Attack leaves gay auther near death.

Gay writer and literary agent Robert Drake, 36, could be a character from one of his own novels. Drake, who penned a novel about a gay man's response to his partner's murder in a hate crime, is battling for his life in a Dublin hospital after being severely beaten in his own kitchen. Drake had recently moved to Sligo, Ireland, to research a novel he was writing. On the night of January 30, he apparently invited two men he met in a pub back to his apartment after closing time. In the course of the evening, the men found out Drake was gay and beat him nearly to death. Doctors believe that if Drake survives, he will likely suffer permanent brain damage.

Ian Monaghan, 21, and Glen Mahon, 22, were arrested and charged February 24 with the attack. The two reportedly are claiming that Drake made a sexual pass at one of them. But Drake's close friends say that would be out of character. "Robert isn't the kind of guy to pick up two thugs, take them home with him, and put himself in that kind of peril for sex," said Rawley Grau, a friend of Drake's from Baltimore.

Scott Pretorius, a doctor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Drake's estranged lover, has flown to Dublin and is trying to arrange for Drake to be airlifted back to the United States. Paula Langguth Ryan, editor of the Baltimore Alternative and a longtime friend of Drake's, says that depending on what can be negotiated with airlines, Drake needs between $10,000 and $40,000 to be transported back to Philadelphia, where he was living before he moved to Ireland. More than $14,000 has been donated so far, and she hopes several thousand dollars more will be collected at planned fund-raisers. Donations may be sent to the Robert Drake Fund, c/o the Baltimore Alternative, P.O. Box 2351, Baltimore, MD 21203. Go to http://www.advocate.com for updates on Drake's condition.