Creating Interesting Characters

Happy Wednesday Scribblers, I hope you all had a great week. This week I thought we could talk about creating interesting book characters. Creating interesting characters is one of the most important aspects of writing a novel or a short story, especially in queer fiction. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve read where the characters are bland and have absolutely nothing to offer the reader. Our characters are the ones who drive the plot, engage the readers, and make the story come alive. These are the people we need to cheer for and if don’t feel anything for them, then the book becomes drudgery to read. But how do you create characters that are not only believable but also memorable and original? Here are some tips to help with character development.

1. Start with a character archetype

A character archetype is a typical or universal pattern of behavior that represents a certain type of person in a story. For example, the hero, the villain, the sidekick, the mentor, etc. Archetypes help you define the basic personality, goals, and motivations of your character, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. You can use archetypes as a starting point, but don’t limit yourself to them. You can mix and match different archetypes or create your own unique ones. This is especially helpful when you are creating queer characters. You don’t want to land on stereotypes that can turn off your reader.

2. Give the character some flaws

No one is perfect, and neither should your characters be. Flaws make your characters more realistic and relatable, and they also create conflict and tension in your story. Faults can be physical, psychological, emotional, moral, or social. They can be minor quirks or major weaknesses that affect the character’s actions and decisions. For example, a character might be clumsy, stubborn, insecure, greedy, or impulsive. These shortcomings can also be sources of growth and change for your character throughout the story. I find this is really helpful in ensuring I don’t have perfect characters. I will even do this for my background characters.

3. Define the character’s goals and motivations

Every character, queer characters included, needs a reason to exist in your story. What do they want? Why do they want it? How do they plan to get it? These are the questions that define your character’s goals and motivations. Goals are the specific outcomes that your character desires or needs to achieve. Motivations are the underlying reasons or forces that drive your character to pursue their goals. These goals and motivations create stakes and urgency in the story, and they also reveal a lot about your character’s personality and values. What’s nice is these goals and motivations don’t always have to do with the plot of your story. You can treat them as significant as you want for the story.

4. Describe the character’s history

Your character’s past shapes their present and future. Their history includes their background, upbringing, education, relationships (good and bad), experiences, traumas, achievements, etc. All these factors influence your character’s worldview, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, skills, fears, hopes, dreams, etc. You don’t need to write a detailed biography for every character, but you should have a clear idea of their history and how it affects them in the story. I also suggest that you keep a file on each of your characters with all this information for easy reference.

5. Allow the character to be vulnerable

Vulnerability is the ability to show one’s emotions and feelings without fear of judgment or rejection. And this is incredibly important for our characters, especially our Main Characters. It is also the willingness to take risks and face challenges despite uncertainty or potential failure. Vulnerability makes your characters more human and sympathetic, and it also creates opportunities for growth and change. To make your characters vulnerable, you need to put them in situations where they have to face their fears, doubts, insecurities, regrets, etc., and where they have to open up to others or themselves. I find this really important when I’m writing any kind of relationship.

6. Make your character a bit unpredictable

Predictability is boring. If your readers can always guess what your character will do or say next, they will lose interest in them and the story. To avoid this problem, you need to make your character a bit unpredictable. This doesn’t mean that you have to make them act randomly or illogically; rather, you have to make them act in ways that surprise or challenge the readers’ expectations. For example, you can make your character do something heroic or vulnerable; reveal a hidden secret or talent; change their mind or opinion; make a mistake or fail; etc. Adding in unpredictability to your characters is a lot of fun. I love doing this in my stories.

7. Do your research

If you want to create realistic and interesting characters and I cannot stress this enough, especially for queer characters, you need to do some research on the topics that relate to them. Or talk to people who live the life of your character. For example, if your character is a lawyer, you need to know how the legal system works; if your character is a musician, you need to know how music is composed and performed; if your character is from another culture or time period than yours, you need to know how people lived and behaved in that context; etc. Research can help you avoid stereotypes and clichés, and it can also provide you with inspiration and details that enrich your characters and your story. I find this helps me discover what a character’s vulnerabilities, goals and motivations are.

8. Steer clear of the biggest character development mistake

The biggest character development mistake is creating flat or static characters who don’t change or grow throughout the story. This can happen a lot. The more time you spend in fleshing out your characters at the beginning, the more interesting and exciting your characters become as you write their story.

Well, there you go. Here are eight ways to create interesting book characters. Did I leave anything out? Want to add to the list, let me know in the comments below. Until time have a great week.

AI for Authors: Pros and Cons

AI for Authors: Pros and Cons

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are having a great day. This last week my boss and I were talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how they can be good and bad. AI, for those of you that don’t know (which I find that hard to believe) is a term that refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images, learning from data, and making decisions. AI is transforming many industries and sectors, including the creative field of fiction writing. Today, I’ll explore some of the pros and cons of using AI as an author, and offer some practical and ethical guidelines for integrating AI into your author business.

Pros of AI for Authors

  • AI can help authors write better novels by providing feedback on plot structure, narrative arc, character development, genre conventions, and reader expectations. For example, Marlowe (read more here) is an AI program that analyzes fiction manuscripts and gives authors suggestions on how to improve their stories based on bestseller data.

  • AI can help authors reach more readers by optimizing their marketing strategies, analyzing reader behavior and preferences, and enhancing their online presence. For example, tools based on narrow AI (find out more here) such as advertising algorithms, reader analysis and engagement, search and sales engines, translation software, and speech-to-text can help authors boost their visibility and sales.

  • AI can help authors unleash their creativity by generating new ideas, prompts, titles, characters, plots, and even passages of text. For example, OpenAI’s GPT-3 is a powerful language model that can produce coherent and diverse texts based on a given input or query.

Cons of AI for Authors

  • AI can pose a threat to authors’ livelihoods by replacing human writers or reducing their value. For example, some studios or publishers may use AI to create cheap or fast content without paying or crediting authors properly. Or some readers may prefer AI-generated content over human-written content.

  • AI can pose a challenge to authors’ originality by creating derivative or plagiarized content. For example, some AI programs may copy or remix existing texts without proper attribution or permission. Or some authors may rely too much on AI to generate or edit their content without adding their own voice or style.

  • AI can pose a risk to authors’ ethics by creating harmful or biased content. For example, some AI programs may produce texts that are offensive, misleading, inaccurate, or discriminatory. Or some authors may use AI to manipulate or deceive their readers or other stakeholders.

Guidelines for AI for Authors

  • Use AI as a tool, not a crutch. AI can augment your writing process, but it cannot replace your human creativity, judgment, and responsibility. You should always be in control of your content and make sure it reflects your vision and values.

  • Use AI with respect, not abuse. AI can enhance your writing experience, but it should not harm or exploit anyone else. You should always respect the rights and interests of other writers, readers, publishers, and platforms. You should also respect the limitations and challenges of AI itself.

  • Use AI with curiosity, not fear. AI can offer new opportunities and possibilities for your writing career, but it should not intimidate or discourage you. You should always be open to learning and experimenting with AI, but also be critical and cautious of its potential pitfalls and drawbacks.

For good or ill, AI is here to stay, and it will continue to shape the future of fiction writing. As an author, we can choose to embrace it or ignore it, but we cannot afford to be unaware of AI. By using AI wisely and ethically, we can leverage its benefits and avoid its drawbacks. Well, that’s all I have for this week. What do you think of AI? How are you going to use it in your writing or marketing? Until next time, have a great week.

