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Interview with Author Rory Michaelson

Rory Michaelson (they/them) is the author of the multi-indie-award winning Lesser Known Monsters books, a queer dark fantasy series with a diverse found-family cast. Rory is always too busy but rarely doing the things they ought to be. They are generally a solitary creature that can often be found hunched over their laptop eating cookies in London, England.

Tiktok: @RoryMichaelson
Twitter: @RoryMichaelson
Website: rorymichaelson.com
Instagram: @Rory_Michaelson_Author

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Thank you so much! I feel welcomed. I’m very much an introvert (though publishing demands I pretend otherwise on social media). I’m queer, neurodivergent, non-binary, and love writing stories. It’s something that allows me to connect with other people in a really special way. If I can make you laugh on one page and cry on the next, I’ve done my job–but if I can make you laugh and cry at the same time, even better. Interesting fact: though I write about monsters and darker themes, I am too scared to watch most horror films (but do need to read the full synopsis of every horror film I hear about on Wikipedia and look at the cast to know what happens to each character!).

Congratulations on your very successful series, Lesser Known Monsters! Could you tell us what it’s about and where the idea for the book came from?

Oh I don’t know about ‘very successful!’ Maybe if there’s ever a TV adaptation or something? Lesser Known Monsters has found quite a few people that it really connects with that tend to be loud about how much they love it. That’s my favourite kind of success, really though. 

The Lesser Known Monsters series follows a character called Oscar Tundale who is “entirely average in many ways and less than average in more.” Oscar gets dragged into an investigation of his workplace crush and discovers that not only do monsters exist but for some reason they’re very interested in him. Now, the fate of the world is in Oscar’s dithering hands, and the best he can do is try to not end it by mistake.

With Lesser Known Monsters I really wanted to give urban legends and folk-lore some love and send people into google-loops to learn even more about them. I often find traditional ‘hero’s journey’ and ‘chosen one’ narratives a bit uninspiring and tired, so writing Oscar–who is far from heroic–gave me an exciting angle into that world. Because he’s overwhelmingly human, I got to explore the world of monsters through a character who struggles with his own agency being faced with difficult situations. The stakes of the story in terms of events might be apocalyptic, but the heart of it is absolutely Oscar finding his own kind of strength, even if it doesn’t seem like much to others.

As a writer, what drew you to writing LGBTQ+ fiction, especially that intended for mature audiences?

As a queer person who grew up in section 28 in the UK I was very starved of representation. I was a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and when Willow and Tara kissed it was like an awakening. I got to see queerness brought into a world and characters that I loved, and it made my existence feel more possible. When young people don’t get to see characters like them, I think it really impacts the growth of their identity. I don’t think I really hit what should have been my ‘teens’ until my early twenties. This made that sort of ‘new adult’ phase an incredibly important growth period in my life and one I wanted to try and represent. I remember hearing V.E. Schwab talk about how when she writes, she does it for a very specific version of herself, so I wrote Lesser Known Monsters for that tired and fragile adult version of Rory that was struggling to figure things out. As creators we put parts of ourselves in our work, and we also are gifted with the chance to create a place for others, too. Now I get to help other people feel like their existence is more possible, just like Willow and Tara did for me. 

Since Geeks OUT is a queer centered website, could you tell us a bit about the LGBTQ+ characters featured in your books?

I really wanted to center the story on a small found-family that was representative of a few different parts of our community. The main character is a gay man, and his best friends are a lesbian (Zara) and a trans man (Marcus). All of the characters come into the story fully realised in terms of their queer identity. Queer trauma and coming-out narratives are super important, but I wanted to write stories with queer leads that were just getting into trouble and experiencing peril and joy of a different variety! We later get to meet bi/pan, and non-binary characters who play important roles, and there’s a variety of different romance pairings throughout the cast. Personality wise, I really wanted to create a group that, whilst they were all very different from each other and at times argued or fought, they offered a real sense of belonging both together as a group and to the people reading.

Were there any books that touched you or inspired you growing up? 

I don’t think I really found books that spoke deeply to me until I was quite a lot older, maybe even in my thirties. When I was a teenager I mostly remember reading a lot of Buffyverse books, and then moving onto The Wheel of Time. Interesting that these both have a lot of found family vibes, right? I didn’t really get access to queer literature until I was older–at least not without the sense of shame around it that had been forced on it and me whilst I was growing up. I try to read a lot of stories now that nourish my inner teen and find that incredibly healing; reading the books today that I wish I’d have been able to read when I was growing up. I’ve started writing YA too, which adds a whole new layer to that. This is why a lot of authors joke about writing being cheaper than therapy, huh?

Where did you get your start in creative writing? What pulled you to fiction?

Fanfic! I used to write secret stories about my favourite TV shows but make the characters queer–creating my own representation since I couldn’t get it elsewhere. I think I stopped doing that when I was about sixteen. Then I was wrapped up in the drama of college and university and things, then went into a career in science, so all my writing became of a strictly academic nature. I don’t think I did any creative writing at all then for maybe fifteen years, until I finally found myself in a space to start rampantly consuming media that primarily focused on queer characters. It was incredibly revitalising and refilled a creative well inside me that I didn’t really know existed anymore.

I’ve always gravitated toward fiction. I love the escapism and adventure of it all. I suppose transplanting personal parts of ourselves to characters into fantastical settings and putting them through grueling, thrilling, and liberating experiences is a way for us to find a different sort of satisfaction that which we consider ‘mundane’ at a safe distance. It just scratches that itch that I can’t quite reach otherwise.

What’s something you haven’t done as a writer that you’d like to do?

