I sometimes pine for the Golden Age era of sci-fi, when everything was new. Each story idea shone with fresh brilliance, and many of the tropes we still use today were just being invented by Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and others. Sure, it was pretty much a white-men-only club (with a few notable exceptions). Yes, you … Read more
Lisa Oliver has a new MM paranormal romance trilogy out: The Magic Users of Greenford. And there’s a giveaway. Lucifer Fireborn is a high magic user with a taste for the high life. He spends his days, along with his anchor brother Darwin, chasing the rogue magic users who don’t follow the rules all magic … Read more
Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Aldrea Alien is an award-winning, bisexual author of fantasy romance with varying heat levels. Born and raised in New Zealand, she lives on a small farm with … Read more
Two great reviews already this morning for my just-released book The Gauntlet Runner. Maryann – Queer Sci Fi https://www.queerscifi.com/double-review-the-gauntlet-runner-j-scott-coatsworth/ Aik (Aiken Erio) want’s to save his best friend (and now boyfriend?) Raven, but to venture out on his own would mean a sure death. If he travels into the Ce’Faine country it would violate the … Read more
J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer sci-fantasy book out, The Tharassas Cycle Book Two: The Gauntlet Runner. And there’s a giveaway! A GUARD AND A THIEF. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven’s a thief, which makes things… complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been … Read more
So many rules. Every part of our lives is governed by them, and sadly writing is no exception. There are rules of grammar: If you made it through high school English and you want be a writer, you probably have a pretty decent handle on these rules. But there are others, too. For instance, formatting … Read more
Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Lisa Oliver lives in the wilds of New Zealand, although her beautiful dogs Hades and Zeus are now living somewhere else far more remote than she is. … Read more
One of the hardest tricks to learn when writing novels is pacing. It’s a little easier with a short story—at 5-15,000 words, it’s harder for readers to become bored with your characters’ exploits. But with a novella or novel, pacing becomes more important. The classic example of a pacing template comes from the historical Romance … Read more
Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: C.J. Baty loves a good mystery, hot sexy guys, the mountains, and a happily ever after. When she decided to try her hand in the book world, … Read more
There’s a new hopepunk book out in the Writers Save the World anthology series from Other Worlds Ink: Transform the World. And there’s a giveaway. FOURTEEN WAYS TO CHANGE THE PLANET Income inequality is worse than it was in the Roaring Twenties. Corporations are moving fast and breaking things, and the social contract seems to … Read more