'Nathan Burgoine's Blog, page 113

Sunday Shorts -“The Biggest Lover,” “Threesome,” and “Not Just Another Pretty Face” Q&A with Jeff Mann

It’s triple threat time. Twice over, even. Sextet threat? Cubed threat? Meh. Math is hard. Let’s bake cookies for the boys.

Today I have the pleasure of chatting with Jeff Mann, who—if you’ve been paying attention to me at all in the last couple of years—I’ve raved about before and will continue to do so. Poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, Mann writes it all (that’d be the first triple threat I was mentioning) and he’s in three of the anthologies I’ve been chatting about lately (the other triple—see what I did there?)

By a wonderful twist of coincidence, I’m actually in New Orleans right now, as is Jeff, at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival. Happily, this was written and scheduled earlier, as frankly, I’ll likely have had a szazerac (or two) by now, and typing would not be a good idea.

We have all heard the term Rubenesque as a compliment for plus-sized women. The baroque painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens was fond of painting women of the day that were curvaceous and full-figured. The men in his art were not. What is the comparable term for men? Because not every gay man is obsessed with twinks who list the number of visible rib bones on their Grindr profile. Or men who can remember the number of reps at the gym but not their phone number. Some of us appreciate buying in bulk and that includes looking for love. Or just plain sex. Thank goodness for Bear culture which embraces girth. During Bear Week in Provincetown the stores do not even bother to sell clothes smaller than an XL and a man’s virility is often like the potency of moonshine: the more Xs on the jug the better, so XXXL is a chub in high demand.

It has taken too long for an erotica anthology to feature such men. It is our hope that readers who felt denied of attention and affection will read these stories and realize that love has no weight limit, no threshold, and neither should self-esteem.

Few sexual fantasies are as potent or lasting as “the threesome” – as an adolescent, the first time you saw a hot couple walking hand in hand and you wanted to follow them back home and into their bed, as an adult when you discover that your partner has been fantasizing also about the bartender at your favorite club.

 

1+1+1 = sensual delight!

 

Editor Matthew Bright, no stranger to threesomes himself, has invited twelve authors to write stories that range from the sweet and romantic to erotic and playful and even a bit depraved.

The stories, poems, and essays in this collection have a single element in common that unites their wide range of literary styles and genres: they all spring directly from photographs of go-go boys.

The ideal go-go boy is the perfect erotic object. We may imagine him as lost or broken so that we might rescue him, or as potent and aggressive so we might be the focus of his desire. But the images captured here suggest deeper, more complex realities. These dancers are whimsical, haunting, satiric, playful, ominous. They are not icons, but stories waiting to be told.

Twenty-three photos of male go-go dancers become the basis for stories, poems, essays, and drama by twenty-seven authors, revealing unexpected mysteries, romance, fantasy, and humor. Contributors include 2015 Sue Kaufman Prize winner Michael Carroll, 2013 Lambda Mid-Career author Trebor Healey, and Lammy winners Jeff Mann, David Pratt, and Jim Provenzano.

 

NB: I recently wrote a story with a drag queen who explains a “Triple Threat” (someone who can sing, act, and dance), so the term is fresh in my head. It occurs to me you’re a literary Triple Threat: prose, poetry, essayist. And you’re in three of the collections I’ve been discussing lately in these Q&As – The Biggest Lover, Threesome, and Not Just Another Pretty Face. What are we in for?


JM: Well, “The Last Gift,” my story in The Biggest Lover, is set in Manchester, England.  Several years ago, I got to visit that city during one of my university’s Spring Breaks, and I found the “Gay Village” there a really cool place to visit, i.e., there are lots of pubs in which to drink and eat.  The story is about being middle-aged and mourning the recession of erotic outlets.  It’s also a tribute of sorts to a chubby, tasty, bearded boy I saw in a pub.  I was, sadly, in no position to seduce him, so I wrote a story about him instead.


I took the call-for-submissions for Threesome as an excuse to write another short story about my ongoing vampire character, Derek Maclaine, though I did something different by writing the story in his husbear’s voice rather than Derek’s.  An acquaintance of mine, Jason Burns—who works in the Office of Multicultural Programs at West Virginia University and who kindly gave me an opportunity to read my work at WVU last October—is a specialist in West Virginia ghost stories, so the information he gave me helped me flesh out that story a good bit.  “Spring on Scrabble Creek” involves more than Derek and his husbear Matt ravishing an emotionally and erotically needy former coal miner.  It also features ghosts connected to an infamous industrial disaster at Hawk’s Nest, West Virginia, back in the early 1930’s.


I’ve been focused on the writing of a big whopping novel for the last year—Country, due out from Bear Bones Books/Lethe Press in June 2016—so I haven’t been writing much poetry.  But Louis Flint Ceci, whom I’ve known from the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans, invited me (cf. the paragraph above: what would writers do without kind invitations…including your kind invitation to have me talk about my work on this blog?) to choose a photograph of a go-go dancer that spoke to me and write something about it.  Good excuse to compose a poem.  Of course I chose one of the hairy, bearded guys that I’d love to hire as a houseboy/sex-slave.  Aging horndawg, c’est moi.


NB: If lyrical edgy aging horndawg wasn’t an oeuvre prior, it is now. I was actually quite pleased to see how many of the photos in question showed go-go dancers who had chest hair and beards. I wasn’t expecting that. 


Speaking of, The Biggest Lover was an unexpected theme—big guys aren’t often seen in erotica (though there’s some crossover to bear culture and bear erotica, where neither of us are strangers). Threesomes aren’t necessarily uncommon in erotica or romantic fictions, but they’re not the mainstay. Not Just Another Pretty Face began with images and is very rare in its inclusion of essays, poetry, prose, and even a short play. Did you have any surprises with your processes or muses with these different collections?


JM: I initially had no idea that my vampire story would include all that West Virginia folklore.  “Spring on Scrabble Creek,” is a sequel of sorts to “Snow on Scrabble Creek,” which appeared in The Bears of Winter , edited by Jerry L. Wheeler.  It’s also a kind of bridge leading to my vampire novel Insatiable , which Bear Bones Books/Lethe Press is publishing in the fall of 2016. 


NB: I need a moment here to squee like a fanboy. Eee! I’m such a Derek fan, and I scrambled to find all his stories in the various collections, and was over-the-moon when I got my hands on Desire & Devour . Okay. Carry on.


JM: When I decided to set the introductory section of “Spring on Scrabble Creek” at Hawk’s Nest State Park (just up Gauley Mountain from Scrabble Creek), it occurred to me that I knew Jason Burns, the West Virginia ghost-story expert, so after a few e-mail back-and-forth messages with him, I decided to add some material from that aforementioned industrial disaster in the 1930’s, when a large number of workers who helped dig a tunnel through Gauley Mountain died of silicosis.


NB: Learning moment of the day: silicosis is lung fibrosis caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica, which must have been a horrible way to die. You touch on mortality quite a lot in your works, and I have to say it’s always done so deftly and is genuinely moving, whether the piece is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. 


As someone who touches so many different forms of writing, what are some collections or themes you’d like to see? (Or, if not collections, maybe even formats—I find I’m really looking forward to the “cross-over” nature of Not Just Another Pretty Face‘s inclusion of poetry alongside prose and nonfiction.)


JM: As for formats, I love the juxtaposition of poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction.  Ummm, collections and themes? Anything not urban.  I like to read about small-town and rural settings as much as I like to write about them.  I’d actually like to see an anthology of gay male stories all set in different countries, so as to give the reader a glimpse of what gay life is like in those places.  Your novel Light gave me a sense of that for Ottawa, and for that I’m grateful.


NB: Sort of a rural Around the world with 80 Gays? I like it. When I’m done these Q&As I may post a list of all the ideas the authors have had for anthologies. And thank you, it was important to me to include a slice of Canada, even if I did get a lot of questions about loonies.

For those of you looking for a copy of The Biggest Lover of your own, you can buy it direct from Bear Bones Books (an imprint of Lethe Press) at the website, here. Or, check Indiebound for your local brick-and-mortar. Or, as always, ask wherever quality LGBT books are sold. For a copy of Threesome, look no further than Lethe Press here, or Indiebound, or, again, shop local. You can find Not Just Another Pretty Face at Beautiful Dreamer Press here, or check with your nearest brick-and-mortar store. Or, said thrice, ask for it wherever quality LGBT books are sold.

