Andrew J. Peters's Blog, page 16
October 31, 2014
Podcast Interview on People You Should Know
Hey folks!
I thought I would post my interview from earlier today on the BlogTalkRadio show People You Should Know.
It was great talking with the host, a fellow Bold Strokes Book author David-Matthew Barnes (pictured in the freeze frame). We talked writing LGBT young adult literature, LGBT youth generally, and fantasy. I also read a short excerpt from The Seventh Pleiade.
Do listen in to the earlier guests Vivian Trask and Joel Gomez-Dossi. My segment comes up at 40 minutes in.
Check Out Entertainment Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with People You Should Know on BlogTalkRadio
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October 28, 2014
Just in time for Halloween: Erotica Paranormal
Just released by Editorial Trance, Erotica Paranormal, Vol. 1 is a spicy anthology of poetry, short stories and book excerpts inspired by the mystic and the occult.
I am proud to be a contributor to the anthology. You will find within a sultry little passage that I really liked from The Rearing, Werecat: Book 1.
Editorial Trance is offering Erotica Paranormal, Vol. 1 as a free e–book download on their website. Content warning: Adult content and graphic sex.
That should get people over there. 
Now, a bit about Editorial Trance, from their website:
Editor
ial Trance is the creation of Marlena Fitzpatrick and Charlie Vázquez. Founded in 2013, we are a digital publishing platform that seeks to broaden the literary margins of the Latino experience in both English and Spanish. We will be publishing compelling e-books for bicultural/bilingual readers and seek to unveil works that break new ground in the literary fiction, plays, erotica, poetry and memoir genres.
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October 11, 2014
Help Support Bent-con and Come out for the Festivities
I made a pledge to Bent-con’s Kickstarter campaign. Can you?
Bent-con is a really important organization that supports the creative community and its fans. From the organizers:
BENT-CON is the premiere convention that celebrates and recognizes LGBTQ (and Allies) contributions to pop-culture and geekdom. BENT-CON is committed creating a space where EVERYONE is safe to share and express their particular brand of creativity and fandom proud and out loud!
Here’s their Kickstarter video:
This year’s convention, November 7th – 9th in Burbank, California, will be its fifth annual. As a non-profit venture, the event relies on contributions from the community to promote and advertise, which in return benefits the artists, writers and fans who participate.
I went to my first convention last year. Beyond the wonder of discovering a vibrant segment of the LGBT community (I had tweeted: I have died and gone to gay geek heaven), I was really impressed by the range of programs and the plentiful interaction between convention guests and fans.
This year, in addition to being part of Bold Strokes Books exhibition booth, I will be leading one panel “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Atlantis” and speaking in another “Gay Wizards and Lesbian Sorceresses”. Be sure to say hello if you have a chance to stop by.
And if you haven’t done so, please consider making a contribution to Bent-con’s Kickstarter.
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October 9, 2014
Werecat #3 Cover Reveal
Coming soon: My third installment in the Werecat series.
This one is titled: The Fugitive. The story picks up from Jacks’ flight from New York City to try to outpace The Glaring. Here’s the back cover blurb:
On the run after killing a Hunter from The Glaring, Jacks travels to the Bahamas with his only clue to what the secret society’s assassin was after: his maker’s key to a safety deposit box at an offshore bank. A thirty-day legal procedure holds Jacks up from uncovering what could be a hidden treasure.
Meanwhile, Jacks meets an alluring ex-pat from South Africa named Maarten who hosts a nonstop pleasure cruise for disaffected werecats who have no interest in the politics of their kind. With his nerves scratched raw from living on the run, it’s too tempting of an escape for Jacks to turn away. But while he’s cruising the Caribbean and spending nights in an orgiastic cuddle pile, The Glaring lays siege to New York City in a night of terror. Jacks’ boyfriend Farzan fights for his life and tries to reach Jacks overseas.
Jacks needs to emerge from a binge of drugs and flesh to defend his boyfriend. But can he give up the chance to be with his own kind for the first time in his life? When the secret in the safety deposit box is revealed, Jacks realizes that it’s up to him to get it before The Glaring uses an arcane magic that could destroy humankind.
I’m really happy with the cover art, and I must thank Maggie Ward from Vagabondage Press. We went back and forth with some ideas, and she found an excellent model to represent Jacks’ loyal and long-suffering boyfriend Farzan. He’s pictured on the right.
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October 5, 2014
The Seventh Pleiade Into the Final Round of the 2014 Rainbow Awards!
