Since marriage became a reality for the LGBTQ+ community, there have been some of the most creative marriage proposals, some of which have been covered here. There was the storm chaser meteorologist who proposed to his boyfriend in front of a tornado. There was also The Voice Australia contestant that proposed to his man after singing during the blind audition round. Additionally, who could forget gay YouTubers Jakub and Dawid who staged 100 different proposals in Poland?
Author and playwright Byron Lane proposed to his boyfriend, Steven Rowley, author of the 2019 book, The Editor, in a creative way that is fitting for both men: writing it in a book.
Lane’s debut novel, A Star Is Bored, is a fiction novel based on his own life as a personal assistant to Carrie Fisher and is released on July 28th.
Lane explained how he came up with the idea for the proposal:
“We’ve been together seven years and had discussed marriage now and again, so we kind of knew that’s where we were headed — but neither of us had pulled the trigger on asking THE QUESTION. With my first book coming out, I figured, what a fun way to beat Steven to the punch. Of course, I was worried it could be cheesy, or a disaster if he had a change of heart and said no. Plus, it was a last-minute decision! Advanced copies had already been printed when I called my editor and asked if I could add a few words to the final book and he was like, “What? What words?!” But he was so excited for me and that’s when I became super nervous because once it’s in print — it’s real! If Steven said “no”, the proposal would still be in every copy of the book in every bookstore, every Kindle, every audiobook! Eventually, the hardcovers were printed, they rushed one out to me, I showed Steven under the guise of “Hey! Look! What do you think of this?!” His jaw dropped and he said yes right away and we’ve been a bit giddy ever since. Now our proposal is in the Library of Congress and so I win.”
Rowley put up this post on his Twitter page on Sunday.
I thought I had read A STAR IS BORED from cover to cover, but @byronlane added three last minute words to the acknowledgements. Reader, I said YES. pic.twitter.com/MtbT76oAlG
— Steven Rowley (@mrstevenrowley) July 19, 2020
Lane then followed up retweeting Rowley’s tweet affirming Rowley’s answer.
HE SAID YES! ❤️ https://t.co/qhfe949jhs
— Byron Lane (@byronlane) July 19, 2020
Rowley detailed his reaction to the proposal:
“I was absolutely surprised! As I writer myself, I always read the author’s acknowledgments — I think they can often be very illuminating. But this was the ultimate REVEAL. Five or so years ago flash mob proposals seemed to be a trend. We promised never to do… that. That sort of spectacle, while fun for YouTube, didn’t really feel like us. This proposal is the right combination of public declaration and private sentiment and fits perfectly like the engagement rings he selected. I am about to write the acknowledgments for my third novel, The Guncle (out Spring 2021), and I’m suddenly suffering from writer’s block. How do you top that?”
Lane’s literary proposal to Rowley prompted some enthusiastic responses.
I tweeted my own response to Lane’s proposal (which both he and Rowley liked) and Rowley responded with his insight.
Congratulations to Byron and Steven on their engagement!
To find out more about Byron and Steven and their respective books, you can go to their websites, which the links are embedded in their names.
What do think of Byron’s proposal to Steven? Let us know in the comments or on our social media accounts.
Sources: Steven Rowley Official Twitter Page, Byron Lane Official Twitter Page,