Jeff Mann has published five books of poetry, Bones Washed with Wine, On the Tongue, Ash: Poems from Norse Mythology, A Romantic Mann, and Rebels; two collections of personal essays, Edge: Travels of an Appalachian Leather Bear and Binding the God: Ursine Essays from the Mountain South; a book of poetry and memoir, Loving Mountains, Loving Men; four novels, Fog, Purgatory, Cub, and Salvation; and two volumes of short fiction, Desire and Devour: Stories of Blood and Sweat and A History of Barbed Wire.  The winner of two Lambda Literary Awards, a Rainbow Award, and three NLA-International awards, he teaches creative writing at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Find him online at jeffmannauthor.com.

Writing Wednesday – Bags are Packed

 

Tomorrow, at what can best be described as “Oh-My-Gods O’Clock” I’ll be at the airport awaiting my flight to the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival.

I. Can’t. Wait.

For one, it’s like a creative battery recharge. I get so much out of being around all the wonderful creative types, I cannot tell you. It’s a festival about queer folk and writing. I’m not sure I can explain how wonderful it is to be in an environment like that.

Now, if you were to look at the upcoming program guide, you’ll see I have one heck of a busy day on Saturday. Here’s where I’ll be, and what I’ll be doing:

What’s The Plan, ‘Nathan?
Saturday April 2nd, 1 PM – CREATURES OF THE NIGHT

If writers are supposed to “write what you know”—how do you create supernatural beings like vampires and werewolves and witches, oh my? Can you make up your own rules, or do you have to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before? Once considered a “low” genre, horror has redefined itself over the last few decades, expanding in many different directions, and has taken on topics and themes once considered the purview of “high literature.” Join us as we talk about redefining the field of paranormal fiction, and the difficulties LGBTQ writers face as they work to get their voices heard.

Panelists: N.S. Beranek, ‘Nathan Burgoine, Mary Griggs, Jerry Rabushka, and Jeffrey Ricker. Moderator: Candice Huber. Hotel Monteleone, Royal Salon C.

Saturday April 2nd, 4 PM  – SAINTS AND SINNERS READING SERIES: WRITERS READ

Special edition featuring contributors from the new anthology Not Just Another Pretty Face edited by Louis Flint Ceci (Beautiful Dreamer Press). The stories and poems in this collection are paired with photographs of male go-go dancers by San Francisco based photographer Dot (Tom Schmidt). Contributors discuss and read from this exciting new work.

Speakers: ‘Nathan Burgoine, Louis Flint Ceci, Dot (Tom Schmidt), Jeff Mann, Mike McClelland, and David Pratt. Hotel Monteleone, Cabildo Room Sponsored by The John Burton Harter Charitable Trust.

Saturday April 2nd, 6:30 PM – HOTEL MONTELEONE, VIEUX CARRE ROOM

(Included in weekend pass or $25 individual ticket.)

Join this year’s contest-winner Jerry Rabushka, runners-up ‘Nathan Burgoine and Vince Sgambati, along with finalists Rich Barnett, Aaron Hamburger and Carol Rosenfeld for an evening of cocktails and readings from Saints and Sinners 2016: New Fiction from the Festival hosted by Amie M. Evans. This event benefits the Festival and the NO/AIDS Task Force. Audience members for the book launch reading receive a copy of the anthology published by Bold Strokes Books. Special thanks to The John Burton Harter Charitable Trust and Bolds Strokes Books for their support of the Short Fiction Contest.

So, yeah. I’ll be busy on the Saturday. Hopefully my voice holds out to the end there, when I’m reading a story told in the voice of a drag queen on death row.

Neat Plans, But Fess Up – You Fell Behind, Didn’t You?

Every Wednesday, I hold myself accountable for the writing from the last seven days. So. Yeah. Didn’t make it to 30k on the novel this month. But I did send out a short fiction piece, so… half-win?

Oh, and Tomorrow is the Last Day for…

Lethe Press is celebrating its fifteenth birthday and to celebrate all the e-books, for the entirety of March, are $1.50 each (with a minimum purchase of three: that’s $4.50 for three awesome ebooks). Awesome spec-fic tales have never been so wonderfully priced.

I always feel awkward doing self promotion, but I feel no shame in pointing out anthologies in which I have a story because that supports the editors and other authors as much as it supports me. I shall make list said anthologies below, in case you wished to stock up on those awesome books in which yours truly has a wee story despite the book being so awesome.

“Vanilla” appears in Threesome: Him, Him, and Me, edited by Matthew Bright; “A Slice of Pi” appears in The Biggest Lover, edited by R. Jackson; “Wind and Tree” appears in Tales from the Den, edited by R. Jackson; “Time and Tide” appears in The Touch of the Sea, edited by Steve Berman; “The Psychometry of Snow” appears in Bears of Winter, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler; and “Aiming to Please” appears in Tented, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler.

Yet Another Reminder to Respond to the Launch RSVP!

The launch of Triad Blood event posted is over on Facebook, right here. It will be at After Stonewall, here in Ottawa, on Thursday the 12th of May. More details are available through the event link. If you went to my launch for Light, and you have any feedback, please, please say so. I’m a big boy, and I can take constructive criticism. If you’d like to come, make sure you RSVP, as the owner has to watch for capacity laws.

I should point out that last time I had someone pass out at the event, but we had lesbian combat medics on hand to handle it, so as far as good-news/bad-news went, it all worked out. I don’t intend to have anyone collapse at this event, but if they do, don’t worry. I invited my lesbian combat medic friends. Never launch books without them.

The Novel(s)

I wanted to be at least 30k into Triad Soul by the end of March, and… no. Close, but no cigar. It’s possible I’ll get to about 28k by the end of the day, but given pre-flying jitters, not super-likely. It happens. I’ll catch up.

Self-promotion front wite, I’ve got two interviews lined up now for Triad Blood.  I’m also going to do a guest blog, which is exciting (and a first). And! I may be coming to a podcast. Yep, you’ll be able to hear my horrible, horrible voice. I might even stutter. I’ve set up a Goodreads giveaway to go live in April (one for Men in Love, too).

Also, I have the actual digital copy of “Three” now, which is so freaking awesome. It’s really going to be a thing. Also, someone read it and reviewed it on Goodreads, which is sort of awesome.

All that added to a blog entry for the release at QSF, and the BSB blog date (I need to write the darn blog, but at least my spot is booked), and the launch party.

Writing books is way more than writing books, y’all.

The Short Stuff

Now that “Negative Space” is out there, I need to pick a new short fiction piece to be working on. I did more work on the second Village Stories novella, and I truly need to figure out a plan for that.

Any advice for novella writers, folks?

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Transcendent – Short, speculative fiction published in 2015 (ie: reprints) that features transgender characters, Lethe Press, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
The Alice Munro Short Story Contest – Short fiction, entry price, Deadline: April 1st, 2016.
Queer Planet – Strange Horizons Magazine, Deadline: April 10th, 2016.
Dark Captive (Manlove Edition) – Alpha Men, Evernight Publishing, Deadline: April 15th, 2016.
Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Survivor – SF/F anthology looking for stories of everyday trauma survival, Lethe Press, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Magic and Mayhem – Mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier stories (very specific, but it’s for a charity anthology, details at the link), Gay Romance Northwest, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 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!)

What Goes Where, or the Making of Men in Love

A lovely interview with Jerry L. Wheeler about Men in Love.

Bold Strokes Books Authors' Blog

By Jerry L. Wheeler

Men in Love is my sixth anthology – four for Bold Strokes and two for Lethe Press – so you’d think I’d have learned something about editing anthos by now. You’d be wrong. Oh, I have a solid grasp of the process, but each one is different. Men in Lovewas a terrific experience because I got to work with several writers I already admired and respected, plus I found some new writers I wasn’t aware of. I was recently interviewed about MIL by ‘Nathan Burgoine, who asked how the stories were selected and ordered, an aspect of editing anthologies no one talks about. It’s not a secret, it’s just that so few care. However, I am here to plug that information gap.

I received a total of sixty-eight stories through an open call placed on several M/M romance sites as well as the BSB website…

View original post 488 more words

Sunday Shorts – “Not Just Another Pretty Face” Q&A with Louis Flint Ceci

Today I’ve got Louis Flint Ceci with me, and I’m sharing a chat we had about an upcoming collection that breaks the usual formats in a couple of ways. Louis Flint Ceci is another editor and author I met through the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival (is there no end to the awesome folk that attend?) and when I heard about the collection in question, Not Just Another Pretty Face, I was definitely intrigued. Sparking content with pictures wasn’t something I’d ever tried before, but when I saw the photos, one caught my eye immediately, and I couldn’t wait to give it a shot.

Twenty-three photos of male go-go dancers become the basis for stories, poems, essays, and drama by twenty-seven authors, revealing unexpected mysteries, romance, fantasy, and humor. Contributors include 2015 Sue Kaufman Prize winner Michael Carroll, 2013 Lambda Mid-Career author Trebor Healey, and Lammy winners Jeff Mann, David Pratt, and Jim Provenzano.



