Blurb: In Ollas, anything that stirs the emotions is forbidden by the governors—especially music. So when Tallie Tarmelin, a farm boy from a lower-tier guild, is offered a scholarship for his talent in design, he keeps his head down and follows the rules. He's terrified of breaking one of his society’s many laws and ruining his future. But feeling lost and alone in an unfamiliar city takes its toll, and Tallie accepts sympathy from a guildless social outcast even though he knows it could destroy his reputation.
Despite the rules against casual touching and fraternizing in public, Jonis Sinter offers Tallie comfort instead of denouncing him for an excessive emotional display, and they fast become friends. Secret friends, though, because Worran, the respectable son of a governor, has asked Tallie to be his partner.
When Worran’s mother learns of Tallie’s association with an outcast, she dispatches the militia. Worran sends Tallie a warning, and Tallie flees the city and civilization with Jonis. Surviving the wilds will take every ounce of perseverance they can muster, and the rediscovery of music might be their only solace— unless they recognize the love that's growing between them.
Review: Wow. Where do I even begin with a book like this? I'm not even sure what genre it would be categorized under. It has some elements of fantasy, but not like in major fantasy novels, as the magic is not real, just assumed. It's epic in scope, and features a utopian society. Parts of me feel like it takes place in our future where a section of our country is partitioned off by some method and then they seem to regress in some ways. So... historical at the same time? I even felt a bit of steampunk in there at times. Overall it's a wonderfully disorienting experience when you read something so refreshingly new.
"Do you feel like you're a part of everything?" Jonis asked.
Tallie nodded. "I've never felt anything like it...except when...when Worran kissed me. That was something like this."
"When the goats stand on their hind legs and prance, we call it capering," Cather said. "So I call this caperin too."
"Sharri called it dancing," Jonis said.
"Yes she did." Tallie smiled. "I like capering." He paused. "Eve though it's a little frightening."
"Why does it frighten you?" Cather asked.
"Don't you feel as though it might take control of you?"
"I like it when this feeling takes over. It makes me forget my loneliness."
"But you agree that it's very powerful."
"Of course. Who would deny it?"
"That's the bit that worries me." Tallie nodded his thanks as Jonis unrolled his sheepskin for him to lie on.
Tallie and Jonis are wonderful characters that I loved throughout the novel. At many parts they tugged at my heart and I needed a few moments to compose myself before reading on. I wanted to rush through the story to get at the end, and yet at the same time I forced myself to slow down and enjoy it. I didn't want it to end. I want more from Tallie and Jonis, yet it feels like their adventure is over at the end of the book, especially given the last line. Another story in that world would be great, and yet I don't think it would be as enjoyable without Tallie and Jonis present.
What a wonderful experience this book was, and that's just what it is. An experience. Hallie Burton fully immerses readers in the world she created where loving someone of the same gender is so completely normal that it's not questioned in the slightest. No one objects to it. The things that are objected to, the things that are forbidden, are elements we take for granted, such as music and dancing. And affection. Can you imagine living in a world without those things? I can't.
The Ravens Crossing (TRC) is a LGBTQ friendly project. It’s a YA sci-fi fantasy series, set in a fictional world within a real city. TRC is a continuity story, told through approximately 1000 word flash fiction segments, involving multiple authors, characters, and points of view. New stories are posted six days a week, Monday through Saturday. All content at www.theravenscrossing.org is for entertainment, and there is no cost to read the stories on the TRC site. This week we are featuring Andi Lea, Amanda Corlies, and West Thornhill, creators and authors of The Ravens Crossing.
Andi Lea spends most of her time making up stuff that isn't real. Growing up near the beach, between Disneyland and Hollywood provided Andi many adventures which inspire her writing. She also likes to do things out of order, doing the mom-thing while she did the college-thing. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College with a degree in American Culture and Gender Studies.
As the proud parent of two LGBTQ kids she is committed to human rights activism. With the support of family and friends she co-founded The Ravens Crossing, a diverse website dedicated to young adults. Her beloved gay paranormal series, Lucas & Riley, is published there weekly. When she isn't preoccupied with crafting fantastical tales, Andi grinds coffee beans. When she isn't writing, she is reading, or indulging her obsession with all things geek.
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
I'd swap with Luc. This was not an easy answer, because I'd really like to be Riley just so I could date Lucas (trust me, if you knew the inspiration for Luc you'd feel the same way).
But, when it comes down to Gaea abilities, I'd want to be able to time travel for 24 hours. Really, who wouldn't? I'd skip through history all day long, trying to see as much as I could in one 24 hour period. I'd have a difficult time not spending a good portion of those hours in Paris in the 1920s. It would be amazing to hang out with Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau, Tristan Tzara, Man Ray, Kiki de Montparnasse, Alexander Calder, and all the bright young talent of that era.
Please tell us a little about how the The Ravens Crossing began.
Amanda, West, and I attended college together and have been friends for a while. A few years ago we discovered we were all writing LGBT fiction. Since we live near each other, we started having coffee once a week to talk about writing and publishing.
In 2011, we started orally telling this crazy story about a totally accepting community. This went on for a few weeks and the tale kept growing. Then we thought it would be fun to make a website and put our tale into words. Before we knew it, we were brainstorming and changing things up. We took some of our original ideas and added some twists.
We spent several months in 2011 actually plotting the overall story arc. Then we launched the site in February of 2012. It was important to us that LGBT youth have easy access to the site and stories. So, it was decided the stories would post six days a week online for free, then be compiled into e-books for purchase. When people buy the books it helps us keep the site free for others.
Can you tell readers a little bit about how you began writing and what age?
I actually began 'telling' stories before I could write. I was an only child, very talkative, and my mom needed to find a way to keep me occupied. She taught me to read and write when I was three.
That opened a door for me and I was creating elaborate tales, even a false autobiography about myself. Before I reached middle school, I had been identified as 'gifted' and put into a program where I was writing and submitting work. I was incredibly fortunate to have adults in my life who recognized that I needed an outlet. My first published story came out when I was eleven years old, I can't even remember what magazine it was in.
The funny thing is, I was always writing, but I didn't recognize that I was an author until my last year of high school. My theater teacher was the one who finally turned that light bulb on in my head. I had asked her for a college recommendation. She was shocked that I wanted to go into fashion design. It turned out that she had an overflowing file cabinet of everything I'd written during four years. I was sort of gob smacked that I'd been so prolific.
Looking back, I should have taken my mom more seriously when she kept saying she was going to invest in a paper company. I apparently exhausted her bank account, several times, with my need for more blank paper to write on.
How did the three of you create The 13?
Jumping off my answer from question #2… when we began the process of creating TRC for YA readers I pulled out a story I'd been writing to entertain Amanda while she was working on her master's thesis. It was a short story about two teenage boys, Lucas & Riley. Their adventures kept Amanda from losing her mind while finishing grad school and offered me an opportunity to explore YA fiction. I brought the stories to one of our weekly coffee dates. We brainstormed a bunch of characters. The 13 became the core group.
We had a lot of input from young adults as we developed our fictional world. Our content consultants are amazing-- some are in high school and others in college. They don't hold back their opinions and call us out when we don't keep things real (paranormal elements don't count).
We have spent a lot of time working out the how's and why's of the TRC universe. Much of what we've created has been like putting together a puzzle. As West, Amanda, and I get deeper into the story the puzzle looks like the picture on the box. We actually have a private Wiki with pages and pages of back story information. It's our story arc encyclopedia. We'd be lost without it. There are over 100 characters in the TRC universe.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels and TRC?
