Kim Fielding's Blog, page 75
October 25, 2012
Lesson from My Daughter
Recently, I was sitting in the kitchen, typing away at my laptop. I usually am. And my older daughter, who's 13, was making a sandwich. "Hey, Mom?" she said.
I probably grunted a reply.
"What would you do if I told you I was gay? I'm not, but what would you do?"
Well, that got my attention. I gave her an honest answer: "I'd tell you I love you and it doesn't matter to me and all that's important to me is that you're happy."
She seemed good with that. "Okay."
I asked her what had raised the question, and she said there was some TV show with a teen who came out to her parents and was rejected, and that got her thinking.
The thing is, it got me thinking too. Because my kids know I write novels with gay protagonists (the older one refers to the Praesidium trilogy as my "gay seamen" books. *sigh*). They know the main focus of my academic life is on prejudice. Over the years they have listened to my many lectures on the importance of treating everyone equally, regardless of color, origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, physical characteristics, etc. They have heard me go on and on about the insidious effects of bias. They've been repeatedly exposed to my views on the stupidity of prohibiting same-sex marriage. So I pretty much assumed that my daughter knew that if the occasion arose, I'd be a safe person to come out to (my husband, too, incidentally).
I was wrong.
And if after all she knows about me, she still was uncertain about what my response would be, that makes me wonder about all those kids out there who've heard their parents spout anti-gay messages. How must they feel?
So this has emphasized to me the importance of explicitly letting our children know that we love them no matter what, and that we support them no matter what, and that nobody should face rejection from their family (or anyone else) because of whom they love. The incident has also brought home to me the importance of safe spaces for young people.
How could I not love this kid, no matter what?
I probably grunted a reply.
"What would you do if I told you I was gay? I'm not, but what would you do?"
Well, that got my attention. I gave her an honest answer: "I'd tell you I love you and it doesn't matter to me and all that's important to me is that you're happy."
She seemed good with that. "Okay."
I asked her what had raised the question, and she said there was some TV show with a teen who came out to her parents and was rejected, and that got her thinking.
The thing is, it got me thinking too. Because my kids know I write novels with gay protagonists (the older one refers to the Praesidium trilogy as my "gay seamen" books. *sigh*). They know the main focus of my academic life is on prejudice. Over the years they have listened to my many lectures on the importance of treating everyone equally, regardless of color, origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, physical characteristics, etc. They have heard me go on and on about the insidious effects of bias. They've been repeatedly exposed to my views on the stupidity of prohibiting same-sex marriage. So I pretty much assumed that my daughter knew that if the occasion arose, I'd be a safe person to come out to (my husband, too, incidentally).
I was wrong.
And if after all she knows about me, she still was uncertain about what my response would be, that makes me wonder about all those kids out there who've heard their parents spout anti-gay messages. How must they feel?
So this has emphasized to me the importance of explicitly letting our children know that we love them no matter what, and that we support them no matter what, and that nobody should face rejection from their family (or anyone else) because of whom they love. The incident has also brought home to me the importance of safe spaces for young people.
How could I not love this kid, no matter what?
October 24, 2012
Donations
Today I'm going to talk about donations and then hit you up for one.
I give all the royalties from my Praesidium trilogy (Stasis, Flux, and Equipoise) to Doctors Without Borders. Not only is the cause an excellent one, but the charity itself is well-run, so that a very large proportion of donations actually goes to doing good. I'm getting ready to make another donation to DWB--for $900. I'm pretty darn pleased over that. That's enough to treat respiratory infections in 650 kids and purchase 280 rapid diagnostic tests for HIV.
Because you guys have bought my books, I've been able to give this worthy cause several thousand dollars. I think you should all give yoursevles a round of applause.
So now my older daughter is doing a fundraiser. For every $15 she collects, $10 goes to buy a wreath for a grave at Arlington National Cemetery. The remaining $5 goes to help fund her class trip to Washington, DC and New York City this coming spring. If you're interested, you can donate online here:
http://www.give2gether.com/projects/wreaths-across-america-official-page-1.caamb1-6/
I give all the royalties from my Praesidium trilogy (Stasis, Flux, and Equipoise) to Doctors Without Borders. Not only is the cause an excellent one, but the charity itself is well-run, so that a very large proportion of donations actually goes to doing good. I'm getting ready to make another donation to DWB--for $900. I'm pretty darn pleased over that. That's enough to treat respiratory infections in 650 kids and purchase 280 rapid diagnostic tests for HIV.
Because you guys have bought my books, I've been able to give this worthy cause several thousand dollars. I think you should all give yoursevles a round of applause.