NB:  Not Just Another Pretty Face is fairly unique to my reading (and writing) experience in that the works are all inspired from the visual cues of the photographs.

LFC:  I was delighted to learn from one of the contributors that there’s actually a name for this kind of work: ekphrasis. Now there’s a word to send you scurrying to Google!  It literally means, “to proclaim an object by name,” and is generally “a graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art.”  I have seen anthologies where illustrations were added after-the-fact, but I know of none where the anthology started with the art.  I think we’re unique in that.

NB:  It’s certainly one of the first I’m aware of. Also, it contains fiction, poetry, and essays, right?

LFC:  And a one-act play. I’ve always liked anthologies that mix genres. It’s like examining a gem or mineral under different kinds of light. Two of my favorites are Queer Dharma: Voices of Gay Buddhism, which came out in 1998, and Queer and Catholic, which I got to contribute to in 2009.

NB:  What was the birth of the idea for you to put together a collection like this?

LFC:  It was when I saw a certain photograph by Tom Schmidt.  I’ve long been a fan of Dot’s work.  (Tom goes by “Dot” when talking about his photographs.  It emphasizes the digital nature of his art.)  He and I have collaborated before by staging certain visual elements of my novels to help me get the details right.  Dot was showing me photographs of male go-go dancers and wondering how he could make a coherent collection of them.  Then I saw one that took my breath away.  It was haunting.  “I could write a story about that,” I said.  And that’s how the idea was born.  The photo is in the book: it inspired Erik Schuckers’ short story and Alan Martinez’s poem.

NB:  When I chose my photo, I immediately had a paranormal fiction in mind. Given the photograph cues and the minds of authors, I can only imagine the overall range of themes and genres explored. What are we in for?

LFC:  I will not quote Forest Gump at this point, but prepare to be surprised. I got submissions I never expected.  I mean, who has even heard of a hip-hop villanelle before?

NB:  I certainly haven’t (he says, quickly looking up the word “villanelle”). Though that’s a great lead in to question from my discussion with Tom Cardamone I’ve been repeating with as many editors as I can. He brought up how in collections the author (or for an anthology like Not Just Another Pretty Face, the editor) has to select and order the stories, and how it’s such an important part of the process, but we rarely discuss that process. How did you approach selecting and ordering the poems, stories, play, and essays for the anthology?

LFC: As an editor, I wanted the collection to have breadth (that’s why I left it open to all genres) and yet coherence.  I wanted each entry to stand on its own, and yet the whole to follow a kind of arc—not necessarily a narrative arc, but an aesthetic one. So I balanced emotionally dense entries with lighter fare, followed literary fiction with a romp in a genre.  Sometimes the last verbal image in one linked to the photograph for the next, such as when Trebor Healey’s poem ends with “the birth of stars / and laughter,” and is followed by the photograph for James Metzger’s play, which shows one man tickling another.  Other times, I chose deliberate contrast: the Edwardian languidness of Stephen Mead’s ekphrasis is followed immediately by Jeff Mann’s ode to rough bondage.  And then your story, “Bound,” follows his, so there’s a play on words that makes the link there.

Aiming for variation and cohesion at the same time had its costs.  For example, there were two good stories about an injured ballet dancer scraping together a living as a go-go boy.  I couldn’t use them both; they were too similar.  So I picked the one that was more closely tied to its photograph.

All of this sounds very planned and under control, but the truth is, as submissions come in you’re constantly scrambling.  I would lay the photograph and first page of each entry out on the living room floor and shuffle them around like Monopoly cards.  On the last day of submissions, just when I thought I had it all worked out, two very strong stories came in.  They were so good I had to include them, and they made a complete hash of my previous arrangement.  It turns out editors, too, have to kill their darlings, and if it makes for a stronger collection—well, that’s the goal, after all. I don’t want anyone to finish Not Just Another Pretty Face and think, “My, what a clever editor!”  I want them to think, “Wow! I’ve never read so many great stories and poems in one book!”

NB: Well, I for one can’t wait.



You can find Not Just Another Pretty Face at Beautiful Dreamer Press here, or check with your nearest brick-and-mortar store. Or, of course, ask for it wherever quality LGBT books are sold.






Louis Flint Ceci’s poetry has been published in Colorado North Review, and his short stories and essays in Diseased Pariah News. His autobiographical short story, “The Tree and the Cross,” appears in the anthology  Queer and Catholic , edited by Amie M. Evans and Trebor Healey (Routledge, 2008). He is a former high school speech and English teacher, and a former college professor of Journalism and Mass Communications. An avid swimmer, he has competed in the past two Gay Games and won three third place medals at the 2007 IGLA Tournoi International de Paris. He won the Gold Medal in the Poetic Justice poetry slam at the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney. Comfort Me is his first novel; it is part of a planned series.

Writing Wednesday – Hello, I’m ‘Nathan

After Sunday’s post, I’m standing here in my wee blog looking at, well, a considerably larger number of people. I’m a little overwhelmed and really, really grateful to everyone being so damn polite an open to discourse and listening, and for that: thank you. Seriously. It matters so damn much.

Of course, now you’re here, I’m afraid you’re going to find I don’t often talk about much other than writing, my dog, and short stories. So. Hi! I’m ‘Nathan and I’m kind of boring.

(Unless you like huskies.)

Every Wednesday, I hold myself accountable for the writing from the last seven days. Last week, I was visiting my biological family and as such I didn’t get a lot done. I’ve been playing catch up since, and things aren’t woefully behind.

Also, I wrote a really long blog which was pretty darned well received, and that was neat and terrifying.

Speaking of Neat and Terrifying…

Lethe Press is celebrating its fifteenth birthday and to celebrate all the e-books, for the entirety of March, are $1.50 each (with a minimum purchase of three: that’s $4.50 for three awesome ebooks). Strange, neat, and terrifying tales have never been so wonderfully priced.

I always feel awkward doing self promotion, but I feel no shame in pointing out anthologies in which I have a story because that supports the editors and other authors as much as it supports me. I shall make list said anthologies below, in case you wished to stock up on those awesome books in which yours truly has a wee story despite the book being so awesome.

“Vanilla” appears in Threesome: Him, Him, and Me, edited by Matthew Bright; “A Slice of Pi” appears in The Biggest Lover, edited by R. Jackson; “Wind and Tree” appears in Tales from the Den, edited by R. Jackson; “Time and Tide” appears in The Touch of the Sea, edited by Steve Berman; “The Psychometry of Snow” appears in Bears of Winter, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler; and “Aiming to Please” appears in Tented, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler.

A Reminder to Respond to the Launch RSVP!

The launch of Triad Blood event posted is over on Facebook, right here. It will be at After Stonewall, here in Ottawa, on Thursday the 12th of May. More details are available through the event link. If you went to my launch for Light, and you have any feedback, please, please say so. I’m a big boy, and I can take constructive criticism. If you’d like to come, make sure you RSVP, as the owner has to watch for capacity laws.

I should point out that last time I had someone pass out at the event, but we had lesbian combat medics on hand to handle it, so as far as good-news/bad-news went, it all worked out. I don’t intend to have anyone collapse at this event, but if they do, don’t worry. I invited my lesbian combat medic friends. Never launch books without them.

The Novel(s)

I want to be at least 30k into Triad Soul by the end of March, and I’m catching up. If I have a couple of 1k days, I’ll be fine, so I think it’ll be golden.

Oddly, the train ride back from Toronto didn’t set off my motion sickness the way it did on the way in. So that was good for getting some words down.

On the dreaded self-promotion front, I’ve got two interviews lined up now for Triad Blood. Otherwise, noise-making set up so far includes a blog entry for the release at QSF, the awesomeness that is “Three,” the BSB blog date (I need to write the darn blog, but at least my spot is booked), and the launch. I also need to figure out my technological limitations for a potential pod-cast, which is equal parts exciting and nausea-inducing because, y’know, listening to your own voice.

The Short Stuff

I have a title! “Negative Space” is the title for my short piece I’m submitting to the ‘Survivor’ anthology (check out the calls below). It’s about a survivor who is taking an art class, and using his graphic design skills in a unique way with a perspective that he’s gained since his attack. Like most of my stories, it’s spec-fic but our world, so we’ll see how it does. I’m hoping to submit it today.

After that I need to pick a new short fiction piece to be working on. I should really bite the bullet and finish the second Village Stories novella, and then do a third, and then think about ways to release them.

My life is full of “should.”

