My little print anthology got a review. :)
This nearly 200-page collection of short stories took me into a world that I have not yet read in previous queer related works. The language is more poetic and the tone is mystical. Other books of gay fiction are often soaked in sex or drugs and the wording is very direct and doesn’t give much to the reader; an “easy read” if you will. But The Winter Garden expands on this reference point by making the reader stay present to understand the story fully. The mood behind the stories are more than your superficial gay-best-friend-type and I enjoyed that a lot! Read more
I remain surprised at the reception that “The Winter Garden” (the short story, not the book itself) appears to be enjoying. It’s a hard story to read not so much because of the language, but because of the story’s theme. It’s the most bittersweet story in this collection, and while I was happy to see it published as a stand-alone, I expected some resistance from readers who prefer a more straightforward happily-ever-after. That translated to me expecting poor sales for this story overall, but my recent royalty statement turned out to be a shocker. “The Winter Garden” is up there as one of the top sellers for Queerteen Press, though I don’t know how well it’s going to perform in the third quarter.
That said, I’m not complaining one bit, and I’m very gratified and humbled by the way readers have been taking chances on my short stories. That’s been incredibly inspiring, and as of now, I’ve already written over 1,000 words of a new novelette. I’ll go over the details in a separate blog post, but suffice it to say, I’m happy that I finally broke through that block – though with unexpected results.
In non-writing news, today was my last weekday workday for a while. My time as a juror begins next week, and I won’t be back at my day job till next Saturday. I’ve already stocked up on snack bars and bread (I plan to bring sandwiches for lunch), and I guess the only bit that I’m fretting over involves my cycling time. I’m looking at riding at around 6 pm after I come home from the courthouse and after resting some, and it’ll have to be an hour per. I’m fretting because I’ve never done this late hour bike ride before, and I’m hoping that I’m still able to keep my focus all the way.
At any rate, I’ll definitely be talking about that once my new (temporary) schedule starts.
OKAY! I did not put in my review that afterwards I cried and just felt very somber on my front porch and walk inside of the house to see my family watching Paranormal Witness….let’s just say the mood of that late afternoon was haunting. I am happy to see your success for the story though! Woot woot! And a new piece of working coming out, yay!
The more I read about this story, the more intrigued I am… I’d better download this.
Haha, you’re not the first one who admitted to crying. ^^;;; I’m glad it worked for you all the same, though I’m compelled to send you dark chocolate for comfort.
Now I wish I wrote it in 19th century Russian lit style.
Oh lol, yeah I get so into the characters and story and well you written exactly what I feel a relationship should present itself as (well for me that is). Do you mind sending it for a giveaway perhaps?
Do you mind sending it for a giveaway perhaps?
Are you referring to the copy you have? You’re more than welcome to do whatever you want with it. :) Except burn it, of course. Or use it for toilet paper.