Skin Session (Short Story Series) by J.P. Jackson

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I know it’s been a minute since I last posted anything, I’ve had a lot going on and sadly couldn’t find a minute to pull my thoughts together and get something posted. However, today that changes. I’m excited to share with you my good friend J.P. Jackson’s (find him here) new creepy and sexy short story series; Skin Sessions. I’ve had the pleasure of reading each of these shorts and I can tell you they are not only sexy, but in his typical fashion, creepy.  As some of you may know J.P. Jackson is the master of disturbing stories with a focus on gay male characters. It’s so refreshing to support high quality stories written by gay male authors sharing novels reflecting gay men. These works clearly need more fanfare and to be celebrated.

Here are the blurbs for the first two short stories (there are more installments coming) and my thoughts on each of the shorts.

Skin Sessions: Demon at the Doorstep

Blurb:

The Unicorn’s Horn was once a hot and lively pleasure house. Folks would come from miles around to be satisfied by the stable men kept by Gavin Medici, the house’s owner.

Trouble is, the world is ending, and surviving is more important to the brothel’s customers than an evening filled with unspeakable delights. Before long the purveyors of favors find themselves broke, hungry and living in a decaying brothel.

With a simple witchy spell, a visitor who promises to make everything better comes knocking. But demons are unpredictable and often come with hidden agendas.

A little demonic possession and the odd human sacrifice seem like a small price to pay. But is that all it will cost Gavin and his men?

My Review:

Sometimes dark and creepy are just what the doctor ordered. And J.P. Jackson’s short story Skin Session: Demon at the Doorstep hits all the creepy vibes you want it to. There is a lush and rich cast of gay characters that make the story interesting and fun, especially since the setting of the short story is set in a dystopian future a few years from now.

As with all J.P. Jackson’s works you get his unique brand of story telling that will keep you wanting more, in fact, because this is a short story you will definitely want more.

Skin Sessions: Branded and Bedeviled

Blurb:

Gavin Medici, the owner of The Unicorn's Horn, has settled the arrangement made with the incubus Taz-rial, and within hours of completing his pact, the pleasure house is overwhelmed with customers and reservations.

Corbin, the witch boy who cast the spell that invited Taz-rial has an old client suddenly return. But in the middle of his skin session with his date, Corbin's old wound begins to fester. He's never told anyone that he's infected. And he certainly hasn't shared that the source of the infection is a flesh-eating ghoul.

As the undead virus begins to take hold, the boys of the pleasure house band together to save him, but in the end, it's Taz-rial who saves the day...for an additional small price.

My Review:

Continuing his short story series Skin Sessions, J.P. Jackson is back again with the continuing saga from The Unicorn Horn. In this installment we get a lot more ‘sexy’ time, a lot more creepy time, and a lot more character building. Jackson explores varying forms of sex, and given the series takes place in a brothel readers should expect to be exposed to many different fetishes, but none of the scenes goes overboard and even if these fetishes aren’t your cup of tea you can easily read through them as the scenes and the story moves quickly.

As the series continues Jackson builds out his characters; who they are and what their motivations are. Where the first short story was our introduction to everyone, now that we know them, we are getting more information on them and the world they inhabit, which I enjoy.

This story is darker and sexier than the first short story so be prepared.

That’s it for this week, don’t forget to check out Skin Session. Until next time, have a great week.

Pinned by Liz Faraim

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a great week. Today I’m thrilled to share my good friend Liz Faraim’s newest novel Pinned with you. Liz is a phenomenal author who has released the Vivian Chastain series to much acknowledgment. Pinned is the first book in a new series for Liz, and I’m excited to share more details with you today. As with all her books this new novel by Liz is at the top of my to be read list.

As you may remember from Liz’s past visits here on my blog, Liz focuses her writing on strong, queer, female leads who don’t back down. She transplanted to California from New York over thirty years ago, and now lives in the East Bay Area.

You can find Liz here on her website or here on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

 

Pinned:

“Rowdy” Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian, who has been single for twenty years and is trying to date again.

At the end of a long, exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse where they work. Upon the news of his death, she battles to find a balance between the joys of an exciting new relationship and the struggles of processing her supervisor’s unexpected passing.

The manner of her supervisor’s death leaves Randy unsettled and suspicious as she gets sucked into both a criminal investigation led by the police and an administrative investigation conducted by her employer.

As Randy seeks the truth, trust erodes, key friendships are strengthened, and more loss awaits her.

Get your copy of Pinned here.

As a special treat Liz has shared the music that inspired her and the writing of Pinned, check it out here.

Also, this Saturday April 22nd myself and several authors from the Bay Area Queer Writers Association will be at the Hayward Lit Hop (this is our second year). We will be at The Pizza House, 943 B Street in Hayward from 6pm – 6:45pm you can find out more details here.

That’s it for this week, don’t forget to check out Pinned and if you are in Hayward this Saturday come by and say hello and maybe have some dinner. Until next time, have a great week.

Writing Update April 2023

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a great week. It’s been a minute since I provided a writing update, so I thought I would give you an update today on what’s happening in my writing world and I have a new project that I’m excited to share with you. I also have a fun giveaway announcement that I can’t forget to tell you about.

As you all may have seen, I finished Mu; Legend of a Lost City and I got some amazing feedback from my Beta Readers, which is always helpful. Today I’m thrilled to be able to share the current blurb with you, keep in mind the blurb may change:

For years, the whispers and legends of a lost city hiding in the Pacific Ocean were just that; legend. On the day Kaimi discovers his parents, the Queen and King of Mu, murdered, Mu’s most powerful weapon fired, sending a pulse rushing towards the North American west coast.

After the 2025 Great Pacific Pulse Event, or Pulse, vomited up much of humankind’s trash in the Pacific Ocean along the North American west coast. The mysterious occurrence causing the largest environmental disaster in human history, people are no longer certain there is nothing concealed in the depths of the ocean. Scientist Karen Linn and billionaire investor Michael Donovan want to find out what actually happened that day five years ago. Will Michael’s life in the adult entertainment industry and Karen’s moniker in pseudoscience keep them as social pariahs, or are they on the cusp of finding a civilization that has been kept out of our grasp, deep in the world’s largest ocean? How does the event from five years ago tie into the murder of the Queen and King of Mu? What lies under the sea may be bigger than anyone can imagine, and neither civilization may be ready for the truth.

What do you think? Are you excited for the book to come out? I know I am. Let’s hope my publisher is as well. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Next up, I’m really excited to announce that I’ve been quietly working on my next project. Now you might think that I’m talking about the last book of my A New World series and you would be partially correct. However, over the last several weeks I’ve been working on something else. Something new. Something I’m excited to announce to you today.

A Haunted House (Working Title)

I’ve been researching and speaking with various folks about writing a new suspense novel about a modern-day haunted house that takes place here in the heart of Silicon Valley. I don’t want to give too much away at this point but what I can share is the following:

  • A family moves into their brand-new dream home in a new neighborhood in San Jose, CA

  • Events happen that bring a whole neighborhood together in fear and in the unexplained

  • How will this new community of strangers and neighbors deal with the paranormal that is afflicting them and their surroundings. Is this a single apparition, a haunting, a poltergeist, or something worse, a demon?

