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POINT OF VIEW: What the Hell is a GRL?

GRL?

I tell folks all the time that I’m going to GRL. Inevitably, they ask “What’s a GRL”? Of course, we all know it stands for Gay Romance Literature, or GayRomLit. But that’s not the only thing it means. So I thought I’d provide the definitive guide to some of the other GRL’s out there: Guns, Rednecks and Leather: The premier southern BDSM club for boys who like hominy, grits, and semi-automatic weapons. Held every Fourth of July in Birmingham, Alabama. Bring your own whips. Girl Scouts Running Liquor: A branch of the scouts smuggling booze in the dry state of Utah. … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Summer Cold

summer cold - scott

Okay, so I just got back from the long-planned family reunion in Flagstaff. It was fantastic, and we took a couple extra days to explore Flagstaff and Sedona. I planned to hit the ground writing-wise and work-wise as soon as we got home. Then things went wrong. Comcast, our internet provider, was down all morning Thursday and all morning Friday. That sucked, but hey, I figured I could live with it. We de-camped and went to Starbucks for wifi. Then Friday night, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The dreaded Summer Cold. It’s a thing that shouldn’t exist. I mean, … Read more

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Point of View: Getting Creative When I’m Squished in the Middle

Scott GRL prep

Hey all, It’s been an interesting week. I’m in a cabin (well, technically in the B&B looking out at the cabins) at our first bi-annual Coatsworth family reunion. It’s all but over now – officially it will end with breakfast this morning. It’s been a great weekend. But… I’m on serious deadline to finish the second draft of Lander and get it off for beta. So I’m getting creative, working on my iPad in stolen moments between reunion events, and totally burning the candle at both ends. I’m so fricking close… So I’m curious. When you find yourself on deadline … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Dealing With Religion

Gay Men's Chorus

My grandfather was a minister. Not a hard-liner – more of what I always called a middle of the road Christian, part of the “Disciples of Christ” church. When I came out to him, he told me a story about a woman who wanted all the gays thrown out of church, and how he turned it around on her and asked how she would feel if she was the only straight person there. Growing up, I attended the Methodist Church, and again, it was fairly gay friendly. My mom took me to a sex ed class there, and they gave … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Death to TV Shows

Eli Stone

Hey all, Sadly, it’s true. I am death to any show that I really like. Sense8 was just cancelled, and yes, it is totally my fault. I am not your typical American TV consumer. I go for shows that are quirky, odd, eccentric and decidedly offbeat. And so I guess it should be no great surprise when those shows go off the air after a season or two. Every now and then, I get lucky, and one lasts for three or maybe four seasons. If you’re reading this post, odds are that you’re odd like me. So in the spirit … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Icky Part

J. Scott Coatsworth

Hey all, I’m at that part of the story on “Lander” that I always hit, about this far in. I’m probably three quarters finished, and all I can see is suck and ick. The writing sucks. The story is pedestrian. The threads of it are all over the place, and there’s NO WAY I am ever going to find a way to bring them altogether. It sucks. I suck. I am a horrible writer. Everyone’s going to find out. I will fail. Instead, I just sit back and laugh. You see, every one of us writers has this little internal critic. … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing the Blog Tour

Scott Millennium Falcon

Hey all, One of the things that comes with being an author is promoting your work. A new release comes out, and you have tell the world about it, so hopefully a few folks will want to give it a try. Nevermind that you’ve just read the bloody thing seventeen times in rough drafts and edits, and would sooner roll around in a bathtub full of fire ants than have to think about it or write about it again. You’re probably gonna have to do some kind of blog/review tour, and you’re gonna need to write some promotional blog posts. So… what … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: What Makes It All Worth It

light into the world pixabay

Hey all, Sometimes we touch lives in ways that we never anticipated, and in ways that rebound back to us and remind us why we do this whole author thing in the first place. Last year, for the first time, I had someone come up to me at a trade show and tell me how much he had loved one of my stories. Since then, that wonderful thing been repeated a number of times, and every time it makes my little author heart sing. But this morning I woke up to the best one of all. Stefan, a friend of … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Remembering to Shower

man shower - pixabay

If you’re a writer and you’re anything like me, well, first of all, I’m sorry. You probably have a day job or three (commonly known as the Evil Day Job, or EDJ) and you madly scramble for bits of time to write, edit, feed your Facebook and Twitter accounts, plot out your next novel, network and self promote. But you may be missing a few key things in your life. Things your significant other might have noticed too – the reason they wrinkle their nose every time you walk into the room. So I thought I’d step in to help. Print … Read more

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Point of View: When Life Kicks Your Writer Ass

Scott determined

Hey all, Rough week. LOL… Not in a bad way, really. I celebrated my 49th birthday, and launched a brand new version of our gay weddings site that we’ve been working in for six months. But that project sucked all the air out of the room, and I’m just starting to recover this week. It made me wonder… how do we, as writers, get back on track when life throws us a curve ball? For me, it’s mostly a matter of grit and determination, and finding the time to write again. But there’s also the matter of getting your head … Read more