Because of the little snippets I put in chapter breaks in Lesser Known Monsters (which feature things like poems or doodles) I technically became not only a published author, but illustrator and poet, too. This is hilarious to me because I think I’m pretty awful at the latter two things. Honestly though, I’d also love to be invited to things like events and panels. It’s quite a challenging prospect for me (as I’m very anxious and shy), but one I’d also really love to explore more. In terms of writing, I’m working on a book with a non-binary main character which I’m really excited to share in the future as I think it’s something we need more of, and also something which is really fulfilling for me to create.

The second book in the series, The Bone Gate, deals with a world wide illness, was that inspired from the COVID-19 pandemic? 

It doesn’t feature much! Early on in The Bone Gate, I mention that there’d been a pandemic following the events of the first book, but never really elaborate (beyond a little speculation of the magical-realism variety). It was mostly because I wrote it amidst the height of COVID-19 and it seemed strange to completely separate the world I was writing from the world we live in. I think the characters having experienced that event provides a grounding for relatable context within the narrative for readers. The pandemic was a life changing event for lots of us, so showing an echo of that in my story allows people another step closer to being tethered inside the characters heads, but it also doesn’t feature enough to be distressing.

Your main couple, Oscar and Dmitri, exhibit a few common tropes in their relationship, but you also seem to be having them grow beyond that. Was that all planned out? Or did it change as you wrote them?

Yes! I love tropes, but even more I love subverting them. One of my guilty pleasures is taking something that people expect and understand and giving it to them until they’re about to get sick of it, then revealing that it was actually something else all along. Lesser Known Monsters was the perfect story to do that with. I honestly don’t think that what I’m doing really starts to hit hard until the middle of the series, which I realise is pretty risky, but I’m so happy with how the series turned out all put together. I’m very much a discovery writer, so I like to let my stories run wild as I create them, but most of the big character and plot notes I absolutely had in mind from the beginning. There’s quite a lot of foreshadowing throughout–even from small occurrences in book one that pick up again in the finale. 

Are there any projects you are currently working on and are at liberty to speak about?

I actually have two books finished that I’m querying with agents at present! They’re both YA and sit within different shades of horror. The first is my spin on one of my favourite movies ever The Mummy, and features a queer autistic librarian as the lead. The other is about trying to rescue all of the queer characters killed off in stories before their time with a Happy Death Day meets Addie Larue sort of vibe. I’m also working on a few other things in earlier stages. A YA horror about a sleep paralysis demon, an adult fantasy about steampunk sky pirates with superpowers, a heist, and perhaps a standalone foray back into the Lesser Known Monsters universe from a different angle…

Aside from writing, what do you enjoy doing in your free time? 

So much of my time is spent balancing overstimulation and understimulation. I work a full-time day job and spend just as much time on my writing work as I do there, but I also love playing video games (Dead by Daylight, and recently Baldurs Gate 3). I’m also a big fan of traveling and holidays (though I usually need a few weeks and a spreadsheet to prepare myself and spend almost all my time when I’m there writing). That’s all quite a lot, isn’t it? Sometimes I just lie under blankets holding my big plushie bulbasaur and close my eyes.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors/creators would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

There are so many incredible creators out there that I’m terrified of missing someone amazing out. Terry J. Benton-Walker is doing incredible things in YA (Blood Debts) and MG (Alex Wise) with rich and heartbreakingly brilliant storytelling and vivid characters. Adam Sass is another one that somehow destroys and nourishes me in equal parts with amazing YA stories like Surrender Your Sons and Your Lonely Nights are Over. Both of them have such wickedly addictive writing but also descriptive and exciting voices.  I’m also a huge fan of Jonny Garza Villa (Ander & Santi Were Here), A.J. White (Hell Followed With Us), Xiran Jay Zhao (Iron Widow), Kalynn Bayron (You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight), and V.E. Schwab (The Shades of Magic). I also beg people to check out indie and self-pub authors which have so many diverse voices that bring new and exciting perspectives and imaginative stories you won’t find in other places. Check out books by Tiny Ghost Press who are an indie imprint specialising in Queer YA fiction, and also explore work by authors like Jayme Bean (Untouched), Gabriel Hargrave (The Orchid & The Lion), and Gideon Wood (The Stagsblood Trilogy) among so many others!

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Interview with Lyndall Clipstone, Author of Unholy Terrors

Lyndall Clipstone writes about monsters and the girls who like to kiss them. A former youth librarian who grew up running wild in the Barossa Ranges of South Australia, she currently lives in Adelaide, Australia, where she tends her own indoor secret garden. She is the author of Lakesedge and Forestfall.

I had the opportunity to interview Lyndall, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi! Thank you for having me. I’m Lyndall Clipstone, author of the World at the Lake’s Edge duology and the upcoming Unholy Terrors. I live in Adelaide, Australia, in a 100-year-old cottage with my partner, our sons, and a shy black cat. I love all things dark, arty, and spooky. When I’m not writing you can find me immersed in a video game or drinking a big cup of espresso coffee.

What can you tell us about your latest book, Unholy Terrors? What was the inspiration for this story?

Unholy Terrors is a standalone dark fantasy where Everline Blackthorn, a holy warrior unable to work the necromantic magic of her sect, must team up with the monstrous boy she’s sworn to kill, for the chance to discover what really happened to her traitorous mother seventeen years ago.

It’s my gothic fever dream with intense Sofia Coppola vibes; lush, lyrical, aesthetic, and intensely romantic. I was inspired by a range of things: Gideon the Ninth, particularly the delightfully prickly relationship between Gideon and Harrow, Lost Souls which is the OG goth, vampiric romance story written in delectable prose, and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, particularly the scene where Rey and Kylo Ren set aside their differences to fight side by side.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically speculative fiction?

