'Nathan Burgoine's Blog, page 94

Spooning with Spoonies at Can-Con 2017

I’m still not up to blogging about the awesomeness that was Can*Con, but happily, fellow SpAN network author Jamieson Wolf was up to the task for at least one part of it…

Two Steps at a Time

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of appearing on a panel at CAN-CON: Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts & Literature.

The panel was titled Spooning with Spoonies. Its subject matter dealt with sexuality and disability and how both are represented in fiction.

As a writer, I’ve recently begun to include people with visible or invisible disabilities into my work. I once thought that writing a blog would suffice, that my baring my soul here would be enough. A friend asked me a few years ago if I would ever consider putting a character with Multiple Sclerosis into one of my novels.

My reply was that this blog was enough. However, the more I read, the less I’m convinced that’s true. I have only read one book that featured a character with Multiple Sclerosis. That book was Journey of a Thousand Steps by Madona Skaff-Koren, a truly wonderful book…

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Where I’ll be at @CanConSF this weekend!

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This is what I look like. Say hi.

Hey Ottawa people! So, starting this evening and through the weekend is the awesome Can*Con 2017 event at the Sheraton Ottawa, and though I’m sure you’re sick of me saying so by now, a reminder: I’ll be there.

So will some exciting people, so don’t let my presence put you off (ba-dum-tish!).

Registration opens at 5:00p today, and there are awesome panels, discussions, events, and readings to see.

Importantly? The Dealers Room is open to the public throughout the event, so if you see a name on a signing, or you want to check out some awesome books and products in support of the publishers and artists of Can*Con, you totally have access. Also, if you want, there are day-passes available as well as pricing at the door for the whole she-bang.

If you are looking to see yours truly, however? Allow me to make it easier for you.

Friday, October 13th, 2017.

I’m not on any panels or readings this evening, however, I totally think you should check out my husband taking part in “No, You Can’t Actually Do That With a Computer” at 9:00p, Salon D, because he’s cute and he knows his stuff when it comes to computer security; or for the horror fans, “Homophobia and Monster Stories” (which includes fellow BSBer Christian Baines), 9:00p, Salon F.

Also, I’ll be carrying two d20s so we can duel with our official Can*Con RPG characters.

Saturday, October 14th, 2017.

Okay, deep breath…

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Romance! Second Chances! Time-Travel! Tropes aplenty…

At 10:00a, I’ll be talking “Romance Tropes We Love,” alongside Jessica Ripley, Angela S. Stone, and Jennifer Carole Lewis, in Salon C.

At 11:00a, I’ll be taking off my romance hat and putting on my queer hat for “Finding a Home for your Queer Stories,” alongside Caro Frechette, fellow BSBer Stephen Graham King, Kelsi Morris, and Derek Newman-Stille, in Salon F.

Then, at 12:00p, I’ll be taking off the queer hat and putting on my bookstore manager hat for “How to Interact with a Bookstore,” alongside Charlotte Ashley, Leah Bobet, Benoit Chartier, and Linda Poitevin, in Salon D.

At 1:00p, I will likely be running out the door to find something to eat. I’m totally available for nearby food inhalation.

At 3:00p, Leah Bobet and I will have the open-to-the-public Dealer Room signing real estate for half an hour, so drop on by, say hi, and maybe I can scribble my name on something for you.

Finally, w-a-a-a-y in the evening at 9:00p, I’ll be propping myself up beside fellow spoonies Caro Frechette, Cait Gordon, Talia Johnson, Jamieson Wolf, and Derek Newman-Stille, and attempting to be coherent about “Spooning with Spoonies,” in Salon E.

Sunday, October 15th, 2017.

I am foot-loose and fancy free all Sunday, so if you see me, corner me and say hello. Also, much like Friday, I shall ensure I always have two d20s with me so we can duel with our official Can*Con 2017 RPG characters. (I think I’m going to be a wizard).

Hope to see you all there!

Friday Flash Fiction—Focus & Clarity

I joined a wee writing prompt group. No promises on showing up every single week, but the notion is 500 words inspired by a photo. So, here’s my first go, inspired by this lovely photo (which I tried to track down an attribution for, but no luck with reverse image searches, etc. I’ll update if I can find it).

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“You know how you said I should be careful with magic?”

Bailey considered counting to ten, but instead eyed Marco, who’d run into her store three minutes before closing.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing!”

Bailey raised one eyebrow.

