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I recently had a fascinating talk with a relatively new author in our local writer’s group. We all have a bi-monthly lunch together, which gives us time for casual chats about the practice and business of writing. I mentioned that I was an additive writer – that is, that my stories tend to get longer in later drafts, especially in the second, as I smooth out the work and layer in more details about the characters and the world around them. I liken it to an artist who starts with a pencil sketch on canvas, adds the base colors, and … Read more

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: Stephen B. Pearl is a multiple-published author whose works range across the speculative fiction field. His writings focus heavily on the logical consequences of the worlds he crafts. Stephen’s Inspirations encompass H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien, Frank Herbert, and Homer, among others. Stephen uses local settings in his works where appropriate. His Chronicles of Ray McAndrews series, Nukekubi and Revenant, are set in the GHA and surrounding areas. His Tinker’s World series, Tinker’s … Read more

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: Always fascinated with history and literature, as an imaginative child Jay devoured books of all sorts, especially adventure novels. At Miami University he earned an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in English Composition and later a master’s degree from Ohio University. While in school he won an international poetry and began publishing short stories. In 1989 Jay began a successful free-lance writing career providing games and defining new worlds for TSR, Inc. the … Read more

Last week, a new gay male author popped onto the scene on one of the social media sites I frequent, and immediately started taking potshots at women who write gay romance. I won’t go into details or traffic in names here (so please don’t ask), but suffice it to say, his post engendered a flurry of responses. Many of these were thoughtful and measured, trying to engage the poster on an intellectual level, to which he responded with naked fury and out-of-bounds name-calling. I’ve run Queer Sci Fi for almost ten years now, and there’s one subject we never talk … Read more

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

CC Bridges has a new MM contemporary romance out: Better Latte Than Never. And there’s a giveaway. Finn’s love stories always end in death. He’s made millions writing as author Morgan Heart and his fans can’t get enough of his tragic love stories. But a bad breakup results in a killer case of writer’s block, and Finn needs to try something drastic to fix it, like. . .going to a coffee shop to write. There’s got to be a reason it’s a cliche, and in his world, cliches sell. He shouldn’t be flirting with the hot, younger barista. He shouldn’t … Read more