  • Will they find help and turn their nightmares back into their dreams?

For my inspiration I want to share a picture of a dreamy suburban home that has always brought joy to me. If you know, you know.

If you know, you know.

Oh… I almost forgot. I’m part of some free short story giveaways this month (April 2023), so if you are looking for a wide selection of free short stories then check out these giveaways. There is something for everyone:

Secrete Confessions

(click on the image to browse the list of books)

Short Story April

(click on the image to browse the list of books)

Show us Your Shorts

(click on the image to browse the list of books)

That is my writing update this week. Don’t forget to check out the different short stories and claim your freebees. Remember to leave your comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts on my latest projects. Until next time, have a great week.

Undecided by Emmy Z. Madrigal

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. Today I’m back with an another announcement from an author buddy of mine. Emmy Z. Madrigal is releasing another book; Undecided this is the fourth book in her Sweet Dreams series. Here are the details:

About Undecided:

Cynthia Porter is dealing with much more than any high school girl should be asked to withstand. She's at odds with her current love interest, famous boy bander Derek Montgomery. Her mother is verbally abusive and violent, pushing Cynthia out of the house. Her best friend can't even console her, since she's recovering from a bad weekend injury. Living out of a gym bag, Cynthia stays with any friends who will take her in, but things don't make her life any easier when she starts hooking up with random guys.
Victoria Knox, recovering from her kidnapping injury, finds her boyfriend can't stop blaming himself for letting her get hurt. She just wants to put the whole mess behind her and get on with her singing career.
There are only six more months to the freedom of graduation. Can the girls make it without losing their way?

Not only is Emmy releasing this new book, but she has some great giveaways leading up to the launch starting on April 1st, that you may not want to miss out on.

Want to preorder the book, click here.

That’s all for today. Go and check out this great new book, from this amazing author. Until next time have a great week.

The Dragon Eater by J. Scott Coatsworth

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a great day. It’s time for another book announcement. No, not mine. This week I’m pleased to share with you one of my author friends newest Sci-Fi/Fantasy works. Today we have J. Scott Coatsworth here to chat about his new book, The Dragon Eater, and to share with us his thoughts on dragons in general. Let’s not waste any time and jump right into the world of dragons.

The Dragon Eater

Raven's a thief who just swallowed a dragon. A small one, sure, but now his arms are growing scales, the local wildlife is acting up, and his snarky AI familiar is no help whatsoever.

Raven's best friend Aik is a guardsman carrying a torch for the thief. A pickpocket and a guard? Never going to happen. And Aik’s ex-fiancé Silya, an initiate priestess facing a magical crisis, hates Raven with the heat of a thousand suns.

This unlikely team must work together to face strange beasts, alien artifacts, and a world-altering threat. If they don’t figure out what to do soon, it might just be the end of everything.

Things are about to get messy.

Pick up your copy here.

What Is it About Dragons?

I’ve loved dragons since I was nine or ten, when I first discovered Anne McCaffrey on my mom’s sci-fi bookshelves. My mother was (and maybe still is?) a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, and new books showed up regularly in her mailbox, to end up on the imposing built-in bookshelves on what we called the “spare bedroom.”

When I discovered The Lord of the Rings on those shelves, it opened a window into a new world for me, a world where magic was possible, where starships could carry me from here to a world so far away even light would take a thousand years to get there. And there was a dragon in The Hobbit – the infamous Smaug – but he was in many ways a traditional one, hoarding gold and killing knights... even if those knights were dwarves.

And then I found Pern.

I remember the beginning as if it was yesterday, Lessa working as a drudge and caring for the watch wher, and meeting Flar for the first time. The amazing ability of McCaffrey’s dragons to travel between anywhere on the planet in just three seconds, and the fire lizards. I was hooked.

These dragons bonded with their human counterparts, even during sex, and there were gay dragonriders!

And though the Pern books were sci-fi (with a clear scientific basis for the origin of these great beasts), they were also in some ways fantasy, with the aforementioned dragons, with magic (the ability to travel between) and with a medieval setting worthy of an epic fantasy novel. That heady blend of fantasy mixed with technology and scientific advancement makes me swoon.

So maybe it’s not just dragons, but dragons of a very particular type.

When I began writing The Dragon Eater, I admit my new charges were influenced by McCaffrey’s beautiful beasts. But they’re also different, creations of a natural world and with a kind of “magic” all their own.

I hope you enjoy my dragons, aka verent. I’m so happy to see them fly.

About J. Scott Coatsworth:

Scott lives with his husband Mark in a yellow bungalow in Sacramento. He was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were.

He decided that if there weren’t queer characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi, QueeRomance Ink, and Other Worlds Ink with Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality, and is the committee chair for the Indie Authors Committee at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Where to Find Scott:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jscoatsworth/

Mastodon: https://mastodon.lol/@jscottcoatsworth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jscottcoatsworth/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392709.J_Scott_Coatsworth?from_search=true

QueerRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

LimFic: https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

LimFic: https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-scott-coatsworth

I hope you’ll go and grab a copy of The Dragon Eater as the novel promises to be a lot of fun and Scott always crafts great stories. Until next time have a great week.

Skin Session by J.P. Jackson

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. Today I’m back with an exciting new short story for you all to sink your teeth into. Author J.P. Jackson has released his dark and fun short story Skin Session (Demon at the Doorstep). As you may or may not know, Jackson is the author of dark and creepy books that will keep you up at night and make you wonder what really lurks in the shadows. And his newest short story doesn’t disappoint.

The Unicorn’s Horn was once a hot and lively pleasure house. Folks would come from miles around to be satisfied by the stable men kept by Gavin Medici, the house’s owner.

Trouble is, the world is ending, and surviving is more important to the brothel’s customers than an evening filled with unspeakable delights. Before long the purveyors of favors find themselves broke, hungry and living in a decaying brothel.

With a simple witchy spell, a visitor who promises to make everything better comes knocking. But demons are unpredictable and often come with hidden agendas.

A little demonic possession and the odd human sacrifice seem like a small price to pay. But is that all it will cost Gavin and his men?

I really enjoyed this short story and found the characters, setting, and world enjoyable and relatable. Jackson always manages to find a way to make even a creepy story sexy and fun. He’s says the stories come from the demons in his head? “They whisper things at night and force me to write about them.” And I think I believe him. The best part about this short story is the price; $.99. You can’t really go wrong. Jump on over to Amazon (click here) and grab your copy of this wonderfully dark short story.

It’s a short one this week. Remember to leave your comments below, especially if you’ve read this short story. I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time, have a great week.

The Issue with Drag

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I’ve been thinking a lot about Drag and this latest trend, and especially the vote in Tennessee, to ban this art form. I have so many feelings about this attack on Drag and I’m not sure what to do with them. Today I thought I would share my thoughts and see what you all think.

To start Drag has been around since Ancient Greece, maybe not in the form we know it today, but Drag came to be, because women in ancient western cultures were often not allowed to perform onstage or become actors, so men and boys were used instead to fill the female rolls. Also, men and boys were expected to dress as women for many religious ceremonies and rituals. Having men play the rolls for women was commonplace, however there are some who don’t feel this is where ‘true’ Drag came from. Still, if that is the case, then Drag may have come to be in the 1800s with forms of entertainment such as minstrel shows and Shakespeare’s plays, as Shakespeare often incorporated male actors as female impersonators. Either way, Drag has been around a long time.

