Feeling The Rainbow
It’s Pride month. And unlike other Pride months in the U.S., this one feels like it’s more important than ever to show up and show out. I’ve been enjoying the festivities and the constant stream of LGBTQAI2S+ everything on all the socials. Honestly, it’s making it easier to find things that the algorithms normally don’t bubble to the top of the feeds.
(BTW - if anyone has a great Bi/Pan bookish newsletter, or blog they are following feel free to share in the comments!)
Though I’m feeling a sunny orange or yellow most days, I’d have to say that the news definitely has me seeing red on the regular. We shouldn’t have to be fighting this hard to keep what we fought so hard for to begin with. I do what I can when I can to help with the fight. I donate regularly to Equality Texas to help them keep the fight going. Texas is trying to mirror Florida. I have friends who are leaving the state because of legislation. I’ve been here since 2009, and that my friends, is really getting to me. I came to this state with a lot of hope and found a lot of support and love. The fact that my friends are having to flee, and I might have to consider doing the same has me on the verge of heartbreak. I love my home, and it really sucks that it’s just not showing me and those I care about the same kinda love and pride back. However, there are small things. The pride festivals are fierce and many this year. I’ve been to two already, and plan to go to more. Showing up and showing out for pride or any other events through the year is a form of protest, but lets not forget where we came from.
Being involved in my first writing/author conference as a panalist with WriteHive has me green with pride. It was a lot of fun to record the panels. It was also a great chance to hear other industry folks and their takes on different topics. SO Many Topics! If you can’t find something to watch or listen to from WriteHive, I would be surprised. It was a blast and I would volunteer to do it again in a heartbeat. All of last year’s videos are available on YouTube. And I’m sure they will be organizing to share this year’s videos soon now that the conference is over.
I’m purple with hope knowing that Juneteenth is Monday. I didn’t know about this day until I moved to Texas. The more I learn about it, the more I understand why we need to honor it and show our respect for those who were enslaved and the generations that came after still living with trauma of what colonist visited upon them. Much of what exists today of the U.S. and other countries would not have been possible without brutal horrors of enslavement. The effects of which still plague the U.S. today.
My goal for this year engage with Black owned businesses whenever I can. I retweet a lot of things from Black businesses, authors, and artists, which I’ll continue. Along with writing meaningful and respectful representation in my books to support intersectionality between the Black and Queer community wherever possible.
If you would like to learn how to write meaningful intersectionality, check out Writing The Other on their website, on Patreon, or pick up the Book. If you’d like a quick primer, check out Writing With Color as well.
Wrapping up my very basic rainbow, I have to admit I’m a little blue right now. May was such a whirlwind with the release of Prince’s Tide, and several back to back author events, that I’m only now decompressing. Ideas are flowing, but I’m not jumping back into writing just yet. I’m capturing as much as possible as I think about what readers have asked for over the last year of publishing my stories wide.
The first year anniversary of publishing Rare Temptations will be July. I do have a sequel planned which will have Lee and Freddie as an established couple, showing off more about their businesses, and the couple’s continued dynamic of exploration grounded in consent and love. Along with revisiting some of the key elements that brought them together.
The highly anticipated third book of the Saint George series is written, but needs some additional polish and love before I release it to the world. I’ll say now that this book was a joy to write and the main theme is “Dragons in space!” because why not? We’ll dive right in to Xavior and Greg navigating their relationship along with becoming parents. There are two more books planned in this series. Look forward to The Dragon’s Egg in Spring of 2024.
The sequel to Death Warmed Over was coming along nicely then hit a bit of a development snag. I anticipate that it will take some rewriting to get it into shape. I don’t have a planned release date for this one as of yet, but when it shows up, everyone here will be the first to know.
And for those of you that have read Prince’s Tide, yes there is another book (possibly two) planned for this series. It’s working title is “The Elder’s Squall” - that’s should give a big enough hint as to what direction the book is going in and who might be involved.
We’ll see what shakes out. The only thing definite right now is the third Saint George book. Everything else is a WIP at the moment.
Adding to my blue feeling is the fact that one of my best buddies is going to need knee surgery. Bear is a tough cattle dog, but he’s 12 and chasing rabbits isn’t as easy as it used to be. My focus for the summer will be on his surgery and rehab. It’s going to be pretty intense so I don’t anticipate having a lot of extra time to write. It will have to be catch-as-catch-can. Wish us luck! He’s hearty and healthy for his age so I expect him to pull through just fine. He has his best buddy Lily to help after all.
As always - thank you for reading! AND HAPPY PRIDE!
(Btw, you can find this cutie on all kinds of things here!)