As the proud parent of two LGBT kids it's important to me that other kids find acceptance. I want young readers to know it's okay to be whoever you are-- no matter your size, race, or sexual orientation. There are people out there who care and will love you unconditionally. I hope that readers of TRC find a bit of escape from the difficulties of real life. Every word we publish is one word closer to changing ignorance and intolerance.
We have an open door policy at TRC and readers are encouraged to contact us. We've had some amazing interaction with our audience. We make it a priority to respond personally to each letter or question we receive.
Amanda Corlies escaped her life as a professional zookeeper to search for wilder adventures. Though she loves to travel, she enjoys creating her own worlds as a writer of LGBT, young adult, science fiction and fantasy. By day, she runs an animal care and pet sitting service where she has been dubbed the official spoiler of dogs. By night, she dreams up tales of extraordinary circumstances. A visual artist as well, Amanda is happiest painting pictures. She paints with colors almost as often as she paints with words. The one thing that ties all of her creations together is her love of animals. Environmental themes typically run throughout her work. You can take the girl out of the zoo, but some gates aren't meant to be left open.
Amanda is proud to be an author for The Ravens Crossing (TRC), a serialized, online, young adult adventure that provides free and affordable stories about diverse characters to people of all ages. Free stories post at TRC six days a week.
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
Wow! That’s a hard choice. I really love them all, so a chance to swap places with any of them would be fantastic. But, since I have to go with just one, I’m going to say Holly. I’ve been a science fiction and fantasy fan for ages. So, I’ll admit it. A chance to know what it feels like to have Holly’s kind of Gaea power is too irresistible. What would I do with my one day? The idea of stopping time with Lucas and Quinn is heady, but I really want Luc to take me through the Blind to Annodox Island. And, Holly is just figuring out she can mimic the Gaea powers of anyone she connects with. So, I could learn Luc’s mojo and borrow it. Awesome!
But, I’ll tell you, Alex almost won this answer. Being able to pick up any object and travel through time and space to see its maker - pretty cool. Plus, I’d have a Harley and a girlfriend who can heal people. Oh, sorry. Yes. Holly. I’ll stick with Holly.
I looked on TRC and saw when and how you began writing. I must admit I thought it was hilarious. Could you share how you started your writing career?
Sure. It’s been a long and winding path, as you know, starting with making up stories with my Dad. He and I are both book-a-holics who still love to swap tall tales. But, writing professionally actually began while I was still working as a zookeeper. Often, my curators would ask me to write the research papers, because I was one of the few people who didn’t hate taking all the facts and turning them into something organized and interesting to read. Of course, my name never appeared on the document beyond being one of the number crunchers, which I’ll admit became difficult to live with.
Eventually, I grew tired of the restrictions placed on me for not having enough of a college degree. The decision to leave my chosen career and return to college for my masters wasn’t easy, but it’s one of the best decisions of my life. The doors opened, and I realized it was like a big do-over. I’d done the wild animal thing with a whole lot of the adventuring of youth. But, I was growing tired of watching animals suffer in captivity. College was like getting to ask, what would I do if I could start over and do anything? That’s when the creative part of my brain did a happy dance and sent me to creative writing and studio art classes. I started out following the usual track, you know, publishing creative non-fiction, short stories, and poetry in literary mags. But, I really wanted to write science fiction, and I’ve always been a fan of genre bending and doing something outside the box with my art.
Along the way, I met Andi and West, others like me, and we started getting together for weekly coffee to talk about books, publishing, and writing. Somewhere amid the laughter and crazysauce brainstorming The Ravens Crossing (TRC) was born. This project has truly been the best adventure of my life to date. I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads us.
Can you tell readers a little bit about how The Ravens Crossing works?
TRC is in its third season, now. The stories for each season post for free on our website six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Each character’s portion of the story for a season posts on the same week days. There are easy links to the current season by the week at the top and sidebar of each page, so readers can easily catch up on a whole group of stories when it’s most convenient for them. Sunday is our day for weekly updates and a place to let the readers know what cool stuff is happening outside of the stories.
If you are new to this whole thing, beginning at the beginning is easy. Readers can purchase the anthologies of seasons one and two (The Ravens Crossing, Book One and Two) at Smashwords and Amazon. We work very hard to keep the cost of the anthologies affordable for everyone. The books contain the serialized stories as they appeared for free on the website, plus some fun extras. Though The Ravens Crossing is written by three authors, all of the stories work together in the same world, and often the characters cross over and appear in all of the stories, so the best way to know everything about a character is to read it all.
It’s the one year anniversary of TRC. Do the three of you have anything special planned?
We offered a contest and gave away a $50 gift certificate to Amazon and free books on the sight to celebrate our fantastic readers. They have been a loyal and wonderful group and we are so grateful to all of them for supporting us. Periodically, we host other giveaways and fun things throughout. Sunday posts are the way to find out what might be coming. To personally celebrate this anniversary, Andi, West, and I enjoyed our usual coffee fun with lots of laughter. While we were at it, we started working on planning stories for a whole new generation of Wildwood High School kids, since our 13 will be graduating this season. We are also planning the 13’s adult spin-off stories, and if you keep this on the down low, there are plans for the 13 to return to Wildwood in future seasons, too. So, I guess the short answer would be, we celebrated our one year anniversary by planning to stick with TRC for a whole lot longer.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels and The Ravens Crossing?
I got involved with this project because it’s important to me to live in a community where diversity of every kind is accepted, where nobody has to feel outcast for being themselves. I’m a strong believer in making that happen, even if I have to go about changing minds one person at a time. So, I tell my stories hoping to show that no matter our differences, from our ethnic backgrounds, to our sexual preferences, to our Gaea powers or lack thereof, at the heart we are all the same. We just want to be loved and accepted for who we are.
West Thornhill returned to college in 2003, and three years later she graduated. She earned a degree in Classics with a minor in British and American Literature from Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Five years after graduating, she finished, submitted, and had published her first gay paranormal romance novel.
An avid reader, West discovered an admiration for Ovid and Hesiod, she also thinks Latin and Greek are awesomely fun. Yes, she is a geek, but not limited to the Classics, she loves manga and anime. Some of her favorites include Bleach, Vampire Knight, and Junjo Romantica. Eventually, she wants to learn to read and speak Japanese so she can read/watch all of these in their original forms.
West is a single mom. Her son, Spawn, is the light of her life. Diagnosed with Autism at the age of six, he's on the higher end of the spectrum, and becoming quite the smart-mouthed teenager. Raising a child with special needs has taught West a lot about how to see people and the world in general.
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
I wouldn’t mind being Sera. Right now, she’s a minor character in my stories, but she’ll be a part of my main couple next season. Why? Well, Sera is transgender, MTF, and for all that she’s had issues – bullying, self-doubt, etc. – she is able to stay true to herself. She is confident, smart, sassy, and above all else, beautiful. Hmmm…what would I do? Probably take in a One Direction concert. Sera is a big fan.
What has starting the The Ravens Crossing meant to you?
It has given me the ability to broaden my mind. Open myself up to more possibilities. I can explore what it means to be a teenager again, and all the angst that goes with it. I can tell a story about being okay with yourself even when the rest of your world is going crazy. I am able to show the strength of love and friendship. It has meant being able to create a world and characters that I love and hope readers do too.