I’ve always loved to write, and storytelling is an enormous part of how I make sense of my emotions. Especially as a young adult, a time in my life where I felt quite adrift, immersing myself into books and writing provided so much solace. I love the endlessness of possibilities with speculative fiction, and how I can use things like magic, or monsters, or body horror as a lens through which to examine the real world.

How would you describe your writing process?

A mixture of organization and chaos, which is how I approach life in general, haha. I’ll start with plenty of vibes: playlists and moodboards and reading lists form a huge part of my early brainstorming. I like to have a loose outline before I start writing, and aim to visualize at least three key moments of the book very clearly. But as I draft, I will change things based on how I feel; new ideas always come up as I write and I let instinct guide the direction of the story.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

The works of Australian YA authors Margot Lanagan and Sonya Hartnett were immensely influential to me, particularly Tender Morsels and The Devil Latch. And Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls was the book of my teenage heart.

As an adult, two books which will always be special to me are The Secret History by Donna Tartt and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I will reread them each at least once a year, and I have a collection of different editions which I treasure.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

I’m very visually inspired. I love cinema – some of my favorite directors are Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, Ari Aster, and Guillermo del Toro. I also love watching music videos – Florence + the Machine’s MVs are amazing.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I love writing romance scenes, or big moments of emotional introspection. Anything character focused. I adore the lyricism of prose, too, so any scenes where I can create an evocative atmosphere with descriptions are always very enjoyable.

The most challenging part of writing for me is the emotional self-care side of author life. Letting the story go, knowing it belongs to the readers, and coming to terms with the fact that it’s impossible to make anything I write “perfect” because there’s no such thing.

Many authors would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helped you accomplish this?

I wish there was a magic answer for how to finish a book but I think it’s just persistence. There is so little we can control in publishing, but we do control the writing. Showing up and putting down the words is one of the few things completely in our hands.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I’m an illustrator and drew all of the artwork that appears inside of Lakesedge, Forestfall, and Unholy Terrors.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Which monster first made me want to write about monster romances. It was Hannibal Lecter. I’m completely obsessed with Thomas Harris’ novels and the 1991 Silence of the Lambs film particularly, but the tv show and the Hannigram ship also have rights.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

I’ve always tried to treat writing like a job, even before I was published or agented, and set aside dedicated work hours to spend writing. Give yourself permission to value yourself as an author, regardless of what stage of career you are in. You deserve to carve out time for creativity.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Next year, I have my first ever short story, Cryptophasia, publishing in Neon Hemlock’s Crawling Moon anthology. It’s a dark academia homage to Bertolucci’s The Dreamers and is my first published adult work. And I may or may not have a few more book-shaped secrets which I hope to share soon!

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

I’ll never stop raving about With Fire in Their Blood by Kat Delacorte, which is a dark contemporary fantasy written in delicious prose and featuring the messiest, most chaotic bisexual love triangle ever.

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Interview with St, Illustrator of English translations for The Husky and His White Cat Shizun and Remnants of Filth

St., aka Suto, is a Taiwanese-American illustrator with an anime-inspired art style. They are the illustrator for the English translations for The Husky and His White Cat Shizun and Remnants of Filth both by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, and have provided artwork for the Barnes and Nobles edition of Scum Villain’s Self Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. When they’re not busy drawing, they’re busy playing video games and sleeping. They are currently set to illustrate the English translations for Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang Jiu Qing.

I had the opportunity to interview St., which you can read below.

All statements and opinions are my own (St.) and do not represent Seven Seas or JJWXC.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi hi, thank you so much for having me, it’s an honor! I’m Suto, also known as St., a Taiwanese-American illustrator/dreamer/cat, dog, and fox lover.

How would you describe what you do professionally and creatively?

I’m a mostly independent artist who does illustrative work and other small jobs for a bunch of things. What I do is nothing crazy, haha. Some of the things I’m working on I can’t say much on, so apologies for the boring answer!

Meanwhile, during my free time, I like to doodle and write down stories and ideas for my original characters.

What drew you to illustrating? Could you describe your artistic background for us?

I’ve been drawing and doing all sorts of creative-related things since I was able to pick up a pencil, but I don’t really have any formal artistic training. The highest level of art education I’ve received was an art elective during high school.

Actually, I was offered a scholarship to an art program back when I was applying to colleges. But I ended up not accepting it… instead, I became an English literature major while doing a minor in East Asian Studies. Even funnier is that my focus was/is Japan, and not China, so it’s a little funny I ended up as an illustrator for historical Danmei works.

As someone known for their work illustrating the English translations for The Husky and His White Cat Shizun  and Remnants of Filth both by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou, what draws you to this author’s work?

At first it was the interesting plots with all the twists and turns, but then it was definitely the characters that kept me drawn into Meatbun’s writing. I’m pretty sure the cast in Husky is my favorite cast of characters out of all the Danmei stories I read. Also, the humor! I think Meatbun’s works are really well known for angst (for a good reason!) but the comedy had me stifling laughs at 2 AM when I stayed up reading.

What are your thoughts on the current danmei (Chinese genre of literature and other fictional media that features romantic relationships between male characters) publishing field and fandom?

Regarding the publishing field for Danmei, I cannot offer much. All I can say is that it is a complicated and difficult business, so I wish fans would be a little more understanding and patient when it comes to official international releases.

Fandom-wise… It is also difficult to express all my thoughts. As with all fandoms, there are pros and cons.

For Danmei specifically, there are issues of culture appropriation, fetishization (whether intentional or not), misinformation, and so on.

