Summer, With An Edge

Summer's here. Wet, green, soft. But watch those blades of ormamental grasses. They can cut like a saw. Ah, that edge, the unexpected tear in a balmy day. The flower you cup to bring close, the flower that hides the bee.

Any day now, the third of the series of "seasonal" anthologies will be released from Elephant's Bookshelf  Press. Following Spring Fevers and The Fall: Tales from the Apocalypse, EBP will present its newest, and largest (two volumes):

Summer's Edge and Summer's Double Edge.

Full disclosure. My interest in the first two anthologies came about largely from my involvement with the wonderful writing/publishing community, Agent Query Connect, an amazing group of talented, caring, supportive, helpful people. Fun people. I wanted to taste their work. I was not disappointed.

Now I'm very happy to have a short story of mine in Summer's Double Edge.

President and Chief Elephant Office, Matt Sinclair, has edited all three anthologies, and, as word has spread, the quantity and quality of submissions for the summer anthology demanded two volumes. Twice as many delicious bites (stings?) of summer, that shortest of seasons, like many relationships. Every good thing must end, right?

Ironically, this has come about for me when I'd decided that I would not pursue the traditional path. That inclination solidified for me into a definite choice when, upon receiving a rejection from an agent on a full submission request for my novel, I breathed a deep sigh of relief.  Whew. No one breathing down my neck but me.

So I've tended my gardens, I've written as I've wanted (which hasn't, for a human gestation period, included posting to me own blog here,) and I've been a happy guy.

I don't know, really, much about this soon-to-be-released anthology, but I can't wait to read it. Okay, I'm kinda excited to see my story in print, too. But if the diversity is as wide-ranging as the previous two, and I can't imagine otherwise, it will be like Mrs. Gump's box of chocolates, only with some very surprising centers.

Branding Your Writer's Self

I resist the idea of making "a brand" of myself and my work, but they say I must. We all must. So how do you accomplish that when it feels like shoeboxing an entire wardrobe?

I've written before about finding one's niche as a writer. About finding your tribe. Speaking specifically to your audience.

My tribe would be humans moved by humanity, what makes us and drives us. And what may lie beyond our human perception or comprehension.

As a writer, the first part of that statement would have me writing literary fiction. The second part puts me firmly in the speculative fiction camp.

I'm a split personality. And to that duality, I have to add a third: being a gay man with a desire to be a voice in that tribe. So I'm a writer of gay literary speculative fiction? Try to find that section of your local bookstore.

See, here's the thing. I love good horror, but I hate the often cheesy places it goes. I love the idea of alien interaction, ancient or current, in, upon, or among humans, but I don't always love reading science fiction. And while I would love to be one more author making gay characters an integrated part of everyday life, I don't want to limit myself to gay fiction. And I don't want to write gay "issue" stories. There are plenty of those.

So, shouldn't we speak to those with whom we'd love to speak, who would like to speak with us? People who are moved by or interested in what moves us to write? And wouldn't that, shouldn't that be found in what we like to read?

Well, no shit.

What moves me in reading, besides beautifully crafted images, language that sings, is what's amazing and beautiful and heartbreaking and brave and heroic about the human experience.

That can be found in fantasy worlds, of course, but I prefer to write about the world I know, with elements of speculation, because I love "what if…?" And if the suppositions are about horrific possibilities, well, I'm there, too. Bring it on.

So, back to branding. I think I prefer variations on a theme. But that's just me. And where's the niche?  Can I be an author of Speculative Gay Literary Fiction?  Author of Gay Literary Speculative Fiction? Or gay author of Literary Speculative Fiction? Yeah, show me that shelf.

Hello? Gay and gay-friendly wonderers, are you there? Can we talk about our fears, hopes, disappointments, tragedies, and joys? About what brings us together and tears us apart? About what makes all of us human? And, in some cases, decidedly not human? What I can bring to the party is a slew of good questions, some deep, some silly, some sad, some scary, and some without answers—at least from our limited view. We are, after all, only humans.

Or are we brands?

What say you?