“Nothing on purpose,” Marco said. She noticed he was wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. His usual style involved bow ties and skinny jeans.

“It didn’t work right.”

Bailey flipped the sign to ‘Closed.’

“Okay,” she said. “What stone?”

Marco’s gift matched hers. Bailey inspired crystals, which affected people wearing them. She used it to grant people courage (Tiger Eye), boost confidence (Carnelian), or even to surrender to impulse (Hematite). It helped people connect.

Bluntly? Bailey meddled in love lives.

“Moonstone. For visualization.”

For years she’d only met occasional gifted people, but lately they’d started popping up in the Village. Marco—sweet, energetic, a bit puppy-like—had started humming to her like he was one of her crystals.

“And what did you visualize?”

Marco had a baby-face, but when he bit his lip he looked even younger.

“Marco?” she said.

“So… There’s this guy.”

Of course. “And?”

“I visualized sleeping with him.” His baby-face turned pink. “Romantically! Not…sex. He’s gorgeous. Perfect hair, abs, and even his chest hair? It’s…” Marco’s hands flew while he talked. “Anyway. Much visualizing.”

“So, aiming for…confidence?” Bailey said.

“I guess?”

Now she counted. “Marco. Clarity? Focus?”

“I know. Look…can you just come?”

Bailey grabbed her keys. Marco lived in one of the apartments over the Furever petshop. Bailey wasn’t sure what to expect. An unconscious man lying more-or-less on Marco’s bedroom floor wasn’t it. His head was on the bed, at least. And he did have nice abs.

The man snored quietly.

Marco nudged him with one foot.

Nothing.

“He won’t wake up,” Marco said.

She maintained composure—for three seconds—then laughed until her sides ached and she was leaning against the wall, wiping tears. Marco glared.

His beau was still fast asleep.

“This is so not funny,” Marco said.

“Well,” Bailey said, hiccoughing. “You did visualize sleeping with him.”

“I don’t even know how he got in here!”

That set her off again. She sat on his bed.

The fellow slept on.

“Bailey.”

“Okay,” Bailey said, recovering. “Moonstone, now.”

Marco pointed to his pillow. The moment it was in her palm, she felt the stone’s energy spilling out. Zero control or clarity.

Bailey calmed it down. Then, winking, she said, “You know, you need practice thinking on your feet. Clarity. Focus.”

“What?”

“You’ll come up with something.”

Marco opened his mouth, but Bailey nudged the moonstone and he yawned instead. The look of alarm on his face lasted a second before he wobbled, slid down to his knees, and toppled over onto his bedroom floor.

The two men snored in unison.

Bailey reminded the moonstone to wake them up in the morning, leaving it on Marco’s pillow.

They made a cute couple. She couldn’t wait to hear how it all played out in the morning.

 

Signing: Friday, October 6th, 11:30a at Prospero Books

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Time for fall, vampires, fire magic, and mayhem.

It’s October, which means things are allowed to be all Samhain, all the time. Or at least, that’s my understanding. And among the joys of the Hallowe’en month are the things that go bump in the night.

To celebrate all things bump-in-the-night-ish, myself and the wonderful author Christian Baines (who writes super-creepy awesome things) will be at the Prospero at Bank and Slater here in Ottawa, Friday October 6th, at 11:30 a.m.

If you’ve not encountered Christian before, allow me to point out how much I loved The Beast Without and The Orchard of Flesh (the Arcadia Trust series), as well as Puppet Boy. He writes creepy, engrossing, dark urban fantasy as well as psychologically stirring and disturbing contemporary fiction. Basically, he’s a one-stop-shop for your Hallowe’en reading needs.

And, of course, I’ll be there with Triad Blood and Triad Soul especially, because vampires, demons, and wizards (oh my).

Hope to see you there!

[image error] Christian Baines

Australian Author Christian Baines has written on travel, theatre, and various aspects of gay life. Some of his stranger thoughts have spawned novels, including The Arcadia Trust series, and Puppet Boy, which was a finalist for the 2016 Saints and Sinners Emerging Writer Award. He is also a four-time finalist in the Sydney Mardi Gras Short Story Competition.

​

He now lives, writes, and shivers in Toronto.

[image error] ‘Nathan Burgoine

‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first novel, Light, is available from Bold Strokes Books and was a finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror, and the BOTYA 2013 Gay & Lesbian (Adult Fiction) ForeWord award. Triad Blood and Triad Soul followed. His first novella-length work, “In Memoriam,” is available through Lethe Press.

