'Nathan Burgoine's Blog, page 111

Launch!

Before anything else, I need to send a massive thank you to Stonewall Gallery for hosting the launch for Triad Blood. Michael is a saint, and I can’t think of a better place to have wine, cheese (and cupcakes!) and to be surrounded by art and culture while folk suffer through listening to me speak. Seriously. He’s magic.

The table all set up and ready to go, with the official signing pen my husband bought me way back when “Heart” was first published.

If you’re ever in Ottawa, you need to drop by. As I said before I started my reading, all the jewellery I was wearing was from Stonewall Gallery, and I have to admit a smug satisfaction to see a few pieces sell before the evening was over. You can take the salesman out of the store, but… Well, you know.

Your humble reader.

Thanks to some protests and some street parking closures, we got off to a slightly late start, but that was fine, people trickled in and I got to meet and greet everyone before I read, which was a nice way to do things and may be my plan going forward with these sorts of events. Wine was had, cheese was had, the cupcakes were definitely had, and then Michael was kind enough to introduce me and the reading began.

But you know what didn’t happen? NO ONE COLLAPSED!

This has been a big goal of mine for future readings, so, hey, check! I did have one of my combat medic friends ready, just in case. Pays to be prepared, etc. Though once again I referred to her wife by the wrong name. Do you have that problem with any friends? Drives me mental. I know her name is Cathy. I do. I swear I do. But every time I go to write it in a book, and I ask how it’s spelled (something I learned to always do after hosting umpteen million signings as a manager) I say ‘Cindy’ instead. It’s maddening, and I can’t blame it on my speech impediment. Apologies to Brenda. AGAIN.

I love these folks.

I read the opening scene from the first chapter of the book, and got some geeky laughter from the Firefly fans (it’s a neat litmus test to see who, like Luc and Anders, doesn’t quite ‘get’ what Curtis is referring to when he compares them to Mal and Jayne), and ended on a bang, as it were. Then we mingled, I signed things, and the evening was lovely.

As always, I can offer nothing but heartfelt gratitude to everyone who showed. It’s especially heartwarming to see former co-workers (to whom this book is actually dedicated, by the by), as I know what it means to come from working around books all day to go to a book event. That’s dedication, folks.

Guy in the red shirt? BROKEN LEG. Jeez, Christian, that’s dedication.

But the winner of most-earned-Karma has to be Christian Baines, who freaking showed up on a broken leg! Seriously. We found him a settee, but wow. The bar has been raised, folks, and raised high. You should go buy Puppet Boy and The Beast Without and pre-order The Orchard of Flesh. Right now. Man earned it.

Come to think of it, I guess that means I did have another injury present for this launch. But it was a pre-existing condition, so it doesn’t count.

For those of  you who had life happen, but would still like to grab a signed copy of Triad Blood (or Light, for that matter, and quite a few of the anthologies I’ve got a story in, too), I’ll be working at the store on Monday, so they’ll be signed thereafter. If you don’t care about my signature (sniff, I’ll get over it), they’re already there. Hope to see you there!

And for every reader, everywhere: thank you, again. Couldn’t do this without you.

And, of course, If Ottawa is too far away, you can get Triad Blood directly from Bold Strokes Books (and, again, if you buy an e-book, you can get my short story “Three” for free with any e-book purchased this month from them!)

 

 

 

 

Writing Wednesday – Back to Reality

It feels a little like coming off a vacation to come home from Romancing the Capital. I did my walkthrough of the event yesterday, and I have to admit to still feeling like I’ve crashed back down to Earth. It’s always like that after great events.

So! Since last week how have things been? Well, reviews for Triad Blood have been positive, I’ve got the launch tomorrow (ack!) and I was above my word-count goal every day last week. Score. Getting back in gear after the conference, but I’m still moving.

Also, I’m up today at Joyfully Jay, where you’ve got a shot at winning a copy if you visit and comment. Drop by and say ‘hello!’

The Novel

The point of my ‘Writing Wednesdays’ posts is to bring myself to public accountability for how the writing is going. As of right now, I’ve broken the 31k mark, and I’m aiming high for the rest of the month. Fingers crossed. I’ve also figured out which threads to tangle in Triad Soul and a few things that are being moved into Triad Magic (the nebulous third book I’ve got kinda-sorta planned for the boys), and that seems to have helped me keep things going strong.

