Hey all,
I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this week. I’m a strange and mysterious member of the human race, and there are a number of things you probably don’t know about me. Pictured: Me and my mom, circa 1982-83.
So here it goes:
1) My First Book: My first fiction publication was the story “The Bear at the Bar”, published in 2014 by Dreamspinner in the “A Taste of Honey” anthology. But I was actually published originally in 1986 in the book “Raising Each Other,” a non-fiction title for teens and parents.
2) In the Band: In High School, I was a total band geek. I played the flute for my first two years, and was a part of the Canyon del Oro marching band when they won a Superior rating at the University of Arizona Band Day, an experience that informs the new novella I’m working on, “The Boy in the Band”.
3) My Day Job: Mark and I have a business that we’ve been running since 1998 – Mongoose on the Loose Web Design. We run three directories for the LGBTIQA community – Purple Roofs, Purple Unions, and Gay Realty Network. We are proud of this service to the LGBTIQA community.
4) My First Writing Award: When I was in fourth grade, I won a writing contest for the U of A with an illustrated short story (in crayon) based heavily on the Jetsons. I got the writing bug early.
5) The Sci Fi Bug: I also got bitten by the sci fi bug early on. I was 9 when Star Wars came out, and I begged every relative I had to take me. I saw it seven times in the theater, back in the days when most cinemas had only one or two screens and lines that snaked around the block. Pictured – me that Christmas, holding my cousin Brendan’s Millennium Falcon. I was so fricking jealous until I got my own for my birthday. I also read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in third grade from cover to cover.
6) My Prom Date: In my junior year, I went to the prom with an Amazon. Janine is an amazing woman, and is still a good friend of mine. But she must have been something like ten feet taller than me at the time. 😛
7) I Am The Last One: My family name is Coatsworth. But by a twist of fate, I am the last Coatsworth of my line. My two half brothers were adopted by a different father and changed their last name. My uncle had all girls. And my aunts all took their husband’s last names. So I am the last one. But don’t fear – there are still a few other Coatsworths in the world.
8) All the Jobs: I have worked in almost every part of the publishing business. I started as an author with Hunter House with the aforementioned book “Raising Each Other.” I then went to work for that publisher, doing marketing, promotion and customer service for about $15k a year. From there, I moved on to work for the publisher’s distributor, Publishers’ Group West. And finally I took a job for a couple years at Barnes and Noble – something I enjoyed immensely.
9) Doing the Hula: Mark and I lived in Hawaii for a year – Kauai, specifically – from 2000-2001. It’s a beautiful island, and I will always remember our time there. We lived in a condo on the north shore with an “ocean peek” from our lanai (balcony). POG, anyone?
10) Thin as a Rail: I used to be hella-skinny. Up until the age of 30, I weighed just 130 pounds, and could eat whatever the hell I wanted without gaining weight. I actually worried that I’d never beef up. Needless to say, that’s not the case any more. 😛
I hope you enjoyed this little tour through the annals of Scottness.
It was fun leafing through old pics and memories!
You looked like Pete Davidson (I think that’s his name!) on SNL! Cute!