How it all started.
I have known I wanted to be an author since I was 12. It started out in eighth grade English class when we had to write a short story for Halloween, and I have been in love with the writing process ever since. I wrote small stories when I was younger, drawing inspiration from R.L. Stine and the like, and even dabbled in poetry which helped with my depression throughout high school. I wrote a few YA stories and am currently working on a YA contemporary novel under another pen name.
When I was 15 I discovered I had a love for gay media. I found some MM literature on my kindle and sort of fell into a hole of MM books and movies. And that's where I have been living ever since.
I never imagined my love for gay media would lead to writing about MM books and sharing them with other people.
When I was 19 or 20 I wrote a short story about some college roommates who fell in love, it was called College Daze, and yes, it did see the light of day for 5 seconds. And yes, it wasn't very good. When I was 21 or 22 I wrote a short story about two best friends who fall in love, it was called Nice Guys Finish First. Yes, it was equally as bad as College Daze, and it also saw the light of day for a few seconds. (if you have read these, please don't judge me too harshly.)
The beauty of writing is that you can learn from your past failures and learn from the feedback that you get. That is why I love it when people tell me what has worked or didn't work when they read my books, looking back at College Daze and comparing it with what I have written recently, like Mason and Alex, it is amazing to see the amount of growth I have gone through in seven years. And a lot of that growth comes from taking the feedback and constructive criticism people give me and applying it to my next projects. So, to those who read my books and leave reviews, I thank you. You have no idea what your honesty means to me. Reviews help so much when you are a writer, especially if you are going the self-published route like I am.
When I sat down to write College Daze. I had no idea a seventy-five page story would spawn what I have written thus far and what I plan to write in the future. In College Daze I only mention August Marks once, but even just a name can spark the creative process. Right after I finished College Daze I re-read it and found myself wondering what August would be like as a person. Questions bombarded me almost daily: Who is August? Where is he from? Who is his family? What does he do for a living? What does he look like? So I sat down and made a character profile for August. I started with his physical features: tall, black hair, blue eyes, etc. I thought about his family. His mother who battled cancer, his father who was neglectful, his rebellious brother, and his adoptive brother (it was at this moment Gabriel and Dustin were born). Then I thought about the town that August would live in, and Glensville was born.
When I was coming up with Glensville I thought up of what my ideal place to live would be. I have always known that I wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest in a small town that was all inclusive. I have always been in love with small towns that are riddled with amazing, friendly people and mom and pop shops, like Star's Hollow in Gilmore Girls. Yes, I draw some of my inspiration for Glensville from that show. My dream, when I was younger, was to live in Star's Hollow or a town similar to it. That's still the dream.
After coming up with August, Gabriel and Dustin I got to writing, and secondary characters started to tug at my brain. Who are they? What is their story? And that's how the first five books of the Boys of Glensville series was born. I was halfway through writing Gabriel when I knew Diego, Caleb, Wilson and Alex were definitely going to get a story. I was in the middle of writing Diego when I knew Mason was going to get a story and when I knew that Boys of Glensville was going to be more than just five books, and then the Boys of Glensville series spawned the One More Shot series and the first book in a new series that I have yet to announce.
It's amazing how one short story I wrote when I was 20 spawned the Marks Brothers Series, the Boys of Glensville Series, The One More Shot series, and the first book in my unnamed series. One short story has inspired me to write eighteen other books, not including those that are not part of the series have mentioned above, and so for that I am grateful to 20-year-old Nicki and her disastrous short story about two college roommates falling in love.
But most of all I am grateful to my readers. When I started writing I literally thought only two people would read my books (my two friends that love gay media as much as I do), I never expected to have followers on here, and receive messages about how much people love my boys as much as I do. I never expected people to leave reviews and constructive criticism, so to those of you who have read my books and support me and leave me sweet messages, I thank you. I am grateful for you. Your love and support are what helps me continue writing when I come to a rough patch and stumble upon writer's block. I love writing and even without the love and support I would continue writing, but it's you, my readers, who make it so much more rewarding.
Thank you, and happy reading!
When I was 15 I discovered I had a love for gay media. I found some MM literature on my kindle and sort of fell into a hole of MM books and movies. And that's where I have been living ever since.
I never imagined my love for gay media would lead to writing about MM books and sharing them with other people.
When I was 19 or 20 I wrote a short story about some college roommates who fell in love, it was called College Daze, and yes, it did see the light of day for 5 seconds. And yes, it wasn't very good. When I was 21 or 22 I wrote a short story about two best friends who fall in love, it was called Nice Guys Finish First. Yes, it was equally as bad as College Daze, and it also saw the light of day for a few seconds. (if you have read these, please don't judge me too harshly.)
The beauty of writing is that you can learn from your past failures and learn from the feedback that you get. That is why I love it when people tell me what has worked or didn't work when they read my books, looking back at College Daze and comparing it with what I have written recently, like Mason and Alex, it is amazing to see the amount of growth I have gone through in seven years. And a lot of that growth comes from taking the feedback and constructive criticism people give me and applying it to my next projects. So, to those who read my books and leave reviews, I thank you. You have no idea what your honesty means to me. Reviews help so much when you are a writer, especially if you are going the self-published route like I am.
When I sat down to write College Daze. I had no idea a seventy-five page story would spawn what I have written thus far and what I plan to write in the future. In College Daze I only mention August Marks once, but even just a name can spark the creative process. Right after I finished College Daze I re-read it and found myself wondering what August would be like as a person. Questions bombarded me almost daily: Who is August? Where is he from? Who is his family? What does he do for a living? What does he look like? So I sat down and made a character profile for August. I started with his physical features: tall, black hair, blue eyes, etc. I thought about his family. His mother who battled cancer, his father who was neglectful, his rebellious brother, and his adoptive brother (it was at this moment Gabriel and Dustin were born). Then I thought about the town that August would live in, and Glensville was born.
When I was coming up with Glensville I thought up of what my ideal place to live would be. I have always known that I wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest in a small town that was all inclusive. I have always been in love with small towns that are riddled with amazing, friendly people and mom and pop shops, like Star's Hollow in Gilmore Girls. Yes, I draw some of my inspiration for Glensville from that show. My dream, when I was younger, was to live in Star's Hollow or a town similar to it. That's still the dream.
After coming up with August, Gabriel and Dustin I got to writing, and secondary characters started to tug at my brain. Who are they? What is their story? And that's how the first five books of the Boys of Glensville series was born. I was halfway through writing Gabriel when I knew Diego, Caleb, Wilson and Alex were definitely going to get a story. I was in the middle of writing Diego when I knew Mason was going to get a story and when I knew that Boys of Glensville was going to be more than just five books, and then the Boys of Glensville series spawned the One More Shot series and the first book in a new series that I have yet to announce.
It's amazing how one short story I wrote when I was 20 spawned the Marks Brothers Series, the Boys of Glensville Series, The One More Shot series, and the first book in my unnamed series. One short story has inspired me to write eighteen other books, not including those that are not part of the series have mentioned above, and so for that I am grateful to 20-year-old Nicki and her disastrous short story about two college roommates falling in love.
But most of all I am grateful to my readers. When I started writing I literally thought only two people would read my books (my two friends that love gay media as much as I do), I never expected to have followers on here, and receive messages about how much people love my boys as much as I do. I never expected people to leave reviews and constructive criticism, so to those of you who have read my books and support me and leave me sweet messages, I thank you. I am grateful for you. Your love and support are what helps me continue writing when I come to a rough patch and stumble upon writer's block. I love writing and even without the love and support I would continue writing, but it's you, my readers, who make it so much more rewarding.
Thank you, and happy reading!
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