'Nathan Burgoine's Blog, page 116

Writing Wednesday – Getting Started (and Making ’em Laugh)

Before anything else – head on over to Read a Romance Month. There are some awesome posts there (including one by yours truly about the joy of a funny romance). There are giveaways, and it’s worth stopping by every day. So. Yeah. Go do that. I’ll wait here.

Back? Awesome.

It’s the first Writing Wednesday of the new year. So far today, I’ve been to the dentist (my bionic jaw still functions, which is awesome news for my pocketbook and sanity both), we’ve picked up the new speakers for my husband’s electronic wall of electronic electrics, and we’ve torn down the Christmas tree for another year.

This year’s plan is close to the same as last year’s for writing:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays will be for novel-making. Right now, that’s working on Triad Soul (the second Triad book). Once the edits come back for Triad Blood, that’ll take precedence until I’m done. I’m aiming for 10k months this year, which is nothing, and I’d like to beat that out of the water, but it’s a rise from last year.
Wednesdays and any weekend writing (not mandatory) are for other projects, be they open calls for submission or something for my own amusement.
I’m going to continue what Jeffrey Ricker suggested last year and submit something (at least) once a month.
At some point this year (Wednesdays, weekends), I will revisit the novellas I wrote during NaNoWriMo and try to get the Village series launched. I want three of them complete before I start, and I’ve got pretty much two of them. One more, and then it’s time to get serious about being a series guy.

So what about Writing Wednesdays themselves? More of the same—I’ll use them to hold myself publicly accountable for my progress on writing fronts, as well as to call out any open calls for submission I come across. I hope they’re helpful to those of you looking to submit tales.

The Novel(s)

Triad Blood is in the editing pipeline. I’ll be getting the red-stained version of the manuscript back from the editor this month sometime, and then I dive in and marvel once again at how an editor makes a book so much better. Seriously, you guys, it’s incredible what happens when an editor takes your stuff and shows you all your foibles.

Triad Soul was pitched. I’ve got the outline roughed out, and I’m using Scrivener this time. So far, so good. I’ve hit 1,900 words so far (on target). It’s actually quite fun to be back in the heads of the three guys for the first time since I sent the manuscript for Triad Blood off a couple of months ago. This is, I hope, a good sign.

The Short Stuff

As I mentioned, I want to keep sending things in every month. So far this month, nothing. But I’ve had my fella home (he took vacation for the week after Christmas) and so I’m not too worried about it. And it’s been nice to just sit and let ideas percolate, which they have in abundance. Hello plot bunnies.

Open Calls I Know About (and find tempting)…

Kagema’s Sons – Stories of hustlers, rent boys, role-players or other love (or sex) for hire, Ink Stained Succubus, Deadline: January 15th, 2016.
Friends of Hyakinthos – Fantastical gay male-themed stories set during the time of Ancient Greece or involving Hellenism in later cultures, deadline January 30th, 2016.
Theory of Love – Pocket protectors and sexy nerds? Sci-Fi (and/or geeky) Romance, Torquere Press, Deadline: February 15th, 2016.
Less Than Dead – Tales of zombies, be they the enemy, the ally, or something else entirely, Less than Three Press, Deadline: February 28th, 2016.
Gents: Steamy Tales from the Age of Steam – Gay male erotica set during the Victorian/Edwardian era, Deadline: May 1st, 2016.
Novella Call – The Book Smugglers, Deadline: May 30th, 2016.

Don’t forget to check the Lambda Literary site for more calls, as well as the Queer Sci-Fi calls for submission page. I think those four above were all originally brought to my attention through either of those two sites, so…

REVIEW: Light (‘Nathan Burgoine)

Well, now this is wonderful to find!

Matthew Bright

Encapsulate the book in one sentence?

“I refuse to become the gay superhero known as Disco.”

Intriguing, tell me more.

Kieran is a bit psychic, a bit psychokinetic, and a lot gay. There’s a right-wing religious nut attacked Pride events, and Kieran’s not having any of that. Kieran really loves Pride.

Personal Choice, Book-Pot, Re-read…?