But on the other side, people can be very very supportive and excited when it comes to Danmei. There’s just tons of creativity spilling out from fanworks shared online and other sorts of positivity. I’ve been seeing more and more people (re)connecting with their Chinese background and history, as well as others wishing to learn more about Chinese culture thanks to Danmei – which is always a delight to see!

What are some of your favorite danmei or queer Chinese titles in general?

Mo Du by Priest

Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang Jiu Qing

Here U Are by Djun

Tamen De Gushi by Tan Jiu

As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration? 

I’m always admiring and being influenced by various and fellow artists online on sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, pixiv, etc.

But to list a few more inspirations:

-My family

-Character arts from mobages (mobile games) such as Granblue Fantasy and Fate/Grand Order

-Behind-the-scenes concept works from basically anything, such as games to live-action movies

-Chinese shanshui and Japanese ukiyo-e style artworks

-Costumes and historical dress from various cultures, although I’ve been focused primarily on China these days due to my work. The Ming Dynasty is my favorite fashion-wise, and the history of some of the fashion choices is incredibly fascinating too.

-Various types of music ranging from Gufeng and Qinqiang styles to niche EDM

-Touhou Project

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)? 

There isn’t any specific question that I’d like to be asked, I think. But if there’s a topic that I’d like to be asked about and that I could go on and on talking about it’d probably be about my original characters haha… I will spare the interview from my rambling, though!

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want people to know about you?

I love cats and think they are super cute, but I’ve only ever had dogs and probably will only raise dogs in my life. I’m allergic to mangos. One of my hobbies is doing research, so I have a love-hate relationship with academic databases. I truly believe the old animated Barbie movies are some of the peakest/most peak(?) fiction to exist. Also, I think everyone should read The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono at least once in their lifetime.

As an illustrator, what advice would you give to aspiring creatives? 

Health-wise, remember to regularly stretch and take breaks. Many of us creatives have terrible and unhealthy lifestyle habits, so don’t forget to drink and eat regularly (setting up alarms helps sometimes…). And also try to get as much sleep as you can no matter how busy you may be. I often joke about staying up all night and having to rush to deadlines, but in reality, I do try to get as much sleep as possible.

Creative-wise, I think it’s good to take a look at other things or do something unrelated to your creative work from time to time, and not just do the stuff you like. Such as taking walks outside in nature, watching YouTube lectures or documentaries on a bunch of different things, going to a science museum, and so on.

Making art takes a lot of brain power, so it’s easy to get stuck. I think it’s always important to take breaks from thinking creatively and let yourself have a breather.

Are there any projects you are working on or thinking about that you are able to discuss?

There are a few things I’m working on now that I cannot reveal at the time of this interview, but I’m excited for when it gets revealed publicly.

As for a more personal project, I’ve been working on a series of original character illustrations inspired by the Chinese 24 Solar Terms. At first, it was just something I decided on a whim and I wasn’t really that serious about. But I’m now halfway done, so I’m quite proud that I’ve gotten so far and pushed myself to do this illustration series. I might do something similar but simpler next year though…

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/ authors/artists would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

Until I Met My Husband by Ryousuke NanasakiMy Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata

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Interview with Natalie Caña, Author of A Dish Best Served Hot

Natalie Caña writes contemporary romances that allow her to incorporate her witty sense of humor and her love for her culture (Puertominican whoop whoop!) for heroines and heroes like her. A PROPOSAL THEY CAN’T REFUSE is her debut novel.

I had the opportunity to interview Natalie, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Hi all, I’m Natalie Caña (pronounced K-ah-n-ya). I’m a Domini-Rican author of saucy Latiné romances with shenanigans and sabor. I’ve been writing for many years, but my 2022 novel A Proposal They Can’t Refuse was my first published work. I’ve had multiple careers throughout my adulthood, but being an author is the most authentic and personal.

 What can you tell us about your latest book,  A Dish Best Served Hot? What was the inspiration for this story?  

The original inspiration for A Dish Best Served Hot was my personal experience teaching in an urban school district with not many resources. As I dug deeper into the characters and the world became chaos thanks to the pandemic, the story evolved into something much deeper. It became about the essence of community and the ways we, not only, affect it as individuals, but how it affects us in return. The story became about how we have the tendency to base our value off our communities (whether a neighborhood or a family) and how we serve them. 

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically romance? 

I have always been a storyteller. From the moment I could talk I was telling stories. I used to spend hours creating elaborate tales with my Barbies to the point where none of my cousins wanted to play with me because I was doing too much. (I stand by my stance that every single story needed an ending!)  

I honestly believe that my love for romance in general began with the telenovelas I used to watch daily with my grandmother. I loved that in the end good overcame evil and everyone who deserved it received their happy ending. That balance after all of the chaos, spoke to me on a deeper level even as a kid. When I discovered that same feeling in romance novels…it was a wrap. I knew that’s what I wanted to create. I set out to do so. 

As a queer and Latinx author, what does it mean for you featuring queer and Latinx representation in your books?

Man, it means everything to me. I grew up going to schools where BIPOC people were the minority. I felt an immense pressure to assimilate even though I knew it would never truly work. One look at me was enough to prove that I didn’t belong there regardless of whether I wore the same name-brand clothes, spoke the same way, or straightened my hair to match those around me. It took me a long time to accept and appreciate that my “otherness” was a gift not a curse. 

It took even longer for me to acknowledge my queerness. Even as I supported and did my best to uplift the queer people around me, something held me back from looking more closely at myself. I honestly don’t know if I would’ve taken that deep dive into myself if it weren’t for Lola, the heroine of book 2. Researching and writing Lola, made me come face to face with aspects of myself that I’d been ignoring for over 30 years. It made me finally acknowledge and accept that I’m a bisexual woman and that’s a valid existence no matter who I am or am not in a relationship with. 