Can you tell readers a little bit about what inspires you as a writer?
My main inspiration is Spawn, my teenaged, smart-mouthed son. Things in his world are changing, but he still has the ability to see past gender, race, and disability. I am inspired by images of people in love. It doesn’t matter if the couple is same-sex or hetero. I’m also inspired by songs and other authors. I love to read about strong, flawed characters and seeing how they grow over the course of their story.
Can you tell us a little bit about the extras TRC offers readers?
The extras are the fun things we do during school holidays, like Winter break or Summer vacation. Last Summer, we all did interviews with our characters. It was a lot of fun. We’ve also done posts about Places of Interest in Wildwood like Hazel’s or the Grove. During Winter break, we had snippets out of our characters lives. I wrote a post about Suya called Fallen. It was important for our readers to understand how Suya became addicted to the Gaea drug Bleu.
From time to time, we have contests and we’ve done polls. We asked readers for help choosing the prom theme in Season One. It was interesting to see which of the three choices our readers wanted. I think the three of us (Andi, Amanda, and I) had more fun coming up with the suggestions than anything.
We’ve also done a couple of blog hops and we always show our support for LGBT events. For example, we went purple for Spirit Day. Our normally green banner turned purple that day.
The best way to find out anything special that might be coming up on TRC is to check out the Sunday posts. That’s when we post what’s coming up for our thirteen, show our support of other authors and LGBT groups, like True Colorz. We value our fellow authors just as much we love our readers. Plus, you can always email us with any questions or concerns.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels and The Ravens Crossing?
That it’s okay to be yourself, labels don’t matter, love is love, and everyone deserves a happy ending. During our winter break, I wrote a short conversation between Quinn and his brother, Keenan, where Keenan is questioning who he is and his sexual orientation. Quinn, the wonderful big brother that he is, pretty much sums it up – “Why do you need to label yourself? So what if you like boys, girls, or both. The only thing that’s important is what’s in your head and heart. As long as you’re happy with yourself, that all that matters.” Kind of simple and not easy to do, but I have hope that eventually it won’t matter if you’re gay or straight.
Now Available from The Ravens Crossing:
The Ravens Crossing, Book One
Secrets are hard to keep, especially when you’re in high school, and the students at Wildwood High have been hiding more than most. But, when thirteen friends discover their families are keeping more secrets than the entire student body combined, they find themselves drawn together in a dangerous search for the truth. Wildwood is not the average trendy neighborhood, and The Ravens Crossing, the corner at its heart, is not an average crossing.
When the Thirteen begin to uncover strange events in the Grove, passing the next test suddenly involves more than reading from a textbook. While they come into their full Balance of Power as Earth, Air, Fire, Water, or Time Gaeas, their lives suddenly grow far more complicated. Life is no longer just about who’s crushing on whom and who’s afraid to commit. The Thirteen must learn to use their natural talents to navigate the treacherous secrets they have only just begun to uncover. Join Lucas, Riley, Morgan, Holly, Kaz, Quinn, Darci, Elliot, Sharon, Alex, Raiden, Hemp, and Tetsuya as they discover the importance of trust and what it truly means to have power.
The Ravens Crossing is a serialized, young adult, science fiction/fantasy adventure. This volume contains Season One stories in the order they were originally published at the companion website www.theravenscrossing.org.
The Ravens Crossing, Book Two
Welcome back to Wildwood, where keeping secrets has become a way of life. Because being a Gaea is nothing if not complicated. But, when thirteen high school seniors come into their full powers as Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Time Gaeas, they begin to uncover a depth of deception surrounding them that may tear some of them apart. The secrets revealed will shake them to their very foundations, and just when these friends need to trust each other the most, they will end up keeping secrets from each other.
With Gaea abilities that range from astral projection to firestarting to time travel and a whole lot in between, the Thirteen must learn to protect themselves. They should be focused on college acceptance letters, but planning for their future involves Armors teaching them martial arts and swordplay. Instead of learning from a history text, they are learning the intricacies of time travel from a legendary eccentric named Amyntas. With each discovery, from Gaea genetics to ancient prophecies, to what it means to become bonded as a Tempus and Solus, the stakes get higher. Because Frederick Demetrius, Donna Holden, and a mysterious man named Jiro seem fixated on Wildwood. They want something from the Thirteen, and they don’t mind taking out anyone who stands in their way.
The Ravens Crossing is a serialized, young adult, science fiction/fantasy adventure. This volume contains Season Two stories in the order they were originally published at the companion website www.theravenscrossing.org.
The Ravens Crossing Giveaway!
Andi, Amanda, and West have generously donated a free copy of The Ravens Crossing, Book One and The Ravens Crossing, Book Two for two lucky winners. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment below along with your email address.
Blurb: Soon-to-be high school junior David Harper hates his family’s move to the country. There’s nothing to do, and he misses his friends in the city. But he doesn’t have a choice. His mother’s job is in Mason County now, so David and his mom are too, and he has to make the best of it.
At first, the only redeeming feature of David’s new home is the swimming hole across the field from his house. Then David meets Benjamin Killinger, and suddenly life stops being so dull.
Benjamin is Amish, and cooling off in the swimming hole is one of the few liberties he and his brothers enjoy. A friendship with an English boy is not—but that doesn’t stop him and David from getting to know each other, as long as it's on the neutral ground by the creek. After David risks his life to save Benjamin’s father, the boys’ friendship is tolerated, then accepted. But before long, Benjamin’s feelings for David grow beyond the platonic. Benjamin's family and the rest of the community will never allow a love like that, and a secret this big can’t stay secret forever...
Review: I'm a fan of Amish books in general because I am fascinated by the culture. It seems to be such a simple lifestyle, and yet at the same time, complex in its own way. Stories that involve LGBT members of the Amish community intrigue me even more because it is not a subject that is spoken of often, and I do not recall seeing any nonfiction book about the issue.
This novel takes a look at this issue. David is new to the area and lives in the beautiful country close enough to the Amish community to see them working in the fields. When he wanders and finds a swimming hole, he accidentally stumbles upon Benjamin. What follows is the tentative friendship and then relationship between the two boys.
I loved that the author took time for the two boys to not only become friends, but fall in love. Given the Amish reactions to anyone they consider English or an outsider, it was the best course of action. Their relationship was even more tentative, and I followed the slow course with just as much anticipation as they felt.
Whenever the two boys felt a bump in the road, I felt it. I'm an emotional reader, and I will admit, I did cry. The book is beautifully written and worth a look.
Blurb: Fairy Tate. Twinklefingers. Lucy Liu. Will the taunting ever end? Lucas Tate suffers ridicule because of his appearance and sensitive nature. When he’s not teased, he’s ignored, and he doesn’t know which is worse. He feels unloved by everyone, but the one comfort in life is his music. What he wants more than anything is to find a friend.
Much to his dismay, both his mom and a schoolmate are determined to find him a boyfriend, despite the fact Lucas hasn’t come out to them. His mom chooses a football player who redefines the term “heartthrob,” while Trish pushes him toward the only openly gay boy at Providence High. But Lucas is harboring a crush on another boy, one who writes such romantic poetry to his girlfriend that hearing it melts Lucas into a puddle of goo. All three prospects seem so far out of his league. Lucas is sure he doesn’t stand a chance with any of them—until sharing his gift for music brings him the courage to let people into his heart.
