point of view – Page 26 – J. Scott Coatsworth

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POINT OF VIEW: He’s Gone

January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 by scott

WARNING: This is a bit raw and intense. Read at your own risk. He was the first boy I ever wanted. He was the first boy who wanted me. He was my first. On October 23rd, 2009, Damon Nicholson was brutally murdered by a man who had slept with him the night before. He was beaten with a baseball bat in his own home so the man and his accomplice could take his electronics and sell them for drug money. I didn’t know this. I had been thinking about him for the last few days, and last Saturday I decided … Read more

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Point of View: Writer’s Wait

December 18, 2017 by scott

Hey all, I just spent the last three weeks agonizing over the plot for “Ithani” – the last book in my Oberon Cycle trilogy. I’m dealing with eight major characters, trying to deliver on the romance piece for a third time, and planning wrap up all of the loose ends by the end of the book. I’ve sat down to outline things on a couple occasions, and nothing felt quite right. It’s like trying to stuff yourself into a pair of jeans that’s three sizes too small–it felt forced, and just sat there on the page, taunting me with its … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Things I’m Thankful For

November 27, 2017 by scott

Hey all, In light of the fact that Thanksgiving has just come and gone, I thought I would reflect on the things I am thankful for as a writer. First and foremost, my husband Mark, who has always been supportive of my writing, and who gave me the kick in the ass to get things going again, back in 2013. Love you! Second, I am grateful that I somehow was given the talent to write, and that the ideas don’t stop coming. I am grateful for my wide circle of writerly and readerly friends, especially my QSF co-admins Angel Martinez … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: A Good Beta

November 20, 2017 by scott

Hey all, I just got the last of my beta reads back for “The Rising Tide,” the sequel to “”The Stark Divide.” If you don’t know what a beta reader is, it’s someone who reads an author’s story and gives it a critical review before the author submits the book to the publisher, giving us the chance to fix any egregious errors or plot misfires before the editors see the story. I love my beta readers. I hate my beta readers. It’s a private joke between Angel and us that, just once, I want my beta readers to all agree … Read more

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PODCAST: Hanging Out With Jeff & Will

November 13, 2017 by scott

Hey all, This last week, I got to spend half an hour with the infamous Jeff & Will – talking about QRI, QSFm and my latest release, “The Stark Divide.” Love these guys! Check it out here: Big Gay Fiction Podcast – Episode 110 – J. Scott Coatsworth interview, Book & Music Reviews plus Holiday Giveaway Announcement

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POINT OF VIEW: Zombies in River City

October 30, 2017 by scott

Hey all, I am working my way through my consistency edit for “The River City Chronicles.” Yeah, I know, hobgoblin of little minds, and all that. But in a work of fiction, consistency is king. And in a serial story, it can be especially difficult to maintain, because a) it’s written over a relatively long period of time, and b) each chapter is published and essentially set in stone almost right away, so it’s harder to go back and fix things. And for me, c) I jumped into this too quickly, didn’t get a good head start, and took lousy … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Calm Before the Storm

October 9, 2017 by scott

Hey all, Tomorrow is the release day for “The Stark Divide,” the queer sci fi book that launches my Liminal Sky series. All the preparations have been made. The Incredibly Massive Blog Tour ™ is ready to go. And I’ve done everything I can to see that the book will be a success. Now I wait, suspended in that weird space between preparation and release, before I know if the reviewers will love it or hate it. Before I know if it will sell. Before I know if this is another step on the path to writerly success, or a … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: I Wanna Write That Instead!

September 25, 2017 by scott

Hey all, I’m on a serious deadline for my novel “The Rising Tide.” It’s going well, I think. But… See, there’s this other story I wanna write, which would be due on 10/1. It’s short, and I could probably do it in 3-6 days. I even had a bit of inspiration. But… Like I said, I have a deadline. And I don’t wanna lose momentum on my novel, which has a hard deadline. What would you do? Stick to your deadline? Write the other story to get it out of your system? Invent a time machine and go back a … Read more

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Point of View: The One Thing I Need

September 18, 2017 by scott

Hey all, There are times when, as a writer, you get worn down. Sometimes it’s the writing itself. You back yourself into a corner, or your characters suck, or your plot isn’t so much a straight line as a thicket of foxtails. Sometimes it’s other events in your life – the death of a loved one, problems at your job, natural disasters, or health issues that just make it so hard to just sit down and get the words out. Whatever the cause, sometimes it’s hard to be bold and creative and fresh and witty. Sometimes you just want to … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: I Destroyed the Earth

September 11, 2017 by scott

Hey all, I’ve recently noticed a clear change in the tone of my writing about the future. A few years ago, I had a pretty optimistic view of how things would go. The US and a bunch of other countries signed the Paris Accord on climate change, finally getting serious about what was happening to our planet, even if it was just a first step. Marriage equality became the law of the land here in the USA and in a number of other countries. And changing demographics meant the Republican Party and all its retrograde ways would soon become marginalized, … Read more