Personal choice. Bold Strokes sent me it to review about ::mumble:: years ago and I sorta forgot. Since then I’ve read a whole bunch of short fiction by Burgoine and become a fan. (I cannot rave enough about Psychometry of Snow.) I suspect the key to his fiction is in the restorative power of hairy men and cake, and I approve of that. Anyways, I figured it was about damn time I read Light.

What genre would you say it is?

Technically it’s a superhero origin story. It’d be quite easy to compare this to Perry Moore’s 

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Sunday Shorts

It’s a new year, and as such, it’s time to peek ahead and figure out what I’ll be doing for the year ahead. I’m definitely keeping the “Sunday Shorts” series alive: I want to discuss LGBTQ short fiction (or poetry, or novellas, or nonfiction) every week, and—when I can—do so in the form of very short Q&As with authors.

You all know I’m a huge fan of the shorter side of writing, and I don’t find it gets a lot of noise in the vast realm of the reviewing world. Maybe I can help boost the signal just a wee bit.

To do that, though, I’d love to find new tales. I’m by no means short of options of anthologies in my own home, but the best part of being a reader is sharing the things you’ve loved.

So, hit me with yours. Read any shorts recently I should know about? Where do you generally find them? Self-promote, too: I want to know about stuff you’ve written (especially stuff in the pipeline: I’m so happy to post a Sunday Shorts Q&A as close to your release date as I can, if you’re up for it).

Starting next week, I’ll go back to my usual discussions or Q&As, but I wanted to hear from you folks (as always) about the best stuff you’ve found lately.

At the Closing of the Year

It’s been quite the year. I spent the vast majority of it working on the upcoming Triad Blood, and in between that I managed to send off at least one short fiction piece a month. Some were even accepted (by my count, I think I’ve got pieces in five anthologies due for 2016 alongside the aforementioned novel, so already it’s a great year.)

This was my first full year of post-management, too. I miss my fellow booksellers, and I miss the great customers, but I don’t miss the commute, or the way that retail sucked the joy out of Christmas. I’m still fighting that feeling, this year was better than last, and I’m sure it just continues to improve.

And to no one’s surprise, my husband and I are happier. I turns out when I’m not tired and frustrated, I make for a much more charming person to be around. I do have guilt and have to struggle with feeling like I contribute—writing helps here immensely!—but I’m finding my balance. Also, the dog appreciates me being around.

Oh yeah, the dog. This was also my first full year being a doggy parent. That dog sure wormed his way into my heart. I guess that’s what they do. I’m sure one of you dog-lover people knew that already, and chose not to warn me. I’d put you on my list, but I’ve fallen for Coach head over heels, and as such you’re forgiven. Which is also likely exactly as you planned.

You’re sneaky, you dog-lovers. Seriously.

Well, given the impending parties all around the world, you’ve likely got places to be and people to meet. I’ll keep it short. I’m afraid I’m not big on staying up late, even on New Year’s Eve, so I’ll just say “Happy New Year!” to all of you now.

I hope next year doubles your joys.

 

Mid-way Monday

It’s Boxing Week, my husband has the next two whole weeks off, and we’re basically devolving into sloths. Mostly we’ve been playing games, be they video, card, or board in nature, but I’ve also been reading (of course).

I’m part-way through a lot of books right now, and happily jumping back and forth from one to another.

First up is Stephen Graham King‘s Soul’s Blood, which is so good you guys. I’ve been limiting myself to reading a chapter (or two) at night before bed, otherwise I’d’ve devoured it in two sessions. It’s Science Fiction, space-ship style, with AIs, multiple colonized worlds, technological societies, spliced genes and genetic tampering, awesome future-slang (“Wanna get squishy?”) and so much going for it that I can’t wait for it to be released next month.

If you’re at all a fan of science fiction (in the space-faring sense), you should pick this one up. That it’s also LGBT inclusive (as is everything from Bold Strokes Books) makes it an awesome rarity. The best part is how the various sexualities of the characters are dealt with in the future “shrug shoulders” way I quite enjoy: it’s just a thing, not important when worlds are at risk.