Review: If you had a chance to read Madison Parker's debut short story, "Sock It to Me, Santa," you already have an inkling of this burgeoning author's talent. Play Me, I'm Yours is her first full-length novel, and it is sure to be immensely successful.
Parker has a gift, not only when it comes to word crafting, but also with characterization. She's able to bring her characters to life in a realistic, memorable way that peels back layer after layer of their complex personalities. She avoids the pitfalls so many authors fall into of over dramatizing her villains and lionizing her protagonists. Instead, they are real people--flawed and complicated. You love them and hate them and sometimes want to smack them upside the head. But when it comes to her main character Lucas, you're going to want to pull him into an embrace and squeeze him so tightly you'll never let go.
Lucas is a doll. His tender heart and sensitivity make him the most sympathetic of characters, but he is also funny and talented. On every page he makes me smile and laugh and (several times) cry. I wanted him to have a protector, a hero, a knight in shining armor--not because Lucas appeared pathetic and weak, but because I loved him so very much.
And the love interest Zach...what can I say? Magnificently flawed. Every bit a man but 100% boy. Irritatingly sexy. Ridiculously romantic. I could go on, but the point is that he was absolutely perfect for Lucas.
Setting aside the dynamic of the romantic relationship, I think this young adult story is so amazing because of the realistic portrayal of Lucas's family life. There were times I really wanted to grab hold of his mother's shoulders and shake her. She did things that were utterly stupid, but don't all parents? Don't parents do things like this when they love their children...sometimes too much?
And I cringed every time Lucas's brother Mason made an appearance. He was so embarrassed by his sensitive, effeminate older brother. This was SO real to me. Seriously, siblings are embarrassed of each other all the time, even when there's nothing to be embarrassed about, and I totally get why Mason was such a jerk about having a gay brother. But the arc of this character was just beautiful. We saw Mason mature right before our eyes.
The cornerstone of this plot, though, in my humble opinion, is the relationship that Lucas has with his father. Finally a true-to-life YA GLBT novel that portrays a loving father/son relationship! I'm so thrilled that Parker did not succumb to the distant-father/dominant-mother stereotype. It was beautiful the way Lucas and his father connected, especially at the end of the story.
I share a connection with this author, so perhaps some will question my objectivity here. But I want to stress that every word of this review is sincere, and my feelings about the story are in no way related to my feelings for Madison Parker. The writing was spectacular, but more than that, the story struck a chord in my heart.
I honestly think this is THE book of the year--award worthy. Five stars PLUS.
Blurb:
High school junior Wesley Harris is a stereotypical shy, soft-spoken nerd. He is obsessed with crafts and art and doesn't even need to come out of the closet to become the target of antigay bullying. Though he has the support of close friends and liberal-minded mother, he finds it hard to believe in himself.
Brad Johnson, Wesley's new neighbor, is Wesley's age-and his complete opposite. A popular jock and hero of the school's baseball team, Brad has an outgoing personality and a reputation as a ladies' man. When he and Wesley are alone, away from their classmates' scrutiny, they become friends despite their differences. But when Wesley confesses to wanting more than friendship, Brad walks away, unwilling to risk their romance being exposed.
Though devastated, Wesley resigns himself to accept that they were never meant to be. The next time he runs afoul of bullies, school counseling empowers him to report them. Encouraged by his new confidence, he decides to attend the school dance and face Brad....
Review: As a former teenage nerd myself (who is now an adult nerd), it's nice to see the nerdy, quiet kids get the popular jocks.
I think what I loved most about this book is how unashamedly gay Wesley is. He's effeminate and he says it himself. I loved that about him. So many gay teen books now focus on kids who could probably pass for straight. Wesley will not deny that he loves crafting, he's scrawny, and his voice is higher pitched than he'd like. And then there's Brad, his complete opposite. And that's OKAY because there are gay teens from every spectrum out there!
So did that make me the "girl" in the relationship? And if so, was there something wrong with that? Should I think badly of myself because I liked the idea of Brad protecting me? I liked knowing that he was a lot stronger than me but chose to handle me with tender loving care. And last night, when he had his arms around me, I loved that feeling of being so much smaller than him.
I really felt this book. I teared up whenever Wesley did, and my chest got tight whenever I thought he was hurting. I connected with him because of how similar I was to him in school. Granted he may be a gay teenage boy and I'm a straight adult woman, but that just goes to show the skill of the author to be able to bridge that gap. What he went through in school with the bullying, I did too. And my mother was just as supportive as his is when I was in high school.
This book was a lovely read that was over far too fast. I loved the epilogue, though. It made me smile the entire time.
Jeff Erno began writing LGBT fiction in the late 1990s. Although an avid reader and amateur writer from a very young age, Jeff pursued a career as a retail store manager in Northern Michigan. When his first gay-themed novel was published, he was shocked that anyone would even want to read it. Four years later, he writes full time and has published fifteen novels. Jeff now lives in Southern Michigan, where he resides with his pure-white cat Gandalf. Jeff's writing credits include a variety of themes and sub-genres including male romance, Young Adult, Science Fiction, erotica, and BDSM. He is the winner of a 2012 Rainbow Award and an honorable mention in 2011. His style is unpretentious and focused upon emotionally-driven, character-based stories that touch the heart. Jeff is especially passionate about young adult literature and combating teen bullying and youth suicide.
Connect with Jeff Erno on Twitter @JeffErno or visit his website: http://jefferno.com.
Q&A with Author Jeff Erno:
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
In most of my stories, I include a part of myself within the protagonist. I think it’s pretty obvious that the character Jeff Irwin in my first book, Dumb Jock, was based upon me as a teenager. Although I wouldn’t categorize that book, or any of my stories, as autobiographical, the personality and many of the experiences of the main character mirrored the reality of my own life. The same is true of Shawn in Trust Me, Mark in The Landlord, and Petey in the Puppy Love series.
So with all of that being said, I guess if I could be one of my characters that I’m not already, I’d have to say maybe Josh in We Danced. He’s ambitious, intelligent, and very cute. He loves animals and children and lands himself a really hunky, masculine, country-western boyfriend. If I could body-swap one of my characters, maybe it’d be Josh, and I’d spend the day hanging out with Rex and Ty.
I also really like Phillip from Second Chances. From an ethical standpoint, he’s everything I wish I could be.
Please tell us what inspired you to begin writing Young Adult?
Almost every writer I’ve known or read about is as much of an avid reader as they are a writer. People who dream about publishing a novel are the same people who read a lot of novels. And that’s where it all started for me. As a young person, reading provided an escape for me. Occasionally I’d come across books that featured gay protagonists (or even gay secondary characters) and I’d get so excited. There weren’t a lot of movies or TV shows back then that had gay characters, so finding a gay-themed novel was a special treat.
As I got older, I began imagining great stories that appealed to readers like myself. I started writing for my own enjoyment, and I never expected any of my work would be shared with anyone. A lot of my writings were extremely erotic—some might argue pornographic—and a lot of them contained Dominant-submissive fetish. None of this was suitable for a young adult audience.
My first book, Dumb Jock, was not intentionally written as young adult. It was a story that happened to be about a teenager, but I didn’t think of it as being targeted toward a specific demographic of readers. The book did well in the YA market, and it was classified by readers and reviewers as YA. As far as I was concerned, you could call it anything you wanted—YA, M/M, Gay Fiction…whatever.
