It’s finally here! My very first stand-alone work, Between the Lines, is out. It’s hard to believe – it’s been a long time coming.
I wrote my first story in fourth or fifth grade. by high school, I was working on a novel, and was sure that I was gonna be the next big thing in Fantasy and Sci Fi.
Then a bunch of rejections, a coming out, and life in general intervened.
Years went by.
In my twenties, I tried again. And quit.
In my thirties I tried yet again. And quit.
But some people always believed in me. My Mom asked me when I would start writing again. And when I complained that life’s events had once again intervened to stop me, my husband Mark said “the only thing stopping you from writing is you.”
So I tackled it again. But this time was different.
This time, I did it for myself, not for fame or money.
This time, I had more life experience under my belt.
This time, I got published.
It started small… a short story, plucked out of obscurity by the amazing BG Thomas and Anne Regan at Dreamspinner.
Then I sold another short. And another. And another.
And then a novella. And then two.
Now, here I am, sitting next to my husband on a flight to Rainbow Con. My first novella is out, just in time for the conference. And the second one comes out in two weeks.
It’s an amazing time. Something I’ve always dreamed up is happening, and I can hardly believe it.
And I can’t wait to see what comes next.
You can get Between the Lines for 25% off at Dreamspinner using the Rainbow Con code: BTLRC
About the Story
Brad Weston’s life seems perfect. He’s GQ handsome, the Chief of Staff for a Republican California State Senator, and enjoys the power and the promise of a bright future. And he’s in a comfortable relationship with his boyfriend of six years, Alex.
Sam Fuller is Brad’s young, blond, blue-eyed intern, fresh out of college, running from a bad break-up, and questioning his choices and his new life in politics. To make things worse, Sam also has a thing for the boss, but Brad is already taken.
While looking for a gift for his boyfriend, Brad wanders into a curiosity shop and becomes fascinated by an old wooden medallion. Brad’s not a superstitious man, but when he takes out the medallion in his office, he sees the world in a new light. And nothing will ever be the same.
Excerpt
It began with a medallion.
The piece was a simple wooden disk, hand carved with the shapes of leaves and forest boughs and polished by centuries of use, giving it a patina of great age.
It sat upon a small green velvet pillow—the kind jewelers sometimes use, rather unsuccessfully, to enhance a plain necklace of false pearls. The kind you might expect to find on your grandmother’s settee, in a slightly larger size, embroidered with “Home Sweet Home.”
Yet there was something compulsive about it—something hidden in the dark crevices of the carving, filled with the dust of ages.
At least that’s what Brad would recall years later, when he thought back on the first time he saw it: the moment when the lines of his mundane life suddenly snarled, snapped, and ultimately recombined into something quite different.
Of course, he didn’t know any of this at the time.
Buy Links
Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6645
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/between-the-lines-47
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-the-lines-j-scott-coatsworth/1122268217?ean=2940151053341
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-betweenthelines-1840887-143.html
Author Bio
Scott has been writing since elementary school, when he and won a University of Arizona writing contest in 4th grade for his first sci fi story (with illustrations!). He finished his first novel in his mid twenties, but after seeing it rejected by ten publishers, he gave up on writing for a while.
Over the ensuing years, he came back to it periodically, but it never stuck. Then one day, he was complaining to Mark, his husband, early last year about how he had been derailed yet again by the death of a family member, and Mark said to him “the only one stopping you from writing is you.”
Since then, Scott has gone back to writing in a big way, finishing more than a dozen short stories – some new, some that he had started years before – and seeing his first sale. He’s embarking on a new trilogy, and also runs the Queer Sci Fi (http://www.queerscifi.com) site, a support group for writers of gay sci fi, fantasy, and supernatural fiction.
Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25794754-between-the-lines