I’m also reading from two short fiction collections right now. One is Tom Cardamone‘s collection Night Sweats (another book due to be released next month!), the other is an anthology I’ve had for a while, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History. Both of which I’ve mentioned before, and both of which are perfect for my sloth-like reading habits of the moment. I’ve been picking them up, delving into a story, and then taking another nap or playing another game.

What are you all reading right now?

Sunday Shorts – Crooked Letter i

I normally don’t talk about nonfiction very much, which is often because I don’t feel qualified to do so. There are very few things I feel expert enough to discuss, and even then I’m always wary of making mistakes, and so, when it comes to the nonfiction I read, I usually just do so without much fuss. Where I do sometimes step outside my comfort zone and discuss nonfiction is in the world of the autobiography—people telling their own stories is something that gives me comfort. I get to learn about new people (and often new places and new cultures), and I like hearing new voices. It’s like finding a new way to look at the world. Biographies grant me a new eye, so to speak.

More, I seek out LGBT biographies because our histories don’t have the inborn inheritance of other cultures. Queer kids aren’t (usually) born to queer parents. At family gatherings, the trans grandparents don’t tell the stories of their surviving Stonewall to the gay grandchildren. It’s different for queer people; If we want to know our history, we have to go find it. If we want our stories passed on, we have to tell them.

Crooked Letter i: Coming Out in the South is a collection of personal essays edited by Connie Griffin, written by LGBT folk from “The South” (as in the United States). As a Canuck, the notion of The South is an area  somewhat nebulous and ill-understood. I profess to really only understanding the whole idea of The South from a few trips to Texas and Louisiana, and friends I have from West Virginia. My understanding of what it is is loosely gathered from their stories, their character, and reading fiction set in the area.

It’s safe to say I was surprised, then, by this collection. Some of it was less startling: I imagined going in that I would be reading a lot about how religion has shaped the experiences of the LGBT people growing up in The South. I was correct, but what I had not expected was to be shown a few times how religion was a caring and loving start (and sometimes even continued to be so) for some of the writers. My experiences with Christianity run somewhat shallow personally. I did not grow up with any overt religious activity or organization as part of my upbringing, and so it was only as a queer young adult that I really bumped into religion. Usually? It was a destructive force of intolerance and hatred aimed my way by the loudest of the faith I encountered. But for many of those writing these essays, faith formed a solid foundation. True, often they parted ways (and less than amicably), and I don’t want to downplay the very real damage many suffered at the hand of their religious families or communities, but there was not the total acrimony I expected. It was a surprise.

The personal essays also touch upon living under the shadow of potential homophobia (Jeff Mann’s piece touches on this: how every slight makes you second-guess yourself for the cause), family acceptances, Sororities (I raised a fist in the air at Susan L. Benton’s volleyball game), AIDS (B. Andrew Plant’s essay is particularly touching), racism, gender, McCarthyism and integration (Merril Mushroom’s piece was outright frightening to read), motherhood, the evolution of our language and self-descriptors… The 50’s, the 60’s, the 70’s and beyond are explored; There’s a wide range of personal experiences here, and I was enthralled.

In most LGBT writings I’ve read that touch the subject, I’ve seen The South described as a place survived, or as a place escaped from, but rarely have I seen it given any due as a positive experience by LGBT folk—at least, that’s been my experience. Reading this book, however, I found a series of new voices I’d never heard before. Ultimately, I think what I took from Crooked Letter i was how The South itself was such a source of strength and comfort for so many LGBT people—even for those who did choose to leave, but especially for those who remain or who came back.

My next visit to The South will be with a different eye.

Gaming Day

I know, I know, technically today is Boxing Day. But board games come in boxes, and I’m a nerd.

While I normally talk here about books and writing and story-telling more than anything else, it’s the holidays, and for my husband and I, that often means board games. We adore board games, and have had decent luck at finding some really awesome ones lately. Mostly that’s due to Tabletop, a Geek & Sundry Youtube series where Wil Wheaton plays games with fellow geeks.

Also, there are board games that do a damned fine job of telling stories.