He lives in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.

SpAN Interview with ’Nathan Burgoine

I was up on The Spoonie Authors Network for my turn in the Q&A chair!

Spoonie Authors Network

Your humble SpAN Editor here. Over the next several weeks I have the privilege of interviewing the talented authors and contributors of the Spoonie Authors Network. Please read and share these posts to promote and encourage these amazing people. We spoonies need each other! Thank you for following us! You can find more interviews under Author Intervews.

This week I interviewed an author who I’ve really come to admire and respect. A tall man who mostly writes short fiction—’Nathan Burgoine.

Click to see a list of ‘Nathan’s published works!

(Please note that responses to my questions are minimally edited to preserve the integrity of the author’s answers.)I first discovered who you were at Can-Con 2016, when I attended two excellent sessions that included you as a panelist. The first was about writing sex scenes, moderated by author Angela Stone, and the second was about representation of queer characters…

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Weekend Customer Appreciation Sale at Bold Strokes Books

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15% off!

Hey all! It turns out that this weekend, Bold Strokes Books is having a customer appreciation weekend sale (through to Sunday, midnight) on most of their titles. It includes everything I have published with them, so right now, all my writing with them is 15% off, in both e- and paper- format.

This means all my novels are on sale, Light, Triad Blood, and Triad Soul. And a tonne of short stories, from the anthologies listed below.

Short Fiction

“Keeping the Faith,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Men of the Mean Streets.
“Filth,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Night Shadows: Queer Horror.
“Sky Blue,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Saints & Sinners 2013: New Fiction from the Festival.
“Range of Motion,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Men in Love: M/M Romance.
“Sweet William,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Saints & Sinners 2016: New Fiction from the Festival.

Short Fiction Series

The Triad Stories 

“Three,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Blood Sacraments, also available as an e-short here.
“Intercession,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Wings: Subversive Gay Angel Erotica.
“Possession,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Erotica Exotica: Tales of Tales of Sex, Magic.
“Necessary Evils,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica.

Erotica

“Elsewhen,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Riding the Rails.
“In the Doghouse,” and “Shutout,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica.
“The Finish,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Dirty Diner: Gay Erotica on the Menu.
“Transposition,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Tricks of the Trade: Magical Gay Erotica.
“Slice of Pi,” in the Bear Bones Books anthology The Biggest Lover.

Young Adult

“Leap,” in the Bold Strokes Books anthology Boys of Summer.

Voice, Lists, Existing, and Being Heard

I didn’t want to have a discussion today, and I couldn’t help myself from expressing a bit of exhausted frustration about the discussion… and then ended up having the discussion. Again. My own fault.

But, it occurred to me I’ve had this conversation enough that it might be worth putting my thoughts down in once place. I talk about ownvoice a lot, but from this particular angle, I’m not sure I’ve discussed it here, so here we go.

Lists.

Today’s attempt at a not-discussion happened when a fellow author noted there was one one gay author on a blog shared which was listed as a kind of a beginner’s guide to reading Gay Fantasy. Now, reaction to this was actually pretty soft (I’ve seen much, much worse) and generally open, and the discussion more-or-less went okay thereafter.

But the response that brings the exhaustion every time did show up: “Does that mean as a straight woman I should only write straight women?” and then, as a chaser, “People write about serial killers without being real serial killers. Authors do research.”

And, exhale.

That’s not what’s being said. What’s being brought to the attention is that, once again, a marginalized voice is left outside, rather than being in the position of existing and being heard.

Okay, so let’s break things down a bit.

Lists

I don’t think it’s over-the-top to at least note when a list of titles about a marginalized group doesn’t hit even a half-way point with content created by those implicitly in the group.

This issue manifests in a lot of ways that silence voices, and can be as internal as it is external. This also isn’t restricted to the identities of the authors, either. I’ve lost count of the number of “LGBTQ Pride Readings Lists!” that have zero T or B or Q content, maybe one or two L titles, and then the rest is solid G all the way, baby. There’s a fairly easy fix there: Don’t call it what it isn’t.

Ditto how much an author chooses to boost the signal of other authors. If the books read and recommended by an author never (or only rarely) seem to include a gay man, but an author writes gay male characters and suggests lots of other non-gay-male authors far, far more often? Those are choices.

