The Mitch Rapps and John Coreys who inhabit the international thrillers written by such authors as Ian Fleming, Vince Flynn, and Tom Clancy, are tough, virile, and patriotic as only straight men can be, or so we are expected to believe. In the event a gay character appears, they are depicted as twisted, pathetic creatures exemplified by the villain, Silva, 007’s nemesis in Skyfall. In a word, they are characterized as faggots. Vince Flynn actually uses this word to describe gay men in his writing. Enter, Bryce Tyconnel and Isaac Townsend. These charismatic, principled, formidable, family oriented, Roman Catholics are patriots in the finest sense of the word. Indeed, Bryce Tyconnel is a highly decorated veteran of the 2nd Iraq War. In Pride of Lions, Bryce and Isaac not only eliminate enemies of the state, they also deliver a body blow to the myth that gay men and women can’t hang in the arena of Black Ops. Although fictional characters, they represent the countless LGBT men and women who have proudly served the United States of America from day one. Pride of Lions is the second volume in the Adventures of Bryce Tyconnel series, following the 2013 Lambda Literary Foundation Erotic Romance Finalist, Soldier Boy. The author, Thomas L. Marshall, is a Vietnam War Era veteran and can be found on Facebook. ( )