scott

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: You’re Only as Thick as Your Skin

by
man in full armor - deposit photos

“The truth is, publishing will break your heart, but you can’t let that stop you. You need to be tough. Really tough, or take your scribbles and go home. Becoming a writer isn’t a stroll through the park, with bluebirds singing and cute animals running by your side. It’s the freaking Thunderdome. Bring armor.” —Jamie Lee Moyer, Author and Editor Publishing is famously called the lowest paid profession for a reason. And writers, especially newbie ones, are at the bottom of the barrel. There are literally millions of us, many quite talented, and with the ease of indie publishing these … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Author Spotlight: Roman Godzich

by
Roman Godzich

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Roman Godzich was born at a very early age. The shock of arriving on this planet was such that he didn’t speak for almost a year. Eventually, he got over it and now people say it’s challenging to get him to shut up. Thanks so much, Roman, for joining me! J. Scott Coatsworth: When did you know you wanted to write, and when did you discover that you were good at it? … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Release / Giveaway: You Can Do Magic – R.L. Merrill

by
You Can Do Magic - R.L. Merrill

R.L. Merrill has a new MM rock ‘n roll fantasy/paranormal romance (bi, gay) out in the Carnival of Mysteries shared universe: You Can Do Magic. This is also book three in Merrill’s Summer of Hush series. And there’s a giveaway. From the author of Foreword Indies Finalist Summer of Hush and BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist Brains and Brawn comes a new installment in the series, a contemporary gay romance with a side of time travel and magic. Musical prodigy Kallos Alexandrou has played his calliope for countless visitors at Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, but his one-year residency has come to … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: There Are No New Ideas. Or Are There?

by
boring - deposit photos

I sometimes pine for the Golden Age era of sci-fi, when everything was new. Each story idea shone with fresh brilliance, and many of the tropes we still use today were just being invented by Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and others. Sure, it was pretty much a white-men-only club (with a few notable exceptions). Yes, you had to write everything on a typewriter (they didn’t even have correction fluid until the late fifties), and there was no such thing as self publishing, or home computers, or Amazon, or the web in general. Still, as a sci-fi writer in the late Thirties … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Release / Giveaway: The Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy – Lisa Oliver

by
The Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy - Lisa Oliver

Lisa Oliver has a new MM paranormal romance trilogy out: The Magic Users of Greenford. And there’s a giveaway. Lucifer Fireborn is a high magic user with a taste for the high life. He spends his days, along with his anchor brother Darwin, chasing the rogue magic users who don’t follow the rules all magic users live by. When his brother claims his own fated mate, and can’t anchor for Lucifer anymore, Lucifer has to find someone else to anchor for him, or risk setting everything and everyone around him on fire. But there’s a problem… Lucifer really doesn’t want … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Author Spotlight: Aldrea Alien

by
Aldrea Alien logo

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Aldrea Alien is an award-winning, bisexual author of fantasy romance with varying heat levels. Born and raised in New Zealand, she lives on a small farm with her family, including a menagerie of animals, who are all convinced they’re just as human as the next person. Especially the cats. Since discovering a love of writing at the age of twelve, she hasn’t found an ounce of peace from the characters plaguing her … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Two Great Reviews for The Gauntlet Runner!

by

Two great reviews already this morning for my just-released book The Gauntlet Runner. Maryann – Queer Sci Fi https://www.queerscifi.com/double-review-the-gauntlet-runner-j-scott-coatsworth/ Aik (Aiken Erio) want’s to save his best friend (and now boyfriend?) Raven, but to venture out on his own would mean a sure death. If he travels into the Ce’Faine country it would violate the Highlands Treaty, and beheading would be his likely end. And even if he manages to save Raven, Kerrick (Ser Kek) will likely take Raven to stand trial for thievery. Aik is lost. Then Silya’s mother Tri’Aya comes to his rescue. she has planned a ten-day trade caravan … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

New Release / Giveaway: The Gauntlet Runner – J. Scott Coatsworth

by
The Gauntlet Runner - J. Scott Coatsworth

J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer sci-fantasy book out, The Tharassas Cycle Book Two: The Gauntlet Runner. And there’s a giveaway! A GUARD AND A THIEF. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven’s a thief, which makes things… complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been kidnapped by a dragon. Now Aik is off on a quest of his own, to hunt down the foul beast and make them give back his … friend? Lover? Soulmate? The whole not-knowing thing just makes everything harder. Meanwhile, the world of Tharassas is falling … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Point of View: Break the Rules

by
books breaking through a wall - deposit photos

So many rules. Every part of our lives is governed by them, and sadly writing is no exception. There are rules of grammar: 
If you made it through high school English and you want be a writer, you probably have a pretty decent handle on these rules. But there are others, too. For instance, formatting rules, which can shift and change over time: There are many more… for standard formatting guidelines, check out William Shunn’s formatting guides online—these have become industry standard
. There are rules for characters: There are many more of these that the typical writer picks up in … Read more

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Author Spotlight: Lisa Oliver

by
Lisa Oliver logo

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Lisa Oliver lives in the wilds of New Zealand, although her beautiful dogs Hades and Zeus are now living somewhere else far more remote than she is. Reports indicate they truly enjoy chasing possums although they still can’t catch them. In the meantime, Lisa is living a lot closer to all her adult kids and grandchildren which means she gets a lot more visitors. However, it doesn’t look like she’s ever going … Read more