point of view

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Point of View: On the Downhill Run

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downhill skiing - deposit photos

Over the last decade that I’ve been a serious writer (defined as someone who loses sleep at least three nights a week because their writer brain won’t shut up), I’ve become accustomed to the various stages of my writing projects. There’s the initial honeymoon phase, where I’m convinced I have a fantastic idea and nothing is going to stop me from writing this amazing book that everyone will be clamoring to read. Then there’s the coasting phase, when everything is running smoothly. Sure, it’s not as exciting as it was at the get-go, but the story is unfolding nicely, and … Read more

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Point of View: The Real Meaning of Pride

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I spent the weekend with some dear friends of mine… six of the other authors in our Queer Sacramento Authors Collective group. It was Sacramento Pride weekend, and it was a bit crazy, especially on Saturday morning. On the same day, there were three hge events planned in Downtown: the first day of the Sac Pride Festival, the No Kings Rally one block away at the Capitol, and the UC Davis graduation two blocks away at the King’s basketball stadium. Parking was at a premium, and we arrived four hours before the opening time to make sure we snagged a … Read more

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Point of View: Writing With My Mouth

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mouth - deposit photos

I don’t have enough time to write. To be fair, this is a perennial problem. Most recently, it’s been related to the many hours I poured into the Sacramento Book Festival which happened a week and a half ago, and also to the other weekend events during Pride Season that I attend, and where I manage a table for our local Queer Sacramento Authors Collective group. So I’ve been scrounging for more writng time. A few days a week, I walk over to meet Mark at the Starbucks on the Sacramento State campus. These solo walks take 15-20 minutes, and … Read more

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Point of View: What I Learned At the Book Festival

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Sacramento Book Festival

Well, it’s over. The Second Annual (and first full) Sacramento Book Festival has been consigned to the history books. And oh what a festival it was. We were hoping for great weather – the average temperature in Sacramento on May 31st is 87 degrees, so we had good reason to think it would be comfortable shirtsleeves weather. Instead, we got the hottest May 31st in the city in 100 years. Because of course we did. And still, despite the heat, they came. People crammed into the charming (but a little small) Shepard Garden and Arts Center – over 5,000 of … Read more

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Point of View: What I Learned (So Far) From Building a Book Festival

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construction - deposit photos

Last spring, I was invited to be a part of a new book festival in Sacramento. It was a modest effort – about 20 authors under 10×10 canopies, tacked onto the end of a local farmer’s market. It was a success – we all sold a decent number of books, and some folks came 200 miles for the event. A month or two later, we decided to do it all again, but for real this time, and launched ourselves into a nine-month odyssey that comes to fruition this coming weekend. So I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve … Read more

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Point of View: Adrift

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river - deposit photos

And the river flowsI am never gonna get it back againAnd the river flowsI am never gonna take it back again… “Take Me Back”, by Erasure Sometimes a song speaks to you in an unexpected way, and the music unlocks something you’ve been feeling for a long time, but couldn’t quite name. Our world is in a state of flux, where everything we thought we knew is being questioned, threatened, and overturned. Most of us just want to go back to the way things used to be, when we were standing on what we thought was solid ground. As I … Read more

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Point of View: Something We Can Do!

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Sacramento LGBT Center

Something a little different today, For the last few months, I’ve felt as if I was trapped in a never-ending vortex of horrible news, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I have felt depressed, dejected and powerless, as I’m sure many of you have too. Then ever so slowly, things have started to shift. More people standing together and fighting back. And there have been glimmering signs of hope. Then a few days ago, this landed in my email inbox, from my friend Luis at the Sacramento LGBT Center: “On March 24, the federal government abruptly … Read more

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Point of View: Putting On a Book Festival

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Sacramento Book Festival Logo

About a year ago, I was asked to participate in a local book festival. It was a trial “pop-up” event – twelve booths attached to an existing farmer’s market. There were about twenty authors there, and although it was never really busy, we all sold a decent number of books. It was clear that there was a hunger for this kind of event here in Sacramento. Flash forward to today. We’re a month-and-a-half out from launching our second annual Sacramento Book Festival on May 31st, and this one’s gonna be way bigger – 140 authors, bookstores, local writing and literacy … Read more

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Point of View: What a Real Man Is

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smug man with crown on head - deposit photos

This week a new word popped into my awareness, one that’s probably been circulating for a while, and one that comes from a worldview that has become almost omnipresent in its injection into our daily lives. See, it’s the straight white men who are oppressed. Women, gays, democrats and trans folk have been telling them for far too long that they can’t just be men and do manly things, like oppressing women, gays, democrats and trans folk. It’s really unfair. And now the combination of our hyper-masculine co-presidents, the crypto bros, the Andrew Tates of the world and all the … Read more

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Point Of View: Let the Rain Wash Me Clean

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teen in the rain - deposit photos

I was sitting at my desk about half an hour ago, when I heard something outside. I opened the blinds and peered out, and a decent rain was falling out of the sky. Within a couple minutes it built into a thunderous crescendo, pummeling the roof above, like a hundred drummers beating on tautly stretched hides. It was mesmerizing. The rain has passed, and now there are patches of blue sky outside. And while we know the rain will come again, maybe as soon as this afternoon, for now the air is crisp and clean, and the world feels new … Read more