Category Archives: gothic fiction

Stumbling to My Feet, Finally

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Oh, drama! This week was the designated week for me to get started on a new story, which was technically Helleville. Unfortunately I got bogged down by my hand-wringing over novel-length stuff and ended up scrapping an entire writing day to all kinds of writerly existential angst. I got online, dug up articles and blog posts regarding the short fiction market, and in the end, I got into an email exchange with my publisher regarding her thoughts on the matter.

And that helped a lot, in addition to a quick chat I had with a writer of lesbian romance fiction who’s currently self-publishing fairy tale novellas.

Anyway, I decided to cut back on my novel-length fiction – at least indefinitely. My plan is to keep my Masks series going with novel sequels, of course, but that’s also because Eric’s universe is packed with so many possibilities as far as sequels go. And since there’s really no major story arc that strings all of the books together, I write them episodically – like a sitcom, pretty much.

But as far as new contemporary fantasy and especially historical fantasy stories are concerned, they’ll all be published as either novellas or novelettes, which will all be bundled together as single author anthologies following specific themes. I like the idea of having a huge backlist of shorter fiction from which readers can pick and choose (I sound like iTunes, don’t I, but that’s the idea) what they’d like to read without the burden of being stuck with other stories they don’t care for – or books that are too long for them, considering my writing style, which might not sit well with some readers. But if they want collections either in e-book or print, they also have that option.

I may be writing series novellas, but that’ll depend on how well the stories do with readers, i.e., if there’s enough of an audience to justify sequels. By and large, though, the shorter stories will all be linked thematically. Original fairy tales, ghost stories, and boarding school fantasy stories are lined up so far. More themes will pop up as I go along, but the beauty of writing these shorter pieces is the fact that I can also alternate between them and not get bogged down so much from writing in the same genre for too long, the same way I get burned out on marathon writing that’s required by novels.

Today I finally started writing the first novella (the story’s too elaborate for a novelette but not enough for a novel), which I’ve yet to title. It isn’t Helleville, and I did this to shock my system into moving again after several days of lazing about and resisting the idea of creating something. On that writing day that I wasted, I was really hell-bent on working on Helleville, but I couldn’t get a single word written. I figured then that, having written two contemporary novels in a row, I was just burned out on the genre. Now that I think about it some more, it could very well have been a combination of genre and story length in addition to my indecision.

And I’m glad I held off and talked to my publisher and that other writer. Maybe I just needed that bit of reassurance from people in the know after having devoted four years straight to nothing but novels. Letting go is always a hard thing for me; separation anxiety tends to hit me hard, even though the logic of the situation is so glaringly obvious. At any rate, I’m ready for it now, and I look forward to exploring uncharted territory.

Wanted: New Series

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Okay, make that “desperately needed” instead, followed by, “Ha! Voila!” I noted before that I’ve been thinking about what new series to write to take the place of Masks when that one ends its run. That’s not going to happen anytime soon, for sure, but it will eventually, and as much as I’d hate to say goodbye to Eric and the gang, I’d rather quit while I’m ahead and before the series stagnates.

I’m definitely not interested in writing a historical fantasy series because, sadly, historical fantasy remains a hard sell in the LGBT YA market despite readers’ calls for more books outside contemporary problem novels. I’ll still be writing historical fantasy, to be sure, but those titles will be limited quite a bit.

I’ve also noted before that I’m on a horror kick. It’s not really difficult to shift gears and immerse myself in this, seeing as how I grew up in a family of horror fans. Lately I’ve been mulling over ideas for a new series, which will be contemporary fantasy like Masks, and I’ve been wracking my brain for ways on how I can use John Kenn’s fantastic monster illustrations as inspiration for a plotbunny that’s kind of like Eureka. That is, the story takes place in a town that’s peopled with monsters and ghouls living side-by-side with warm-blooded humans. In Eureka, we’ve got scientific geniuses instead.