Also, because it’s so damn lovely, here’s the trailer again for Triad Blood.

The Short Stuff
“Three” is free right now with a purchase, and will be $0.99 after May ends.

It’s still May, so I should remind everyone right now that I’ve got a short that’s available free with any purchase of any e-book from Bold Strokes Books. “Three” is the erotic short story that introduced the characters who became my first ‘repeat’ characters. The guys in “Three” are the main characters in Triad Blood, and if you go to Bold Strokes Books’s webstore and pick up any e-title, you can opt-in for “Three” for free. It prompts you automatically at the basket stage.

That deal ends at the end of the month, so if you’re curious, you’ve got a couple of weeks left to decide.

I should also note I’ve made progress on the ‘Village’ novella I was talking about last week (which is now ready for beta folk to take a peek at it). This is the non-smutty novella I’ve been working on, and I’m excited to see what might come of it. Even better, at Romancing the Capital, I got some great tips, tricks, and pointers from some awesome writers of novellas, and that gave me some courage to really make sure I don’t drop the ball on this notion of mine.

As for the smuttier idea? Still working on that novella, and should plug away at it some more today.

 

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
A Magical Life – Wyrdwood Publishing, Deadline: July 1st, 2016.
Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 2016.
This Wish Tonight – Holiday M/M Genre romance, Mischief Corner Books, Deadline: August 1, 2016.
Over the Rainbow – Fairy Tale Retellings, Exile Editions (note: Canadian requirement), Deadline: August 31, 2016.
A Scandal in Gomorrah: Queering Sherlock Holmes – Queering the canon or something more transformational, Lethe Press, Deadline: January 1, 2017.

Don’t forget to check the Lambda Literary site for more calls, as well as the Queer Sci-Fi calls for submission page (always a trove!)

Romance in the Big O

It’s been a couple of days since Romancing the Capital ended, and I’ve gotten my voice back (finally!) so I thought I’d sit down and try to give you an idea of what it was like (if you weren’t there) and why I can’t wait to go back, assuming Eve Langlais is willing to put herself under the stress of being the sole conductor for the insane train again.

Before anything else? She needs to be called out for the incredible job she did in organizing and setting everything up. In my past life as a bookseller, I spent twenty years going to various book events, and I have to say that for readers, Romancing the Capital is so reader-focused—not to mention overflowing with prizes, swag, and fun—that I’m not surprised it sells out so quickly. When you’re dealing with hundreds of people (all of whom have the wide and varied reading tastes that romance encompasses) making everyone happy and energized should be impossible, but everyone was jazzed and moving and laughing throughout.

I adore romance.

Spot the queer guy’s bag.

I didn’t manage to make the “bonus” Thursday events for those who’d gotten into town early (His Fluffy Lordship requires me home for evenings), so for me, everything began Friday. First thing on the schedule was our LGBTQ romance panel. Kristine Cayne, Elizabeth Lister, Kayleigh Malcolm, Angela Stone, and myself chatted about the areas of LGBTQ romance that we love (and maybe some things we don’t love so much, such as ‘Gay-for-You’ and a few other clichés, misinformation, and unintentionally erasing stuff), how we started writing it, then notion of “own voices,” the joy of menage stories where—as Kayleigh put it—”the swords cross,” and so much more. There was a lot of laughter, which is huge and always one of my main goals, and to say we have five chronically under-caffeinated authors at the opening panel, I daresay it went well. The author chemistry was awesome (like sitting down with people and thinking, ‘Oh, hi, you’re my new best friends!’), which is always a bonus, and none of us were high-structure people, so basically we ran it by the seat of our pants, and it was far more Q&A-focused than lecture in style.

You need to hear Angela Stone speak. Need.