Some seem to believe that Drag is new. But it’s not. Drag has been around and in pop culture since Vaudeville, even making appearances on television (here in the US) in the 1950s. Milton Berle and Bob Hope did several TV shows in Drag. Then you had Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Drag in the movie Some Like it Hot.

As we move forward to more current times, Bugs Bunny was in children’s cartoons (starting in 1939 and continuing today) in Drag. M.A.S.H. had Klinger in a dress in almost every episode for eleven years (not to mention the movie). In the 80s you had Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari dressed in Drag every week for two seasons in the sitcom Bosom Buddies. In the 80s and 90s we had movies like Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire. There was Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Who doesn’t know Dame Edna from Australia, or Agnes Brown from the U.K., or the late great Divine. We also have the talented actor Tyler Perry who brought to life Mable “Madea” Earlene Simmons, with how many movies and specials out there. By the way, Georgia can thank Mr. Perry and Madea for the movie industry they now have and reap the benefits off of, as Tyler Perry built his studio in Georgia (Tyler Perry Studios, 2006). And we cannot forget RuPaul, who has been on the scene in Drag since the 1980s. All these artists and entertainers (and so many more) continue to perform for the public. And not once have we heard this kind of outcry (at least when we are speaking of entertainment).

And here we are.

2023 and Tennessee has banned Drag Performances. To be clear, the ban is basically this; the bill that passed in Tennessee restricts “adult cabaret performances” in public or in the presence of children, and bans them from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship.  

Tennessee didn’t stop there either, but I don’t want to get into that now. Just know that other states are watching what happened in Tennessee and plan on pushing their own bills banning Drag through.

Why are we doing this?

The children… or that is their claim. These politicians want to protect kids from ‘big evil’ Drag queens who might… what? I don’t know. Maybe these people are hiding the fact they have fantasies about these drag artists. I’m sure Milton Berle and Bob Hope really get them hot and bothered. Or Madea. You never know. Anyway, none of this Drag outcry makes sense to me, since most of these persons pushing for these bills grew up watching Drag performances, of one form or another, their whole lives. Now Drag is the biggest problem in America… um no.

I don’t get it.

Politicians are focusing on the ‘Boogeyman in Drag’ because they believe they won’t get much flack and they can claim they are keeping their cities and states safer for ‘the children’, but are they? No.

This week Jon Stewart tore into GOP Senator Nathan Dahm (OK) on the subject of guns and tied the matter into Tennessee’s ban on Drag. You can watch the video here now I’m not a huge fan of Jon Stewart, but in this case, I was impressed with him and his remarks.

Now what?

I don’t know.

Like Eric and I talk about, is seems we are moving in the wrong direction as a country. We are attacking people and creating laws to hinder people’s rights. Sadly, it’s not just about Drag. It’s about so many other people’s rights and I’m not sure where and how this madness will stop. An interesting thought is if we are going backwards, then since Drag has been around since at the least the 1800s, then Drag will continue to be around and people will continue to enjoy the artform and the creative expression. Art finds a way and so does the queer community. Strap on your heels and glue down your wigs because this is going to be a bumpy ride… for us all.

Like I said at the start, I’ve been thinking a lot about Drag and everything that is happening these days and I don’t know where these thoughts are going or what is coming. Thank you for baring with me this week. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject, or any subject, as there seems to be a lot happening. Until next time, have a great week.

Reading Event and Amazon Top Ten List

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. What a week, and weekend I had. Firstly, I hope you are all having a great day and taking good care of yourself. I don’t know if I say this enough to you all, but know this; You all matter. You are all enough. And taking care of yourself is imperative. Now, I have some exciting news about Volaria to share with you today and an update from the book reading I was part of this last weekend. Let’s jump in.

This last weekend (Saturday February 25, 2023) I was up in Sacramento, CA at the Lavender Library doing a charity reading with the wonderful authors from the Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) learn more here. We did a reading from our 2022 anthology with all the proceeds from the sale of the anthology BAQWA Presents: Two, being donated to support the Lavender Library, in all their excellent work. If you haven’t been to the Lavender Library, you need to check it out (learn more here). As a group we raised over $200 for the library and we had about 30 people show up for the reading. Being at this event was a blast. Raising more money for the library would be wonderful, so if you haven’t read BAQWA Presents: Two (click here), while you still can. All additional funds will be donated to the Lavender Library. Get your copy now and help BAQWA support this wonderful organization.

Here are some photos from the event:

At the reading were: Kelliane Parker, Liz Faraim, M.D. Neu, Richard May, and Wayne Goodman. Not all those who contributed works to the anthology were able to attend, but we had a wonderful showing.

As promised here is the exciting news I have about Volaria. This week Volaria returned to the Top Ten Lists on Amazon. I couldn’t be more pleased with this news. There are a lot of books out there and to see this novel climb back to the top is amazing.  These are the rankings (as of writing this post): 

Number 1 – LGBTQ+ Science Fiction

Number 4 – Gay Fiction

Number 11 – Science Fiction 

LGBTQ+ Science Fiction

Amazon Best Sellers List, Volaria Number 1.

Science Fiction

Amazon Best Sellers List, Volaria Number 11.

Gay Fiction

Amazon Best Sellers List; Volaria Number 4.

I don’t think Volaria ever placed this high in the Amazon Science Fiction category which is fantastic. I hope the book will continue to stay at the top, if you haven’t nabbed your copy of Volaria yet get it here or if you want a signed copy and live here in the US click here.

One additional announcement for this week. If you are in the San Jose area next week (March 8th) and plan on attending the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Connect 2023 event (learn more here) I’ll be at the event selling and signing my books. I’m proud to have been selected to be part of this event and I’m excited to be associated with the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, please check them out (click here).

There you have it, what a busy week. I’m so appreciative of all the love and support I get from each of you. Don’t forget if you want to learn more about writing and the writing craft check out my YouTube Channel (click here) and watch my Writing Tips and Tricks for Authors. Also, if you aren’t signed up for my quarterly newsletter don’t miss out, because you can get a free short story.  Until next time have a great week.

Writing Update -February 2023

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. It’s been a busy week… In fact, I had no idea how busy until today when I realized I hadn’t gotten a post together for this week. This week I’m following up on a couple of other posts and providing a general writing update. As I mentioned there is a lot to report on. Let’s get too it.

Last week, when I mentioned I have four short stories coming out, well this week, I’m happy to share all four covers with you. I’m thrilled with how they turned out.

Also, I’m happy to share the book blurb for each of the stories:

Election Night:

Elections are stressful enough, and none more than this one. With so much riding on the vote this year, Sammy needed involvement to get her candidate elected and into the Whitehouse. Now on election night she’s had a terrible day, but plans to work on the phones until the bitter end. Already late for her volunteering, Sammy rushes for the ancient building’s elevator, mercifully being held for her by an attractive stranger. More than an election is held in the balance when the elevator gets stuck between floors, and Sammy finds out that the woman stuck with her works for the enemy camp. Who will win the election, and how will these two women make it out of the elevator in one piece?