About the time Dumb Jock was released, there was a lot of media attention given to a rash of teen suicides. These young victims were mostly gay teens who’d been bullied. This broke my heart, and I wanted to in some way be involved in the effort to eradicate this horrible, incessant bullying. I felt powerless, and the only thing I could think to do was write about it. That’s why I wrote a series of short stories which focused upon gay teen bullying and released them as an anthology.
The success of Dumb Jock translated into a sequel, and then a third book. Add to that the promotional efforts with Bullied, and I was officially a YA author. Along the way in this process, I began to receive a deluge of feedback emails from readers, and many of them were young people. I realized that these kids were exactly like I was when I was a teen. They crave stories with gay characters the same way I used to as a young reader. It wasn’t as if I had an epiphany. There wasn’t a single light-bulb moment where I declared myself a YA author, but it started to feel as if this was my niche.
I still intend to write stories that are not YA, but I’m very excited about the future of YA literature within the LGBTQ literary community. And I have every intention of continuing to create young adult stories going forward.
Can you tell readers a little bit about your new release, You Belong With Me?
You may recognize that the title You Belong With Me is identical to a popular song by Taylor Swift. It was this song that inspired me to write the story. The song itself is not specifically gay-themed, but a while back another group did a cover of the song and created a gay-themed video. In the video, two teen boys, neighbors, develop a relationship by communicating through their bedroom windows. One of the boys is a jock while the other is kind of geeky. They hold up notebooks to the window, displaying handwritten messages for the other to read. I guess you might call it a type of face-to-face texting.
Can you give readers out there a teaser from the book?
He glanced up and caught me staring. His smile seemed to light
up the room. I waved, mouth still full, and he waved back. I watched as
he slipped on the jacket of his tux and checked himself out in the
mirror. A few seconds later, he stepped over to the window and held up
his notepad.
YOU GOING TONIGHT?
I shook my head. Fumbling around, I located my sketchpad and
scribbled my reply. NO. STUDYING
His frown conveyed his disappointment. WISH YOU WERE. I wasn’t
sure what to think of his response.
I looked down at the floor and saw the page I’d discarded there a
few days before. I was really turning into a slob. I bent over and picked
it up, smoothing it out against the mattress. I LOVE YOU. I wanted him to
see it. I wanted him to know my true feelings, but I couldn’t quite bring
myself to hold it up for him to see.
I’LL BE THINKING OF YOU TONIGHT. I stopped chewing the gooey
caramel in my mouth as I stared at his message. A wave of powerful
emotion washed over me, but all I could do was shrug. A moment later,
he pulled the shade down.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
That is a very specific question about a broad body of material. I have several published novels, and each one of them has a unique theme. In general, I want teens to know, gay or straight, that they’re cool as they are. I hope people of all ages who read my books are touched by the romances and happy endings. And I hope that people just have a good experience with my stories.
True Colorz has been launched officially for one month now. Seeing so much positive feedback come in, what does it mean to you?
I think the goal of True Colorz hasn’t been to gain popularity. It hasn’t even been to sell books. The initial vision of True Colorz was to provide a needed resource, a place which would feature YA LGBT literature exclusively. There are a lot of fantastic YA lit sites, and there are tons of GLBT sites, but I’m not aware of any that are like True Colorz, where they focus specifically upon YA LGBT.
So I’m thrilled that the site’s launch has been successful, and I hope it continues to grow and remains a genuine resource for all readers who love YA.
Now Available from Jeff Erno:
Losers
Jacob Stevens is a high school freshman facing an onslaught of constant bullying. When the unthinkable happens and he falls victim to a cruel prank, he and a small circle of friends band together to form a Losers’ Club. By embracing the name their tormentors have assigned them, they reclaim their power and try to fight back. With the help of a mysterious stranger, Jacob finds the strength he needs to stand up for himself and his friends, a group of losers like himself.
You Belong With Me
High school junior Wesley Harris is a stereotypical shy, soft-spoken nerd. He is obsessed with crafts and art and doesn’t even need to come out of the closet to become the target of antigay bullying. Though he has the support of close friends and liberal-minded mother, he finds it hard to believe in himself.
Brad Johnson, Wesley’s new neighbor, is Wesley’s age—and his complete opposite. A popular jock and hero of the school’s baseball team, Brad has an outgoing personality and a reputation as a ladies’ man. When he and Wesley are alone, away from their classmates’ scrutiny, they become friends despite their differences. But when Wesley confesses to wanting more than friendship, Brad walks away, unwilling to risk their romance being exposed.
Though devastated, Wesley resigns himself to accept that they were never meant to be. The next time he runs afoul of bullies, school counseling empowers him to report them. Encouraged by his new confidence, he decides to attend the school dance and face Brad….
Trust Me
Shawn Graham and Bobby Wilder couldn't be more different. Shawn is a devout Christian fundamentalist from northern Michigan; Bobby is a street-smart latchkey kid from southern Ohio. From an early age, they are both confused and troubled by their attraction to the same sex. Shawn believes that homosexuality is sinful, and a traumatic incident of childhood sexual abuse adds to his guilt and shame. Bobby has an image to maintain and flatly denies the possibility that his same-sex attractions even exist. He's just too cool to be gay. When they finally connect, their preconceptions are suddenly dwarfed by what they feel for each other. They become inseparable and fall deeply in love; however, love doesn't make life easy. Plans are in motion that will surely devastate the young couple. Painful experiences of the past overshadow happy memories, and heartbreaking obstacles loom over the possibility of a future. If Shawn and Bobby want to stay together, they will have to fight with everything they have.
Bullied
Every day, all over the country, teenagers struggle with the realities of bullying. Tormented, ridiculed, and beaten—simply for being who they are—these teens face alienation, humiliation, and even the explicit assertion that they have somehow brought this upon themselves, that they should just blend in. Bullied is a series of short stories exploring the world of these teens from several different viewpoints: the victim, the bully, the gay bystander, the straight friend, the concerned parent.
Dumb Jock
Dumb Jock is a touching, coming-of-age story about a reserved, self-conscious, teenage boy growing up in a small northern-Michigan town. Jeff Irwin is short for his age, timid and studious, never yet having dared to take any chances for fear of ultimate rejection or failure. He is a bit of a social outcast and lives quietly in the shadows of the popular kids at his school.
Afforded the opportunity to assist the town's high school football hero Brett Willson, Jeff embarks upon the challenge of educating the world's dumbest jock. The ensuing relationship that develops between the two young men proves far more challenging, however, than any tutoring session. Their budding friendship helps bring Jeff out of his shell and reveals a much deeper side of the dumb jock.
Tragedies befall the ill-suited young couple, and the losses they endure are unthinkable. In the end, however, they must decide whether to be true to their identities or return to the previously held conformity of their comfortable stereotypes.
Another Dumb Jock
In Dumb Jock, Jeff and Brett fall in love, but their relationship is not without challenges. Brett’s a football star, and Jeff is the classic nerd. Their coming of age and coming out story is set in the 1980s, and they face many obstacles. Yet their love for each other is strong, and they finally get their happy ending.
Now, almost three decades later, their children are teenagers. Adam, their fifteen year old son, is the star pitcher of his high school baseball team. He has grown up with two dads, in a loving, non-judgmental environment. Yet Adam has challenges of his own. He’s failing two of his classes at school, and he’s been suspended for fighting. He resents being labeled and insists that just because he has two dads, it doesn’t mean that he is himself gay.