After that, I went to hear Angela Stone give her Q&A session on “The Science of Sex” and it was freaking fantastic. She’s a brilliant speaker, comes from a position of passion and knowledge (she’s a nurse) and has exposure to and has worked with youth, adults, people with disabilities, LGBTQ folk… Basically, the breadth of knowledge on display was titanic, and her approachability and humour meant no one was too afraid to ask a question. I learned quite a bit, as did everyone around me, and if you asked a question, you won a sex toy, which was just icing on the cake. She was sort of like Sex Oprah. “You get a sex toy! And you get a sex toy! And you get a sex toy! Everyone gets a sex toy!”

After that, I got to listen to Opal Carew, Anne Lange, Sasha White, and Zoe York talk to the room about erotica at their panel, “Erotica to Make You Sweat.” These ladies sure knew how to talk smut, and I have to say I was really impressed a the range of discourse, heat level, formatting, indie/trad range the authors discussed, as well as their own personal paths from where they began.

These ladies know their erotica.

It’s not often you get to hear that much experience in one place, and I know I came away more the richer. Also, last year, I didn’t get to hear Opal speak once—we were directly opposed to each other at every panel/time-slot we were involved with—so it felt like putting things right. Opal was one of my hand-selling go-tos for so long, it was lovely to have more than a moment to say “hi” in passing.

A break for lunch (where I got to catch up with Elizabeth Lister, since even though we live in the same city, we suck at socializing and not being introverts), and then I dove back into the mix with renewed energy and a full tummy, heading into space for “Space, the New Romantic Frontier” with Viola Grace, Susan Hayes, Eve Langlais, S.E. Smith, and Jessica E. Subject. Oh. My Gosh. My nerd and geek mind was having so much fun with this, and even solely from a point of view of exploring “how much science to mix with how much romance” it was fascinating. To hear some of the experiences of the authors with their brushes with the Science Fiction communities and conventions was also illuminating (as well as depressing and definitely reminded me of the same conversations I have when I mention I write gay speculative fiction—oh, sorry, no, we prefer real science fiction.) These ladies rocked it out of the park, and I want a purple alien, a cyborg, and maybe an abduction would be nice. (Also, I want Susan Hayes’s hair.)

Science Fiction is Sexy, Damnit!

Then I made a mistake that turned out to be a lot of fun. I know a lot about book covers from the point of view of being a bookseller and knowing what can work from a bookshelf, but not so much from the point of view of an indie author—which I’m thinking of becoming for some short novellas. So I went to Cora Seton‘s “Crafting Covers with Cora” thinking it was about cover design but…

Turns out it was actually crafting covers. Like, physically. So I used a glue stick (I am not good at glue stick) and grabbed a few things from the word pile and some magazine cut-outs and a pair of scissors (also not good at scissors) and… TA-DA!

This was my romance cover. About a cowboy who has just suffered profound hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hear someone say “I love you.” Or something.

After that I hung out in the corridor and then outside with some authors and readers I wanted to touch base with—I should point out there were still people I missed during this weekend, that’s just how full the darn days are—and headed home to his Fluffy Lordship while everyone got ready for their Cowboy themed dinner.

On Saturday I was once again bright and early guy, hosting a chat on LGBTQ Characters. My goal was to get readers (and authors) thinking about what inclusivity means and how to do it and what it might take to do it well, and I have to say the whole hour flew by and everyone was fantastic. I was stunned at the turnout—I had twice the people as the year before, so I couldn’t quite do my “draw the chairs into a circle” so much as a big banana and the conversations never stopped.

We started by drawing out a pretty basic idea for a typical romance with a lady and a fellow, and I have to say it was a blast brainstorming this part with everyone. For the record, the group came up with this:

Heroine: a CEO of a large PR firm.
Hero: a younger man, a hockey player from a legacy hockey family, who is a part of the firm and has a reputation (which the PR firm is working on) for being a bit of a player and a party animal.
They meet, sparks fly, but of course his family isn’t cool with her (especially the age difference and the fact she can kind of hold part of his public persona over his head), she has to worry about the other people in her company and her reputation.
They meet, spark, give into temptation before they learn who each other is, then put everything on hold once they realize what’s at stake, until, of course, they realize how much they mean to each other and the fight for every inch they can get to be seen as the couple they wish to be.

First off, I love the room gave her more power and made her older. Just sayin’.

I talk with my hands. A lot.

So, then we took that story, and made the romance a gay one. Two men. The insights flew fast and furious about all the things that were different, even if the core narrative remained the same.

