Matthew Lang's Blog, page 12

All Love is Equal

So, we’ve finally managed to pry Matthew’s phone away from him long enough for us to get some of the nifty videos he’s been promising us, and here’s the first one: Adam Bandt, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens speaking at the Equal Love rally last month. We could talk more about it, bur frankly, Adam’s a better speaker and we have other video to edit.

If you’d like to send a message to your Member of Parliament, visit GetUp, and sign their petition.

Not All Christians are Bigots

At a time when South Australia and Tasmania are making headway in ending marriage discrimination, our Prime Minister has agreed to be the keynote speaker at the national conference of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) – a group who campaign consistently against ending marriage discrimination, and who have likened the campaign for marriage equality to nazism[1] and homosexuality to pedophilia.[2]

In response, Baptist Minister of ten years, Rev. Carolyn Francis started a petition on CommunityRun. Rev. Carolyn Francis has joined with other Christian leaders in an effort to demonstrate to the Prime Minister thatthe ACL is not representative of Christian attitudes on marriage equality.

In Rev. Francis’ petition to Julia Gillard, she asks her to meet with clergy who support ending discrimination. She says “I’m disappointed that the PM is ignoring the other side of this issue” and “at the very heart of my faith are values of love, compassion and inclusion. For me, that means being able to celebrate relationships based on love, no matter who is in them.”

Most Australians, and most Christians, stand for equality, not discrimination. That’s why Reverand Francis is asking the Prime Minister to hear both sides; so she knows that the ACL’s views on marriage equality are not representative of all Christians. We can help her get the word out.

Join Rev. Francis by signing her petition to Julia Gillard:

http://www.communityrun.org/p/marriageequality

The ACL is predominantly focused on condemning same-sex attracted Australians, even though a recent poll shows that 53% of Christians support an end to marriage discrimination[3] and 40% of gay couples identify as Christian.[4] This focus has led to Christian leaders speaking out and openly distancing themselves from the group.

Between January and July this year the ACL made more than 120 statements condemning gay Australians, and said virtually nothing about poverty, homelessness or any other issue.[5] Yet Julia Gillard has agreed to be the keynote speaker at their conference this year.

Julia Gillard should hear both sides of this issue, and meet with people who represent the majority of Christians who support ending marriage discrimination. Will you ask her to meet with both sides? Sign Rev. Francis’ petition:

http://www.communityrun.org/p/ marriageequality  

— [1] ’ACL backs gay Nazi claim’, Sydney Star Observer. 15 July, 2011. [2] ’Anger over rally to ridicule gay marriage’, Sydney Morning Herald. August 16, 2011. [3] Galaxy Poll, August 2011. [4] 2012 Australian Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics. [5] ’Christian Lobby analysis reveals strong gay focus’, Brisbane Times. 9 June, 2012.

More Stories!

There’s more to Australia Day than hunks in swimwear…but hey, he’s nice to look at

It’s been a busy time over for Matthew, but we are very happy to announce that two more of his short stories have been accepted for publication. His Australia Day short, following Trent from The Secret of Talmor Manor, will be coming out early next year from MLR Press, and his new, first person short story, To Lovers Past, will be released in Midsumma 2013 as part of banQuetpress‘ 2013 queer men anthology. With The Way You Are tentatively scheduled for January with Dreamspinner Press, that’s three short stories that you can look forward to in the new year. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

Pitch to a Publisher

Kris Jacen, Executive Editor of MLR Press will be at the Marketing for Romance Writers Yahoo Group, on the 8th and 9th of September to listen to pitches for MLR and its imprints, Passion in Print (Het Romance) and Featherweight Press (YA).  If you’re interested in making a pitch for publication sign up to the group and hang around on the 8th and 9th. Just…be careful. The group tends to generate a lot of email each day, as authors and writers discuss the ins and outs of marketing books.

The Way You Are Contracted to Dreamspinner Press

We are very happy to announce that Matthew’s novella, tentatively title The Way You Are, has been contracted to Dreamspinner Press. This will be Matthew’s first story available through Dreamspinner, and we are all very excited to be working with them.

The Way You Are follows Leon, a shy, self-effacing business student at the University of Newcastle, who starts to visit coma patient Travis ‘Rook’ Rookford, a heterosexual student who gets gay bashed by a group of bogans*. At the hospital he meets, falls in love with, and has a lovers tiff with hunky male nurse Warrick, in that order. Then, when Rook finally wakes up, Leon is surprised to find Rook convinced that he and Leon are dating. In the midst of dealing with loving a man in conservative regional Australia, Rook’s upcoming court appearance and his own studies, Leon has to come to terms with what he wants, and gets to find out whether every gay man’s dream of having a hot straight guy fall for you is everything it’s cracked up to be. And he hasn’t even started Christmas shopping yet.

 *Bogan, according to the 2012 Oxford English Dictionary, is a  ”depreciative term for an unfashionable, uncouth, or unsophisticated person, especially of low social status”. It’s a very Australian term, and has, so we are told, nothing to do with the town of Bogan in New South Wales.

Stay tuned for updates and eventual cover art from this exciting new development!

banQuetpress Sale!

Our dear friends at banQuetpress are running a limited time only sale for both print and ebook copies of their 2010-2012 Anthologies, including banQuet Men 2011, which includes Matthew’s story, Mr. Perfect, and banQuet Men 2012 which includes Screens.

There are of course the banQuet Women 2010, 2011 and 2012 Anthologies for fiction and art about girls who like girls, and we highly recommend those as well. 2012 print books are available for $18 including shipping, and the 2010-2011 print books are available for $13 including shipping, that’s down from a cover price of $25.