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Transcendent – Short, speculative fiction published in 2015 (ie: reprints) that features transgender characters, Lethe Press, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
The Alice Munro Short Story Contest – Short fiction, entry price, Deadline: April 1st, 2016.
Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Survivor – SF/F anthology looking for stories of everyday trauma survival, Lethe Press, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Magic and Mayhem – Mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier stories (very specific, but it’s for a charity anthology, details at the link), Gay Romance Northwest, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 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!)

For You

One of the things about being a gay author of short fiction that usually finds itself on the more spec fic side of the street than the romantic is I’m not often a part of the romance culture as I’d like to be. I love romance, and a great deal of the short fiction I’ve written has definitely been gay romance, and even my first novel, Light, had a romantic sub-plot that was almost as weighty to the sum total of the book as the spec fic content was.

Often, this means I don’t often see a lot of the discussions that occur until they’re very well underway, and often those discussions have turned into a lot of anger before I see them at all. Which sort of sucks. I often only see a topic when someone posts a “This is So Damn Wrong!” post, a “It’s No Big Deal!” post, or a “What is Wrong With Everyone?” post.

Romance is a great place, and I have to believe that the hot tempers come from a place of passion for romance to be a force for good. When people feel strongly about something, they react strongly, too. That’s an awesome thing that can also turn a bit sideways. It’s also very, very easy to feel that anything that criticizes something you’re passionate about is an attack on the thing you’re passionate about.

Real criticism isn’t that.

Whether talking about the potential for male pseudonyms to be appropriative in the m/m writing world, or the firmly entrenched systematic racism on display when someone declares they have lines for black and latin romances, and thereby don’t look at those for the main imprints, or someone points out there are major missteps with the author’s representation of native culture, it can be uncomfortable and awkward to stop and say, “Wait. It’s possible something I care about is doing harm.” While I can understand it’s a natural reaction to think, “I don’t feel any ill will to people who are X, and this feels like someone is accusing me of acting negatively to people who are X!” what is really being said is: “this story/process/system is hurtful/stigmatizing/ignoring/erasing/restricting to X.”

So.

Gay-for-you. (Or, alternatively, out-for-you.)

I almost didn’t write this post. Like the post I wrote last year on pseudonyms, I’m a little bit worried about how this could go, honestly. But the pseudonym post went well and people were polite, so here we go.

That trope of Gay-for-you.

Wow, what a mess. Again, I walked into this late, and maybe I missed some of the more moderate discussions that may have taken place, but I’m mostly seeing angry from both sides, or dismissiveness from both sides. And I will say both sides can and indeed do have points that are valid.

Now, I’ve said before I find gay-for-you plots somewhat problematic. Coming at it from a few different angles, here, there are multiple factors that make me flinch. But the first one that I’ve seen a few times is the very dismissive “Gay-for-you is just a trope, like millionaires or big misunderstandings.”

Being queer is not on par with a career or a social misunderstanding. I get what is intended by what’s being said: that this is romance, and themes and plotlines recur in romance, and that this theme: the straight guy who falls for another guy, is a plotline, but saying that it’s a trope is insulting to those of us who’ve lived a queer life (and, often, suffered for doing so) when you’re equating it with the life of a fictional millionaire, or a guy and a gal who just need to stop for five minutes and talk to solve their problems. Unlike that fictional millionaire or a conversation, queerdom is an identity and a minority with a history of being stomped down on. How you portray a member of a living, breathing culture of people is important. And if you do it wrong—in ignorance or on purpose—it can’t surprise you to hear about it.

Like I said, I do understand what was intended by the sentiment: the goal of the gay-for-you story is to provide entertainment and deliver a romantic story for the enjoyment of the reader. And there’s an odd sense that a gay-for-you story can’t do that and still be harmful or painful to queer readers. It totally can. People have enjoyed and loved on things that are reductive or erasing or stigmatizing before, and they’ll do it again. Look at Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

So, no. We queerfolk? Not just a trope.

The incredible vanishing bisexual…

Next, there’s the notion of erasure. Now, most people talk about bi erasure, and I absolutely agree on that point, but I’ll expand a little. I’ve read more than a few stories where the plot of a gay-for-you story never even mentions the word bisexual, and every time it sets my teeth on edge. Straight and Gay (or Lesbian) are labels, and I see a lot of well-meaning people say things like “labels are so reductive” and “we need to move past labels” and “why do we have to label something that means love in the first place”? On the surface, those sound like completely valid statements. I even found myself wondering why it bothered me at first.

But after some thought, it comes to this:

You’ve probably heard of the campaign Silence = Death. That label I see declared unnecessary and shrugged out of existence in the name of love and romance and puppies? That label: gay? (Or bi, or queer, or trans or…?)

It matters.

It matters and has impact in my life all the time. It is absolutely a part of who I am. It’s not everything, no, but it’s a major thing and some times and in some situations it’s the most central thing. Queerfolk have to fight for the right to be queer. To not be tossed in camps, or jails, or beaten to death, or denied marriage, or any number of other things. That’s not finished.

Not saying the words is a form of erasure, period, and it absolutely feeds into the shame and tells those who feel those things shouldn’t be talked about that they’re right. In my life, I have heard so many variations of this.

“Oh, I don’t care what you do in your bedroom, but I don’t want to see it.”

“I just wish you didn’t call it marriage.”

“I don’t know why you have to declare yourselves so much.”

What’s really being said there is “I’d rather you go away.”

I get that it would be lovely to live in a world where labels don’t matter, but the reality is we’re not there yet, I’m not sure we ever will be, and in the mean time? They do. And for bi folk? They get crap from both within and without. Someone who is gay can (and often does) have very different experiences than someone who is bisexual or pansexual, and that matters. The identity, the label, the word. It matters.

It’s how we find each other. It’s how we create our logical families if our biological families slam the door. It’s how we find a sense of who we are.

Words are tools. Labels are, too. And not just the sexuality ones. My husband is exactly that—my husband—and that title (or label) has impact and power from a legal, cultural, and sociological point of view. So does gay, or straight, or bisexual, or pansexual, or lesbian, or transgender, or…

Well, you get my point.

So when an author decides that there’s no point in even dropping the word “bisexual” or “pansexual” into a narrative (or that it’s not important at all), and that a character who is almost entirely attracted to people of a different gender finds someone who matches their gender and they fall in love, and the character continues to self-declare as straight and there are no societal ripples in the narrative at all, it grinds me to a halt and breaks verisimilitude.

This comes up in the queer community quite a bit, where bi erasure is a struggle as well. A bisexual man who is in a relationship with a woman doesn’t become straight by virtue of their pairing. He is still bisexual. If he dates a man, he doesn’t become gay. He is still bisexual. I’ve had bi friends reduced to tears when people shrug off their identity because “it’s easier just to think of you as gay” or “well, you’re mostly with men, so I figure you’re straight now” or “whatever, sexuality is a spectrum.” When a story presents a fictional character that reinforces this “he’s straight (or she’s straight) but with another man (or woman)” dismissal, it’s reinforcing something that’s already a problem.

I get that this is romance, and I get that romance is happily-ever-after (or for-now), but as a reader—and as a queer guy—at best I give up on the story, and at worst I can’t help but consider that the author isn’t particularly well informed in queer culture or is actively deciding a sensitive or accurate portrayal of queer culture doesn’t really matter. I love reading stories where queer folk find loving families, acceptance, and love. That story isn’t told anywhere near as often as it should be. Many gay-for-you stories have the perfect set-up for that sort of story, but skip it completely because, hey, it’s just hot if he’s straight.

Y’know, except for with that one guy.

Another side of erasure to consider here may sound a bit silly, but the straight half of the gay-for-you coupling also kind of gets to erase the whole growing-up-queer factor that is a reality for those of us who did exactly that. Coming out (and one of the reasons I certainly think “Out for You” is a better term for what regardless remains a wonky trope if it’s still written as a straight guy finding that one other guy to be with) is way, way more than just “Oh, so it turns out I’m turned on by you. Neat.” And to be fair, in many of the gay-for-you stories I’ve read, the straight fellow in question does seem to struggle most of the time with what it might mean, but this is where those darn labels come in handy in the real-world coming out process.

Because it takes language to work out these things.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve read a gay-for-you story and the straight character’s thought processes are, “This makes no sense. I know I’m not gay. I can’t be gay! I like sex with women. What the hell is going on?” I want to scream the word “bisexual!” at the book.

My tween niece has more functional ability to categorize and process the sexuality spectrum than these characters, and it’s painful.

Imagine a bi reader with that story. Everything about that moment is right there as an opportunity for the character to invite the reader in and stand in front of a mirror. Instead, the author draws curtains and closes and locks the front door.

But no, I think it’s sexy!