At the end of the day I want readers to take that away from my books: It doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are attracted to, we are all deserving of a love that nurtures and accepts us wholly. To be able to spread that message is priceless to me. 

How would you describe your writing process?

The only way to describe my process is “contained chaos”. I try so hard to be one of those organized plotters who has every chapter planned out and just sits down and cranks out words. Unfortunately, I am not that person. If I plan my scenes too much, my brain tells me “Ugh, we already did this. Let’s do something else” and I struggle to get any words out. I’ve learned that I just need to tell myself what is the main thing the scene needs to accomplish and then let myself go from there. I do end up all over the place, but I fix all of that in editing. That’s where I really dig in and shape the story into what it needs to be. I end up doing more work because I inevitably have to rewrite scenes and chapters, but it’s honestly the only thing that works for me. 

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I was not a reader growing up at all. I mostly watched Disney and/or Shirley Temple movies. However, when I was sixteen I heard that J.Lo (my idol at the time) had started her own production company and was going to be making a movie based on the book The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Of course, I went and bought it immediately so I could see what it was all about, because I’m nosey like that. It was a revelation. Here was this book that was being sold in the big named bookstores that was 100% about Latinas and their lives. They weren’t the sassy sidekicks dishing out advice to some basic white woman. They were the main characters and they all had very different personalities. It blew my mind. It was the first time I’d ever seen anything like that and for a long time it was the only instance. 

Now there is a growing list of Latinx women writing romance that feature many ethnicities and sexualities and everytime I read one I feel seen in the same way I did back then. It’s a beautiful and inspirational experience every single time. 

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

I know I mentioned them already, but I have to bring up telenovelas again. The fact that these are relatively short stories (only a new months) that feature all the drama one can think up, but still end with a happily ever after for the main characters is what really influences me as a writer and as a person. It gives me hope that no matter what happens, everything will be good in the end. That message is exactly what drew me to the romance genre and what makes me continue reading and writing it. I want my stories to give someone that hope.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I think my favorite aspect of writing is building the characters. If y’all could only see how much work I put into developing each and every person who shows up on the page, it would look like that GIF of the guy standing in front of his crime wall with the pictures and the red string all over the place. You know the one I’m talking about. That’s me creating a rich backstory for every character whether they are in every chapter or they show up one time. I know I go overboard, but I can’t tell you how many times it has saved my butt. The heroine of book 2, Lola, is the perfect example. She was originally just a blimp in the hero’s past, but when it became clear that the heroine I’d chosen was not the right one for him, I had to go back and look at his backstory. That’s where I found Lola, the girl who gave Saint his nickname, changed his life, and disappeared. And boom, just like that, book 2 had a new heroine and a way better plot. 

As for challenges: setting has always been the most challenging for me to write. I see things so clearly in my mind that I struggle to get it on the page the way I see it. I either end up going into not enough detail (because I forget that the reader can’t see into my brain) or way too much (because I remember they can’t see into my brain, so I add tons of description so they can see what I see). It’s hard for me to find the right balance, which is why I’m eternally grateful for my editor. 

Many authors would say one of the most challenging parts of writing a book is finishing one. What strategies would you say helped you accomplish this?

In a virtual panel I heard the great Beverly Jenkins say, “Stop just talking about your story. Sit down in the chair and write the damn book. You are not a talker, you are a writer.” Boy did that light a fire under my butt, because that is exactly what I was doing. I was talking about my story and daydreaming about it instead of writing it. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t enough to have it all playing out in my head like a movie I was watching. I needed to get it from my head to the paper in order for it to be of value to anyone but me.

Around the same time, Hamilton the musical was making a splash. I remember listening to “Wait For It” and bawling my eyes out, because it resonated so much with me. I was waiting for my time to come, but what was I really doing to make it happen? I needed to “write like I was running out of time”. So I did exactly that. I sat down and wrote the damn book. It was a mess, but it was there. I finally had something to work with besides the visions in my head. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

Oh God, this is the worst question to ask me. As the most introverted of introverts I don’t want ANYONE to know ANYTHING  about me EVER. But as a Gemini with both a Leo Moon and Leo Rising, I have the tendency to overshare once I get started. There is no middle. Honestly, I feel like I’m relatively basic AF. I like to be in my house with my dogs watching the same shows over and over. I’m basically your run of the mill anxiety ridden Millennial with tons of student debt and an unhealthy obsession with anything nostalgic (Disney, Nickelodeon, 90s music, and childhood snacks like Lunchables and Dunkaroos). AND YOU WILL HAVE TO YANK MY SKINNY JEANS AND SIDE PART  OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Okay, I thought about this for a while and I still have NO clue. I’ve been asked some great questions since beginning my author journey. Most of which I’ve given super random and rambling answers to, because that’s just how I am. It’s basically my brand at this point: random, rambling, nonsense with crumbs of intellect sprinkled in. Therefore, I could come up with a really good question for this, but the answer would still be absolute trash, so yeah. Sorry I’m not better at this. *wince

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Find yourself an author community by joining a writer’s group in person or finding people online. As much as your friends and family want to support you, they don’t get it like other writers will. Having like minded people to talk to, vent to, or bounce ideas off of is immeasurably valuable. Also, work on your craft. There is always something to learn or improve upon. 

But honestly, everyone will give you advice on what to do or not do, how to do it or tell you something is wrong. At the end of the day, you have to learn for yourself what works for you and what doesn’t. Remember first and foremost that this is your story and no one else will or can tell it like you. 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m currently in the process of editing book 3 of the Vega Love Stories series, titled Sleeping With The Frenemy. It was the story I was looking forward to writing the most out of the three and I’m incredibly excited for people to read it. I am obsessed with this hero and heroine. I’d love to write more stories about the Vega family, but if  I don’t get that opportunity I know that this book will be a good place to end. 

