"You're mixing genres." This wasn't said to me as a negative. It was an observation from an editor when I had the initial draft of my first novel assessed. At the time, I didn't realise this was such a big deal. Cinema had made an art of combining genres for a long time. Surely, literature was equally as experimental. But …
Between Christmas and New Year
Fellow LGBT themed author, Nic Starr, did a series of guest interviews with other Australian writers on celebrating Christmas down under. In these interviews she asked us what public holiday we liked best. I answered that time between Christmas and New Year. Why? Everyone has finished the mad rush up to Christmas. Now, there's time to breathe. …
Cleaning out the closet.
A friend of mine is big on numerology. She told me that since my last birthday I have entered a year where I'm going to be more proactive. She's right. Something has definitely changed. If you're familiar with my blogs you'll probably know two things. The first is that between each draft of any of …
Redefining Gay Storytelling
Recently we subscribed to Dekkoo, an online gay streaming service. While it doesn't have the big name movies or television shows, what it does offer is an insight to the up and coming filmmakers with the web at their disposal. Most of the content is already free online elsewhere, but finding it curated in one …
What’s wrong with the Right.
Two things upset me this week. One was the sad fact that a Donald Trump supporter thought it was okay to hang two black dummies from a tree in his front yard. The second was the announcement from our government to not allow visas to Australia to those seeking asylum but are currently trapped in off-shore detention, …
Editor, take a bow.
Back in 2011 I worked with my first editor. It was my book, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, which had not only been professionally assessed three times when I scored my initial publishing contract, but had been developed over eight drafts over as many years. This is not uncommon for first novels. I was assigned erotic writer and …
A Scriverner Newbie
For my birthday I treated myself to Scriverner after an author friend raved about it. For those who don't know it, it's software for writers. I'm still a newbie, but I can already see that Scriverner and I are going to be great friends. In the past I'd find photos to represent my characters and write …
Sharing Advice from Writers
Over the last seven weeks I have been blessed by a team of talented authors who shared their tips in a series of guest blogs. This has been a wonderful experience, not only because of the feedback I received from readers, but in making myself rethink some of my own practices. I'm a member of the Australian Society …
Writing Tips – Matthew Bright
This week's writer's tips come from Matthew Bright, a man of many talents. He is a designer, an editor and a writer. Like me he doesn't feel comfortable writing in third person, but soldiers on regardless. I've decided my next novel will be in third person, so I'll have to go to him for tips. …
Writing Tips – Trent St. Germain
According to this week's guest author, Trent St. Germain, he is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe and enjoys the gym (not hard to see that his efforts are paying off ;~j), running, other outdoor activities, and reading when he isn't writing. He is also a self-proclaimed "pop culture nerd," and warns us not to …
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