Now, the idea that gay-for-you can be harmful when the people writing and reading the books are themselves totally into the sex being displayed can also seem counterintuitive. One blog I read pointed out that opponents of gay-for-you were basically attacking their allies.

It’s perfectly possible to do damage as an ally. Seriously. And one of the biggest and easiest mistakes to make is to talk when it’s time to listen. As a guy, I want to be the best feminist I can. Being queer gives me a slice of insight into what it’s like to be shoved down for something that shouldn’t matter. But I’m still a guy. I still grew up with access to all the privileges that come with being a man. The biggest and best thing I can do as a feminist is to listen when women tell me about an issue, and then try to boost their voices on the topic as well as change my own behaviour. Now, when I’m in a male environment and there are no women around, and someone says some sexist shit, I’ll call it out. But when I’m in an environment where a woman is speaking to a topic and providing that point of view, my job is to shut up and listen.

That’s a huge part of being an ally. So if you’re a queer ally and you’re taking part in something that a lot of queer people point out isn’t queer-positive?

It’s time to listen.

It’s sexier, because, y’know, straight guys…
The whole “straight-acting” masculine thing? Can be toxic. I explored that a bit in “Shutout.”

Let’s unpack a bit why it’s important the character be straight, rather than closeted, or just unaware of their (as yet unexplored and unimagined, or rarely same-gender aligned) bisexuality or pansexuality. Why is that, exactly? I mean, I know I’m stepping into the great unknowable that is desire and what gets folks hot, but there’s something a bit off, here.

Now, there’s the absolutely, well-documented notion of situational homosexual acts. Guys in jail is probably the short-hand. But that’s not what’s being done with a gay-for-you story, right? No, in a gay-for-you story, the straight man discovers actual romantic and erotic feelings for a particular other guy, and then, ultimately, sex and relationships ensue. No one gets out of jail and reverts back to their previous self-declared state. The straight man is now with the other guy, and they are together.

So…why is this sexier than a guy who, when the same scenario starts to unfold, has a moment—which could absolutely still include panic and worry and all the other freak-out moments that come with coming-out—where he thinks, Oh man. I might be bi. Or has a friend say, “Dude, it’s okay. If you’re bi, I’ve got your back.” Or any number of other easy-to-include-non-erasure-and-far-more-reflective-of-reality options?

I can’t quite help but feel it plays into a sense of masculinity that is not being ascribed to a gay guy (or a bi guy, or any form of a queer guy). Like, somehow, it’s just hotter if he’s straight and he still gets it on with another guy. Because gay stuff, or bi stuff? Not as hot.

And by “not as hot” what I see is “not as good as” or “less worth” or any which way you’d like to translate what amounts to just another version of the same old garbage we spit out about how men are men, and what masculinity is…and definitely isn’t.

It feels like, “I want to get off on watching two guys, but I totally don’t want them to be, like, actually gay or anything.”

There is so much damage done by the notion of “straight-acting” in the queer male community. Gay-for-you plays right into that pile of crap.

Or, put another way, if you’re claiming it doesn’t matter what label is used, why not use the label that would be more inclusive and create visibility? Why actively not do something that would by your own admission be a good thing?

Well, if you just found the right one…

So why does gay-for-you bug me so much? It has got a bit of a “magic fix” tone to it that many queerfolk will find too close-to-home.

I know I’ve received the same message as an attack. Deconstructed, what gay-for-you often reads like is this: He’s a straight guy until the right gay fellow comes along, and then—libido engaged, and praise the magic penis!—eventually willing to go for the guy. They struggle, they win, they end up together. The end.

As a queer guy, you better believe that I’ve had some pretty hateful people tell me I just needed the right woman to come along to set me straight.

How much do you think a story like that would fly? A gay guy who meets a woman, and for the first time feels sexual attraction for a woman, and they get together, the end. No mention of bisexuality or a sexuality spectrum and no labels in play.

What about a lesbian who ends up with the first man who ever arouses her desires. Same scenario, no hint of any label other than she being a lesbian who goes straight-for-him.

As a queer fellow, the lack of discussion and labels and bi-inclusivity in sort of narrative makes me very nervous. Put the bisexuality back in there, and the queer nature of the relationships hold truer to life, and it doesn’t come across like some sort of dark “cure” story. Heck, you can even explore how much crap the bi characters endure from within the queer community. How novel would that be to see?

But hey, maybe I’m prejudging, and a “turns out he’s found the one woman who means he can call himself straight” story might do well and no one would mind, but I’m doubtful, and as a gay fellow, I can and do see the harm that narrative projects.

But it’s my fictional character and I can do whatever I want…

So here’s the part that comes up in almost every post I’ve seen. “Ultimately, it’s fiction, so who cares? It’s made up and that’s how I see the character.”

Okay. You’re right. You totally can.

And people can give you feedback for poor portrayal of real-world, living-breathing cultures.

Here’s where we go back to the start of this post where I talk about how criticism—when done well—isn’t an attack.

I once had a really uncomfortable conversation, face-to-face, with an author I really admired. I love her books. Her mystery series is brilliant, and I was so excited to see meet her for the first time. And when I met her, I was very, very careful to mention first how much I loved her books, because I also had some criticism for her. The criticism was this: “Every gay couple you’ve introduced has had one or the other murdered before the end of the book.” Now, it’s a mystery series, right? Bodies will pile up. Some of the main character’s romantic partners have died, too, over the course of some of the books. And there are obviously not-gay characters aplenty who live and breathe and have romantic partners throughout the series who also lose someone. It’s a mystery series. But as a gay guy, I couldn’t help but notice the gay characters more, and there wasn’t a single couple who survived the length of a single book. If she introduced a gay couple, I knew one was going to be the murder victim. Every. Single. Time.

That was a problem. Whether intentional or not, even just from the basic point of view of giving your reader a mystery to chew on, she had a pattern she didn’t realize that showed her hand before she intended. Toss in the unintentional message, too—gay folk don’t get (or deserve) happiness—and it becomes something more problematic. And that message is one we queerfolk get loud and clear. You don’t have to go far to look at how queer characters are portrayed, so when you write a happy ending and then remove the bisexuality or pansexuality from it, what are you saying, exactly?

These same problems come time and time again across all forms of fiction. The black guy who self-sacrifices to save the white hero. The girl who has sex and then gets killed. The person with a disability who reminds the main character that their life isn’t so bad after all. There are tonnes of these, and they deserve criticism.

I can like the author, and her books, and still politely ask her why she thinks her gay folks never got to be happy. Luckily, she took the feedback incredibly well. She apologized and was embarrassed—which was absolutely not the point and not the end result I was looking for—but since then there are gay characters who are couples who survive from book to book—which was what I’d hoped I might accomplish: adding perspective.

I’ve also been on the receiving end of this kind of discussion. I’ve screwed up, and people have called me on it. It’s never fun. But I try to stop and listen. If the people upset are the real voice counterpart of a character I’ve written? I need to stop, disengage my  defensiveness and possessiveness of “my” character, and listen.

I might still disagree. But I need to listen first, and really, really stop and think. The vast majority of the time, I learn, and vow not to make the same mistake next time. Next time, I try to do better. That’s all I can do.

When the first reaction to criticism is “I don’t see that,” it seems to me the first question on the part of the author (or disagreeing reader) should be “Why don’t I see that?”

I’m willing to bet that very often the answer is “I haven’t lived that.”

Rather than a declaration of opposition to the criticism, and dismissing it out of hand, it’s worth parsing. Every writer has gotten edits or criticism they’ve chosen to ignore. But a good writer knows even those ignored edits or criticism have value, and might point out something worth clarifying or exploring more. If an author didn’t intend harm, but harm is perceived, there’s likely an opportunity to clarify the message to reduce that accidental harm.

But seriously, it’s fiction. I’m not being political!

If you’re choosing to write about queer people, though, the thing is? You are.

Or at the very least, you’re kind of a teacher to your readers. You might not want to be, but you are. I can draw another parallel here, with a turn of phrase I used to see quite a bit in m/m fiction: “I’m clean.”

When I see it, I assume the author doesn’t know the following:

This phrase was absolutely used in the queer community, too. Some still do. It was a shorthand for saying, “I’m HIV negative,” (or, wider, “I have no STDs.”) But the reality was, it had a value judgement attached. Because what’s the opposite of clean? People who are HIV positive? They’re not dirty. There’s a major movement doing amazing and important work in ending the stigma of HIV/AIDS. It’s important in no small part due to how that stigma stops people from being tested, stops them from learning their status, and does lasting harm.

Years ago, I learned of this movement and I stopped using “clean” in my vernacular, and when I hear someone else using it, I point it out. The language used, and the behaviour the language can create, is important.

