Author Celia Laskey is thrilled for her third published novel, Cover Story, to hit shelves on March 25. Centering a Queer Hollywood star and a publicist tasked with keeping her closeted, the book explores the complexities of coming out as a celebrity.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with closeted celebrities," Laskey told the SGN.

Living in Los Angeles, Laskey often discusses theories about which celebrities are closeted. While she understands the pressure many in the spotlight face to hide their sexual orientations, it's something she could never do — in part because she has already spent enough of her life in the closet.

"I was so closeted that I was even closeted to myself for those first 23 years of my life," she said. "If there were some career that required me to do that, I just wouldn't... It is easy for me to sit here and say that, not being in that position ... I can't imagine what that must feel like to be in the position of choosing to be able to be your authentic self or choosing your career, and [not being able to] have both. It must just be so heart-wrenching."

Laskey's first draft of Cover Story drew from her perspective and the unabashedly Queer celebrities she admires, like Elliot Page and Kristen Stewart. Publishers loved the concept, but they had one request.

"When my agent and I were first trying to sell this book, it was set in the modern day. The feedback we were getting from all the publishers was, 'No one's closeted anymore — this isn't believable,'" Laskey said. "That made me want to explode into a ball of fire, because if there's one thing I could shout from the rooftops with the publication of this book, it's that there are so many celebrities that are still closeted."

Laskey and her agent struck a deal after they adjusted the book's timeline to 2005, when celebrity culture was at the top of everyone's mind, and nearly nobody (except Ellen DeGeneres) dared to come out in public.

Despite the book's revised setting, Laskey hopes readers understand the clear message about being publicly out.

"We are not as far along with LGBTQ equality as people would like to believe," she said. "We are not where many people want to believe we are as a society in terms of acceptance."

Throughout the hijinks and romance, Cover Story holds a central theme, reminding readers that just because someone lives in the public eye, it doesn't mean everyone knows the depths of their personal lives. For Queer readers, it also serves as a reminder that there are more of us out there than we realize.