When he is forced to accept help from another student in his algebra class, Adam starts to have feelings that cause him to question his very identity. He’s got to decide whether to follow his heart or to maintain the image he’s worked so hard to portray. Will he have the courage to take a stand for what he knows is right, or will he end up being just another dumb jock?
Dumb Jock 3: Appearances Matter
Todd Hoffman, age sixteen, doesn't have an easy life. Not only does he live with his alcoholic mother in a rundown mobile home, but he's also a bit of a social outcast at school. He doesn't have the nice clothing, shoes, and car the other students have. He has only one really close friend, Shannon, but even she doesn't understand him completely. He knows he can never confide in her his deepest secret. He can't tell anyone, not even his favorite teacher.
But Todd finds a way to express his feelings when he learns about fan fiction. Being a gifted writer, Todd begins to write stories--gay stories--about another boy he's secretly crushing on. He posts the stories on a fan fiction website.
When the object of Todd's affection one day notices him and asks him out, Todd feels like he is suddenly living a dream, that his literary fantasy is become real. Soon, however, he realizes that reality and fantasy are two different things, and he has to determine if Galen, the high school soccer team captain, is the boy of his dreams or just another dumb jock.
This is book three of the Dumb Jock series, and the story is linked to the previous books by featuring several common characters. Jeff and Brett are present as are Adam and Trevor. Book three is a continuation of the first two installments, but also serves as a standalone read.
Blurb: Danny Kelly cares only for rock 'n' roll and fast cars. Too bad he's stuck in the capital of country music and he's banned from driving until he turns twenty-one. Plus he likes other boys, a secret that he's vowed to keep until he graduates high school. When his stepdad's new truck roars off on its own, Danny discovers a secret that is endangering cars and drivers across America. It almost kills Danny, too, until he's saved by seventeen-year-old Kevin Clark. Kevin's gay, handsome, and confident, but working with his dad's secret government organization has left him lonely. It's going to take a weekend of car chases, fiery explosions, and country-western singing to save the citizens of Nashville from certain death—but can Danny protect his heart and secrets as well?
Review:
This book has definite science fiction elements. The Ruins are a sort of alien being that come and enter engines to take over them. The Kings are the biggest of the Ruins and are set on having fun and do not care about destruction. Well, they care about it in a way. They like destruction.
I loved the characters, both human and Ruin. Danny is a great character because he's flawed but trying to do his best to improve after some serious mistakes in his past. He is gay, but he so desperately wants to hide that part of him. When things get strange and he meets Kevin, who is open about his sexuality (and part of a top secret organization), he almost blows his chance at having something special.
The author included great non-human characters. Even though they didn't speak and weren't on the page for long, I completely fell for FIREBUG, 2KEWLE, and CHOPR. These Ruins were tiny and resided in toys, but they had very human reactions to what went on around them. I hope this book will have at least one sequel if not become a full series because I want to see them again.
The book is filled with action and drama, both real and science fiction based. It might be the book that bridges the gap for some kids who aren't sure whether they like science fiction novels or not. This is definitely a book worth having on your YA shelf!
Barry Brennessel When Barry’s first collection of stories was read aloud by his second grade teacher, the author hid in the bathroom. As the years flew by, he wrote more, hid less (not really), and branched out to Super 8 films and cassette tape recorders. Barry’s audience—consisting solely of friends and family—were both amused and bemused. Since those childhood days, Barry has earned degrees in English and French from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University. Tinseltown, a Finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, is Barry’s first novel. His stories, novels and teleplays have won awards, including a 2008 Pushcart Prize nomination; 3rd Place in the 2010 Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) literary contest and finalist status in the 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012 PNWA contests; 3rd Place in the 79th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and finalist status in the Winter 2010 WILDSound Screenplay competition. When not embroiled in his own writing, Barry sips wine, nibbles on chocolate, and watches films and TV—both the classic and the cheesy. (Mmm…cheese!)
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
Despite how hardscrabble life could be in 1870s California, especially high in the mountains at a gold panner’s campsite, I’d jump at the chance to spend a day as Todd Webster Morgan from The Celestial. He’s confident and adventurous. He’s not afraid to express his opinions. He stands up for what he believes in. And he sticks his neck out for others.
I think the first thing I’d do is ride a train as many times as I could. I’d send a telegram to President Grant. I’d test-drive a stagecoach. I’d wander through all of Sacramento and out into the orchards and farms. And then return to the city and have dinner in the fanciest restaurant in town.
Can you tell readers a little bit about your historical YA The Celestial? How did you come to the decision to pick the time period?
The Celestial is about a young man, Todd Webster Morgan, who lives outside the city of Sacramento in the early 1870s. His family has fallen on hard times. In a moment of desperation, Todd decides to borrow what’s left of his late father’s inheritance and try his luck panning for gold high in the Sierra Nevadas.
But his dream is violently upended when he’s caught in the middle of a fight among a group of Irishmen. Now fearing his life is in danger, Todd runs, leaving his belongings behind.
Complicating matters even more, he meets a young Chinese immigrant named Lâo Jian, whose own dreams of finding gold have been quashed by violence. With both their lives on the line, Todd and Lâo Jian flee together.
But the prejudice against both Chinese people and two men who desire each other force Todd and Lao Jian to fight what often appears to be a battle on two fronts. Todd vows not to lose Lâo Jian. The couple must risk everything to make a life for themselves. A life that requires facing fear and prejudice head on.
I chose this time period after coming across a non-fiction book about the horrible way Chinese immigrants were treated in 1800s America. Before reading that book I’d read another non-fiction book about the deep affection that men often showed one another while taming the “Old West.” I then had an idea: what if young Californian met and fell in love with a Chinese immigrant in this time period? And suddenly, these characters sprung to life!
The Celestial is written in the first person POV of Todd Webster which was extremely beautiful to be inside the character’s head as he met Lao Jian. Can you tell us a little bit about these two amazing characters? For a little fun is there any chance for a first person POV from Lao Jian when he first met Todd?
Todd Webster Morgan lost his father when Todd was just two, and was raised by his mother and his mother’s irascible brother—Todd’s Uncle Ned, who lost a leg in the Civil War. Todd tries very hard to be a peacemaker and caretaker. This desire to make things right for everyone around him often leads him to make rash and unwise decisions. His head may not always be in the right place, but his heart is.
Lâo Jian and his uncle came to America when Lâo Jian was a young boy. They joined another of Lâo Jian’s uncles in Oregon to work in the orchards. But after several years, as the unemployment rate in America starts to rise, the Chinese are forced out and left to fend for themselves. Lâo Jian and his uncle decide to join a group of other Chinese immigrants to work various gold claims in the mountains. Though Lâo Jian faces violence and prejudice, he is a proud and determined young man who doesn’t give up easily and never loses his ability to trust people.
Meeting Todd the first time, from Lâo Jian’s POV:
I sat still as a statue as I peered through the branches of the shrub. The young dark-haired man was on the ground. He breathed heavily and cried out in pain. The lighter-haired man tried to calm him, to keep him quiet. This was good; he knew the cries would lead the men with guns directly to our location.
I was confident I was inconspicuous. But then the light-haired young man called out. “Who’s there?”
I froze, my heart beating faster.
“I said who’s there?”
I panicked. I couldn’t find my voice.
“We have guns and I’m not afraid to….” He paused. “I’m not afraid to…I know full well how to shoot in the darkest of—”
“I am no enemy to you,” I called back. I didn’t wish to die. “I do not—I am not any threat to—”
“Show yourself,” he said.