Now, when I’m at conferences or discussion groups, I’ll bring up the “I’m clean” as a line of dialog to avoid. It’s a teachable moment, it’s important, and it’s something people aren’t going to know unless they’re taught, right? After all, that’s how I found out.

The people telling me this information were the people affected by it. The caregivers, experts and activists, and people living with HIV and AIDS.

So, while I hadn’t used the phrase in anything I’d written, I now knew not to.

If I chose to do so again, I’m doing exactly that: choosing. I’m choosing to pass on something I know has the potential to be harmful.

When you write about queer characters, you have that same potential. And when those who belong to the group you’re writing about tell you in no uncertain terms that they feel harm by a message you’ve delivered, you can’t unknow that. If you keep doing it, you’ve chosen to do so. This works inclusively and exclusively. If you never have a character who isn’t white, or all the trans characters you write are always killed, or the person who uses a wheelchair is a prop to remind your main character her life could be worse, you’re propagating a problem. And you know it. And you’re choosing to do so.

And that’s totally within your right to do so as an author. No one will deny that. I certainly won’t. And I’ve heard authors bemoan that they’re just trying to write fun sexy romantic stories for their readers, and that we queer folk shouldn’t ruin their fun. But if an author chooses to put their reader’s fun over active harm their portrayal of queer characters does, then they’re going to get called out on it.

Don’t be surprised if people point it out, and don’t feel slighted if others don’t suggest your work because of it, or let others know the content included should be avoided by those who aren’t looking for one more reminder of how they’re not worth inclusion.

The difference with the gay thing…

One thing those of you who’ve heard me talk about queerdom over and over again have definitely heard me say before is my usual riff on how queer culture isn’t inherited. It bears repeating. We queer folk don’t inherit our narratives, and our lineages aren’t clear and certainly aren’t taught in mainstream history classes.

What I mean is, we almost never have lesbian daughters being taught about their trans grandparents by their bisexual mothers and gay fathers. We have to go find our history and we often grow up in a home that assumes we are something else until we say so. Coming out is a part of the process (and a process, by the way, that never actually ends. I’m forty-one, married to my husband, and every time I mention him in public with people I’m meeting for the first time? That’s coming out, with all the inherent risks thereof. Again. And again. And again.)

For many of us young queerlings, fiction was the first place we learned anything about ourselves. My first gay anything was a character in a book. My stunned realization about that character was only matched by the horror of that character’s miserable death, presented as an “of course he died, he was gay.”

Think about that for a second: what if the only time you saw yourself represented in the media around you, it was negatively. Or, worse, you just never saw yourself at all. That has impact. It has massive impact. We need the Uhuras and the Ellens and the Kurt Hummels and the Dr. Houses and the RuPauls and as many stories and representations as we can have that show us futures that include people like us.

But tell me what you really think…

Okay. This is way too long and way too wordy and I’m sure I’ll never be happy with what I’ve said or how I’ve said it.

Shortest form possible?

It’s totally possible for a reader to enjoy something and love something and for it still to be something that harms others. If the living and breathing actual real-life counterparts of a group an author is choosing to write about are saying the portrayal of people like them is off, then the author should stop and listen.

Shorter than that?

When an ally doesn’t listen to the people they say they support, they’re not supporting them. They’re silencing them.

 

 

Edit: As part of the comments to this discussion, it was brought forth to my attention that trans* is no longer considered an appropriate term, and that trans (without the asterisk) has the inclusivity that trans* was intended to refer to. So if you saw an earlier version with trans* and are wondering where the asterisk went, this is why. 

Sunday Shorts – “Men in Love” Q&A with Jerry L. Wheeler

G’day! This week I’m posting a chat I had with Author and Editor Jerry L. Wheeler from a month or two back. I met Jerry mumble-mumble years ago at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival when there was a dinner for those attending who’d been a part of Tented (a collection of erotica with the theme of the circus, and my first foray into writing erotica). Jerry has since been kind enough to include my works in more anthologies, and I was lucky enough to have him as my editor for Triad Blood. Today we’ll be chatting about his newest edited anthology, Men in Love: M/M Romance. I also resisted the urge to read the anthology before I asked him these questions, which was excruciating. I’ve since leapt in with both feet and have to say the readers are in for a treat.

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’ve made no secret of how much I love the themes you craft for anthologies as an editor—food, trains, illusion, the circus, winter—I love how far and wide the tales go when the authors are given something so unusual to start with. The call for Men in Love wasn’t as (dare I coin a term?) Wheeleresque, but the description makes it clear there’s quite a range in the tales. What are we in for?

JW: A mixture of voices and stories that retain most, if not all, of the romance genre requirements but also go beyond that to look at different aspects of how gay men romance. I hope that it pushes the envelope at the same time it provides some nice, familiar corners in which readers can hide. And I’ve tried to choose stories that illustrate romance at all stages of the relationship: beginning, middle, and end. We have shifters, time travelers, housepainters, first dates, catfishing, exotic locales, grubby apartments, class struggle, suburban angst, and much more.

NB: I can’t wait to sit down with my copy! One of the things I’m quite excited about is how many of the names in the anthology are new-to-me authors. Is there a similar feeling when you’re an editor and you “meet” a new author through a call for submission?

JW: Absolutely. And I like to put newcomers’ stories near more established authors in hopes of getting them a bit more attention. What’s even better is when you find one of those stories, and a reviewer singles it out for a special mention. That’s where the real validation as an editor comes in.

NB: I know I wouldn’t be anywhere without my start in short fiction,  of which you were no small part. I’m lucky my experiences were so welcoming and inspiring, and I love seeing it happen to new authors. Which leads in to a boomerang question from my discussion with Tom Cardamone I’m going to come back to with all the editors I chat with. He brought up how in collections the author (or editor, in an anthology) has to select and order the stories, and how it’s such an important part of the process, but we rarely hear anyone talk about it. How did you approach the selecting and ordering of the tales in Men in Love?

JW: Ah, the Art of Selection. I liken it to putting together a jigsaw when the pieces all come from different puzzles. Some have bulbous tabs, some have angular openings, some are corners, some are blue, some are red, some have matte finishes rather than glossy, but as the editor you have to put them all together in a way that makes some kind of organizational or thematic sense.

I received seventy-four stories for Men in Love, and even after eliminating the obvious (poor craft, excessive word count, and a category I like to call “Just No”), I read and considered sixty-eight stories for a maximum of twenty slots. Second reading narrowed it down to forty. The third time I went through the list, I did so with an eye as to the structure of the anthology. I knew I wanted to theme it around beginnings, middles, and endings, and I wanted appropriate stories in all of those spots. For example, I had to start with a story about the beginning of the relationship.

I had quite a few stories about beginnings, but in the end it came down to “Range of Motion” or “Crewman” as the lead story. “Range of Motion” is a perfect example of a traditional romance with HEA and an interesting obstacle. “Crewman” is less traditional but has a distinctive voice. As I’m trying to establish a tone, I decided to go with the more traditional story as the opener because the majority of romance readers like their genre conventions more than they like pushing envelopes.

Repeat the above decision twenty times with ninety different variables, and you have yourself an anthology. Now, is the middle story EXACTLY in the middle? No. Sometimes the plan gets altered, but the stories pretty much fell where I wanted them to.

NB: That sounds exhausting. I was actually really chuffed you liked “Range of Motion” and then double-chuffed it ended up opening the collection. Knowing the reasons why is even more flattering. Thank you.

JW: Piggybacking off the last questions, since you read a lot of anthologies and short fiction, can you tell if care is taken in the ordering of the TOC as opposed to just slapping some stories together? Is the agonizing some of us do noticeable to you in terms of end product or do you approach anthologies piecemeal rather than look at the whole?

NB: I’ve definitely had both senses coming into anthologies. I read one anthology where the first two stories were both zombies, and I put it down for a long time, as I hadn’t gotten the impression from the description that the tales were all about zombies. Turns out none of the rest of the stories were, and that left me quite puzzled. I didn’t get any sense of overall progression from that anthology, once I did get around to finishing it, and I also remember the last story being quite a bit stranger than the others and it was an odd experience to end with.

When an editor arranges the stories as a larger theme or narrative, I do think I notice, yes, and I think the collection is much better as a whole for it. If I think of R.D. Cochrane and Timothy J. Lambert’s Fool for Love, which was the first anthology in which I had a story printed, the stories are all about love and relationships, but much like Men in Love, they have a progression: meetings, starts, relationships that were already underway, and then progressing in the final stories to long-term relationships, relationships ending, and partners surviving the loss of their loves (and maybe finding a second love later in life). When I put the book down, I know that had been purposeful, and the overall impression was perfect for the book: hopeful and romantic, even in endings.