As for other projects: I have some other ideas percolating in my mind, but nothing set in stone yet. 

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

There are so many fantastic queer authors out there telling amazing stories just waiting to be found and devoured. I personally look to one of my favorite BookTokers @Orlandoreads, for recommendations whenever I need some TBR inspo. 

However, off the top of my head here’s what I have to share:

If you haven’t read Adriana Herrera’s Dreamers series yet, then what are you even doing with your life? Same with her latest release An Island Princess Starts A Scandal. And really anything she writes. 

My good friend, Liz Lincoln has a sapphic soccer book called Loving A Keeper which is AMAZING. 

Speaking of sapphic soccer, Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute is great along with their debut, Mistakes Were Made (not about soccer, but still sapphic). 

J.J. Arias is a surefire winner for those wanting hot sapphic romance. 

Cat Giraldo’s Wild Pitch was fantastic and I’m super pumped for Outfield Assist which comes out in October as well. 

If you are wanting some Queer wedding vibes there’s I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson and D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C Higgins. 

Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I know that YA is really doing the damn thing when it comes to LGBTQ+ rep in books, so make sure to check them out too!

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Interview with Sher Lee

Sher Lee writes rom-coms and fantasy novels for teens. Fake Dates and Mooncakes is her debut. Like the main character, she has made mooncakes with her favorite aunt and has an abiding love for local street food (including an incredible weakness for Xiao Long Bao). She lives in Singapore with her husband and two adorable corgis, Spade and Clover.

I had the opportunity to interview Sher, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi! I’m Sher, and I write rom-coms and fantasy novels for teens. I live in Singapore and have an abiding love for local street food. Fake Dates and Mooncakes is my debut novel, and I also have two YA fantasy novels in the pipeline.

What can you tell us about your debut book, Fake Dates and Mooncakes? What was the inspiration for this book?

Dylan wants to win the Mid-Autumn mooncake-making contest in his mom’s memory—they had wanted to enter the contest together—as well as to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Singaporean Chinese takeout, Wok Warriors. Dylan hasn’t had much luck in love, nor has he had much time for it, as he’s busy with senior year and helping to deliver food—which is how he meets Theo.

Theo’s the boy with the wealthy, absent dad, and he has everything he could ask for. He and Dylan come from completely different backgrounds, but he’s attracted to Dylan’s down-to-earth personality and self-deprecating manner. He asks Dylan to be his fake date to a glitzy family wedding in the Hamptons, where Crazy Rich Asians-style hijinks ensue!

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, and it’s a cherished part of my childhood. I have fond memories of walking around with lanterns under the full moon as a kid and, when I was older, making snow-skin mooncakes with my favorite aunt. The festival also celebrates love and families, and the full moon is a symbol of reunion. These are all major themes in the book, along with coping with loss and finding love in unexpected places and against the odds. Opposites attract, and even though the boys’ worlds are sun-and-moon apart, eclipses happen every now and then!

Food seems to be a particularly important element of this book. How would you describe your own connection to food and how that might affect your creativity?

One recurring comment from readers has been: don’t read this when you’re hungry! “Clearly the universal love language is food,” Theo’s aunt remarks in the novel, and food is a big part of this story. All the major events invariably take place around food—from the first time Theo and Dylan meet when Dylan delivers a wrong order to Theo’s friend’s apartment, to Dylan’s determination to re-create his grandma’s lost mooncake recipe that has been passed down for generations.

As my author bio confesses, I have an abiding love for local street food, including an incredible weakness for xiao long bao. Dylan’s aunt’s takeout, Wok Warriors, also sells all the local dishes I love: chye tow kway (fried radish and egg pancake), satay, fried Hokkien prawn mee, stir-fried egg fried rice, and more!

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction and romance?

I was a mentee in Pitch Wars 2017, which was my first serious step toward traditionally publishing my stories. I love writing YA fiction because it’s about firsts and discoveries, be it first love, first heartbreak, or first attempt to save the world. And I gravitate toward stories with a strong romantic plot, so writing a rom-com was a natural choice! I am also a huge fan of YA fantasies, which is why my next two books are fantasy novels.

How would you describe your writing process?

I nearly always need to have the major beats and the end of the story plotted out before I can start drafting. But the journey—how the characters make their way through the challenges—is a discovery during the drafting process and often includes some unexpected detours. In short, Act 1 and Act 3 usually turn out according to plan but Act 2 is an adventure.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

As a teenager in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, there wasn’t a great deal of diverse children’s fiction. Gladly, the landscape of children’s literature has taken a positive turn in terms of inclusivity—diverse readers of different races can see themselves reflected in popular stories, and New York Times bestsellers include more diverse authors than before.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

Although I love to read, my primary source of inspiration is TV shows! I just love being immersed in the serialized format of episodic TV, binge-watching season after season of each new show that I fall in love and become obsessed with. I also watch shows in different languages, and recent favorites include: The Umbrella Academy, Shadow and Bone, Heartstopper, Word of Honor (Chinese), Alchemy of Souls (Korean).

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

As masochistic as this may sound, my favorite part of writing is revisions! There is something magical and thoroughly fulfilling about watching the draft take shape, deepen, and grow with each revision. The most challenging part of writing for me is drafting—a blank page is daunting, and I am a rather slow writer. Some authors can write 3,000 to 5,000 words a day, but a more modest goal for me is a thousand words—and sometimes I don’t even manage that!