Very happy to share that The Seventh Pleiade has advanced to the final round of competition in the 2014 Rainbow Awards!
From their website, the Rainbow Awards “is an annual contest celebrating outstanding work in LGBT fiction and nonfiction. Hosted and owned by blogger Elisa Rolle, the contest is open to all authors of work containing LGBT fictional characters and work chronicling the true stories of LGBT persons.”
Finalists, and the eventual winners, are selected by panels of authors and readers. The Seventh Pleiade was nominated in the category of Gay and Lesbian Young Adult.
Winners will be announced in early December. My best wishes to all of the finalists!
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September 21, 2014
“Why I Write” series at The Good Men Project
Author Dixie Gillaspie (Just Blow it Up: Firepower for Living an Unlimited Life) is asking writers the simple question: Why do you write? over at The Good Men Project.
The responses have been varied as you might expect coming from a diverse array of writers. They have also been very personal and candid. Christine Benvenuto chose to write about her divorce in order to reclaim her life. Christian Clifton writes for connection and self-improvement. Michael Kasdan writes to better understand the world around him.
My contribution to the project came out just this past weekend: To Create Fiction That Tells it Like it Really Is. (Well, at least according to me!).
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September 5, 2014
Photography from Bold Strokes Books’ Mixed Grill
Some photos from last night’s event at Bureau of General Services-Queer Division, courtesy of my honey Genaro.
Me, reading from The Seventh Pleiade
Full length shot of me so you can see my cool jeans
All the authors, from l to r, Daniel W. Kelly, Nora Olsen, Andrew J. Peters, David Swatling, Joel Dossi-Gomez, Jeremy Jordan King, Trinity Tam and Nell Stark
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September 3, 2014
Twenty books that have stayed with me
There’s a Facebook meme going around where you get tagged by friends to list 20 books that have stuck with you over the years. I thought that subject fit equally well on my website where I sometimes talk about books and authors who have influenced me.
It’s not precisely a list of favorites. As I understand it, the point is to call up the titles that come to mind the quickest. They’re books that made the strongest impression on you in some way.
I read about 20 books each year, and I’ve been doing that for oh, about 35 years. So this task wasn’t easy. Also, my forty-something brain isn’t as sharp as it used to be. I broke the rules a bit because I didn’t want to focus entirely on books I read recently just because those are the freshest ones in my head.
In the end, I chose books that represent different periods of my life as a reader, and I focused on the ones that still recall vivid scenes, characters and/or imagery. They’re books that I feel like I know like the back of my hand, and some of them I read 30, 20 or 15 years ago.
In alphabetical order by title:
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
City of Night, John Rechy
Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger
The Front Runner, Patricia Nell Warren
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling
The Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin
Mordred: Bastard Son, Douglas Clegg
Mysterious Skin, Scott Heim
Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
The Persian Boy, Mary Renault
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
Saul’s Book, Paul T. Rogers
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
The Wicked Years series, Gregory Maguire
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Yeah, I gave three slots to J.D. Salinger. Go sue me.
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September 1, 2014
Dear Teen Me: A letter to my teenage self
Surf over to Dear Teen Me where my letter to my teenage self went live earlier today.
Dear Teen Me is a project aimed at teens in which young adult authors tell their personal stories about growing up. Some of the stories are funny. Some are harrowing and painful. The common thread is that they’re told from the heart, and the goal is to bring teens diverse points of view.
This was one of my favorite pieces to write, but I was surprised by how emotional it was to do it. My teen years had their awesome moments, and I had a lot of support from family and friends. But to write something that would have been helpful to me back then took going back to some delicate places in my life. Check it out and let me know what you think!
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August 26, 2014
Myth and Magic Anthology Coming in December
I’m very happy to share that I recently signed a contract for my short story “The Vain Prince” to appear in Myth and Magic: Queer Fairy Tales (Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman, eds) forthcoming from Bold Strokes Books.
The title is an anthology of retold fairy tales and legends from a queer point-of-view. Rather squarely up my alley, huh?
A select few may remember “The Vain Prince” from its first appearance in Ganymede back in 2009. The story is a bit of a mash-up of “The Frog Prince” from the Brothers Grimm and the opera “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini. It was my first fiction publication. Sadly, Ganymede went out of print when its editor and founder John Stahle died in 2010.
I gave the story a tune-up for its republication. It’s a bit campy and definitely whimsical, and I hope that readers will enjoy it on its second run.
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