So now my older daughter is doing a fundraiser. For every $15 she collects, $10 goes to buy a wreath for a grave at Arlington National Cemetery. The remaining $5 goes to help fund her class trip to Washington, DC and New York City this coming spring. If you're interested, you can donate online here:
http://www.give2gether.com/projects/wreaths-across-america-official-page-1.caamb1-6/
October 22, 2012
Back from GayRomLit
I am back from GayRomLit. Didn't get much sleep, but had a wonderful time and met some really fantastic people. I didn't actually take that many photos, but I have a few to share.
There were go-go boys.
And chiles. Lots and lots of chiles. I've never been to New Mexico before and had no idea how seriously obsessed they are about chiles. They put them in everything. Sushi!
Sugar skulls from one of the publisher-sponsored events.
Drunk authors and readers dancing the hokey-pokey. I'd had 3 margaritas myself at this point (a personal record) but didn't dance.
And when I finally returned home, my copies of Don't Try This at Home were waiting for me. My story "Tyler Wang Has a Ball" is in this anthology.
GayRomLit was a great event and I'd highly recommend it. Next year it will be in Atlanta. Also, I'd like to add that the staff at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel really did rock--everyone there was super nice and friendly.
There were go-go boys.
And chiles. Lots and lots of chiles. I've never been to New Mexico before and had no idea how seriously obsessed they are about chiles. They put them in everything. Sushi!
Sugar skulls from one of the publisher-sponsored events.
Drunk authors and readers dancing the hokey-pokey. I'd had 3 margaritas myself at this point (a personal record) but didn't dance.
And when I finally returned home, my copies of Don't Try This at Home were waiting for me. My story "Tyler Wang Has a Ball" is in this anthology.GayRomLit was a great event and I'd highly recommend it. Next year it will be in Atlanta. Also, I'd like to add that the staff at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel really did rock--everyone there was super nice and friendly.
October 18, 2012
Discounted books
Today through October 21, Dreamspinner is discounting by 25% all e-books by authors who are attending GayRomLit. That includes me. :-)
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...
Discounted books
Today through October 21, Dreamspinner is discounting by 25% all e-books by authors who are attending GayRomLit. That includes me. :-)
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_603
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_603
October 16, 2012
More on Joys R Us
Here's the blurb for "Joys R Us"
Reece considers holiday events wasteful. But when he's coerced into standing in line for this year's must-have toy, he gets trampled by the crowd. Store manager Angel rescues him--but can Angel also show Reece the joy of Christmas?
And the buy link if you want to preorder: https://spsilverpublishing.com/index/...
Reece considers holiday events wasteful. But when he's coerced into standing in line for this year's must-have toy, he gets trampled by the crowd. Store manager Angel rescues him--but can Angel also show Reece the joy of Christmas?
And the buy link if you want to preorder: https://spsilverpublishing.com/index/...
More on Joys R Us
Here's the blurb for "Joys R Us"
Reece considers holiday events wasteful. But when he's coerced into standing in line for this year's must-have toy, he gets trampled by the crowd. Store manager Angel rescues him--but can Angel also show Reece the joy of Christmas?
And the buy link if you want to preorder: https://spsilverpublishing.com/index/book_authors_id/329/typefilter/book_authors/?zenid=07f28432b0d43b04dab870df6cfce682
Reece considers holiday events wasteful. But when he's coerced into standing in line for this year's must-have toy, he gets trampled by the crowd. Store manager Angel rescues him--but can Angel also show Reece the joy of Christmas?
And the buy link if you want to preorder: https://spsilverpublishing.com/index/book_authors_id/329/typefilter/book_authors/?zenid=07f28432b0d43b04dab870df6cfce682
October 15, 2012
Interview
Lou Sylvre interviews me today.
http://sylvre.com/2012/10/15/kim-fiel...
http://sylvre.com/2012/10/15/kim-fiel...
October 14, 2012
A little tease
Here's a little tease: the cover for a short story that Silver Publishing will be releasing this winter. The tentative release date is December 13.
He's awfully pretty, isn't he?
"Joys R Us" is a Christmas story. And if that's not enough holiday for you, Dreamspinner will release my Hanukkah story in December; that one's called "A Great Miracle Happened There." I'll have blurbs for you as the dates grow closer.
And also in December or January, I'll have a new novel for you. It's called Brute and it's a nice, long 90,000 words. More on that later too!
He's awfully pretty, isn't he?
"Joys R Us" is a Christmas story. And if that's not enough holiday for you, Dreamspinner will release my Hanukkah story in December; that one's called "A Great Miracle Happened There." I'll have blurbs for you as the dates grow closer.
And also in December or January, I'll have a new novel for you. It's called Brute and it's a nice, long 90,000 words. More on that later too!