This would be the first openly gay NHL player, if it happened.
Are his parents aware? (I loved that the group decided they were, and although they were supportive, they thought it best he get settled into a career with a team before he came out, as the father would know full well how hard a road ahead his kid would have).
The PR Firm heroine (now a hero) didn’t need a lot of tweaking. Likely he didn’t suffer sexism on the rise up to the top, but he would have had some homophobia to deal with, but all in all, a PR firm seemed like a fairly safe environment—though, likely he’s not super-out to the sports teams and sports contacts he has.
Their spark and meet and one-night-stand would play much the same, as would their realization of who each other is.
If the hockey player was bi, rather than gay, there’s the extra pressure to choose a life that would cause less ripples (and find a girlfriend)—this also led to the dangers of the “Gay for You” tropes and “Bisexuals are Sluts” tropes. Also, I went off on a tangent about how the B in LGBTQ is not silent. Bisexuality exists and needs to be spoken of.
Whereas the CEO as a woman might have had a kind of cachet as a “Cougar” and the young hockey player being seen as rather studly in the original story, when you put an older gay man with a younger gay man, likely the press (and the public) are more likely to paint a more “predator” tone about their relationship.

Kadian and Me. Love this lady.

And so on and so on. By the end of that exercise, I think I’d achieved what I’d set out to accomplish, which was to point out it’s not just a matter of deciding a character is gay and otherwise everything else doesn’t change, but that a character being queer in any way means there’s potentially a lot of different thoughts to have in the confines of a narrative, even if most of it doesn’t necessarily see the light of day on the page. There was some solid discussions of race and intersectionality, too, and that was flipping awesome (Hat tip to Kadian Tracey for some brilliant insight here).

From there, we basically just did Q&A and it was fantastic, with a lot of people sharing some great real-world examples, and really supporting the notion of “own voices” as the best kind of research for those wanting to include queer folk. Hopefully, we busted some clichés and made the room a bit more confident in approaching their writing with a queer lens. And, as always, I’m totally open to questions and follow-through for anyone who’d like to chat.

After that ended, I dashed over to the other end of the hall and sat down for some Author Speed Dating, which was hosted by Kali Willows and Kacey Hammell.

I have no idea how to describe this beyond organized chaos. It reminded me of being at the height of Christmas Retail, where you’re lucky to have more than two minutes with a customer before you have to help the next person, only you get to sit down. Basically, in the space of two hours, I spoke to sixty readers, all of whom moved one seat along the loop every time Kayleigh Malcolm’s husband Chris yelled “next!” (That man is a joy, by the way.)

Speed Dating, Author Style!

So it was something like a mix between an elevator pitch and an author chat, and I had the time of my life even as my voice vanished. By the time it was done, I was hoarse. The readers were amazing, super open-minded, and quite a few offered to take a chance on some gay romance after our chat, so I owe Kali and Kacey a huge hug. It’s rare an author has an opportunity to meet with sixty new readers, I’ll tell you.

From there, I had a silent lunch (no voice!) and two cups of hot tea with honey (voice slightly returning!) and then it was time to set up for the Bookfair. The Bookfair was open to the public, and oh my God! When the doors opened, the place filled up immediately and it was more organized chaos. Both myself and my table-mate Elizabeth Lister sold down to a few copies before it was over (So! Awesome!) and it was fantastic. I handed out bookmarks and magnets aplenty, and people were, once again, super-nice. One of my former co-workers brought me cupcakes, so I nearly cried on the spot. It was amazing, and I signed so many books.

Seriously, it was packed.

After that, even though I’d have to miss the 80’s Night dinner to follow, I had to head back home for His Fluffy Lordship once again, and to be honest, given the state of my voice (nearly nonexistent!), I really, really wanted another cup of tea. Most people were deep in discussion with others (though I did get to have a quick chat with Opal Carew, who was as awesome as ever) and as such I didn’t quite manage a proper goodbye to most, but that meant I didn’t blubber like an idiot, so there’s a positive side.

Eve’s already talking about next year, too.

Me? I can’t wait.

My author spot was right between Elizabeth Lister and Kayleigh Malcolm. I have all the luck.