There’s a great phrase I see repeated in many activist circles: “nothing about us without us.” It doesn’t mean exclusion of those not in the group, it means inclusion of those within the group, to make sure the voice of the group isn’t lost among the (likely good) intent of those outside it.

I’ve seen this discussion play out so many times, including recently in autism groups, where so many top-ten or recommended reading lists so often don’t actually include any (or many) authors or experts in question from within the group itself.

So I Can Only Write Straight Women, Then?

Okay, this is such a loaded topic, so to start: I’m not saying only queer men should write queer men. I need that to be clear. There are brilliant non-queer-men writing queer-men stories out there. I love seeing them get the recognition of a tale well told.

That said, do I think it’s important to make sure that the voice of a marginalized people is heard? Of course I do. There’s always danger the authenticity of the voice will suffer if the majority of stories about a living, breathing people aren’t written by them or with them.

To bring this to a specifically M/M place, recently on an online chat the question was posed: What does M/M mean to you? In other words, when someone says M/M, what do you think of?

These were my answers:

I generally assume if it’s called m/m that it’s not going to be queer in a “life as I live it as a queer” way.
I assume it’s far less likely to be an #ownvoice writing gay/bi/queer men. The world will be more rosy and sunshine.
Higher likelihood of the two men in question being the only queer representation in the book. They’ll exist in a queer vacuum. No other queer friends. Or, if there are other queer friends, it will all be half of future pairs in a series.
Rarely (if ever) will there be more than gay/bi men. No queer women, no trans characters.
Their relationship will likely be quite heteronormative in the sense of a closed pair, monogamy, wanting kids, etc.
I’ll also expect to find a high focus placed on penetrative anal sex (and especially someone’s anal virginity). And value placed on it, too, as a kind of declaration of true love.

None of these are necessarily bad things per sé, just what I’ve come to expect as a reader when reading books labeled “m/m.” And they don’t ring authentic to my queer life. But if books that follow these trends are the only books appearing on a list labeled “gay,” and there’s not a single book on the list where, for example, the queer men have other gay and lesbian and bi and trans friends?

That list is missing how many gay people exist. Something I know to expect to find in gay men’s #ownvoice books. All my queer characters have queer friends. As a queer person? That’s my reality.

But you’d never know it—or learn it—from some lists out there.

I’m Not a Vampire Either, But I Write Those
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See? Vampire.

Fair enough. So do I. But vampires aren’t a real, living and breathing marginalized group of people. Queer people are. So if you write a queer character (and, yes, even a queer vampire), and you are not using your voice, and you get something wrong, you need to learn. Be open to criticism. And own it.

Also? Non-real things like Vampires can definitely do harm, too. If your good army of elves are all light skinned, sparkly, and have blond hair and the evil army of orcs are all black skinned and ugly? Take a second to think about that. This carries across to shifters, to aliens, to dragons, to whatever you create. If you create an alien race in a far-flung future where same-sex couples are the norm for that culture, and you have your space-faring humans rattled by that, you’ve written a future where queerness hasn’t progressed pretty much at all. Or, conversely, if you write a future where “queer doesn’t matter” but the only couples you ever actually see on page are straight or gay men, then what, exactly, happened to the lesbians?

Writing stuff that doesn’t exist doesn’t get an author off the hook for how they write (or don’t write) living, breathing cultures. I’m not a serial killer either, but if all the serial killers I write are bisexual, and none of the other characters are bisexual? I still do harm.

An author still needs to do research.

Research

Of course authors research. That’s part of the job. Writing a police procedural? You’re likely going to check in with some cops, right? And when an author screws something up, they’ll often make a little note about it on a blog, or joke about it at a Con, and then moving forward they’ll try not to make the same mistake again. Which is great.

And, for some reason, seems not to happen anywhere as smoothly when we’re talking about the representation of queer people.

Now, there’s tonnes of information out there from queer #ownvoices. I try to do that myself, right here in blogs like this. Research is more or less accessible, even without being particularly intrusive (but, hey, I do love respectful questions that don’t assume I’m at the beck and call of an author, and love answering them). An author has a decent chance of writing something with queer characters that doesn’t foul out if they do the homework, sure.

But. (Huge but).

If a living, breathing group cries foul? That’s when it’s time to stop and listen. Because we’re fallible as writers. We’ll screw up. We’ll do some harm without intending to. And that sucks, because harm wasn’t intended, but harm is still done, and the lack of intent comes second to the harm.

