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Point of View: Building a Great Newsletter

construction worker - deposit photos

When I first started my author newsletter, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I thought I was a newsletter vet – after all, I’ve been running them for other parts of our business for years and years. But many of the things that worked in a travel newsletter just didn’t translate to my author work. So I took the spaghetti approach – I threw everything up against the wall and waited to see what sticks. I did an ongoing story post called the Weekly Fix, initially taken from some of my existing short stories, and then written as … Read more

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Point of View: Shit City

shit city bricks - deposit photos

I’m feeling a bit shaky this morning. I’m not sure if it’s my never-ending pile of work that I just can’t seem to get through, or coming down off a day of being “on” for book sales at Davis Pride yesterday. Maybe it’s all my worries about the world, as the Dow plunges into bear market territory, the January 6th hearings churn on, and inflation keeps inflating. Most likely it’s a combination of all three. Some days, I forget how to hope. Still, I have a freakishly optimistic spirit, and worries rarely keep me down for long. I’m like one … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Hidden Dreams

Scott library

It was the spring of 2014, just over eight years ago now000. I had written yet another short story for an anthology – it was my way of breaking into publishing. This one was called “A New Year,” and was inspired by Bastille’s song “Laughter Lines”: You took me to your favourite place on EarthTo see the tree they cut down ten years from your birth.Our fingers traced in circles round its history,We brushed our hands right back in time through centuries. As you held me down, you said:”I’ll see you in the future when we’re olderAnd we are full … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Pride

QSAC at Placer Pride

I’ve been to a number of Pride events. Some were huge – like the million-plus events in San Francisco that take six hours to traverse Market Street from downtown to the Capitol. Some were more manageable, like the 45-minute long Sacramento Pride Parade and Festival. And some are almost intimate. But they all celebrate one thing – being proud of who you are. I’ve gotten a little blasé about Pride, and this weekend I got a little reminder of what it really means. I grew up in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. It was a great … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Painting a World

painter - deposit photos

I’ve spent the last two years, since the depth of the first season of the pandemic, building a new world. When I wrapped up Dropnauts, I had three potential paths for my next project. Coredivers, the sequel to Dropnauts; The Forever Cycle, the missing middle books between The Ariadne Cycle and The Oberon Cycle; and the Tharassas Cycle… a sci-fantasy hybrid building on The Last Run and The Emp Test. I chose the latter, in part because I wanted a palate cleanser from all that sci-fi, and in part because the world of emps and hencha intrigued me. The Last … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Anatomy of a Writing Contest

writer - pixabay

Nine years ago, Angel, Ben and I stuck our heads together to come up with an idea to bring some publicity to the Queer Sci Fi group and site. We hit upon a flash fiction contest, themed around a single word, and the annual QSF flash fiction contest was born. The theme that first year was “Endings,” and we got a grand total of fifteen entries! We chose a winner, announced it with a bunch of fanfare, and moved on. Now, nine years later, the contest has grown and grown. We had our largest year in 2021 with 384 submissions, … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Really (Non) Traditional Book Sales

books money - deposit photos

Publishing used to be simple. You either got a traditional publisher, who worked with you to edit the book, hired a cover designer, got everything into ship-shape, and then sent it off to a printer for 3,000, 5,000, 50,000, or even a million copies (if your last name happened to be Asimov or King or Collins). Then you sat back and waited for the royalties to roll in. Or you did all that yourself, and hired a local Kinkos or “vanity press” to print up your own copies, which went into the trunk of your car for you to schlep … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: What Matters

Thoughtful

I want an agent. I want a big publisher, a Netflix deal (or maybe HBO Max). And eventually, a little world domination would be nice too. I want people to read what I write and tell their friends, and for them to tell their friends too, until hundreds of thousands of readers know my name and my work. I want the world to know my name. And I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s quite possible that none of those things will ever happen. It’s a clarifying moment. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Back at the Con (or Trying to Be Zen)

zen meditation man - deposit photos

The in person events are coming. I plan to attend two Pride festivals and a Sci-Fi con in the next two-and-a-half months – and I’m totally zen about it. I have books to sell, the sales licenses corralled, and I am totally ready to–WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? A live event? Like, face to face with other PEOPLE? In the middle of a PANDEMIC? I must be INSANE. And yet… there’s a growing part of me (no snickers from the peanut gallery, please) that IS excited about the prospect. Being around other people, finally getting to sell the books … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Things That Bring Me Joy

Boba Tea

Hey all, I’m sick of doom and gloom, war, disease, politics and sadness. So I’m falling back on an old fave – things that bring me joy. Bobba (Bubble) Tea: I’m not sure where I first discovered this delectable beverage, but I’ve always loved drinks I could chew (anyone else remember Orbitz water)? I first discovered boba in a tea shop in Portland, Oregon, and ordered the “Obama Honey” – milk, tea, honey, and boba. For those who’ve never tried it, boba are slightly sweet balls of tapioca, and it’s served with an extra large straw that lets you suck … Read more