It’s also why I almost always read anthologies cover-to-cover and in order. Sometimes I’m tempted by a favourite author’s story to leap ahead and try it first, but the vast majority of the time I follow the editor’s choices and go in order. I have no idea if that’s typical in a reader or not.

You can get Men in Love: M/M Romance from Bold Strokes Books directly here, or check Indiebound for your local brick and mortar store. Or ask for it wherever quality LGBT books are sold.

 

Jerry L. Wheeler has been shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award three times for his editing work (Tented: Gay Erotic Tales from Under the Big Top and The Bears of Winter) as well as his writing (Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits). He has three other volumes of erotica available from Bold Strokes Books (Riding the Rails, The Dirty Diner, and Tricks of the Trade) and a four-novella anthology from Wilde City Press, On the Run. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, both print and online, and he is currently working on his first novel, The Dead Book, due from Lethe Press in 2016. He lives and works in Denver, where he makes his living doing freelance editing.

 

Writing Wednesday – Break

I’m not at home right now – I’m visiting relatives for March Break. Normally, that would mean almost no writing time, but it turns out that they’re mostly late risers, so I’m getting bits and pieces done while everyone else is asleep. March has been a strange month so far, but I like strange.

Speaking of Strange…

Lethe Press is celebrating its fifteenth birthday and to celebrate all the e-books, for the entirety of March, are $1.50 each (with a minimum purchase of three: that’s $4.50 for three awesome ebooks). Strange tales have never been so wonderfully priced.

You totally need to take advantage of this. And, because I feel no shame in pointing out anthologies in which I have a story because that supports the editors and other authors as much as it supports me, I shall make list said anthologies below, in case you wished to stock up on those awesome books in which yours truly has a wee story despite the book being so awesome.

“Vanilla” appears in Threesome: Him, Him, and Me, edited by Matthew Bright; “A Slice of Pi” appears in The Biggest Lover, edited by R. Jackson; “Wind and Tree” appears in Tales from the Den, edited by R. Jackson; “Time and Tide” appears in The Touch of the Sea, edited by Steve Berman; “The Psychometry of Snow” appears in Bears of Winter, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler; and “Aiming to Please” appears in Tented, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler.

A Reminder to Respond to the Launch RSVP!

The launch of Triad Blood event posted is over on Facebook, right here. It will be at After Stonewall, here in Ottawa, on Thursday the 12th of May. More details are available through the event link. If you went to my launch for Light, and you have any feedback, please, please say so. I’m a big boy, and I can take constructive criticism. If you’d like to come, make sure you RSVP, as the owner has to watch for capacity laws.

The Novel(s)

Though I’ve had some good writing days here, I want to be at least 30k into Triad Soul by the end of March, and I’m a smidge behind that target as of right now. Today I might catch up, though I want to work on a short fiction piece since it’s Wednesday.

I did learn that writing on a train on a lap-top doesn’t work for me, which sucks. It triggered my motion sickness.

I’ve added a potential interview to my list of promo items for Triad Blood. Otherwise, noise-making set up so far includes a blog entry for the release at QSF, the awesomeness that is “Three,” the BSB blog date (I need to write the darn blog, but at least my spot is booked), and the launch.

The Short Stuff

I’ve almost finished my draft of the ‘Survivor’ themed story (see the calls below) and I’m excited about that. After that I need to pick a new short fiction piece to be working on. I should really bite the bullet and finish the second Village Stories novella, and then do a third, and then think about ways to release them.

My life is full of “should.”

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Transcendent – Short, speculative fiction published in 2015 (ie: reprints) that features transgender characters, Lethe Press, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
The Alice Munro Short Story Contest – Short fiction, entry price, Deadline: April 1st, 2016.
Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Survivor – SF/F anthology looking for stories of everyday trauma survival, Lethe Press, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Magic and Mayhem – Mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier stories (very specific, but it’s for a charity anthology, details at the link), Gay Romance Northwest, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 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!)

Sunday Shorts – “The Biggest Lover” Q&A with Skye Eagleday

Today, I’m sitting down with new-to-me author Skye Eagleday to chat about The Biggest Lover, characters who come back time and time again, and the joys of incubi, to boot. Anthologies are always a great way to meet new authors, and now I need to track down the werebear tales, too…

We have all heard the term Rubenesque as a compliment for plus-sized women. The baroque painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens was fond of painting women of the day that were curvaceous and full-figured. The men in his art were not. What is the comparable term for men? Because not every gay man is obsessed with twinks who list the number of visible rib bones on their Grindr profile. Or men who can remember the number of reps at the gym but not their phone number. Some of us appreciate buying in bulk and that includes looking for love. Or just plain sex.  Thank goodness for Bear culture which embraces girth. During Bear Week in Provincetown the stores do not even bother to sell clothes smaller than an XL and a man’s virility is often like the potency of moonshine: the more Xs on the jug the better, so XXXL is a chub in high demand.

It has taken too long for an erotica anthology to feature such men. As Girth & Mirth founding father Reed Wilgoren stated, “Just as people are coming out every day—men and women realizing their sexuality—new Bears and new Chubbies and new chasers are also evolving in the world. There have to be people waiting to embrace them and show them the way, much as who helped me to become what I am and who I am today.” It is our hope that readers who felt denied of attention and affection will read these stories and realize that love has no weight limit, no threshold, and neither should self-esteem.

NB: You mentioned to me that your character for your story in The Biggest Lover has appeared up in other stories previous to this. I do that too and love encountering series of short fictions that revisit the same folk. William Holden, one of our fellow The Biggest Lover authors, brought up how we can get sweet on a character—why do you think you find yourself revisiting this character?

SE: When I first started out I thought I’d mostly write about vampires, since I’m a fan of the genre but readers seem much more interested in my Shifters, and I was one of the first to introduce a Werebear some years ago. Tales of the Werebear has been one of my most popular series. The recurring character who appears in The Biggest Lover is an Incubus, who in my writing considers himself a “reverse vampire” in the sense he thinks of vampires as parasites. Since the Incubus feeds on sexual energy, he’s receiving what he needs to survive (as a vampire takes blood) but he provides the best orgasm his partner will experience. This gives him a feeling of pride in his efforts for equality where he and his partners are in a win/win situation. It’s established there was an effort within the Supernatural Community a few centuries ago to exterminate the Sex Fae—the Incubus and Succubus—because they were considered so powerful they could control the other Supernaturals. As a result, the Sex Fae learned to hide in plain sight while blending into legends and old wives’ tales so even the other members of the Supernatural Community no longer believe they exist.  I’m intrigued by the idea the Sex Fae have no interest in ruling others. They’re very private and enjoy what it is they do. The thought that they’ve been so demonized by their own Community makes them a metaphor for what many of the LGBT Community face in the hatred and actions of right-wing extremists.

NB: I’ve got an incubus character in some of my stories, too, and I love how you’re playing with the notion and drawing the parallels with the queer community. I’ll be tracking down your backlist for sure.

SE: The Incubus can also determine what one desires the most and has the power to morph into that form. This leads to the question—what does an Incubus actually look like? As a therapist I’ve encountered individuals who don’t seem to be able to function outside of a relationship. It’s the very nature of an Incubus to depend on a relationship in order to survive. His appearance in TBL means he’s required to take on a very different body type than most others require of him. That change is something he enjoys since he’s curious about new things and new people. I also find the fact he seems as comfortable in the body of a big-bellied bear as he is in any other appearance very encouraging. Finally, I appreciate he was raised “old school” and has a certain formality and old-fashion charm in interacting with others.

There’s a significant interplay with characters from my different titles, often of a romantic or erotic nature. Part of that is the fact some characters are either fun for me to play with or they’re so strong they basically write themselves.

NB: I adore when I can get glimpses of other characters from previous stories in new tales. It’s like an “Easter egg” for the dedicated reader, in a way, and gives them a little something extra to take from the story. What do you hope a reader will get out of your story “Coming in the Night”?

SE: It’s a standard trope that ABP (A Beautiful Person) is often sitting home alone because those of us who are less perfect think we’re out of their league and that they’d never consider noticing us. The Incubus is like the lottery—you can get a big payoff based on random chance. He also responds to the desires of others. In the “old days” this amounted to being Summoned as a demon. But as he points out, The Sex Fae have never been demons which means the binding pentagram of a Summoning is meaningless to them but the charade amuses them.

In this case the Incubus effortlessly abandons his more conventional “perfection” to become the ideal of his new cub partner. Sometimes if you have the courage to ask—sometimes the answer will be “Yes.”

NB: What’s next for you? Any new projects on the horizon readers should look out for if they love your story and want more?

