Hey all,
I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this week. I’m a strange and mysterious member of the human race, and there are a number of things you probably don’t know about me. Pictured: Me and my mom, circa 1982-83.
So here it goes:
1) My First Book: My first fiction publication was the story “The Bear at the Bar”, published in 2014 by Dreamspinner in the “A Taste of Honey” anthology. But I was actually published originally in 1986 in the book “Raising Each Other,” a non-fiction title for teens and parents.
2) In the Band: In High School, I was a total band geek. I played the flute for my first two years, and was a part of the Canyon del Oro marching band when they won a Superior rating at the University of Arizona Band Day, an experience that informs the new novella I’m working on, “The Boy in the Band”.
3) My Day Job: Mark and I have a business that we’ve been running since 1998 – Mongoose on the Loose Web Design. We run three directories for the LGBTIQA community – Purple Roofs, Purple Unions, and Gay Realty Network. We are proud of this service to the LGBTIQA community.
4) My First Writing Award: When I was in fourth grade, I won a writing contest for the U of A with an illustrated short story (in crayon) based heavily on the Jetsons. I got the writing bug early.
5) The Sci Fi Bug: I also got bitten by the sci fi bug early on. I was 9 when Star Wars came out, and I begged every relative I had to take me. I saw it seven times in the theater, back in the days when most cinemas had only one or two screens and lines that snaked around the block. Pictured – me that Christmas, holding my cousin Brendan’s Millennium Falcon. I was so fricking jealous until I got my own for my birthday. I also read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in third grade from cover to cover.
6) My Prom Date: In my junior year, I went to the prom with an Amazon. Janine is an amazing woman, and is still a good friend of mine. But she must have been something like ten feet taller than me at the time. 😛
7) I Am The Last One: My family name is Coatsworth. But by a twist of fate, I am the last Coatsworth of my line. My two half brothers were adopted by a different father and changed their last name. My uncle had all girls. And my aunts all took their husband’s last names. So I am the last one. But don’t fear – there are still a few other Coatsworths in the world.
8) All the Jobs: I have worked in almost every part of the publishing business. I started as an author with Hunter House with the aforementioned book “Raising Each Other.” I then went to work for that publisher, doing marketing, promotion and customer service for about $15k a year. From there, I moved on to work for the publisher’s distributor, Publishers’ Group West. And finally I took a job for a couple years at Barnes and Noble – something I enjoyed immensely.
9) Doing the Hula: Mark and I lived in Hawaii for a year – Kauai, specifically – from 2000-2001. It’s a beautiful island, and I will always remember our time there. We lived in a condo on the north shore with an “ocean peek” from our lanai (balcony). POG, anyone?
10) Thin as a Rail: I used to be hella-skinny. Up until the age of 30, I weighed just 130 pounds, and could eat whatever the hell I wanted without gaining weight. I actually worried that I’d never beef up. Needless to say, that’s not the case any more. 😛
I hope you enjoyed this little tour through the annals of Scottness.
It was fun leafing through old pics and memories!