. The sketch has been appraised at $5000 to $6000.

Bookmarks

RSS   |    Email This Page   |    Print This Page

Recommend It:

Not at All Somewhat Moderately Highly Very Highly

2 Votes total votes