One of the down sides to most board games is how they become much less fun with two players. Partly, that’s because many game dynamics work  better with three players (trading, for instance, becomes pointless when there’s only one other player—why would you help your only opponent?) And when it’s a game won by one person, that’s even less fun between two people, as generally speaking, if I’m honest, my husband is a much better player of games. He’s got the math mind to figure things out better than I do.

That said, there’s one kind of game we truly love: the co-operative sort.

Pandemic is a game where you’re trying to save the world. Y’know, no biggie. It’s actually a difficult game to beat, but as a co-operative game, you either win together or lose together, so there’s that. And the story-telling is present here: the notion is you’re trying to stop four deadly outbreaks from wiping out the world, and your various characters had different skills to make that happen. I personally love being the medic (I know, I know, once a cleric, always a cleric), and my husband loves being the researcher (it occurs to me these games are basically Rorschach tests). We’ll sometimes play with two characters each to give us more options, but given that you’ve got one play through of all the cards to work with, the number of players doesn’t necessarily make the game more doable, as it limits the time you’ve got to solve the problem. This is also an easy game to teach, and everyone working together means that there’s much discussion about what might be the best move for any given character on any given turn. We played a tonne of this while we were trapped in the office and the library during the home renovations, as it’s also quite a quick play-through.

Another co-operative save-the-world game that we love to play is Arkham Horror. This one is far less simple to play (and for many many play throughs we realized we were doing it wrong one rule at a time, and still occasionally realize we’ve misread a rule somewhere), but the depth of storytelling to it is over-the-top awesome. Basically, you’re playing in a Lovecraft world, in Arkham, and trying to stop one of the awful big bads from waking up and eating the world. So, again, no biggie. The character range here to play is brilliant, and you definitely have to work together. It’s also another game that isn’t easy to win, and one where we’ll sometimes double-up on characters (playing two each) to give us more breathing room for options. But again, more characters does mean you have less time (in a way; there are mechanics about how much evil can be on the board before things go awry, and it’s less evil the more characters you’ve got in play). Setting this one up isn’t quick, and the game itself can run very long. It’s definitely an evening’s entertainment, not just something you’d play quickly. (Though there’s Elder Sign for that—a quicker, dice-rolling version of Arkham Horror that’s faster but still holds a lot of the same thematic awesomeness.)

Those are our two (three, if you count Elder Sign) favourite co-operative games. What are yours? Did you score any awesome board games from underneath your Christmas Tree this year?

Merry Coachmas

From my family to yours, a very Merry Coachmas.

Christmas Eve with Fictional People

Quick warning: this post will contain some spoiler-ish moments for stories I’ve written. I say “-ish” because really, when you’re reading queer romance stories, it’s not like you don’t know that the guys are gonna end up together, but hey. It’s the net. You were warned.

T’was the Night Before Christmas…

If you read the way I read, sometimes you get a wee bit, uh, involved with the characters lives, and you wonder what happened after the story ended. One of the things I love about short fiction is how often authors will revisit characters from novels and give you a glimpse of the happy ever after, or a day in their life. But since most of what I’ve written has been short fiction, I haven’t had the joy of doing that myself yet.

So, I figured it would be fun to check in with everyone on Christmas Eve.

James and Andy are wrapping presents. Neither of them are good at planning ahead, and James is still recovering. James almost has the walking-with-a-cane thing down, but the snow isn’t helping. They put on some music, cracked a beer each (a naughty indulgence for James, who hasn’t technically gotten the go-ahead for alcohol yet) and are working their way through the things they bought for Brooke and Sarah. Every now and then, James looks at Andy and thinks, this is real. Andy catches him looking and asks what he’s thinking, but James just smiles, and gives him a kiss.

Out in British Columbia, Luke is taking his customary winter vacation in a rented cabin, but this time he’s staying through the season as a special guest of the owner’s nephew. There’s a little box under the tree for Luke that Rick is nervous about—how do you surprise a guy who sees everything that happened?—but it’s going to turn out fine. Luke’s going to pretend he has no idea what’s in the box, even after he touches it.