It’s my go-to example, but: Gay-For-You. There’s a strong, loud voice from bi and pan readers decrying Gay-For-You plots that erase them. After doing even a modicum of research, you will know that. Thereafter? You can’t unknow that. If you continue to write Gay-For-You stories with that kind of erasure? Now you’re choosing to willfully do some harm.

Ditto dead-naming trans characters (especially in the damn blurb), burying your gays, referring to HIV status as clean/dirty, etc, etc, etc. We are real people, and whether or not an author likes it, if they choose to write in our voice, they are representing us.

Just on Gay-For-You I have seen people fly completely off the handle saying it doesn’t matter, that the m/m Gay-For-You books aren’t for bi people, and that bi and pan people shouldn’t be upset, they’re over-reacting, that they just shouldn’t read them, and on and on.

When I was a kid, my “first time seeing me” reading moment was a gay character in a story. He died. And it was presented very much as an “of course he died, he was gay.” The class all nodded their heads. I sat there trying not to react, learning that I was probably going to die because I was gay.

People outside a marginalized group don’t get to decide what harms those within it.

So, Now What?

That’s totally up to each individual. I’m not trying to tell anyone what to do so much as I’m trying to explain why my eyebrow creeps up when lists of books about a group of people don’t include any authors from that group. It translates across the board, of course: I don’t think anyone would think it unfair to criticize a list of “the best women detectives” books that had not a single woman author on the list, or “the best black fiction” that didn’t include more than one black author. It seems like basic stuff to me, like inviting five white men to sit on a panel to discuss the wage gap.

It would never fly. It shouldn’t. So when it happens, in list form or otherwise, this is why there’s pushback. Why the discussion happens.

But maybe I should try to turn this into some sort of advice?

Okay.

If an author is writing a character that isn’t their voice as the primary voice from a living breathing culture? They’re taking a risk. As long as they know that? By all means, go where the muse leads, but prepare for feedback and be prepared to be graceful in the eye of unexpected feedback especially. And, I honestly think the author should stop and really ask themselves why they want to write that character.

For me? My experience never seeing myself in fiction is why I choose to write what I write, and why I try to focus on reading and boosting #ownvoices. I absolutely work to write diversity into my worlds, yes, but I also don’t generally write a main voice that’s not at least somewhat mine.

Again: that’s my choice. No one else has to do the same. But I’d rather boost an ace #ownvoice than write an ace main character. Ace supporting characters? I’m absolutely writing them. But I’d never try to be the next ace voice. Because I’m not ace. The same way I try to boost and suggest awesome lesbian and bi and trans authors out there writing amazing books, but also include awesome lesbian and bi and trans characters in my stories. I can write a world that supports all my queer allies without taking the mic from their hands.

Validation

I am not having a good writing month. You can usually tell that’s happening when you see my “Writing Wednesday” posts vanish, because I can’t bring myself to hold myself publicly accountable when I’ve had negative word-counts and I’m behind schedule and it’s just depressing, not motivating. If something is anti-motivating? I don’t do it. I’m not down with “you must write every day or you’re not a writer” as advice specifically because I know not every writer (yours truly included) can work that way, so all that kind of advice does is crush potential writers.

So. Why am I bringing this up right now? Well, I’ve got two weeks left on my deadlines and I believe I’m going to make it, but I’m struggling every single day. It’s uphill. It’s not coming easily. I’m in a terrible headspace—I don’t even know why I’m in a terrible headspace—and as such there couldn’t have been better timing for what just happened this morning.

I got validation.

Now, I don’t think authors (or artists in general) talk enough about how much validation matters, and maybe it’s just me with my own fragile ego, but if I can be blunt? Creating without validation sucks. It’s like emptying a bucket and only having a dripping pipe to refill it with.

Empty praise isn’t validation, by the way. Someone saying “I liked it,” does zilch. Someone gushing about how they connected with something is fantastic, and that does help refill the bucket. Best, though, is someone talking about how they connected with a piece, asking questions, talking about it, but also offering some constructive feedback about how the piece could be even stronger? That’s engagement and that’s so very validating. It refills my bucket like you wouldn’t believe.

Do I sound needy? I don’t mean to. It’s more I’m trying to say when you put something creative out into the world, no matter how much it’s for the “art” or how many times you say, “I don’t care if no one ever touches this, I needed to create it,” the reality is—for me, at least—it’s a little bit soul-crushing when creativity is met with crickets.

