Point of View

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POINT OF VIEW: Fear vs. Hope

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Earth - pixabay

It’s natural to be scared. I wake up every morning dreading what’s to come. The laws of gravity seem to have been overturned sometime in the last few years, and now up is down and down is up. We ignore climate change at our own peril, willfully and blindly, and instead fight political battles where one side brings a knife and the other brings a nuclear bomb. And tech companies continue their rampant disruption of everything we thought we knew, ripping up old social contracts with reckless abandon and questioning everything. Even truth. It’s natural to be scared. But then … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When There Is No Time to Write

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stopwatches - pixabay

My life is a carefully choreographed series of to-do lists. My to-dos on any given day are long enough to give even the most stalwart of to-doers pause, and only gets done through a strict daily application of effort and productivity that I have… well, not exactly perfected. But cobbled together in a fashion that usually works for me. But sometimes something (or somethings) come along to topple that intricate edifice, and everything goes to hell. Welcome to 2020. Although I have a better handle on my workload than I have in a long time there is, quite simply, too … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When the Future is Gray

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May you live in interesting times. It’s an old, oft-quoted curse (though probably NOT of Chnese origin) that turns something good on its head and makes it something decidedly bad. And one that seems particularly apt for our own time. We’re hurtling headlong into the future with many of the things sci fi always promised us – computers that fit into our pockets, cars that drive themselves, and a global connection through social media that surpasses anything Asimov or Clarke ever imagined. Tthough I’m still waiting for my flying car, dammit! And yet instead of a futuristic utopia filled with … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: I Have a Plan (Sort-Of)

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It’s been about four months since I sat down consistently to write every day There are reasons: I finished my novel Dropnauts and started to put some energy into using it to level up We ramped up for a new website launch for our main business, and it took a lot of time and energy My leveling up plans kinda fell apart, and I’ve been a bit adrift The holidays So I’ve been at loose ends with my writing these last few months. I’ve also been unsure as to what I want to write next. I’ve kicked around the idea … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When Fans Become Friends

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We live in a particularly fascianting age (mostly in the purported Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times” kinda way). Social media has brought a heaping helping of crap and bullshit upon our heads, divided us into rival camps, and possibly destroyed the world in the process. And yet, it’s not all bad. Once upon a time, authors lived in magical, isolated castles by the sea (or more likely dark, dank, author caves buried deep in decaying metropolises). In any case, they were largely cut off from their readers, save for the occasional fan letter forwarded by a publisher, … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: It’s a New Year

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2020 - pixabay

It’s 2020 and time for the obligatory “goals for the new year” column. But let’s flip that on its head and instead put some hope out into the world. So for 2020, I hope that: My country and the world will find a way back to some form of sanity. My friends in the UK will find a way to make their new reality (post-Brexit) work. RuPaul will have an outstanding season of Drag Race. I will find a way to reach out and connect to friends and family I disagree with, and find some common ground. Mark and I … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: In Review

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rear view mirror - Yay Images

It’s that time again to take a look back at the year that was. And this year, not only are we at the end of a year, we’re at the end of the decade (and yeah, I know, technically the decade doesn’t end until the last gasp of 2020, but just give me this one, ok? *grin*). So I thought I’d look back at 2019 and the 2010s and see what I accomplished as a writer, and what I didn’t. I haven’t accomplished mainstream success yet. I am still very much a niche author, with a fairly limited (albeit wonderful … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: I’m Writing Again!

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writing - Yay Images

As any of y’all know who read this column regularly, I have been on a bit of a sabbatical from writing since I didn’t manage to even get a manuscript request in the Pitch Wars mentoring contest. One thing about this whole author gig – it keeps you humble. That, combined with a new website launch we were working on, made taking a break seem prudent. I have missed writing, though. It feels… weird when I don’t write regularly. So I am easing back into it, starting with the reworking of a story called Autumn Leaves. It’s a cute coming … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Keeping Hope Alive

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These are troubled times in the world at large. These are troubled times in our little corner of the publishing business, too. Once again, someone in the queer romance world has been credibly accused of plagiarism. Several of our publishers have recently closed, and another is going through a major disruption. Some of my author friends are waiting months for royalties, and at the same time are being squeezed by Amazon and other online retailers. Scammers have figured out how to game the system through a variety of tricks, and skim Amazon royalties off the backs of the rest of … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Deciphering the Universe’s Mixed Messages

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Mixed Messages - Deposit Photos

I’m an asshole. But we’ll get back to that in a minute. I won four Rainbow Awards on Saturday night. I should have been over the moon, right? But here’s the thing. Every one of them was a second place finish. In 2017, I won a bunch of them too. Also ALL second place wins. When you think about it, second place is actually pretty damned good. Amazing, really. it’s higher than 99% of the other folks who entered. And four different winning books in one year? That’s practically unbelievable. So why was my initial reaction “Gah”? Fans of this … Read more