I recently had a ringside seat to an authorial meltdown that made me cringe on behalf of the meltees. Without me going into too much detail, a couple of writers basically said, “We don’t read other writers in our genre, because we don’t want to compromise our unique voice.” Going by blog and Twitter comments,…
Read More Golden words and golden momentsNow, I will be the first to admit that I harbor some ambivalence toward George R. R. Martin’s best-known fantasy series. I’ve never actually read the books. (I won a set of the first four and donated them to a reading charity; I’ve made the decision to wait on reading the entire series until the…
Read More Game of Thrones pop-up bookHa ha ha ha ha ha ha, I’ve known something y’all haven’t for a couple of months, but I kept it on the down-low because the author asked me to. But now she’s spilled the beans, so I can too. Announcement thingy here: http://blog.alisfranklin.com/2014/02/27/you-gais-imma-gonna-be-an-author/ I know this unbelievably talented writer whose fan work knocked my sox…
Read More Wyrdtouched, the NovelWith all the media attention on various US states where ‘religious freedom’ bills have been floated in the past few months, it may be time to aim readers at this handy little Huffington Post article: How to test if your religious liberty is being attacked. The short answer: it probably isn’t. Point 1: these bills…
Read More The Religious Liberty Test (offensive content advisory)Decades ago when I was just beginning to muck about with crafty stuff, I had a mental block. I made miniatures of anything, because committing to a human-sized project seemed too daunting. I’m still shaking off that block. Every few years I try to create a larger tapestry, or book arts piece, or wearable art, mostly…
Read More Beaded glovesAdded 11-13-2021, see note below!) Here in the US, writers are getting some interesting incentives. Late last year, we heard about Detroit’s plans to boost the local arts and literacy scene through a permanent residency program for authors. Basically, authors promise to stay in a Detroit house and put down roots in the community, and…
Read More All aboard: free houses and train residencies for writersI had conclusive proof today of something I’d noticed before on several fanfiction sites: stories with happy endings get more hits, faster, than stories with unhappy endings. (Author update, February 28, 2014: the two stories in question are in the same fandom, and are virtually identical in word count. The angsty one was released on…
Read More Simple lessons from fanfiction (some adult content)Rounding out our week of Valentine’s-inspired M/M flash fiction are three more short pieces. Evelise Archer gives us ‘Valentine’s Jeans’: a happily married couple get a chance to recreate special moments, courtesy of their teenage daughter . Kate Lowell shares ‘Fire, Fur, and Faulty Genetics’: an alpha werewolf and a slightly magic-challenged witch celebrate love, trust, and…
Read More M/M flash fiction, Day 7 (adult content advisory)Courtesy of the M/M writing critique group House of Manlove, today’s M/M flash fiction tidbits come to you from authors J. T. Hall and N. D. Wylders. J. T. gives us ‘The Year Before’, a brief noir encounter between a psychically-gifted rent boy and a time-worn, grieving bounty hunter. N. D. gives us the sexy-but-angsty…
Read More M/M Flash fiction, Day 6 (adult content advisory)Three bits of flash fiction for you today, readers. First up is Dakota Trace’s story ‘Baked with Love’, featuring a tired chef, a lawyer afraid of kitchens, and a Valentine’s Day miracle. Second is Crystal Jade’s story ‘Silk and Feathers’, as two retired angels reaffirm their bond here on Earth. My own story will be…
Read More M/M flash fiction, Day 5 (adult content advisory)(This is set in my Lonhra Sequence universe, which readers of my Cleis Press story ‘Saints and Heroes’ might remember. These two men aren’t lovers yet, but I thought their meeting deserved more than the two sentences it has in my notes.) The bribed bailiff walked around a corner, her sandals slapping on dusty pavement.…
Read More Out of Omiesh (M/M flash fiction: adult content advisory)Alas, still on phone access only, so this will be a bare bones update. Our House of Manlove’s Valentine’s Day flash fiction blog hop continues! Scroll down to my Feb. 12 post, and follow links to Eva Lefoy’s wolf shifter discovering the scent of his destined mate, and Azalea Moone’s spicy-sweet Valentine’s Day morning after.
Read More M/M flash fiction blog hop, Day 4 (adult content advisory)For Day 3 of the House Of Manlove’s Valentine’s M/M flash fiction blog hop, we have a perfect prom from Kimber Vale (Cadillac Time Machine), and a very sexy-sweet 1870s master/courtesan encounter from Shiloh Saddler (Blindfolded). Just scroll down to the main schedule in my Feb. 12 post, and go from there. (I’m updating via…
Read More M/M flash fiction blog hop, Day 3 (adult content advisory)From its beginning four years ago, the fanfiction archive Archive Of Our Own has grown at a stunning rate. On February 14, 2014 the site passed 1,000,000 individual fan works including stories, poems, screenplays, art, and videos in thousands of different fandoms. They’re celebrating here. If you have any interest in fanfiction and transformative works,…
Read More One million fanworksHappy Valentine’s Day, everybody! Our blog hop begins with M/M flash fiction from Heloise West and Jena Wade. Since my system may be down for an upgrade tomorrow, Saturday’s offerings will be from Amelia Bishop and Mina Kelly. I toyed with offering you a tagline for each story, but even that might ruin the moment.…
Read More Valentine’s M/M flash fiction Day 1 and 2 (adult content advisory)Our schedule has been set for the M/M Valentine Flash Fiction blog hop. The hop starts Friday, February 14, 2014. Flash pieces will be 1200 words or under, and feature or include M/M couples. Warning: there may be graphic depictions of sex. Beyond that, I have no idea – but there are some great authors…
Read More Valentine’s Day Flash ScheduleReaders of this blog might remember how I more-than-occasionally whine about the lack of high-quality SF&F with explicit M/M elements. Well, since many of the mainstream SF&F publishers are late to the party, it’s a good thing M/M e-rom publishers like Dreamspinner are stepping up and pushing boundaries. I have the honor today of reviewing…
Read More Reawakening, by Amy Rae DurresonA Publishers’ Weekly article today led me to Laura Miller’s essay in Salon.com, which in turn led me to Eleanor Catton’s essay in New Zealand’s Metro Magazine. Both should be read in sequence, and are probably a far more valuable use of reading time than my blog. I cite them because they hit a nerve with me,…
Read More Fancy ten-dollar college words(Warning: links will take readers to an assortment of M/M writers’ blogs, with varying amounts of adult material. Click responsibly.) A couple of my fellow M/M authors from AbsoluteWrite.com convinced me to sign up for this shindig. It’s sponsored by their writing critique group, The House of Manlove, and will be coordinated from this site between…
Read More Upcoming: Valentine’s Day M/M flash fiction blog hopWarning: I put on my pro-science hat here. Thanks to a friend’s generosity, I attended the February 1, 2014 ‘Parallel Realities’ discussion at Arizona State University. This is part of an ongoing series of lectures and other events called The Origins Project: “…an exciting transdisciplinary initiative that fosters new research and dialog, partners to transform…
Read More The Origins Project and sad little realities