Now Available: Out of the Depths (And Some Goodies)

Posted on
1

Heads up! My short story, “Out of the Depths”, is now available from Queerteen Press in e-book format (note: short stories are only available in e-book format). In brief, it’s a horror / gothic retelling of the “Pygmalion” myth.

Blurb: It has been a year since Konstancji’s lover passed away, but rather than move on with his life, Konstancji hires one young man after another to sit for him as he obsessively works on a statue. What’s apparent is the fact that each sitter dies and is replaced with a new one, his grieving family compensated generously.

What no one’s aware of, though, is the purpose of the statue, which is the means through which Konstancji hopes to bring his beloved back from the dead.

If you purchase directly from the publisher, you’ll receive a 20% discount. Go here to buy it as well as to read an excerpt if you want to get an idea of the piece’s tone and style.

And some extra bits of news!

     

“The Knight”, a short story due out in March, is now listed at Queerteen Press. It’s a retelling of the “St. George and the Dragon” legend, and you can read the story’s description and an excerpt over here. And then there’s Mimi Attacks!, the next book in the Masks series (this is book number five), which is all about superheroes, supervillains, crazed fangirls, and a sixteen-year-old boy who always ends up with the short end of the stick. Book blurb and excerpt can be found here. Since this is a novel, it’ll be available in both print and e-book formats.

There you have it! And if you purchase a copy of “Out of the Depths”, I hope you enjoy it. :) It’s the only horror story in the collection of short fiction that I’ve contracted with Queerteen Press.

And My Mad Scientist Days Are Over

Posted on
1

Well, that was quick. XD You see, I set aside this week for me to work on my “experiment” – yeah, the one I mentioned in my previous blog post. Mind you, I’ve been preparing stuff the past few days, even spending a lot of time turning things over and over in my head. Unfortunately picturing something and preparing the materials for it don’t necessarily mean an easy process or, in my case, transition.

I went all mad scientist with my writing, and look where it got me.

The long and short of all this is that I tried to write something mainstream. I was aiming for a novelette that I was going to self-publish, and you know what? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t. Not only did it feel like I was disemboweling myself for material and inspiration (even with all the notes and rough story outline I have), I really hated everything I wrote down. Every word. Nothing clicked, nothing made sense, and it was pretty easy to see just how forced the story was.

I was completely, hopelessly out of my element, and it showed. I don’t want to go through with this. I can tell just from today’s horrible writing experience that this isn’t for me. So I’ll continue to specialize in genre fiction for LGBT teens, but I’m not complaining. It’s my niche, I’ve long settled down and grown deep roots in this market, I know my way around and find it pretty easy to come up with new stories, and it looks like I won’t be moving away anytime soon.

In fact, I already have a story outlined in my journal for a new historical fantasy novel that takes place in France. I’ll be working on it as soon as I’m done with Dr. Morbid’s Castle of Blood (or Masks #6).

Of course, one might insist that I should give mainstream fiction another shot, but I don’t work that way. The awfulness of today’s writing “frenzy” really gutted me on a lot of levels that it’s impossible for me to dismiss this as just a fluke. I’ve long learned to listen to intuition, and when it says, “NO!”, I know better than to second guess it. And today, it just about screamed a ginormous negative in my head, complete with about twenty exclamation points.

So, no. I’m not moving forward with my “experiment”, and while it’s a bummer that I wasted a day, I’m glad I at least gave it a shot. Another thing that I’m taking away from this is the fact that I feel a lot more confident and secure in my niche despite its smallness and relative obscurity, given what the status quo is in the LGBT YA market. From here, I need to focus on improving even more and, hopefully, help genre fiction for LGBT kids enjoy more exposure.

2012: Year of the Dragon

Posted on
2

A Happy New Year to everyone! :) Today marks the first day of the Year of the Dragon, for which I’m eternally grateful, considering how shitty the Tiger and the Rabbit treated me (mostly the Tiger) the last couple of years. No more, this much put-upon Monkey says! No more!

To an extent, I’ll admit to following Chinese astrology if only to use it as a guide, not necessarily as a predictor of the year for my sign. From there I try to get myself into a certain kind of mental state that’ll help me achieve whatever goals I’ve set out for myself. The last couple of years, I allowed myself to get bogged down by problems (that never ended) and then got stuck in a mental rut about myself.

Not this year. This is all about new beginnings. I have a new publisher, I’m releasing short stories (something that I never thought I’d do again), and I’ve also put myself in a pretty strict “austerity program” that, I hope, will help me balance my income and get rid of the deficits that’ve plagued me since 2010.

As of late, I’ve been toying around with schemes for a side project, something that I’ll do independent of my current market. I honestly don’t know if I’ll talk about it again, as it’s largely experimental, and I’d hate to jinx myself by yakking on and on. It’s slowly coming together, though, and I just need to find the extra bit of time for me to pursue it. It’s not easy, given my current schedule, and if all goes well with that project, I won’t be fretting over my writing schedule ever again. But that’s thinking along grandiose lines, which is something I’d rather avoid doing.

So to mark the new year in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, yesterday I got rid of a certain monkey off my back. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but considering what I’ve observed regarding my efforts at getting people aware of my books, my withdrawal from the group won’t be missed. In this case, I strongly believe that I’m far better off striking out on my own.

Books Up For Auction

Posted on
2

Okeedokee, it’s my turn now. :) In a previous blog post, I gave a heads up about Lauren and her efforts at starting a scholarship for LGBT youth and their straight allies. I also mentioned that I’ve got three books up for auction over there, and now Lauren’s got that up at her Bridge the Gap blog.

Go to this page to add your name and the amount you’d like to bid on the three books I’m offering. Please note that this pack of three print books can only be shipped in the US.

          

The prize pack is made up of one historical novel and two historical fantasies. The Glass Minstrel is a historical novel set in mid-19th century Bavaria during the Christmas season. The Twilight Gods is a historical fantasy set in 1850s London, and it’s also a retelling of a Native American folktale called “The Girl Who Married a Ghost”. Renfred’s Masquerade is a historical fantasy novel that’s set in an alternate 19th century Venice and was originally inspired by the “Orpheus and Eurydice” myth.

The auction for my books will end on January 27th. The proceeds will all go to the Living Beyond Tolerance Scholarship.

Something Different and Very Cool: The Arkh Project

Posted on
Reply

While I’m no diehard gamer, I do play an occasional RPG, with City of Heroes being my favorite at the moment. Unfortunately time remains a major factor that dampens my playing, but mostly it’s the lack of interest I have in what’s out there.

At the Outer Alliance mailing list, I discovered a new indie project that’s in the works, and I’m really excited about it. It’s called The Arkh Project, and it’s giving fantasy RPGs a really cool, unique slant:

The Arkh Project is a group of amazing people getting together in an attempt to raise funds and create a video game completely off the beaten path. People of Color are often tokenized in video games, leaving them to play one of very few roles. Queer people are consistently left in the dust in meaningless relationships, or relationships that are mocked. We’re looking to turn that upside down. This game is for people who don’t get to be fantasy and sci-fi heroes! This game is to help normalize the millions of other people who play video games!

Yep, you read that correctly. A group of indie gamemakers are working to increase the presence of people of color and LGBT people in RPGs, and this is their project. You can help them by donating over here. I really hope to see them succeed in putting this together, though I’ve no idea how long it takes to get to the final stage. Lots of good luck to them!