gay authors

Author Interview with Gregory G Allen

July 26, 2012 By Brandon 2 Comments

I’m talking with Gregory G. Allen today. He’s an author, actor, director, and producer. Let’s just put it this way, the only thing he doesn’t have yet is a Booker Prize or a Pulitzer. He’s got four great books out all of which are doing amazingly well (and in multiple genres) and he still has much more to come.

B: We were talking privately before I left to go off on a retreat about gay fiction. I know I get a bit annoyed with the assumption that gay fiction has to include sex in order to be considered in the ‘gay genre,’ and I’ll concede that has started to change from those days when gay fiction was really just gay erotic pulp, but it seems to me that we still have so far to go making everyday gay fiction (verses writing like Hollinghurst) a literary genre that has a bit more depth. Your thoughts? [Read more…] about Author Interview with Gregory G Allen

Author Interview with J. Warren

July 19, 2012 By Brandon 1 Comment

I’m talking with J. Warren today, author of Stealing Ganymede which was a 2009 Indie Book Award Finalist. Like my own books, Ganymede is a harsh fictional look at a disturbing subject matter and one I would recommend for your reading list.

B: I love authors that push buttons, and obviously with Ganymede you are one of those authors. Can you give me a little background as to what brought you to write about child prostitution?

J: Through blogging, prior to Facebook, I met a young man who had been horribly abused his whole life. There was a child prostitution (and worse) ring active the area where he lived, so it didn’t take long for them to get their hands on him. He was able to survive and make it to adulthood and eventual safety, and in the course of our talks, he revealed a lot to me about the world I thought I knew. I was outraged at what I learned, so I started to do some research. The more I learned, the more I knew something had to be done. [Read more…] about Author Interview with J. Warren

Author Interview with Allen Renfro

July 12, 2012 By Brandon 2 Comments

I’m talking with Allen Renfro today, author of The Raised and Snap. Allen, like me, looks at the darker side of things, so I’m sure my own readers will enjoy his work. I certainly did.

B: I know you’re a button pusher, I could tell that just by reading Snap, and the book is certainly a no-holds-barred look at how homophobia affects a person in the most extreme sense. One line stuck with me because I’ve seen its privileged condemnation repeated over and over again (especially recently) in the commentaries and actions of LGBT media about bullying, coming out, and homophobia. What are your thoughts and where did this come from? I see the character that made the statement was actually a homeless gay kid trying to survive on the street. Do think that’s reflective of how homeless LGBTQ kids are perceived or think they’re perceived?

It’s always so easy for someone who’s got it made to think that the scum always chooses the darkness. [Read more…] about Author Interview with Allen Renfro

On Writing: Beginning with the End

April 13, 2012 By Brandon 2 Comments

writing, fiction, the hook The hook in music is the riff that captures the listener and pulls them into the song, the beat and the experience of the music. It’s what gets you humming the tune days later and what brings listeners back to the artist and the memories they experienced when that particular song was playing. It’s one of the things I love about music.

In writing it’s a little different, but no less important. Creating a hook is built on sentences, one leads to another, and another, and another. From my perspective, it’s more like a maze, the further a writer can get you into the maze, the harder it is for you to get out until you reach the end. [Read more…] about On Writing: Beginning with the End