I rose slowly, and turned in such a way that I could run in an instant. “I am harmless,” I said.
“He’s a Celestial,” the dark-haired boy said.
Though my body trembled, I was no longer panicked. There was a kindness in this man’s eyes. He was desperate to help his injured friend. It was as if I could read his plea for help in those eyes.
“I’m Todd Webster Morgan,” he said, with such…pride.
I remained silent. There was something different about him. Something I couldn’t put to words. He didn’t scowl at me, or back away with revulsion, or leer in anger the way so many others had.
“You have a name?” he said. “I gave you mine, after all.”
I cleared my throat. “I…I am Lâo Jian.” I looked briefly down to the injured one, trying to figure out how exactly he was hurt. My gaze was drawn back to the kindness etched on the face of the other man. This man named Todd.
Please tell us what inspired you to begin writing Young Adult?
The teenage years, and early adulthood, are just so...potent.
I think when we’re young children, life and the world around us are still so dreamlike. At least it seemed that way for me. And later in life, we kind of settle into our routines, with those occasional shake-ups now and again.
But, wow, from about age twelve through the college years, everything seems monumental. One embarrassing social situation can seem like the end of the world. That first crush can feel like bliss followed by torture and back again. Every sensation is just so heightened.
I think I’m still trying to figure out all that I went through during those years, what it all meant. It’s just such a vast field where you can reach out and pick story ideas from true-life experiences and run wild with them.
Take any time period and any culture and I believe all young adults share universal hopes and dreams, worries and fears, triumphs and trials. It’s just endlessly fascinating to me.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
The importance of tolerance and compassion.
Bigotry is such an ugly thing. Racism, homophobia, sexism. But I think tolerance and compassion start on an even smaller scale. That quiet kid in the corner who never speaks to anyone? He or she could be extremely shy, unconfident, just plain nervous. Try to get to know this person. Don’t shun him or her.
Don’t assume an unkempt person sitting at a bus stop is just some “worthless bum.” Or that a person who doesn’t look you in the eye or speak to you right away is some arrogant snob.
I know it’s human nature to judge. And that we tend to gravitate toward people that are just like us, where we feel confident and safe. It’s likely ingrained in our DNA and in some way is part of our fight-or-flight survival instinct. I’m guilty of it for sure. But I work at changing it as much as I can.
Sometimes an expression that seems so cliché really does have significant meaning: Treat others as you want to be treated.
Now Available from Barry Brennessel:
The Celestial (Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the Gay Romance category)
Love was the last thing Todd Webster Morgan expected to find while searching for gold in 1870s California. But that was before he met Lâo Jian. Hardened beyond his nineteen years, Todd Webster Morgan is determined to find gold high in the Sierra Nevadas. But his dream is violently upended. Complicating matters even more, he meets a young Chinese immigrant named Lâo Jian, whose own dreams of finding gold have been quashed by violence. But life back in Sacramento isn’t any easier. Todd’s mother struggles to make ends meet. His invalid uncle becomes increasing angry. Todd seeks employment with little success. Meanwhile his friendship with Lâo Jian turns to love. But their relationship is strained as anti-Chinese sentiment grows. Todd vows not to lose Lâo Jian. The couple must risk everything to make a life for themselves. A life that requires facing fear and prejudice head on...
Film student Micah Malone learns the hard way that when life sucks, you can't just yell "Cut! Let's do another take!"
His grades are a box-office bomb. His friends create more drama than a soap opera. And his love life needs a laughtrack. While there's no script to dictate what happens next, can Micah find the direction he needs? Life, after all, is no film school project. But it is great source material. The only source material.
Let the cameras roll. Micah's quirky story has begun filming.
A thousand years ago, two rival factions of gods, the Stronni and Taaweh, nearly destroyed the Kingdom of Dasak in their war for power. Then the Taaweh vanished and the Stronni declared victory.
Now, tensions between the human emperor and his regent are at an all-time high. The regent’s son, apprentice mage Sael dönz Menaük, has fled the capital with his master and united with a vagabond named Koreh, but assassins dog their footsteps. The future is more uncertain than ever.
Since the Taaweh city of Gyishya reappeared, the mages of Harleh have weakened, cut off from the source of their power. Sael and his father struggle to keep their respective cities from crumbling under the strain or being destroyed by the gods. Then Koreh learns of a dangerous Taaweh plan to rescue their queen from the Stronni—a plan only Koreh and Sael can execute.
But they may not get a chance. In Harleh Valley, a young man named Donegh pieces together what happened. Intent, he makes his way through an increasingly alien landscape to carry out his mission: assassinate the Dekan of Harleh, Sael dönz Menaük.
Danny Kelly cares only for rock 'n' roll and fast cars. Too bad he's stuck in the capital of country music and he's banned from driving until he turns twenty-one. Plus he likes other boys, a secret that he's vowed to keep until he graduates high school. When his stepdad's new truck roars off on its own, Danny discovers a secret that is endangering cars and drivers across America. It almost kills Danny, too, until he's saved by seventeen-year-old Kevin Clark. Kevin's gay, handsome, and confident, but working with his dad's secret government organization has left him lonely. It's going to take a weekend of car chases, fiery explosions, and country-western singing to save the citizens of Nashville from certain death—but can Danny protect his heart and secrets as well?
In Ollas, anything that stirs the emotions is forbidden by the governors—especially music. So when Tallie Tarmelin, a farm boy from a lower-tier guild, is offered a scholarship for his talent in design, he keeps his head down and follows the rules. He’s terrified of breaking one of his society’s many laws and ruining his future. But feeling lost and alone in an unfamiliar city takes its toll, and Tallie accepts sympathy from a guildless social outcast even though he knows it could destroy his reputation.
Despite the rules against casual touching and fraternizing in public, Jonis Sinter offers Tallie comfort instead of denouncing him for an excessive emotional display, and they fast become friends. Secret friends, though, because Worran, the respectable son of a governor, has asked Tallie to be his partner.
When Worran’s mother learns of Tallie’s association with an outcast, she dispatches the militia. Worran sends Tallie a warning, and Tallie flees the city and civilization with Jonis. Surviving the wilds will take every ounce of perseverance they can muster, and the rediscovery of music might be their only solace— unless they recognize the love that’s growing between them.
Jacob Stevens is a high school freshman facing an onslaught of constant bullying. When the unthinkable happens and he falls victim to a cruel prank, he and a small circle of friends band together to form a Losers’ Club. By embracing the name their tormentors have assigned them, they reclaim their power and try to fight back. With the help of a mysterious stranger, Jacob finds the strength he needs to stand up for himself and his friends, a group of losers like himself.
James Erich James Erich has had a passion for young adult fiction since he was a teenager himself. In his high school and college years, he was saddened to see how few positive stories with gay protagonists there were, but is delighted to see that changing. Though he has previously published adult titles under another pen name, James recently joined the ranks of YA novelists, with the publication of his first YA novel, Seidman. He is openly gay and lives with his husband in the small town of Raymond, NH.
If you could swap places with one of your fictional characters for 24 hours, who would you choose to be? Why? And what would you do that day?
It would be fascinating to be Kol, in Seidman, to not only experience what it was like to live in the Viking Age, but also because Kol has magical abilities such as transforming into animals that would be wonderful to experience. But I think I would rather be Sael, in my new novel, Dreams of Fire and Gods: Dreams. Sael is nobility, so he lives a rather… comfortable life, doted upon by servants. At the same time, like Kol, he’s also a sorcerer, so he can fly and cast firebolts. He’s also an excellent swordsman.