And that’s part of why I struggle so much with writing novels. I’m not a fast writer (by many standards) and as such, I can put together a novel a year (he says, eyeing the looming deadline with frayed nerves). That’s a whole year working on something in a bubble. It’s draining to me. Short fiction isn’t like that at all—I can have a piece ready for feedback within a week (or even a weekend, sometimes, when lightning strikes), and then I have an opportunity to refill that damn bucket.

Novels nearly drain it dry.

This is why I try to keep on top of writing short fiction at the same time, as it’s an opportunity to—hopefully—garner reminders that I can do this thing I’m doing. And today I got a big one.

The last time I entered the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge, I was out in the first round, but the feedback I received was pretty good, and I was happy with what I wrote. When I entered this year, I was even happier with what I wrote, but very nervous: it was very, very queer. Like, a retelling of Pinocchio queer, including hooking him up with Candlewick.  I was pretty sure I’d be out in the first round again, but the feedback from the judges was so solid last year that I looked forward to it anyway.

The way the contest works this year was this: each group was given a genre (my group was ‘fairy tale’), an object (‘a ticket stub’) and a location (‘an abandoned railroad car’), and they’ve got a strictly limited word count to tell a story with. The top fifteen entries in each category are given points, first place getting 15 points, second place getting 14 points, and so on, all the way down. Everyone moves on to the second round—this was another reason I signed up again, as it meant double the feedback—and the points from both rounds are added together to see who moves on thereafter.

This morning I got the update that the stories had been judged, and…

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And there’s me, in first place in group 68, out of thirty-one entrants.

Validation, folks? It’s a great, great thing. Even if they did call me Jonathan instead of ‘Nathan.

New Release: Renewal

QSF has a new book out, the latest in their series of flash fiction anthologies:

Re.new.al (noun)

1) Resuming an activity after an interruption, or

2) Extending a contract, subscription or license, or

3) Replacing or repairing something that is worn out, run-down, or broken, or

4) Rebirth after death.

Four definitions to spark inspiration, a limitless number of stories to be conceived. Only 110 made the cut.

Thrilling to hopeful, Renewal features 300-word speculative fiction ficlets about sexual and gender minorities to entice readers.

Welcome to Renewal.

Mischief Corner Books (info only) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

Excerpt

Because these stories are only 300 words each, we’re not supplying long excerpts, but here are the first lines of several of the stories. Enjoy!

“Griselda pulled the weeds from between the rows of Valerianella locusta plants in the garden, careful not to disturb the buds that would grow into the babies that were her only real income-producing crop.” —The Witches’ Garden, by Rie Sheridan Rose

“I didn’t know how truly the world was in trouble until I went journeying to look for Anisette’s bluebonnets.” —Bluebonnets, by Emily Horner

“The ship’s drive malfunctioned at the worst possible time.” —The Return, by Andrea Speed

“Before we continue, there’s a rather macabre fact about me I should share.” —Rejuvenation, by Christine Wright

“When I died they buried me at the bottom of the garden and returned to the fields.” —Below the Hill, by Matthew Bright

“The world is ending and I can’t look away from your eyes.” —Sunrise, by Brigitte Winter

““Losing one’s superpowers to your arch nemesis sucks donkey nuts, I tell ya. And trust me when I say I suck a lot of them.” —Rainbow Powers, by Dustin Karpovich

“The day I was born again was damp, rainy—a good day for rebirth, all things considered.” —The Birthing Pod, by Michelle Browne

“Intwir’s twelve eyes roved over the container, taking in the cracked outer lock and the elasticated fabric stretched tightly over its exterior.” —In a Bind, by S R Jones

“‘You’ve reached Androgyne HelpLine. Press one to start service. Press two to interrupt or cancel service. Press three—’” —Auto-Renew, by Ginger Streusel

“The doctor tells me that my wife is dying, but I already know.” —I Will Be Your Shelter, by Carey Ford Compton

“‘San Francisco was the first to go dark, followed by Los Angeles.’” —When Light Left, by Lex Chase

“My fingers lingered on the synthetic skin, trailing soft patterns across my work.” —Miss You, by Stephanie Shaffer