SE: The Biggest Lover explores the fascination of having a large partner or being large oneself has for a lot of readers. When I first started writing erotica I thought I’d focus on this but the market didn’t really seem to be there. Gay werewolves were popular characters so I thought I’d put my own spin on it by creating my own Werebear. It allowed me to combine the plot device of someone actively trying to regain his size. Due to his Bear genetics, the Werebear goes into a type of hibernation in the winter where he loses his appetites and (in his eyes) is “diminished.” When spring returns his appetites for food and rough sex come flooding back. I have fun with the idea when he’s feels he looks his worst after a long winter, he fits the image of a conventional magazine cover model with a six pack so many others admire. He spends a lot of his time trying to cover those abs up and to return to being as massive and powerful as possible.

NB: Okay, I love that.

SE: After writing the nerdy cub character for The Biggest Lover I wanted to introduce someone similar to my Werebear and have him find a new romance while he’s in London. I also like the contrast of my contribution to The Biggest Lover where the Supernatural identity of the Incubus is already known by the cub because he’s the one Summoning the Incubus. In one of my newest works—Bear-Bait: How To Seduce A Hot Daddy Bear—the Werebear doesn’t reveal the fact he’s not human. It appeals to me to think there may be individuals we know in our social network who keep wonderful secrets, just as there are others who are keeping very frightening ones. I also enjoyed bringing my Werebear back given the fact his own series didn’t exactly have a happy ending. Maybe the nerdy cub in Bear Bait can offer the happy ending my Werebear deserves.

NB: Thank you so much for bringing your werebears and incubi to come play today. I look forward to reading more!

 

You can find The Biggest Lover through Lethe Press’s website here, or, of course, you can check Indiebound to locate your nearest brick and mortar. Otherwise, you’ll find it wherever quality LGBT books are sold.

 

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author and winner of the 2014 BP Readers Choice Award for Short Stories and Collections—Skye Eagleday is best known for spicy paranormal  gay romance as well as steamy stories of BHM like his Tales of the Werebear series. “I was born during the Long Days Moon, right after the Moon of the Singing Frogs. I am Native American and I was taught to be a traditional Storyteller, but I have always enjoyed also working with non-Traditional stories. I was taught that sometimes a Story can be so powerful, it begins to tell YOU.”

You can sign up for his newsletter to get regular updates: http://eepurl.com/T3F-j

You can also follow his blog at: www.SkyeEagleday.blogspot.com

 

For those who find themselves falling for the character in Skye’s “Coming in the Night,” you can get more in Big Bad Incubus (Paranormal Romance with the Sexiest Shapeshifter).

Luka is everyone’s sexual fantasy figure. Tonight he felt the ceremonial Call of a woman seeking revenge against the man she believed had wronged her. In other words, a typical evening. But there was nothing typical about the beautiful Jemma, who was lighting the final candle to Summon an Incubus. She demanded revenge. “Tucker is a homophobe,” she said, her voice filled with anger. “I want him to suffer humiliation, so I command you to seduce him—make him your unresisting bitch.”

The Incubus discovers Tucker is like Jemma. Both carry an unknown Supernatural heritage and their interactions with Luka will bring all three to new heights of passion and Power. In another time, the couple would have become Shamans.  But waking these special abilities for two modern day humans in the middle of a lover’s quarrel could pose all sorts of danger to everyone around them. Can the sexy Incubus use his skills of seduction and ultimate lust to save them all?

(A scorching hot Adults Only story featuring explicit supernatural sex with two mostly humans, initiated by the most erotic and sensual of the Fae. Luka requires the carnal passion of others to survive, but pays in the currency of mind-blowing and extreme orgasms.)

Excerpt:

Jemma

I was nursing the last of my two drinks while I waited for the Incubus to return. All I could think about was what it would be like to be with him. What skill he must have in bed. I felt guilty—dirty. I wasn’t focused on getting even with Tucker. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see those glowing red eyes spotted with pure white. I wondered what he would feel like underneath his clothes—what it would feel like to run my fingers through his thick chest hair. I sipped the last of my drink and realized my panties were damp.

I looked up and he was staring at me, standing outside of the Circle. He had changed clothes, and his eyes were exactly the same color as Tucker’s. I felt a shiver of fear.

“Can you go back to how you were when I Summoned you?” He nodded and once again he was the man I had been fantasizing about, his eyes redder than fresh blood. I studied him for a moment, and asked, “Is this your true form?”

Luka

I hated that question, since the answer was so complicated. I pumped up the charm factor and replied, “It is the face I see when I look in the mirror.” The best way to lie is to tell a truth. Just not the entire truth.

“And what is your name? I realize Incubus now sounds more like your title rather than your name.”

“Oh, knowing someone’s true name gives you a certain Power over them, Jemma Mackenzie Farraday.” I moved a step closer to her as her eyebrows went up. “But you may call me Luka.” I noticed she had not asked me about Tucker, just as I had noticed her arousal and the echoes in her mind of what it would be like to be intimate with me.

Those fantasies told me she was not like Tucker. She wanted to be dominated the way no one would dominate her in the day or at her work. She wanted to give up all responsibility for her sexual desires. She wanted to be the innocent one, and blame the Big Bad Incubus. I enjoyed a sip of the scotch she had offered me and she drank half of hers in one swallow. Scotch should only be taken that way as self-medication. I took another step forward, giving my movement the slightest hint of menace. Her heart beat sped up.

Find Big Bad Incubus at Apple iTunes, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.

 

Writing Wednesday – Proofs Postive

 

It’s been a great week. Not in the word-count department, for reasons that shall become clear, but in pretty much every other way.

The word-count thing got derailed on account of two things: one was my birthday, and I had a grand time with some great friends and a board game. The other was the page proofs arriving for Triad Blood, which meant I dove into those for every free moment to try and hunt down the elusive typo monsters. I sent that off this morning, and this means the book is now completely out of my hands. The next time I see it? It will be an actual book in my actual hands and wow, I can’t wait. I’m hitting so many ups and downs about this book it’s insane, but right now, I just can’t wait to see it.

Speaking of Birthdays…

Lethe Press is celebrating its fifteenth birthday (my birthday was for a considerably higher number) and to celebrate all the e-books, for the entirety of March, are $1.50 each (with a minimum purchase of three: that’s $4.50 for three awesome ebooks).

You totally need to take advantage of this. And, because I feel no shame in pointing out anthologies in which I have a story because that supports the editors and other authors as much as it supports me, I shall make list said anthologies below, in case you wished to stock up on those awesome books in which yours truly has a wee story despite the book being so awesome.

“Vanilla” appears in Threesome: Him, Him, and Me, edited by Matthew Bright; “A Slice of Pi” appears in The Biggest Lover, edited by R. Jackson; “Wind and Tree” appears in Tales from the Den, edited by R. Jackson; “Time and Tide” appears in The Touch of the Sea, edited by Steve Berman; “The Psychometry of Snow” appears in Bears of Winter, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler; and “Aiming to Please” appears in Tented, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler.

Launch News!

For those asking about the launch of Triad Blood, I now have the official launch party event posted over on Facebook, right here. It will be at After Stonewall, here in Ottawa, on Thursday the 12th of May. More details are available through the event link. If you went to my launch for Light, and you have any feedback, please, please say so. I’m a big boy, and I can take constructive criticism.

But I should point out I probably can’t arrange another collapsing audience member. I think I can’t repeat that particular incident, regardless of how exciting it was.

The Novel(s)

So, as I said, not a great writing word count week, what with the proofs. By the end of the month, I want to be at least 30k into Triad Soul. I’m a smidge behind that target, and I know I’ve got some away time this month, so I need to be diligent.

Noise-making set up so far includes a blog entry for the release at QSF, the awesomeness that is “Three,” the BSB blog date (I need to write the darn blog, but at least my spot is booked), and the launch.

I still need to do quite a bit more, but, again, this week got derailed by proofs. And also the blurb and cover information for Triad Soul forms showed up at the same time, so I had those to work on,

The Short Stuff

 

Yeah, see above re: page proofs.

I’ll get back on track. Truly.

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Transcendent – Short, speculative fiction published in 2015 (ie: reprints) that features transgender characters, Lethe Press, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
The Alice Munro Short Story Contest – Short fiction, entry price, Deadline: April 1st, 2016.
Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Survivor – SF/F anthology looking for stories of everyday trauma survival, Lethe Press, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Magic and Mayhem – Mage/cyborg or tattoo artist/soldier stories (very specific, but it’s for a charity anthology, details at the link), Gay Romance Northwest, Deadline: March 31st, 2016.
Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.
Animal Magnetism – Tales of men drawn together over their love of animals, JMS Books, Deadline: July 31st, 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!)