 

 

Smut, World-building, and Moving Characters from Erotica to Urban Paranormal

“Three” is available for free all month from Bold Strokes Books with the purchase of any e-book.

I’m just back from Romancing the Capital 2016 (which was awesome, and there’ll be another post about that soon, promise!), and one thing that came up a lot with readers during the “Author Speed Dating” event was the question: “Is Triad Blood erotica, too?”

When I wrote “Three,” I didn’t know it was starting a series of short fiction, and I sure didn’t know I’d write a novel with those characters, either. It was written for Blood Sacraments, an anthology of gay vampire erotica, so mostly I was thinking, I want to write a hot gay vampire story.

From a world-building point of view, “Three” came from a single idea: what if, in a version of our world where the paranormal is there, hidden in the background, there was a requirement of three?

When I write erotica—and for the record, I love writing erotica—the vast majority of my stories still contain some facet of the psychic or the magic to it, and that means having rules, systems, and some world-building to work with. “Three” was no exception: in a world where all the supernatural beings only had safety and autonomy in groups of three or more, I was telling the story of a lone vampire, and how he struggled to “get by” without two other vampires to work with.

Into that story I added demons, and wizardry, and a bit of world-building about some of the mechanics of how those groups of three (or more) worked: they had to renew their bonds on a monthly basis, during the three nights of the full moon. Why then? Well, it occurred to me that it would be fun if the reputation for how things got crazy on the nights of the full moon was, in this version of the world, because the movers and shakers of the supernatural world were busy renewing their bonds, and those solo folk knew that, and took the opportunity to try and get everything they needed on those three nights.

“Intercession” appears in Wings, and was the second time the triad guys appeared.

Luc the vampire was the first glimpse into this world, and when I revisited that world with a second story, “Intercession,” (this time told from Anders the demon’s point of view), I already had that foundation of world-building and I went further, delving more into the demon side of things. I figured out how demons made more demons, flushed out their powers, and—because it still co-starred Luc and Curtis to some degree—also drew in a few more details about magic and all things vampire.

But “Intercession” was still an erotic short story in the erotica anthology Wings, and as such, as much about the smut as the narrative details.

Same with “Possession,” where Curtis the wizard got his turn as the narrator. Written for Erotica Exotica (a collection of paranormal gay erotica), I really started to figure out the limits and range of his magic at this point, as well as who the Families were and what they wanted (the wizards who pull the strings of the city from behind the scenes). Curtis ends up having a sexy bubble-bath, a hot first-date with another wizard, and is the first to point out he’s a healthy young gay man with healthy young gay man desires. He still manages to solve a mystery between the sexy bits, but the sexy bits are front and centre. Again, it’s erotica.

Anders gets another shot at being the narrator with “Necessary Evils,” and once more it’s a short erotic piece in an erotica collection about demons, Raising Hell. Building on the other four stories was fun, and by the end of that fourth story, I was ready to keep going.

Triad Blood is an urban paranormal (with some steam) born from the four erotica shorts that came before.

Now, I’ve mentioned before that Triad Blood evolved into a novel when ideas struck me that wouldn’t fit in a short story—and frankly would have had no place to work in an erotica short story, for sure.

Writing Triad Blood let me explore the world I’d crafted, this place of groups of supernatural beings, of covens of wizards and coteries of vampires and packs of demons, without having to consider the tale through an erotica lens first and foremost.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some smutty bits (and I hope those smutty bits sizzle for you in all the right ways), but I had the room to tell what I hoped was a far more involved story, with a greater depth of exploration about the world around Luc, Anders, and Curtis. Triad Blood is very much a mystery as well as an urban paranormal adventure about three guys who are bound to each other and learning a lot more about what their decision to do so means.

Luc, Anders, and Curtis broke (okay, bent) rules and traditions to forge their own group, and Triad Blood is very much about the consequences of breaking tradition and what happens when people step outside the paths everyone wants and expects them to follow.

In other words? It’s not a gay erotica novel, no. But it’s definitely a queer story.

Just, y’know, there’s vampires, and demons, and magic, too.