Included Authors

‘Nathan Burgoine

A.M. Leibowitz

A.M. Soto

Abby Bartle

Aidee Ladnier

Alexis Woods

Andi Deacon

Andrea Felber Seligman

Andrea Speed

Andrea Stanet

Anne McPherson

Bey Deckard

Brigitte Winter

Carey Ford Compton

Carol Holland March

Carrie Pack

Catherine Lundoff

CB Lee

Christine Wright

Colton Aalto

Daniel Mitton

Dustin Blottenberger

Dustin Karpovich

E R Zhang

E.J. Russell

E.W. Murks

Ell Schulman

Ellery Jude

Eloreen Moon

Elsa M León

Emily Horner

Eric Alan Westfall

F.T. Lukens

Fenrir Cerebellion

Foster Bridget Cassidy

Ginger Streusel

Hannah Henry

Irene Preston

J. Alan Veerkamp

J. P. Egry

J. Summerset

J.S. Fields

Jaap Boekestein

Jackie Keswick

Jana Denardo

Jeff Baker

Jenn Burke

Joe Baumann

John Moralee

Jon Keys

Jude Dunn

K.C. Faelan

Kelly Haworth

Kiterie Aine

Kristen Lee

L M Somerton

L. Brian Carroll

L.M. Brown

L.V. Lloyd

Laurie Treacy

Leigh M. Lorien

Lex Chase

Lia Harding

Lin Kelly

Lloyd A. Meeker

Lyda Morehouse

M.D. Grimm

Martha J. Allard

Mary E. Lowd

Matt Doyle

Matthew Bright

Mia Koutras

Michelle Browne

Milo Owen

Mindy Leana Shuman

Naomi Tajedler

Natsuya Uesugi

Nephy Hart

Nicole Dennis

Ofelia Gränd

Patricia Scott

Paul Stevens

PW Covington

R R Angell

R.L. Merrill

Rebecca Cohen

Redfern Jon Barrett

Reni Kieffer

Richard Amos

RL Mosswood

Robyn Walker

Rory Ni Coileain

Rose Blackthorn

Ross Common

S R Jones

Sacchi Green

Sarah Einstein

Shilo Quetchenbach

Siri Paulson

Soren Summers

Stephanie Shaffer

Steve Fuson

Tam Ames

Terry Poole

Tray Ellis

Vivien Dean

Wendy Rathbone

Xenia Melzer

Zen DiPietro

Zev de Valera

Matches 7 – Memory

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This week’s matches all come through the lens of memory, which I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately thanks to a few projects coming near to their completion and my awareness of just how little I truly can rely on my notes to myself. I write things like, “Include [X] here,” with no helpful reminders of what I meant by [X]. So. Yeah. Memory.

If this is your first visit to my prompts (or ‘matches’) it’s in honour of a book called The Writer’s Book of Matches. It has 1,001 little prompts that are designed to give you something to work with. I often flip through it when I’m in the mood to just write without a specific focus. The book has three kinds of prompts: A single line of dialog; a scenario or situation; and assignment prompts where the book lists a series of three characters all reacting to a particular moment/event, and since I first got it, I’ve been noting my own prompts to myself the same way.

If you ever find success or just fiddle around with any of these ‘matches,’ please do let me know!

After an accident, a man stops dreaming. Instead of dreaming, he somehow starts to dream the life of the father he never knew, as his father was living it at the same age, one day each night. His father died not much older than he is now, however, and he starts to wonder what will happen when he dreams the death.
“You might not remember me, but believe me: I remember you. Now, if you want to live, you’re going to listen very, very carefully to what I’m about to ask you.”
After making a new—and happy—life for himself post-amnesia, a man who was found unconscious after a disaster is contacted by someone who claims to be his estranged child.
An amateur art collector with tetrachromancy notices a pattern in a famous artist’s paintings that seem to be a message telling the untold story of what happened to the artist and the woman the artist loved.
In an attempt to monitor neurological activity in comatose patients, a doctor and an engineer accidentally invent a way to record—and play back—memories. The engineer’s wife is a police officer, who immediately sees the value in her spouse’s invention for solving crime. Write the scene from the point of view of the three characters: The police officer, who has a case she’s working on where a comatose patient using the device might be able to lead her to the attempted murderer; the engineer, who wants to balance the police officer’s desire for justice and their marriage with the knowledge of how this technology could end up in the wrong hands so very easily; the doctor, who is absolutely against what he sees as a truly invasive mistake.

See you next week, and by all means, drop any prompts of your own in the comments!