Aside from writing, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

My husband and I have two adorable corgis, Spade and Clover (yes, I always wanted to name my pet corgi Clover, which is why Dylan’s trusted corgi confidant is also named Clover!)

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

No one has asked about my dream adaptation of Fake Dates and Mooncakes, and my answer is: a Netflix movie! I think that a streaming platform has more reach than a theater release, especially for rom-coms, and it would be an absolute dream come true if Netflix acquired rights and produced Fake Dates and Mooncakes!

What advice might you have to give for aspiring writers?

Don’t chase trends, because they rise and fade fast. Write what you love, what you want to read, and can’t find on shelves. The authenticity will naturally shine through.

Social media has become increasingly important for authors, published and unpublished, to get noticed—but don’t push yourself to engage or participate at the expense of your mental health.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I have two YA fantasy novels coming up! The first, Legend of the White Snake, is coming out in Summer 2024 from Quill Tree, an imprint of HarperCollins. It’s a gender-flipped reimagining of one of China’s four famous folktales, in which a teen boy must hide his true identity as a white snake spirit when he falls in love with a prince hunting for a white snake for the antidote to cure his dying mother. It has the xianxia vibes of A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin and the queer romance of Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat (who’s also published by Quill Tree!)

We’ve also sold UK and Commonwealth rights to Macmillan Children’s as well as Italian, Spanish, and Russian translation rights. I’m so thrilled to have the chance to continue bringing stories with authentic aspects of my heritage to readers.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

I love THE CHARM OFFENSIVE by Alison Cochrun, an amazing author I admire, who also gave a wonderful blurb for Fake Dates and Mooncakes!

WHAT IF IT’S US by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is one of my favorite YA rom-coms, with an adorable accidental meet-cute. It’s also set in New York City. Don’t forget to check out Becky’s latest book, IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY!

I also really enjoyed SPELL BOUND by FT Lukens, as well as her earlier novels, IN DEEPER WATERS and SO THIS IS EVER AFTER.

TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN by Caleb Roehrig is the queer Romeo+Juliet remix I never knew I needed!

There are also some great queer books coming out this year from my fellow 2023 debut authors: THE WICKED UNSEEN by Gigi Griffis (June 2023) and GORGEOUS GRUESOME FACES by Linda Cheng (November 2023).

Find Sher on social media:

Instagram: @sherleeauthor

Twitter: @SherLeeAuthor

Preorder links: https://sherleeauthor.carrd.co/

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Interview with Tomi Oyemakinde

Tomi Oyemakinde grew up in London, before being uprooted at the age of 6 to head across the North Sea to the Netherlands. Going on to live in a further two countries across two continents, he was anchored by a scenic boarding school and fantastical stories – namely Richard Adams’s Watership Down.

Despite a love for stories and a desire to write, Tomi found that finishing was a lot harder than starting. But once he discovered the stories he wanted to tell, he couldn’t put pen to paper fast enough.

Now, Tomi is committed to crafting stories centred on Black protagonists thriving across genres, audiences & worlds.

I had the opportunity to interview Tomi, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Delighted to be here! The name’s Tomi and I’m a YA Author (planning to one day span multiple age ranges) based in the UK. I love manga and anime, Star Wars, and my surname which approximately means ‘Warrior returned successfully from battle’.

What can you tell us about your debut book, The Changing Man?

In the countryside is a boarding school, and in it is a girl—Ife—who feels like a fish out of water. When the only friend she’s made turns up uncannily different, it sets Ife off on a journey to uncover whether there is any truth to the urban legend of ‘The Changing Man’. The Changing Man is a slice of me—inspired by my time at boarding school and how I felt back then.

As an author, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction thriller/dark academia?

I’ve always been an avid reader. I have my mum to thank for that. Reading stories and falling in love with the worlds and characters was constant fuel for my imagination. I often had my head in the clouds. Though it wasn’t until about five years ago that I took the plunge and started to write.

Once I knew The Changing Man would be a boarding school story, I went with YA because I was writing for version of me who needed this book back then—a relatable story that was full of fun and got the gears of imagination turning.

How would you describe your writing process?

At the best of times, it is organized and structured. At the worst of times, it makes no sense and I rely on instinct. If I were to dress like my writing process it would be an uncoordinated mess that somehow works.

One thing remains true though. I always have a strong sense of the ending to my stories. It helps me not to go too far astray.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in, in terms of personal identity? Would you say there are any like that now?

To be honest, no. Growing up I didn’t see myself at all, at least in terms of personal identity. I feel fortunate that it was enough for me to resonate with the feelings of characters. Stories like Watership Down by Richard Adams and the Boy Soldier series by Andy McNab were formative to me.

However, I know for many back then it wasn’t enough. Which is why I’m grateful to see there are many (still not enough) stories that reflect the many shades of identity we see.

In recent years, Dear Martin by Nic Stone, Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds, and Twice as Perfect by Louisa Onomé have struck emotional chords. They are stories younger me needed—whether he knew it or not.

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

I love cinema. I am one of those who does not have great visual imagination. Films help me a lot in terms of solidifying and identifying the emotions I want to evoke and explore with my writing. Alongside films, I love dipping into the parts of myself that are associated with strong memories. And then I’m a weird guy so I lean into that and ask myself loads of what ifs about the world around me.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult?

I love first drafts. I should caveat that. I love the newness of first drafts. I get to pour as much into it as I can. I don’t tend to extensively plan so I enjoy the discovery. I find that I blend genres a good amount too. Unfortunately, when it comes to structural edits I find those quite hard. Between balancing the various genres I’ve dipped into, and the off-the-wall plot, I often complain to my past self.

As a writer, often one of the hardest parts of writing a book is just finishing it. Could you tell us any tips or strategies you used that helped you accomplish this?