Visit TryBooking to place your order, and note that the sale is on until mid-August, as long as stocks last, so if you don’t already own one of these gorgeous books, get yours today.

If you’d rather get an eBook, you can get both Men’s and Women’s 2012 Anthologies for half price at $5 each, also at TryBooking, delivered direct to your email (mobi/epub format). If you just want Matthew’s stories, you can also pick up a eBook copy of Mr. Perfect from Smashwords or Amazon-and don’t forget you can get your Kindle ebooks autographed at Kindlegraph.

Happy reading and look out for more stories as soon as we get Matthew to write a bit more!

Geekiness Ahoy

 With the Geek Mook launch less than twenty four hours away, we’re happy to be able to provide an update on the lineup. It looks like it’s going to be a great night, and we hope you’ll be able to join us and Matthew at the event.

Comedian Ben McKenzie will be MCing the night, and will give you a bit of Dungeon Crawl, an improvisational comedy show based on the role playing game Dungeon and Dragons, is widely believed to be the greatest invention of the geek mind since X-Ray glasses or the Commodore 64.

Following the show will be readings by four incredible Geek Mook contributors Nancy Mauro-Flude, Kent MacCarter, Angela Meyer and Benjamin Solah.

Matthew will not be reading at the launch, but has stated that he would face some difficultly reading out his random tables in an entertaining fashion, as funny as we all think the entries to be. Yes, pandering to the author is definitely something that’s good for job security here at matthew-lang.com.

 

The Geek Mook itself will be launched by Dr Thomas Apperley, author of Gaming rhythms: Play and counterplay from the situated to the global, a man who has truly delved into geekdom and lived to tell the tale. 

So come for the launch and stay on to attend Mr McClellands Finishing School (an awesome retro dance party) for free.

When: 6pm for 6.30pm start, 13 July 2012 Where: Bella Union, cnr Lygon and Victoria St, Carlton VIC 3053 Cost: Free!

Geeky dress (pocket protectors/Cosplay) highly appreciated, but not mandatory.

 

Baby Octopus and Tomato Soup and Beetroot Salad

It’s a real winter down here in Australia, a real wet winter and it feels like it’s been raining every day. At least in Melbourne, anyway. Just for fun I’ve decided to put a recipe together, which I threw together for dinner, and I’m curious to see what you think of it. It’s a simple, seasonal take on soup and salad, although it’s possible to tweak it into a stew without too much trouble.

Baby Octopus and Tomato Soup

I love baby octopus. I love octopus actually, but it’s amazing how many people just won’t eat it if it’s not crumbed, fried and otherwise unrecognisable. Maybe it’s the tentacles. But as winter gets going, the little baby octopi (or octopuses depending on what school of thought you subscribe to) start appearing at fish markets, cleaned, gutted and ready to eat. You can of course use older octopus in the recipe below, but I find the tenderising and cleaning to be a much more tedious process, especially if the ink sacs are left in. Okay, have I put you off yet? Personally, I love the soft, yielding texture of well cooked octopus, especially infused with the sweetness of a tomato and carrot broth, so I have a tendency to make this when the cold rolls in.

6 Baby Octopus cut into segments 10 Prawns, shelled and de-veined 2 cans of whole tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, diced 1 medium onion, sliced 2 sprigs fresh rosemary 2 large carrots, grated 1 chilli, sliced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 cup of red wine salt and pepper for seasoning A neutral cooking oil (rice bran suggested) Extra virgin olive oil for flavour

In a large saucepan, sweat the onion and garlic in the neutral cooking oil, and then add the baby octopus, tins of tomatoes, rosemary, grated carrot, chilli, red wine and a good grind (or pinch, or half teaspoon) or salt and pepper. Allow to simmer on a low heat for 2 hours, or until the carrot breaks down.

Add in the tomato paste to add extra flavour, and allow to reduce to the desired consistency–remember to taste, taste, taste! If you’re after a soup, you’ll want a more watery consistency, if you’re after a stew to be served over rice, mash or cous cous, you’ll want to allow it to reduce more. Add the prawns about 5-10 minutes before you take the soup off, as they take less time to cook, and adjust seasoning to taste. Remove the woody rosemary stalks. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with crusty bread.

If you’re feeling artistic, garnish with some perennial basil from the salad (below).

Serves 2-4.

Suggested tweaks:

Feel free to add other seafoods, such as white fish or mussels. Just remember that most seafood cooks very quickly, whereas octopus either needs to be cooked very fast, or very slow, which is why it’s allowed to simmer here. You can use other herbs than rosemary. Thyme or oregano would work all . . . → Read More: Baby Octopus and Tomato Soup and Beetroot Salad

Call for Stories: Hot Blood

MLR Press is calling for Vampire short stories. Got one you want to tell? Send it in!

What can be hotter than a cold-blooded warrior using his weapons of choice – blade, brain, fang?  A vampire out fighting every night for…love? Does he weld his brain or his brawn? Show us some fang!

Submissions should:

Have at least one vampire as a lead character

Be a minimum of 5k, maximum of 40k

Any subgenre is welcome and all prohibitive guidelines are observed

Deadline for submissions: November 15, 2012  Titles will release in the Spring of 2013

Submit stories to: special_submissions@mlrpress.com

The Gay Agenda: Run for Your Heterosexual Lives, People!

Warning. Do not watch this video if you do not want to know what the truth about the great evil that is the gay agenda.