Hey all, This last week, I got to spend half an hour with the infamous Jeff & Will – talking about QRI, QSFm and my latest release, “The Stark Divide.” Love these guys! Check it out here: Big Gay Fiction Podcast – Episode 110 – J. Scott Coatsworth interview, Book & Music Reviews plus Holiday Giveaway Announcement
Hey all, I am working my way through my consistency edit for “The River City Chronicles.” Yeah, I know, hobgoblin of little minds, and all that. But in a work of fiction, consistency is king. And in a serial story, it can be especially difficult to maintain, because a) it’s written over a relatively long period of time, and b) each chapter is published and essentially set in stone almost right away, so it’s harder to go back and fix things. And for me, c) I jumped into this too quickly, didn’t get a good head start, and took lousy … Read more
Hey all, Tomorrow is the release day for “The Stark Divide,” the queer sci fi book that launches my Liminal Sky series. All the preparations have been made. The Incredibly Massive Blog Tour ™ is ready to go. And I’ve done everything I can to see that the book will be a success. Now I wait, suspended in that weird space between preparation and release, before I know if the reviewers will love it or hate it. Before I know if it will sell. Before I know if this is another step on the path to writerly success, or a … Read more
Hey all, I’m on a serious deadline for my novel “The Rising Tide.” It’s going well, I think. But… See, there’s this other story I wanna write, which would be due on 10/1. It’s short, and I could probably do it in 3-6 days. I even had a bit of inspiration. But… Like I said, I have a deadline. And I don’t wanna lose momentum on my novel, which has a hard deadline. What would you do? Stick to your deadline? Write the other story to get it out of your system? Invent a time machine and go back a … Read more
Hey all, There are times when, as a writer, you get worn down. Sometimes it’s the writing itself. You back yourself into a corner, or your characters suck, or your plot isn’t so much a straight line as a thicket of foxtails. Sometimes it’s other events in your life – the death of a loved one, problems at your job, natural disasters, or health issues that just make it so hard to just sit down and get the words out. Whatever the cause, sometimes it’s hard to be bold and creative and fresh and witty. Sometimes you just want to … Read more
Hey all, I’ve recently noticed a clear change in the tone of my writing about the future. A few years ago, I had a pretty optimistic view of how things would go. The US and a bunch of other countries signed the Paris Accord on climate change, finally getting serious about what was happening to our planet, even if it was just a first step. Marriage equality became the law of the land here in the USA and in a number of other countries. And changing demographics meant the Republican Party and all its retrograde ways would soon become marginalized, … Read more
The day that I thought would NEVER come is finally here. One year and eleven months after I started it, the River City Chronicles is finally done. Well, the first arc, at least. I powered through the final four chapters last Wednesday, typing the last word just shy of 10:30 PM, which for me is like three in the morning. I’m old LOL… And because I’m such a tease, here are the last three lines for your enjoyment: There were two mugs sitting there, littered with bits of dried tea. He picked one up, savoring the lingering smell of vanilla. … Read more
GayRomLit is coming up quickly, and I’ve been madly trying to get my act together on the swag and promo front. For anyone who doesn’t know, swag is that free stuff they give away at convention booths. Buttons, pens, bookmarks, squishy balls – things that are supposed to stick with you to remind you of the company / author / concept the booth is trying to promote. Exactly what works best as swag is often a topic of heated debate in author circles. As a general rule of thumb, the more expensive it is, or the more perceived value it … Read more
I have a problem. My friend Tam Ames recently asked us to name our worst bad writing habit as a band name. I came uo with this: “Too Many People in This Damned Book.” I love writing multiple point of views. I mean, like throw it down on the bed and make crazy love to it love. When I’ve tried to write from just one, which is most often the case for a short story, I feel confined. I love to bounce a situation between two characters, and see how they handle it from each of their POV’s. I blame … Read more
I am white. Gay and male. American. Californian. Sacramentan. Brunette and brown-eyed. A writer. Agnostic. Maybe a little overweight. I am human. You are black. Short. Blonde. Transgender. Chinese. An artist. A mother. Muslim. Green-eyed. A construction worker. Bisexual. South African. Christian. Non binary. A teacher. Russian. A small town kid. Homeless. Rich. Old and wise. You are human. I am tired from years of fighting. Broken. Worn down. Ready for the madness to end. So are you. We were silent for too long. We didn’t do enough when we could have. We didn’t stand up when it mattered. We … Read more