LandsEnd:

Prom Night. The last hurrah before college. Brandon and Ed are the chaperons for the LandsEnd High School Senior Prom, hosted at the LandsEnd Yacht Club. Its a night of dreams until the ground shakes and flashes of light brighten the sky, knocking out everything electrical, casting the dance into darkness. Cut off and alone, the adults and the students have to figure out what to do and what’s happening. Worryingly, what’s that strange clicking sound off in the distance that seemed to scare off the animals?

Nightingale’s Heart:

Rahim is the head of security for Aza, a popstar, who had a fan with mental health issues break into their home a few years back. Since being hired, Rahim has ensured Aza, and their team’s, safety. However, Rahim, over this time, has grown fond of Aza, hoping for more, but never wanting to cross the line of professionalism. Could his feelings be reciprocated? Could Aza find this lug of a man who protects them more than a ‘Big Guy’ who sees to their safety? Or is this another relationship where Rahim will get hurt?

The Old Road:

Halloween; a night of tricks and treats, but what happens when you take a stranger for a creepy night of mischief and fun? Anything can happen on Halloween, even the unimaginable.

 

Once these short stories are out, I’ll be sure to let you all know, so you can get your free copy, as long as you’re signed up for my newsletter… you are signed up for my newsletter, right?

If you are in the Sacramento, CA area this weekend, I’ll be part of the Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) anthology reading at the Lavender Library: 1414 21st St, Sacramento, CA 95811-5209, United States. We will be reading from our 2022 anthology; BAQWA Presents: Two 2022, which just so happens to have Nightingale’s Heart in it, and I’ll be reading from that short story. I hope to see you all there, as all funds raised from the book sales will go to support the Lavender Library.

Last update I have for this week, is about Mu; Legend of the Lost City. It’s finished and I have it with one of my Beta Readers. I’m pleased with how this story has turned out. I’m excited to have this wonderful tale published.

I have worked on the blurb for the story and I’m happy to share it here now:

For years, the whispers and legends of a lost city hiding in the Pacific Ocean were just that; legend. On the day Kaimi discovers, his parents, the Queen and King of Mu, murdered, Mu’s most powerful weapon fired, sending a pulse rushing towards the North American west coast.

After the 2025 Great Pacific Pulse Event, or Pulse, vomited up much of humankind’s trash in the Pacific Ocean along the North American west coast. The mysterious event causing the largest environmental disaster in human history, people are no longer certain there is nothing concealed in the depths of the ocean. Scientist Karen Linn and billionaire investor Michael Donovan want to find out what actually happened that day five years ago. Will Michael’s life in the adult entertainment industry and Karen’s moniker in pseudoscience keep them as social pariahs, or are they on the cusp of finding a civilization that has been kept out of our grasp, deep in the world’s largest ocean? How does the event from five years ago tie into the murder of the Queen and King of Mu? What lies under the sea may be bigger than anyone can imagine, and neither civilization may be ready for the truth.

Last up, have you been following my YouTube Channel? I’ve been posting weekly writing tips and tricks and I would love to get up to 100 subscribers, so if you’re on YouTube, come by and say hello. I’d like to think the information is helpful and I’ve gotten some wonderful comments and feedback, so I’d love to hear what you have to say.

You can find my channel here.

There you have it, everything I’ve been up to. As projects continue to move forward I’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, come and say hello on Saturday Feb. 25th at 3:30pm. I’d love to see you all there. Until next time have a great week.

Four Short Stories - Update

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you all had a good week, and for those out there who celebrate, I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Today I thought I would share an update with you all, that over the next couple of weeks I’ll be releasing four short stories. They will only be available on Amazon (for $.99), or you will be able to pick one of the stories for free when you sign up for my newsletter.  The reason for me doing this is twofold. First, I want to try my hand at self-publishing. The second reason is because I want to have some short stories I can offer up for people to sample my writing, and if I have complete control of these stories then I won’t have any issues or conflicts in using the works as I wish.

As for the short stories, I will be releasing: LandsEnd, The Old Road, Election Night, and Nightingale’s Heart. Each story will be its own eBook. Recently I finished putting these books through the editing process, which I’m happy to say ended up quite painless. I have two covers complete and two more are in the works. Here is a sneak peak of the covers for LandsEnd and The Old Road.

Personally, I’m quite proud of these covers and I can’t wait to share the covers for Election Night and Nightingale’s Heart.  The talented Glenn Quigley (learn more about Glenn here) has been working with me on the covers… so you know they are going to be incredible once finished.

After the covers are completed and ready to go, I’ll be working with another author buddy of mine to get them uploaded to Amazon.

There are a lot of steps in producing these short works so the process has been a bit slow, however doing this has given me a new appreciation in how much work goes into getting a book published.

Some of you might be saying, but aren’t these stories already available? Haven’t we already gotten these stories? And yes, if you purchased any of the anthologies I’ve been part of, then you may have already read the stories, but now these works have been professionally edited, polished, and will have their own unique covers, which make them all the more special. At least I hope.

I’ll keep you all posted as I get close to the release, so you can all nab up your own copies. Until next time have a great week.

Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) Reading

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you’re all having a great week. As the title says, one of the author groups I’m part of; The Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) will have a book reading from our newest anthology; BAQWA Presents: Two. The reading is set for Saturday February 25th at 3:30pm at the Lavender Library in Sacramento, CA.

We are excited to have this reading at the Library as the money raised from the book sales of BAQWA Presidents: Two will be donated to the Library. To learn more about all the great work the Lavender Library does click here.

As you can see, I’ll be there reading from my short story Nightingale’s Heart. It was such a privilege to be part of this project and I hope you’ll be able to come and join us. You can follow the event and keep up to date with all the details here. Learn more about BAQWA here. And follow us on Facebook here, Twitter here, and Instagram here.

That’s all I have for this week. Mark your calendar and come on by and say hello, it would be great to see you there. If you can’t make the reading but you would still like to support the Lavender Library you can get your copy of BAQWA Presents: Two here.

Until next time have a great week.

The Vampire’s War – Damian Serbu

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a great week. Today I’m thrilled to have author Damian Serbu here to chat about his newest novel The Vampire’s War, which is the fifth book in his The Realm of the Vampire Council. If you haven’t checked out his amazing series and you enjoy vampire books, then you are missing out on some excellent books.

Instead of having Damian come over and chat about his book, I asked him to provide something different. He wrote up what inspired him to craft this story and how he learned but the novels underlying tone actually meant to him. Let’s jump into what Damian has to say.

Quite often, when asked why I wrote a novel, I explain how the story called to me. The characters, episodes, and plot line emerge within my head over time, until I have to put them to paper. In other words, the muse dictates a lot of what I write! I was excited, however, to be asked about what inspired The Vampire’s War, because more played into its development than the muse alone.

I had hinted in other vampire novels about a rogue vampire who defies the Vampire Council. And in The Vampire’s Protégé, which introduces a completely new vampire, the defiant vampire plays a key role. By the end of Protégé, in fact, we learn a war is brewing, but there are no other details. If I wanted to return to my vampires, I was going to have to dive into this war. In other words, the war at the heart of The Vampire’s War was a slow burn coming at us over several stories.

I delayed a little while, however, because I was concerned about the scope of a vampire war and how to put that to paper. I was nervous because the concept went farther outside my typical comfort zone than most of my other tales. I was sitting on a situation where I had ideas but too much uncertainty to start putting the grand scheme to paper. However, along came the second push toward writing The Vampire’s War.