As is tradition in the Quinn household, Kieran and Sebastien joined Kieran’s father, brother, and his brother’s girlfriend for church. Sebastien suffered through it quietly, and Kieran held his hand to let him know it was appreciated. After, they opened their stockings before bed (another Quinn tradition), and Kieran had to hide more than one thing Sebastien had put in his stocking before his father could see it. Apparently, Karen and Sebastien had at least one shopping trip together, because Kieran saw the same look of panic on his brother’s face at least once, and now Kieran needs some brain bleach.

A strongly conservative and highly bigoted CEO surprised the business world by donating 90% of his yearly profits to building shelters for LGBT youth. A hotel set to host a “Save the Family” conference erupted in instantaneous white-hot flame and was destroyed completely, and was the third place to agree to host the conference this has happened to. Tristan and Lewis turned off the news and started planning their next move. Neither really care for Christmas. Tristan doesn’t think too much about how they came to be together, even now. Lewis will likely never know.

With their on-again-off-again relationship currently firmly in the “on,” Detective Stoler doesn’t push when he sees his boyfriend sniffle over a Christmas card. He checks later, and sees it’s unsigned, and doesn’t recognize the handwriting. It just says, ‘I’m happy, and I hope you are, too.’ He wonders who sent it, but knows his guy will tell him when he’s ready to do so. They snuggle in to watch movies, and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, since Stoler is working the Christmas Day shift.

Winston spends Christmas with his great-uncle and Kosta in Suffolk, and has almost got the coin-flipping thing down. He tries hard not to slip up when he doesn’t remember things everyone else does, and checks his phone for dirty texts from Jack before he goes to bed. 

When Chris unwraps a key, he’s not sure at first what it’s for, until he remembers the last thing Lightning Todd told him. Liam helps him move in over the winter break. Chris starts classes again in January, and when his boss Tracey comes back to work, he accepts her offer of a part-time job.

Julia and her husband have to cancel their Christmas Eve plans when she goes into labour a couple of weeks early. Julia has a daughter. She names her Leah. Graham isn’t too sure about being an older brother at first, but he takes to it the first time Leah smiles at him.

Connor and Mark do their best to have a quiet evening together, but a stream of the departed tend to show up during the holidays, and this one is no exception. Mark helps Connor bring peace to as many of them as they can, and when they finally fall into bed late at night, neither of them see the handsome man who appears and kisses Mark’s forehead.

Noah spends the holiday alone, as he prefers, but a certain red-haired young man does drop by to wish him well, and it reminds him he’s not alone. In many ways, Noah is healed. And though he tries not to bleed, but isn’t afraid to.

At the Byrnes Vinyard, Jesse is always busy during the Christmas season with the restaurant and the winery both. He partnered with a local deaf and hard of hearing organization, and has enjoyed the new hires. He doesn’t date much, but one of the volunteers at the organization is training with him to run a marathon, and there’s definitely chemistry. Jesse isn’t sure he’ll work the next grape picking when there’s a perfect frost for ice wine.

Christmas is a bit awkward at Anthony‘s house since he started dating his sister’s ex, but Robert just shrugs it off. None of Robert’s gifts were particularly romantic, and Anthony couldn’t be happier. On the other side of town, after making Mikhail suffer through the Muppet Christmas Carol, Geoff finally agreed to watch the famous Canada-Russia hockey game on DVD. He fell asleep half-way through, but Mikhail didn’t mind too much.

Being the only out couple in their High School wasn’t without incident, but Will and Ryan managed. Christmas break, and their first Christmas together, has been pretty much magic, though it hasn’t snowed. Will bought Ryan skates for Christmas, and is planning to teach him to skate on the Canal. Ryan will fall down a lot.

Since Dylan and Carey moved in together, not a single sailor has been lost that set sail from Fuca. Dylan’s art continues to garner praise in the community, and he and Carey plan to open a gallery featuring local art in the New Year. For Christmas Eve, they spent the day with Carey’s mother and brothers and the various nephews and nieces. The hot chocolate swirls itself whenever they kiss. On the other side of Fuca, Keith and Niall enjoy a quiet evening together, sitting by their tree and listening to the weather. Niall tells Keith the things he hears on the wind, and they make a game out of trying to link the bits and pieces. Their tree is potted, and Keith will plant it outside come spring.