Sunday Shorts – “Men in Love” Q&A with Kevin Klehr

Today I’m sitting down with Kevin Klehr, another one of the many fine and talented authors I met through the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival. When I first met Kevin, he was on a panel and he mentioned a witty (and oh-so-damn-fun) novel he’d written where two men die and get their chance at a happy ever after with an emphasis on the ‘after,’ and I nabbed it as soon as the panel was done. I was really happy to see his name pop up in Men in Love, and he was kind enough to chat with me about his piece.

Spring approaches with the promise of new beginnings, fresh adventures, and the thrill of romance rekindled or discovered. Hot, sexy guys abound—meeting on the ball fields or the boardroom, at the theater or the classroom—falling in love and lust for the first time or celebrating a lifetime. Come join the rites of spring and indulge yourself in the passion and pleasures of our luscious men in love. Stories from some of today’s popular m/m romance authors explore the many faces of men in love: gay for you, seductions, weddings and more.

NB: I loved your book, Drama Queens with Love Scenes. Romance in the afterlife? Showtunes? Sign me up. It was such a fun (and witty) ride, and totally unexpected. What can we expect from your piece in Men in Love?

KK: Thanks for your vote of love for Drama Queens with Love Scenes. Ironically my angel character from that book, Guy, makes a cameo in the piece, but he’s definitely not the star.

The story was influenced by the relationship of a good friend of ours. He was seeing a man from a culture where family was everything, and the risk of shaming the family could lead to being ostracised. So his phone would chime or ring constantly whenever he was with our friend. Over time he was able to negotiate one night a week where he could sleep over. Saturday was their night to play and feel like a real couple. Eventually leading a double life took its toll, leaving our friend with a messy breakup. 

I felt for this guy. There were times he would switch to automatic pilot when talking to his mother with a blank face and many lies. And as an older gay man I remember what it was like to want to please everyone, but in the end just being the one who got hurt. In this day and age it’s hard to fathom that this still goes on in some cultures.

NB: It’s funny, but I often have the opposite reaction, thanks to my own coming out experience: I’m still stunned at wonderful, accepting, and positive stories of people coming out. I’m not sure what that says to me. But I can only imagine what it’s like for those who want to maintain those familial relationships.

KK: Our friend’s heart was broken when it ended, but I wanted to explore the relationship from his boyfriend’s side. His emotions. His pain.

NB: Speaking of exploring, if you had your pick of any theme for an anthology to submit a story to, what would it be?

KK: When I first read this question I was stumped. I really didn’t know. But virtually everything I’ve written has a supernatural edge to it. So I’d probably go for an anthology that explores one of my favourite contemporary genres, Magical Realism.

I mean, seriously, I have an angel guiding my characters in my piece for Men In Love. My two Drama Queen novels use the Afterlife as a setting, while reviewers of those novels have talked about how the characters seem real enough to sound like their own friends. So I think by default, that genre has chosen me.

It’s a great way to explore contemporary issues, or simply what it means being human, with a touch of the unexpected.

NB: Absolutely! I’m almost always firmly in the supernatural, spec-fic, or magical realism camp myself, and love the extra “wiggle room” it gives you to play with a theme or an issue. So, given that you’re not abandoning the supernatural (huzzah!), are there any new projects we should be aware of? Some of us are waiting for our next hit of Klehr, you know.

KK: I’ll just blush where no one can see me. Hmm, next hit of Klehr? I have a new ebook which is closer to a traditional romance book, but not. In fact, one recent review said it was neither HEA or HFN, but a look at how a new couple negotiate the things that need to be ironed out.

Nate and the New Yorker is about a realist and a dreamer. One Australian, one American. Which gave me a chance to include all those subtle differences between the two cultures first hand, as I’ve visited the US several times. You know, being confused by imperial measurements. Trying to work out what a dime was. Driving on the wrong side of the road.

Apart from the new release, I’m someone who keeps working on various projects, giving them breathing space between drafts to work on another. One is a dystopian novel looking at the decline of face to face human contact, another is an erotic tale of tops trying to bottom, and the other is the third Drama Queens novel which introduces the devil. I also plan to start on a tale of a middle aged man losing his grip on reality because of his affair with a dream lover.