This is where the muse comes into play. Vampires have always called to me. I write other genres, but even when I take a break, I return to vampires. When I complete a novel, I think – okay, done with the vampires! Time for them to go away for a bit! They comply for a little while, until I begin to see flashes of a scene pop into my head. Then they demand more and more attention, until I jot some notes about a possible story. However, I wanted to let them rest. I had other novels in the queue within my brain that were supposed to be written first. But one after another, the vampires poked and prodded. They said shit like, “Yeah, you think you like the YA sci fi thing you’re plugging away on. But we’re cuter. And funnier. Oh! Hey! Guess what I did that you need to tell people about!” You see, vampires nag at you.

The sexual allure, power, and concept of immortality within vampire worlds has always fascinated me. I love vampires of all stripes; from the dark vampire of Bram Stoker and other evil vampires, to the universe of Anne Rice. I find the uniqueness of each author’s creation so absorbing. Plus, with my vampires and I think with other vampire writers, stripping away mortality, and in many ways fear itself, offers a platform for deep dives into other human emotions and motivations. This factor pulls me back into the vampire world time and time again. Combined with their incessant voices in my head, it was time to bring them back to life.

Fascinatingly, the third factor in what produced The Vampire’s War was dormant as I wrote this novel. I was going with these first two motivations as driving me to write The Vampire’s War, unaware that a third, and possibly more powerful force, pushed me along. Before I reveal the issue, let me share how I figured out its influence.

I was talking to a close friend about my writing. She asked what I was currently working on, so I explained how I was wrapping up The Vampire’s War. The Vampire’s War is written from Jaret’s point of view. He’s a character who first appeared in The Bachmann Family Secret, a young adult ghost story, and then blended into the vampire world in The Vampire’s Witch, where he becomes a vampire. He’s also in The Vampire’s Protégé, but never by name because he refuses to reveal his identity to the main character. However, Jaret tells about the impending war and is attempting to find help in combating it. These factors make him an ideal vehicle for watching the war. He’s young and not part of the vampire leadership, so he and the reader together discover facts about the war as they develop. And he is extremely powerful because in addition to his vampire ability, he’s a witch.

Back to the matter at hand, I explained to my friend how I realized that The Vampire’s War has two main storylines, not one. Of course, one is the war itself. But as the words hit paper, I came to realize we were also watching Jaret grow into himself as a new, confidant, and liberated vampire. There was a self-discovery component for Jaret that evolved naturally, without my intending to tell it even as it dominated much of the plot.

She then asked me, “do you think what happened to you had anything to do with how you tell Jaret’s story?” Boom! Out of nowhere I saw a major factor in why this story came into being. I had been laid off, in a very unethical hatchet job against a lot of friends, colleagues, and myself. But Paul and I had been planning for me to retire in about five years or so, and after deliberation and analysis, concluded we could take that step now, and thus I became a full-time writer! Jaret’s story had become part of how I processed what happened to me and then embraced my new life. For the first time, I don’t answer to anyone, not a parent, teacher, professor, boss – nobody but the dogs (who are still in charge). The way my friend led me to this revelation was so much fun. And I am happy to have the opportunity to share with you the fun way The Vampire’s War came to fruition!

I don’t know about you, but I love hearing about how authors come up with their story ideas and how our actual lives can seep into the stories we write, even without us knowing until someone points the fact out to us. Let me know in the comments below what you think about how our muses work. Until next time, have a great week.

Book Blurb:

War brews among vampires. Facing extinction at the hands of an ancient one, the Vampire Council plods along with a secret strategy. Jaret Bachmann, both vampire and witch, fears the Council elders move too slowly. He has the power to assist them in defeating their enemy, but the longer they keep him at arm’s length the more defiant he becomes. He’s already pushing the boundaries to assert his will when tragedy strikes, devastating him and compelling him to become even more rebellious. A young vampire alone in the world, Jaret struggles to find his true self and discover how he wants to spend the remainder of his eternal life, even as the vampire war intensifies and the rogue vampire strikes again. To compound his problems, he’s faced with the allure of a hot renegade vampire, not sure if he is friend or foe. Who will win the war, and where will Jaret’s soul-searching lead him? Find out in The Vampire’s War.

About Damian Serbu:

Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction.  After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time.  He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs.  You can find him a on his website here, or keep up with his latest ramblings on Twitter here and Facebook here.

Buy Link his novel The Vampire’s War here.

Cover Art

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. How is your day going? You all hanging in there? I thought today would be a good day to talk about cover art and cover design. There are some authors, and for the life of me I don’t understand, that don’t pay any attention to the covers that are used for their books. I’m not saying this is all authors. In fact, I have a feeling it’s only a small minority, but lately I’ve seen some awful covers. I don’t know if these terrible designs have to do with the sheer number of self-published books out there, but dear lord, if these books are being pushed out by publishing houses, then they should be ashamed of themselves. Especially with all the wonderfully talented graphic artists and designers to pick from.

I’m not going to share the bad covers I’ve seen, because what I don’t like someone may love.

However, consider this a public service announcement to all authors out there. If you are self-publishing your book, please pay attention to the cover. An amazing cover is one of the best ways to market and sell your book. Now, unless you are an extremely talented artist yourself, then pay to have something professionally done. Book covers tend to start at $50 (US) and go up from there. I’ve seen some wonderful covers at this lower price point. However, like with all things the more you pay the better (and more customizable) the cover can be.

One sure fire way to ensure you have a great looking cover, is to do a search for the best cover art in your genre.  It’s amazing what will pop up and give you some great ideas. When it comes to cover design, really do your homework. If you spent months and years working on your book, then spending a week or two to find and acquire the perfect cover for your book is well worth the investment. Especially since this is your introduction to new readers. Everyone will judge your book by the cover, despite what we’ve all been told.

Here is a link to a cover designer, Sleepy Fox Studio, I’ve used in the past (and I’m not getting anything for this, I only wanted to share one resource out there, but there are several artists who can do wonderful cover art for your book) click here.

What are your thoughts on book covers? Do you care what the cover looks like? Have you ever been put off from buying a book because of the cover? Or worse, have you ever bought a book based on the cover then hated the book? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have a great week.

Velma (HBO Max) – My Thoughts

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all doing well today. I’m happy to report that today is the first full day we didn’t have any rain, since, I want to say, around Christmas. I don’t mind the rain, however it’s nice to see the sun. We are actually drying out a bit, especially after the thunder, hail and downpour we had yesterday. On the flip side, that means we’ve gotten, California cold, which means our lows are in the 30s at night and the low 50s during the day. 

Don’t laugh, when you aren’t from the snow, that can be cold. Plus, I’m delicate. 

Eric and I started watching Velma, this weekend and I wanted to share my thoughts on the first two episodes we’ve seen. I want to give the writers some credit here because if this wasn’t an origin story about a popular character from a hugely successful kid’s cartoon from the late 1960s and early 1970s the show is good. The characters are interesting and different. I loved the mixed of characters and the diversity. I enjoyed (especially in the first episode) them making fun of other modern TV shows, especially nudity. Both Eric and I had a chuckle at that. 

Unfortunately, Velma is not a new show. These aren’t new and fresh characters, these are characters that several generations (from Gen X forward) grew up with. This is the issue I’m having with the show so far. They have taken these characters we all know and love, then thrown them into a blender and we ended up with this mix of… well I’m not sure what to call it.  Let me give you some simple examples: 

  • Velma Dinkely: She’s a geek/nerd who has family trauma and a really unlikeable father. She’s a know-it-all and doesn’t like anyone. She thinks they are all idiots.