Julian and David take a walk together along the canal most nights, unless the weather is truly bad, and they make a point of doing so on Christmas Eve. Every time, Julian watches the Grand Trunk. Every time, there is no train. He still believes.

A detective with a bad reputation tells everyone who might ask he’s fine on his own for Christmas, as he’s got some gin and a good book. Instead, he visits a priest, who is surprised to see him but makes no comment other than a thank-you when the detective takes up position beside the priest at the shelter, feeding the homeless and—sometimes—looking as though he’s noticed something in the corner of the room. He’ll deal with that tomorrow.

With Bill stationed overseas for the holidays, it’s just Cameron and Tate at home. They Skype with Bill, who asks them for a visual care package. They deliver.

Famous Author Benny Matthews takes time off his latest book tour at Christmas to visit his home town of Grand Rue. He doesn’t visit his family, spending time with an old friend and a local mechanic, and when he leaves this time he knows he’ll be back. Vengeance might not be justice, but it’s close enough.

For Luc, Anders, and Curtis, this year Christmas falls on a full moon, so they spend much of their time renewing their bonds. Curtis wraps a leather jacket for Anders, who hates winter, and enchants it to stay warm, and fashions a lost-wax-cast silver ring for Luc, who appreciates unique things. Luc surprises Curtis with a gorgeous vintage calligraphy pen, and presents Anders with a dress shirt he will likely never wear. Anders buys both men dildos. Luc’s takes batteries. Curtis’s glows in the dark.

Paul met a guy through a gay swim club, and they’re dating. It’s their second Christmas together, and Paul’s pretty sure it’s going to last. His boyfriend asked him about the shirt in his closet with the cut in it, and offered to have his mother fix it. Paul told him not to bother.

Every year Charles tries to outdo himself with a Christmas Cake of style. This year, it’s a tiny winter wonderland, with fondant figures of his whole family, Anna included. Anna’s mother is wearing pink. 

After nearly two years of almost never dating, Aidan is shopping for Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve and reaches out for a copy of the latest Christopher Moore book and his hand collides with another man reaching for the same book. They both try to let the other have it, and Aiden finally agrees to buy it. He helps the man find something else, and by the time they’re standing in line together, Aiden gets up the nerve to ask him for his number. The man gives it.

And Miah?

Miah’s dancing.

Writing Wednesday – Big Plans

It’s almost a new year, and though I’m not huge on resolutions, I do want to be a bit more structured in the upcoming year about a few things (notably writing and reading things).

It’s good to have goals.

Last year, I jumped on board Jeffrey Ricker‘s “submit something at least once a month” goal, and I managed it. I’m going to continue in that vein, with the same goal for 2016. It certainly worked this year—coming this next year, I’ll have stories in Men in Love, Threesome, Saints & Sinners: New Fiction from the Festival 2016, and Not Just Another Pretty Face. So, thanks Jeffrey, for the push. If I can manage the same successes in 2016, I’ll be darned happy.

Oh, and I’ll be doing edits on Triad Blood and writing Triad Soul, so there’s that, too.

On the Sunday Shorts front, I’m going to try and be a bit more consistent, posting as close to weekly as I can when I bump into excellent short fiction, novellas, and novellettes. I’d also like to do more interview-type conversations for Sunday Shorts, rather than just flat-out reviews. Consider yourself on notice if you’re a short fiction writer: talk to me.

I think I’m also going to start doing the same for audiobooks, maybe on Saturdays. Saturday Sounds, Sunday Shorts, Writing Wednesdays… What? I like alliteration. As for reading in general, I’m going to stick to my goal of a book a week or so, which I managed this year. A mix of audiobooks, too. And I’m going to maintain trying to stick to LGBTQ stories for the most part, and being conscious of seeking out women and authors of colour. Every year I get a bit better at that.

And once the new year hits, I’ll also get back to posting all the calls for submission I bump into. That was a big hit last year, and it’s not hard to do. Again, I’ll add them to my Writing Wednesday posts.

What about you? What are your plans for the year ahead, book-wise?