Seidman was based on Norse Mythology and we heard that you were fascinated by Vikings. So, please tell us are you going to give us another taste of YA Vikings in the future?
I’m sure I will. Viking Age Iceland and Scandinavia is something that I’ve been fascinated by for most of my life. I also have a minor pet peeve about other YA novels on the subject. While they may be excellent, they are almost all about young (heterosexual) men growing up to be warriors. We haven’t heard much about gay men and women in that time period and we haven’t heard much about what it was like to be anything but a warrior. I’d like to write more stories from the perspective of farmers, sorcerers, merchants, bards… all the other people who made up Viking Age society.
We haven’t seen too many YA historical fantasies in LGBT. Please tell us what inspired you to write Seidman?
As I mentioned, I’ve been fascinated by Vikings for most of my life. I’ve become quite a scholar on the subject, reading books from academic presses in Scandinavia and teaching myself how to read Old Norse, the language the Vikings spoke. (There were a few dialects – I’ve been learning Old Icelandic, because that’s the language most of the Sagas are written in.) It occurred to me that I would like to read a story that presented me with more realism than what I’d been seeing. I wanted to know what it was like to really be present in that time and place—what people ate, what they did on holidays, what their bathrooms were like. And how would a gay, intelligent-but-not-very-athletic guy like me find a place in their world? So I created a character somewhat like myself—Kol Bjarnason—dropped him into Viking Age Iceland. Then I asked myself, What happens now?
What other exciting books do you have released or will be coming soon?
Book one of my new YA fantasy trilogy has just been released through Harmony Ink Press. It’s called Dreams of Fire and Gods: Dreams. This time the world is one I’ve created, but I put as much thought into the details of it as I did with Seidman. It begins as a standard sort of high fantasy novel, with an old wizard escorting two young men, Sael and Koreh, across a hostile landscape, so that Sael can return to his brother’s castle. Along the way, they do battle with monsters and assassins and wizards. But where it hopefully becomes more than a stock fantasy is when these characters gradually become aware that they are pawns in a much larger battle between two ancient factions of gods. And in fact Sael and Koreh are to be key players in this battle.
What would you like young readers to take away from your novels?
Gay men and women have been present in all cultures and periods throughout history, despite the fact that our history books rarely tell us this. I think it’s essential that the LGBT community begin to see themselves reflected in all of human history, and in all the literary genres as well. A decade ago, if a gay teen wanted to read a story about a gay Viking or a gay sorcerer or a gay astronaut, there was next to nothing to choose from. That’s changing now and I’m very excited to be a part of the change.
While Sael and his father, Vek Worlen, attempt to keep their respective cities from coming apart under the strain of frightening magical influences or being destroyed outright by the gods, Koreh is informed of an extremely dangerous plan that the Taaweh have to rescue their goddess from the Stronni: a plan that only he and Sael can carry off.
In the meantime, a young man named Donegh begins to piece together what happened in Harleh Valley, as he makes his way through an increasingly alien landscape, intent on carrying out his mission to assassinate the Dekan of Harleh, Sael dönz Menaük.
A thousand years ago, two factions of gods, the Stronni and the Taaweh, nearly destroyed the Kingdom of Dasak by warring for the land and the frightened humans who lived there. Then suddenly the Taaweh vanished and the Stronni declared victory.
Now, as tensions escalate between the emperor and his regent, Vek Worlen, the vek’s son, apprentice mage Sael dönz Menaük, finds himself allied with a homeless vagabond named Koreh. Together they flee the capital city and make their way across a hostile wilderness to the vek’s keep, mere steps ahead of the emperor’s assassins.
But Koreh has dreams—dreams of the ancient Taaweh—and he knows the looming war between the emperor and the vek will be nothing compared to the war that is about to begin. The Taaweh are returning, and the war between the gods may destroy the kingdom once and for all.
In Viking Age Iceland, where boys are expected to grow into strong farmers and skilled warriors, there is little place for a sickly twelve-year-old boy like Kol until he catches the eye of a seið-woman—a sorceress—and becomes her apprentice. Kol travels to the sorceress’s home, where her grandson, Thorbrand, takes Kol under his wing. Before long Kol discovers something else about himself that is different—something else that sets him apart as unmanly: Kol has fallen in love with another boy.
But the world is changing in ways that threaten those who practice the ancient arts. As Kol’s new life takes him across the Norse lands, he finds that a new religion is sweeping through them, and King Olaf Tryggvason is hunting down and executing sorcerers. When a decades-old feud forces Thorbrand to choose between Kol and his duty to his kinsman, Kol finds himself cast adrift with only the cryptic messages of an ancient goddess to guide him to his destiny—and possibly to his death.
Thank you to everyone here at True Colorz for having me here today! Have you ever been to a convention where there was just a hint of QUILTBAG content? Just enough to make you itch for more? Unfortunately, when it comes to most conventions out there, the content surrounding QUILTBAG fiction themes is so limited that it's nearly impossible to find an event that satisfies. That's exactly how we organizers at RainbowCon felt, which is why we mentally took notes at each event we attended. Those notes recently came together, and the result was our brand new QUILTBAG-centric conference, RainbowCon.
RainbowCon is a four-day conference held in Tampa, Florida geared toward readers, writers, artists, and small publishers. Throughout the four days of the conference, attendees can enjoy panels, workshops, activities, and even a field trip into the heart of Ybor's club district! RainbowCon is also a deliberately small conference, limiting the number of general attendees to 175, with authors, special guests, publishers, and volunteers making up the remaining 125 slots in its 300 attendance cap.
2014 may be our first year, but we have plenty in store for those attending. The panel descriptions, special guests, and venue are already up on our easy-to-use website, and we're so excited to announce that registration is now open! For pricing and all that jazz, you can just go to the registration page. We have different prices for general registration and author registration, so there are plenty of choices, depending on how involved you'd like to be!
We hope you enjoy the content to be found in RainbowCon, as it's all those pieces of content we had filed away in our heads over the years, everything from serious topics like Misogyny in Fiction to fun panels like Bisexual Mythbusters to gameshow-style events like The Gay Experience. You'll even find a smattering of content specifically geared toward writing and reading QUILTBAG Young Adult fiction!
Our schedule features both a reader track as well as a writer track, catering to those on both sides of the proverbial pen. Workshops are available for aspiring and established writers alike. We also offer roundtable discussions of sub-genres of QUILTBAG literature and activities, so there are plenty of opportunities to participate and socialize. RainbowCon is all about the personal approach, and it's our goal to ensure each attendee has a fantastic time!
So, the time is here. There's a new conference in town, and we hope that people all throughout the QUILTBAG genre will find their way to RainbowCon. We're passionate about it being an all-inclusive event, and we hope the readers and authors who become involved are just as excited as we are to share our love of QUILTBAG fiction!
If you have any questions about RainbowCon, don't be afraid to contact one of us organizers! For general inquiries or questions about content, you can e-mail my business partner, S.L. Armstrong (slarmstrong AT rainbowconference DOT org). Or, for questions about our special events, you can e-mail me at kpiet AT rainbowconference DOT org. We'd love to get in contact with you! For general happy dancing and excitement sharing, you can head over to our Facebook page or even just mention us on Twitter (@RainbowCon2014).