  • Daphine Blake: A ‘mean girl’ who you don’t like from the start and continue to dislike (she and Velma were BFFs until Daphine made friends with the popular girls. The best part about her character is she has two moms who are detectives (and not very good detectives at that).

  • Fred Jones: Ugh… a childish freak (sorry that is the best word I have to describe him). He is a rich pampered snob (he doesn’t even remember Velma’s name at first even though they go to school together). He can’t even cut his own food for himself. He too comes from an odd (read mildly abusive) family. The most interesting part of his character so far is, for some reason, he hasn’t gone through puberty and has an underdeveloped penis.

  • Norville "Shaggy" Rogers: He’s a friend of Velma’s who has a crush on her (he’s the most likable of the characters so far). I do like that they have him creating SM content about food, I thought that was clever and interesting.

  • Scooby-Doo: MIA. We haven’t seen or heard the namesake of the cartoon yet. WTF! 

Now, don’t get me wrong, the talent is giving their acting and these characters there all, which is wonderful to see. And I really appreciate all the diversity, as it modernizes this show for a new generation. The animation is excellent as well, so they are really putting out a visually beautiful work. Honestly, this should have been called something else, and I think they would have something quite good. Instead you, the viewer, are trying to watch the show and you keep getting pulled out of it with all the differences from the original source material. 

Eric and I will continue to watch the show, because it is interesting, but this is not Scooby-Doo by any stretch of the imagination. Will the series live or die? Will we actually get Scooby-Doo? I don’t know. But if you want to watch a dark gritty adult cartoon, then give Velma a watch. If you want something fun from your childhood run the other way and avoid at all cost. 

There you have it, my thoughts on the first two episodes of Velma (2023).  Have you watched Velma yet? What did you think? Did you watch Scooby-Doo (1969) as a kid? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have a great week.

Queer as Folk (2022) - Review

Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and taking care of yourselves. This week I wanted to share my thoughts on the new version of Queer as Folk (2022). Eric and I finally sat down to binge watch the drama, and since we finished the show, and since there won’t be a new season, I figured I would share my thoughts on this updated version of this innovative drama from 1999.

I was a huge fan of the British version of Queer as Folk, and I was excited to see them bring it to the US. When Queer as Folk came out, it was edgy and broke all the barriers that were in place and it was brilliant.

If you don’t know what Queer as Folk is, here is a brief summary of the show: The lives and loves of a group of gay friends living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

When I saw Peacock was planning on revamping and updating the show for 2022 I wasn’t sure if that needed to be done, but since Hollywood is all about remakes (with hits and misses) I figured I would give it a chance… then I read the reviews. Then I saw that the show wouldn’t be picked up for a second season. Because of this, we ended up waiting to watch since there wasn’t a rush.

The remake of Queer as Folk is basically this: It centers on a group of club-going friends who find support in the (New Orleans) gay community following a tragedy.

What I really liked about this show was how the writers really brought in the diversity. You want to see the rainbow, this show provides that. And there are some wonderful veteran actors who help bring credibility to the cast: Juliette Lewis, Kim Cattrall, and Ed Bagley, Jr. who all play strong supporting characters allowing the younger cast to shine. Everything about the casting was wonderful, and they impressed me. This is how Hollywood should cast our (the queer communities) stories.

Sadly, despite the wonderful cast and the strong acting, I found myself disappointed with the show. I had a hard time liking any of the characters (with a few exceptions; Bussey, Marvin, and Ali all stood out and I would have loved to see more of them and learn more of their stories). The characters we were meant to care about held no interest for me and I kept waiting for their scenes to end so we could go back to the side characters I loved. I’m not sure what the writers were trying to do with the major stars of the show. Were they writing drama for drama’s sake, because it wasn’t needed. They had so much to work with that they didn’t need to keep piling it on.

Maybe it’s the writer in me, wow can I say that? But I wanted more story and less drama. The series started with a bang and we got thrown in to all the characters’ lives, which was good, but before we even got to learn more about these people, they added more drama. Each episode kept adding to the fire (and not in a good way). They had some amazing plot points that they could have run with, especially with the diversity of the cast, but the writers chose to quickly wrap some of these large issues up with a few lines of dialogue before adding a bunch of new drama. Honestly, it was a mess and frustrating to watch in some parts.

Where the original Queer as Folk gave enough drama to keep the show interesting (while hitting on topical subjects for the time period) this new version didn’t give us a chance to meet these characters and learn about them, so we could actually care about them.

One bright spot that I loved was learning some of the back story between Ruthie and Brodie. They handled those moments so well; it made me more annoyed that they didn’t do that with everyone.

I want to call out Ryan O’Connell (who played Julian). He did a wonderful job with the few bits and pieces they gave him. Ryan was the writer and star of Special, which I adored. If you haven’t watched Special do so, as Ryan was excellent in the show and it’s a lot of fun. I also loved the scenes with him and Nyle DiMarco. I wouldn’t mind seeing the two of them in a movie or TV show together. Their chemistry together worked for me.

Despite my disappointment with the show, it’s worth watching. Eric actually really enjoyed it, so it might be a me thing. Maybe Peacock will give it another look, make a few changes and bring it back, but I’m not sure. Either way, I would watch a new season.

There you have it, my thoughts on Queer as Folk (2022). Have you watched Queer as Folk (any of the versions)? What did you think? Did you like them, hate them, or what? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have a great week.

2022; Year in Review

Happy New Year everyone and happy Wednesday Scribblers. It has been a crazy year, and today I thought I would do a year in review, and share all the things that brought me joy this year. I also thought I would share a few things that may or may not be on your radar, which I hope you will all check out and support.

First and foremost, as I hope you all know I’ve had two new books come out this year; Conspiracy-A New World (Book 3) (click here) and Volaria (click here), I was also part of three anthologies this year as well; Save the World: Twenty Sci-Fi Writers Save the Planet (click here), BAQWA Presents: Two (click here), and Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2 (click here). There was a lot of writing this year, which always brings me joy. I’m thrilled to be involved with all these other incredible authors. I’ve learned so much from each of them, and I believe that has improved my writing greatly.

This year, I returned to in person events and boy did I miss them. I didn’t attend too many events, but the ones I did go to were a joy to attend. This year I attended: The Hayward Lit Hop, The Bay Area Book Festival, Davis Pride, and BayCon 2022. It was so good to see people in person and get to sign books and meet fans. I absolutely love being out and about seeing folks. I’m hoping to go to more events this year (click here to see my events page).

Publishing three more audiobooks this year was incredibly special for me. In 2022 I released: Contact-A New World (Book 1) and Conviction-A New World (Book2) as narrated by Steve Connor; and, The Calling as narrated by Vance Bastian. Both these actors/narrators are exceptionally talented and made the novel come to life. I could be more pleased with all the work that went into them. Find them here, on Audible and here on iTunes. You won’t be disappointed. I know I wasn’t.

What really made my year, was getting to contribute to some wonderful online and print publications. I had two articles featured on Pen to Print (find them here and here). I was asked to provide an article for the San Francisco Chronicle which was a huge honor (find it here). The East Bay Time did a write up about me and my two novels; Conspiracy and Volaria (click here). Lastly, I was interviewed on behalf of the Bay Area Queer Writers Association (BAQWA) for the Bay Area Berkley High Jacket (click here).