But currently I’m working on the first draft of Nate’s Last Tango. I found that the characters in Nate and the New Yorker weren’t ready to be forgotten as there’s a lot to explore in relationships that are fairly new, and there’s a lot to recall from experience.

NB: I look forward to it! And hey, with a name like Nate, he’s gotta be a winner.

If you want to nab a copy of Men in Love for yourself, you can get it directly from the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, here. Otherwise, you can always use Indiebound to look for your closest brick-and-mortar, or visit any store where quality LGBT books are sold.

Kevin lives with his long-term partner, Warren, in their humble apartment (affectionately named Sabrina), in Australia’s own ‘Emerald City,’ Sydney.

From an early age Kevin had a passion for writing, jotting down stories and plays until it came time to confront puberty. After dealing with pimple creams and facial hair, Kevin didn’t pick up a pen again until he was in his thirties.

So far the result has been two novels about the theatre district of the Afterlife, Drama Queens with Love Scenes and Drama Queens with Adult Themes, and a short tale of love across Prague, Sydney, New York and Tokyo titled Nate and the New Yorker.

Queer Lit Q&A: ‘Nathan Burgoine

The wonderful Matthew Cresswell has begun a Queer lit Q&A, and was kind enough to have a chat with me on “opening day” as it were…

MATTHEW BRIGHT

Popping up first, because I’m fairly shamelessly stealing this format from him… ‘Nathan Burgoine! You might know him as that guy with the apostrophe in an unexpected place. I know him as the guy who always writes the best story in anthologies I’m also in. Somehow that isn’t annoying though, because – as I’m sure plenty of others will attest – he’s also the Nicest Man In Queer Lit (TM).  Seriously: I’m an enormous fan. I loved his Lammy-finalist debut novel, Light , and I’ve yet to read a story of his that I haven’t fallen a little bit in love with. (My favourite, for the record, is ‘Psychometry of Snow’, which you can read for free on the Lethe blog.) He also pops up in my Threesome anthology with a story involving chocolate and hot sex. Do I need to say more? Probably  most importantly, this week is…

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Today! Romancing the Capital, Saturday May 7th!

Romancing the Capital wraps up today! I’ll be there all day (I have to go home during the dinners, alas, to take care of Our Fluffy Lordship), and if you’re out and about, please do say hello.

Specifically, today, I’ll also be hosting a small workshop/discussion, doing some author speed dating (no, really), and then joining the authors for the open-to-the-public bookfair.

Adding Queer Characters

Or, as I’m calling it, “organic is for carrots.” That’s at 9:00am today, and it’s going to be a more interactive Q&A session about writing queerfolk and representation in romance, so bring your ideas, your questions, and your sense of humour, because generally I approach most topics by laughing a lot.

Author Speed Dating

Then, at 10:00am, I’ll be doing this insane thing where myself and twenty-odd other authors chat with readers for, like, two minutes a pop in a giant round robin and… yeah. This? Terrifies me. So hopefully I don’t barf on anyone.

Open to the Public: The Book Sale / Book Signing

2:00pm to 4:00pm: It’s important to note this is totally open to the public, so even if you can’t/didn’t register for the event, you can come schmooze and pick up some great books (and swag, because wow do these authors put out a lot of effort into their swag). I have magnets, too, and Triad Blood and Light and a ready and waiting smile.

Today! Romancing the Capital – Friday May 6th

Romancing the Capital‘s first full day is today! I’ll be there all day (I have to go home during the dinners, alas, to take care of Our Fluffy Lordship), and if you’re out and about, please do say hello.

Specifically, today, I’ll also be on a panel:

The Many Shades of LGBT Romance

Today, a panel at 9:00am. Join myself, Elizabeth Lister, Angela Stone, Kayleigh Malcolm, and Kristine Cayne as we chat a bit about the rainbow and romance.  If it’s anything like last year, we’ll discuss penis fencing and likely laugh our butts off. Hope to see you there!

Bookfair reminder!

Also, tomorrow, Saturday May 7th, for those of you who didn’t register for the conference proper, a reminder that the book-fair is open to the public from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. So by all means, please drop on by and check out the authors and see all the romance…

Writing Wednesday – Sequel Fuel

(Couldn’t help it. Needed to post that trailer again because: SO SHINY.)

