point of view

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POINT OF VIEW: Pride

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QSAC at Placer Pride

I’ve been to a number of Pride events. Some were huge – like the million-plus events in San Francisco that take six hours to traverse Market Street from downtown to the Capitol. Some were more manageable, like the 45-minute long Sacramento Pride Parade and Festival. And some are almost intimate. But they all celebrate one thing – being proud of who you are. I’ve gotten a little blasé about Pride, and this weekend I got a little reminder of what it really means. I grew up in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. It was a great … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Painting a World

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painter - deposit photos

I’ve spent the last two years, since the depth of the first season of the pandemic, building a new world. When I wrapped up Dropnauts, I had three potential paths for my next project. Coredivers, the sequel to Dropnauts; The Forever Cycle, the missing middle books between The Ariadne Cycle and The Oberon Cycle; and the Tharassas Cycle… a sci-fantasy hybrid building on The Last Run and The Emp Test. I chose the latter, in part because I wanted a palate cleanser from all that sci-fi, and in part because the world of emps and hencha intrigued me. The Last … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Anatomy of a Writing Contest

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writer - pixabay

Nine years ago, Angel, Ben and I stuck our heads together to come up with an idea to bring some publicity to the Queer Sci Fi group and site. We hit upon a flash fiction contest, themed around a single word, and the annual QSF flash fiction contest was born. The theme that first year was “Endings,” and we got a grand total of fifteen entries! We chose a winner, announced it with a bunch of fanfare, and moved on. Now, nine years later, the contest has grown and grown. We had our largest year in 2021 with 384 submissions, … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Really (Non) Traditional Book Sales

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books money - deposit photos

Publishing used to be simple. You either got a traditional publisher, who worked with you to edit the book, hired a cover designer, got everything into ship-shape, and then sent it off to a printer for 3,000, 5,000, 50,000, or even a million copies (if your last name happened to be Asimov or King or Collins). Then you sat back and waited for the royalties to roll in. Or you did all that yourself, and hired a local Kinkos or “vanity press” to print up your own copies, which went into the trunk of your car for you to schlep … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: What Matters

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Thoughtful

I want an agent. I want a big publisher, a Netflix deal (or maybe HBO Max). And eventually, a little world domination would be nice too. I want people to read what I write and tell their friends, and for them to tell their friends too, until hundreds of thousands of readers know my name and my work. I want the world to know my name. And I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s quite possible that none of those things will ever happen. It’s a clarifying moment. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Back at the Con (or Trying to Be Zen)

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zen meditation man - deposit photos

The in person events are coming. I plan to attend two Pride festivals and a Sci-Fi con in the next two-and-a-half months – and I’m totally zen about it. I have books to sell, the sales licenses corralled, and I am totally ready to–WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? A live event? Like, face to face with other PEOPLE? In the middle of a PANDEMIC? I must be INSANE. And yet… there’s a growing part of me (no snickers from the peanut gallery, please) that IS excited about the prospect. Being around other people, finally getting to sell the books … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Things That Bring Me Joy

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Boba Tea

Hey all, I’m sick of doom and gloom, war, disease, politics and sadness. So I’m falling back on an old fave – things that bring me joy. Bobba (Bubble) Tea: I’m not sure where I first discovered this delectable beverage, but I’ve always loved drinks I could chew (anyone else remember Orbitz water)? I first discovered boba in a tea shop in Portland, Oregon, and ordered the “Obama Honey” – milk, tea, honey, and boba. For those who’ve never tried it, boba are slightly sweet balls of tapioca, and it’s served with an extra large straw that lets you suck … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Just Keep Climbing

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Helping Hand - Deposit Photos

Writing is hard, y’all. And I’m not just talking about the actual typing-words-onto-paper part. Which, yeah, is hard enough – trying to keep a million ideas and a plethora of characters, plot points, and locations in your head, and then spewing them out onto the page in a pleasing order. You also need to advocate for yourself – finding publishers and agents and review opportunities, and putting yourself and your work out there in a way that makes many of us want to scream and retreat into our quiet, happy little writer caves. That’s why it’s so vital that we … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Pivot Points

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fork in the road - deposit photos

In most fictional tales, the character(s) face a pivotal choice that will change everything. It can be as simple as deciding to declare your love in public for a secret crush. Or as big and bold as stealing the US Constitution (so-so movie, cool premise). Whatever the choice, it changes the course of the plot and impacts everything that comes after. Life is like that too. I was born to two loving parents. Well, they loved me but not each other. They divorced when I was little, and my mother got custody. My dad saw me on weekends, and things … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Lemons

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Lemons - Pixabay

“When Life gives you lemons…” Life has given us a lot of lemons lately. There’s a war on in Europe. There’s a never-ending plague. My writing career seems to be stalled in second gear, as I try to finish a trilogy that has consumed my life for nigh on two years. And real estate prices are raging like a five-alarm fire here in Sacramento. It’s dawning on us that we will probably never own a home again. All of this fills me like a fog on a cold winter’s day. Somehow I need to have hope. Somehow I need to … Read more