Another bright spot for me this year, was getting to be interviewed on Small Publishing in a Big Universe (find it here) and WROTE Podcast did me the honor of not only allowing me to come on and chat about my writing and my books (click here), but they also had me for the entire month of December as a guest reviewer for their holiday movie reviews, which was an absolute joy. Here are the links to each of the episodes:

Gayeen Froese (12/9/22) – click here (we review Christmas at the Ranch)

Faith Mosley (12/16/22) – click here (we review Happiest Season)

Kevin Klehr (12/23/22) – click here (we review The Holiday Sitter)

2022 Yearly Wrap-up (12/30/22) – click here (we review The Christmas House 2)

Being part of all these podcasts and YouTube channel interviews really got me excited about the possibilities, and what, if anything, I could do to help support the writing community. This year I launched my Writing Tips and Tricks for Authors on my YouTube Channel (find it here). I wanted to reach out to not only authors but to readers as well and share what it’s like to be a ‘real’ indie author and all the work that goes into it. These episodes are fifteen minutes (or shorter) and it’s been a lot of fun creating them and seeing the comments and reaction from folks. I’m already up to 30 subscribers but it would be great to reach 100 or even a thousand. Who knows. But if you want to keep up with me and get to hear and learn about writing I encourage you to check out the channel and see what you think.

The last thing that has brought me massive amounts of joy this last year, is each of you. Knowing that there are folks out there who love my writing and buy my books makes me happy and gives me the desire to keep going. 2023 Promises to be another crazy year, and I’ll have a new book (or two) coming out, so keep an eye out.

There you have it, my year in review. Here’s to 2023 and all that lays ahead of us. Until next time, have a great week.

Happy Holidays 2022

Happy Holidays 2022

Happy Wednesday Scribblers, I want to take a moment and thank you all and wish you all a joyful holiday season. No matter what you celebrate, I hope you take time to rest, relax, and unwind. As with each year as it ends I want to share a simple Holiday message with you all:

Happy holidays! Sending you love, light, and laughter for good memories and a bright and healthy 2023. May you and your family stay healthful and may you see the light in a world that can be dark.

Until next time, be well, happy holidays, and have a great week.

Book Announcement: These Young Wolves by Glenn Quigley

Happy Wednesday Scribblers! I hope you are having a wonderful week. Today I’m excited to share another up and coming book from the wonderful author Glenn Quigley (he’s been a busy author with a lot of new works coming out). This week we’re going to learn about Glenn’s spin off story from the Moth and Moon trilogy, These Young Wolves – The Knights of Blackrabbit book one.

These Young Wolves – The Knights of Blackrabbit book one by Glenn Quigley

Blurb:

One year ago, Vince Knight walked away from his role as crime lord of Port Knot. In his absence, the gangs he founded went to war, and frightening new factions have risen from the ashes to tear at the town’s throat like hungry wolves.

Now Vince is back and has taken command of the Watch—working side-by-side with the very people who spent years trying to put him behind bars. Unbeknownst to him, Captain James Godgrave has been given his own team to deal with crime in the town, but while he and Vince share a common goal, they are not allies.

The murder of one of James’s crew puts Vince in a delicate position. Facing pressure from the council, the townsfolk, and the Watch itself, Vince must find the killer because if he doesn’t, James will, and Vince’s tenure as Watch Commander will be the shortest in history.

As Vince and James clash in their public and private lives, Vince starts to understand the damage caused by his abdication as crime lord, James sets about putting down the gangs once and for all, and the mysterious power behind the new factions exacts a terrifying plan that will change Port Knot forever.

About the Story:

This is an historical fiction story, set in the late 18th century. It’s also a spin-off from The Moth and Moon trilogy. It is not necessary to have read that series before this book, however those who have read it will recognise former villain Vince Knight, who is now trying to make up for past mistakes.  From the moment Vince Knight first walked onto the page in The Lion Lies Waiting, I knew there was something special about him. Some characters require a degree of finessing and moulding to reveal their true selves. Not so with Vince. He appeared on the page fully formed and ready for action. It is a genuine thrill to be able to bring you this, the first in his adventures as head of the Port Knot Watch.

The Knights of Blackrabbit series is set in the Pell Isles–a group of islands situated off the coast of Cornwall. The isles and their inhabitants have been heavily influenced by the Cornish language and culture. As such, you will see words such as backalong and bleddy crop up in the dialogue. These are Cornish words which have been adopted by everyday Pellans. Backalong means in former times and bleddy is simply the word bloody in the local vernacular. Other words and phrases have been rewritten to make their meaning clearer, but I felt it important to leave some elements of the local dialect intact. I hope that Cornish people will forgive me for any little errors!

It’s worth noting that in this world, an event named “The Illumination” coincided with the fall of the Roman Empire and ultimately led to the abandonment of religious practices across the world. In England, in the year 1141, Queen Matilda passed a law declaring women equal to men with no restrictions placed on their education or the roles they could hold within society. The dearth of religious doctrine led to those who experienced life outside of the traditional to blossom and become accepted as simply another part of life. Prejudice based on gender, race, or sexuality became almost unheard of. If only our world had taken a similar path. When I started writing my first novel, The Moth and Moon, I wanted to create a world where no one would face any hardship because of their sexuality. The Illumination was my way of explaining that. It isn’t the focus of the story, and is only mention in passing during the second book in the trilogy, The Lion Lies Waiting, but I felt some kind of explanation was warranted.

This story begins on 23rd October 1781, the day after the events of We Cry the Sea (the third in the Moth and Moon trilogy). It is not essential to have read that book, nor the rest of the Moth and Moon trilogy, though doing so will provide a more detailed insight into how Vince Knight came to arrive at his current position in life.

You might be interested to know that there is a free story that acts a little prequel to These Young Wolves. It is available to my newsletter subscribers (there had to be a newsletter plug in here somewhere!). You can sign up for it here.

This new series is more action-packed and faster paced than my previous works and I hope that readers will enjoy it. If nothing else, it’s got big, burly, bearded men sleeping with each other and that’s gotta be worth a look, right?

These Young Wolves – The Knights of Blackrabbit book one will be available in paperback and eBook, and will be released on 20th December 2022 by Ninestar Press. You can pre-order the eBook version here and get it four days early.

Glenn will be selling signed copies with bookmarks and limited-edition art prints, and these will be available worldwide. You can find out more on his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Moth and Moon trilogy is on sale for the month on December on Amazon and the Ninestar Press website.

Well, that’s all for this week. Go out and preorder These Young Wolves – The Knights of Blackrabbit book one. You won’t be disappointed. Until next time have a great week.

Author Bio:

Glenn Quigley is an author and artist originally from Tallaght in Dublin, Ireland, and now living in Lisburn, Northern Ireland with his partner of many years. His first novel, The Moth and Moon, was published in 2018. When not writing, he paints portraits in watercolours and tweets too many photos of lighthouses. He maintains a website of his latest work at www.glennquigley.com.

 

Where to find Glenn online:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/glennquigleyauthor

Twitter: @glennquigley

Instagram: @glennquigleyauthor

Mastodon: @glennquigley@mastodon.online

Website: www.glennquigley.com