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Point of View: Becoming Italian

Italian Heart - Deposit Photos

I’m not Italian. Not even a little bit. And yet I speak the language (almost fluently!) and love almost all things Italian (y’all can keep your Timpano). The food, the culture, the history and the people all fascinate me, and some of our best friends are actual Italians living in Italy, whom we talk to on Zoom on a weekly basis. So how did I become (almost) Italian? And why? Back in elementary school, I was fascinated by other cultures, especially Native American ones. I grew up in Tucson, in the heart of the southern Arizona desert, steeped in both … Read more

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Author Spotlight: Jeff Webber

Jeff Webber

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: I am a former Software Engineer who grew up in Richmond Massachusetts, I am now retired and live with my wife and mother-in-law in Western Mass. I have four grown children, one son and three daughters, three of whom still reside in Massachusetts. I have a B.S. in Mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and have done graduate work in both Applied Math and Computer Science. I’ve been an avid reader (mostly Science … Read more

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

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

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Author Spotlight: Roman Godzich

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Author Spotlight: Aldrea Alien

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

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Two Great Reviews for The Gauntlet Runner!

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

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

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