Like Masks, I’m not interested in writing anything angst-ridden. There’ll be some minor angst elements, sure, but I’m not – and never was – keen on overly dramatic plots, especially angst for angst’s sake as a cheap way of drawing reader sympathies. And since I’m a huge horror fan, I’d like to write something like a dark comedy series. I was able to do that (to a point) with Desmond and Garrick, but the ghoulish elements in that series were strictly limited to vampires. This time around, I want to expand those to all kinds of supernatural creatures.

Anyway, after weeks and weeks of tossing ideas around, I think I finally found something that I can use for the foundation of a series that involves ghouls or monsters and is a dark comedy. I’m sharing images from Beetlejuice and The Corpse Bride because those movies are a couple of sources of inspiration for me, though the main plot still needs quite a bit of shaping. At the moment things are fairly nebulous but definitely easy to nail down, if that makes any sense.

I might begin work on it after finishing Dr. Morbid’s Castle of Blood (or Masks #6), at least to get it started while the inspiration’s there. I must admit that motivation to write another historical fantasy novel for gay teens has been low recently, but I’m keeping my options open.

New Story Listed at Queerteen Press

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Woot, I say! Short story number six is now listed at Queerteen Press, and it’s “Erl-King”, which turned out to be the hardest story to revise for me. It’ll be released in April.

The story was already written a certain way when I decided to submit it to the publisher as part of my short story collection with them. Then I had to change a bunch of things, basically ripping out at least half of the story I wrote originally and then picking through the rubble and recycling passages for the new version. It was brain-draining work, which is why it was the last story I submitted to them. It’s also a retelling of Goethe’s ballad, which you can read here.

Here’s the story blurb:

Baltasar grows up in a world of absolutes, of black and white, right and wrong. Just as his brothers and sisters who went before him, the boy is groomed to follow only one road, at the end of which is a life no different from his parents’ and grandparents’. His parents’ strict teachings and the naïveté that results, however, render him ignored and friendless, and Baltasar spends much time alone.

During one of his solitary wanderings in the countryside, he stumbles across an enchanted land and its melancholy, ageless ruler — a land full of color and magic, and a bond that defies everything he’s always known about the world. But what’s unusual, tempting, and exciting doesn’t always lead to a clearer path, and Baltasar is forced to choose between two wildly diverging worlds, with each exacting a high price.

Erl-King is a retelling of Goethe’s ballad by the same title.

And an excerpt can be found here. As for the rest of the short stories, we’re down to the last two titles to edit and process, and those will be out sometime in May, according to my publisher, with the print and e-book anthology containing all nine stories set for the end of May.

Now Available: The Winter Garden

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Short story number four is now available! :D One of the moodier stories in the collection, but it’s also the most “love story”-esque as well.

Anyway, here’s the blurb:

Fifteen-year-old Nicholas’ fragile health forces him into a life of isolation and loneliness, his connection to the outside world nothing more than a glimpse between the bars of an iron gate in his family’s spacious and paradise-like garden. His life changes when a bold young stranger not only befriends him but also dares to trespass into Nicholas’ quiet world.

The two boys’ friendship deepens as Adrian’s visits increase, their connection strengthening in defiance of too-real dangers posed by the coming winter on Nicholas’ health. It’s a bond that withstands the sting of separation, bringing both boys back to each other again and again, weathering time and ensuring that the impossible is, in the end, very much attainable.

As always, if you purchase directly from the publisher, you’ll receive a 20% discount, and this special is available only for a limited time.

The Woman in Black

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I finally saw The Woman in Black with my sisters early Wednesday evening. I’d already done my share of review-reading beforehand, and I reread Susan Hill’s novel in preparation. I’m a sucker for classic ghost stories, as you know, and this was a great opportunity for me to scratch that itch, seeing as how it’s been a dog’s age since I last watched a really good haunted house film (The Orphanage, 2007). I also come from a family of ghost story fanatics, so watching The Woman in Black with my sisters was a definite plus.

I’m putting my review under a cut because it has major spoilers. Beware.

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