Ahem.

Wow. What an awesome couple of days. First off, there are reviews coming in for Triad Blood and they’ve all been positive and I know that won’t last forever but right now, it’s gold. More than that, many of the positive reviews have said the thing that I was hoping they’d say the most: some version of ‘I hope there are more.’

Given that I’m working on Triad Soul right now? That’s fuel.

I’ve got a tonne to do today and this week (there’s so much on my horizon this month it’s a bit overwhelming), but it’s an embarrassment of riches, and I’m happy to be in the position. I’m going to be at Romancing the Capital starting Friday, and there’s the book launch coming up, too. You can read about all of that here.

The Novel

The point of my ‘Writing Wednesdays’ posts is to bring myself to public accountability for how the writing is going. Well, April was not stellar, for quite a few reasons, but my awesome neighbour (who is a painter) pointed out sometimes you need to recharge a creative battery, and so I gave myself permission to stop for a few days at the end of the month and just germinate.

End result? So far for my writing total for Triad Soul has been 2,800 words in two days. And I still feel the itch of other scenes and plot points and I feel back-on-track. I know there are authors out there who tell you you must write, every day, but… no. That’s not me. I work on the novel Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays specifically because I know I can burn out easily on a project. Wednesdays are a palate cleanser of short fiction or other projects, and that’s been damned good to me, and I’ll keep on truckin’ that way.

The Short Stuff
“Three” is free right now with a purchase, and will be $0.99 after May ends.

Of course, I should remind everyone right now that I’ve got a short that’s available free with any purchase of any e-book from Bold Strokes Books. “Three” is the erotic short story that introduced the characters who became my first ‘repeat’ characters. The guys in “Three” are the main characters in Triad Blood, and if you go to Bold Strokes Books’s webstore and pick up any e-title, you can opt-in for “Three” for free. It prompts you automatically at the basket stage.

That deal ends at the end of the month, so if you’re curious, you’ve got a few weeks left to decide.

Now, other short stuff…

I had a breakthrough on a couple of small pieces during my “mental vacation” and I’m throwing myself back at two short fiction projects right now. I also managed to submit something in April, which goes back to my “submit something at least once a month” challenge.

The reality of novel-writing and short fiction writing that I’m often bumping up against is accessibility for readers. I don’t write novels fast enough to have a lot available, and though I’ve got dozens of short pieces out there (I think three dozen now?) only “Three” is available solo at the moment.

So, my plan was to find a sweet-spot in between. Short novellas I could work on, and release, and fill in that “middle” void I’ve got. I’d like to offer a $2.00 e-novella, and I’m working on it. Or rather, I’m working on them. I’ve got two contenders right now that are almost ready for me to track down an editor.

One is sweet (no smut), the other is smutty (and still maybe a little sweet). I’d like to try them both, frankly, but we’ll see what happens. Ideally, I can see which of the two might react better, and work on follow-ups to that series a bit more than the other, but both are definitely series and both projects I want to explore.

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
A Magical Life – Wyrdwood Publishing, Deadline: July 1st, 2016.
Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 2016.
This Wish Tonight – Holiday M/M Genre romance, Mischief Corner Books, Deadline: August 1, 2016.
A Scandal in Gomorrah: Queering Sherlock Holmes – Queering the canon or something more transformational, Lethe Press, Deadline: January 1, 2017.

Don’t forget to check the Lambda Literary site for more calls, as well as the Queer Sci-Fi calls for submission page (always a trove!)

 

Triad Blood Book Trailer

As I mentioned yesterday, Triad Blood launched with all the titles from Bold Strokes Books for May yesterday (it’s a sort of soft launch: all the titles are available through the Bold Strokes web-store on the 1st of every month; the actual release date of Triad Blood is May 17th). If you’re using an e-reader, all the formats are available through the web-store, and if you pick up any e-book in May, you’ll be offered my erotic short story, “Three,” as a freebie. “Three” introduces the fellas from Triad Blood.

And speaking of introductions…

I hired Inkspiral Book & Cover Design to make this brilliant book trailer for Triad Blood. I don’t think I could do introductions better myself.