I’d love to. I’ve found that finishing, doesn’t mean perfect. A finished draft with a lot of plot holes, underdeveloped characters, a confused magic system, and a low wordcount (for example) is still finished. That part never changes.

Once I understood that, I learnt that being intentional is how you get to that finished draft that isn’t perfect. That doesn’t mean writing every day. But it means committing to telling the story you want to tell.

And finally, I held on to the fact that I started the story for a reason. It’s important to write that story you’re unsure about—to push through, be unconventional, and tinker—because stories don’t care how they come about, as long as they get told!

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?

I have a BIG phobia of butterflies. Honestly, it’s the way they flutter. It is beyond unnerving. Oh, and one day I’d love to have a go at directing a movie or being the cinematographer. Film is such an amazing medium and I will often listen to podcasts of directors and cinematographers talk about their craft.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

Great question that is. I’d love to be asked: Which five people would you like to hang out and bowl with and who would win? My answer is: Steph Curry, N.K. Jemisin, Daniel Kaluuya, Barack Obama, and Viola Davis. As for who would win, I’m going with Steph Curry. I think I’m finishing dead last.

What advice might you have to give for aspiring artists?

Weed out unconstructive feedback and learn to thrive from constructive feedback. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to love your work. And not nearly enough will be constructive about it. In those instances, be gracious to yourself and know feedback should be helpful.

Thankfully there are those that are fair and balanced, and they can be very helpful. Learning how to reflect and move on from that can help you grow even faster as a creative.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I have an untitled YA thriller that I’m excited about. Without giving too much away it’s about two brothers and their dad, trying to understand one another in a high stakes situation. It’s also a homage to ‘monster’ movies like Jurassic Park and A Quiet Place.

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tọlá Okogwu

Binti by Nnedi OKkorafor

Jade City by Fonda Lee

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (a picture book but so delightful)

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Interview with Claribel A. Ortega

New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author, Claribel A. Ortega is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she’s not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline.

Claribel’s NYT Bestselling debut middle-grade novel Ghost Squad is being made into a feature film. Her latest book Witchlings (Scholastic) was an Instant NYT and #1 Indie Bestseller. Her graphic novel Frizzy with Rose Bousamra was the winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré Award for Children’s Text and an Indie Bestseller. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok @Claribel_Ortega, on Twitch as Radbunnie.

I had the opportunity to interview Claribel, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome back to Geeks OUT! How have you been?

Thanks! I’ve been great, busy working on more books, and had a good summer. 

What can you tell us about your latest book, Witchings: The Golden Frog Games?

The Golden Frog Games takes place a few months after the events of the first Witchlings book, and centers a magical olympics called The Golden Frog Games. Thorn is the first ever Spare to be a competitor but someone is turning her competition into stone and it’s up to the Witchlings to figure out who it is before Thorn is next! The stakes are bigger than book one, there are first crushes and new characters and we get to see all the Coven Houses too. 

As an author, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically middle grade and speculative fiction (especially witches)?

I’ve always loved fantasy and the potential for exploring real world issues through the lens of magic. Witches are the perfect vehicle for the stories I want to tell too, because historically they’ve just been people who were responsible for healing and helping those in need but were villainized for being different or misunderstood or just for being women. All of my books center the perspectives of women, and marginalized people so in a fantasy world witches really embody that experience. Writing middle grade fantasy is so much fun, and for me feels really comforting. There’s something special about a cozy town with adorable animals that has an undercurrent of danger just beneath the surface. It’s those kinds of stories that spoke to me as a child, so I think that’s why I’m drawn to write them as an adult. Also, my readers are the best. They are funny, and kind and ready to believe whatever wacky scenario I throw at them. Middle grade readers are willing to go along on the adventure with my characters and root for them no matter how weird they are. 

As a writer, you have spoken a bit about featuring Dominican and queer representation in your book, from your fantasy novels to your debut graphic novel, Frizzy. Could you speak a bit here about what representing those elements mean to you as a author?

I am just writing my honest experience which I think is important. Kids know when you’re talking down to them or keeping things from them, and while I always make sure that my books are appropriate for the ages I write for, I think writing about the world as it really is with all the diversity that entails is my job as an author. After all, being Dominican and queer are things that represent me, I shouldn’t have to keep my own existence from my books. 

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

I have quite a few! I always say that I aspire to write something as powerful, funny and perfect as Little Shop of Horrors, haha, so that’s my North Star. In terms of writers, Diana Wynne Jones, Lin Manuel Miranda, Leigh Bardugo and Gregory Maguire are big ones. I’m always inspired by my own life too, the things I love to do (like play video games) the music I listen to, or just my experiences are all sources of inspiration for me. 

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult?

I adore character creation and world building. It’s been so much fun for me to make up systems and monsters and pop culture in the Witchlings series. Writing on deadline is super challenging for me! I love taking my time with stories, and a lot of my writing process is about daydreaming and thinking about the story to let things come to me but I don’t get to do that as much while on deadline and it’s a bummer. 

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)? 

I would love to be asked more questions about the content of the Witchling series versus just the representation or diversity angle. I think oftentimes marginalized authors get looped into talking about diversity over and over again so our books get seen as a lesson to be learned rather than a story to enjoy. The Witchlings series is about friendship, and political turmoil and the nature of monstrosity– who gets called a monster versus who is really doing those monstrous things. I would love for people to know that despite the very adorable cover of the books, the core story is a dark one with parallels to many of our real world social and political issues. The ultimate message of the Witchlings series is about the power of community and how self-efficacy doesn’t have to come at the cost of that community. 

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

Focus on the words. Don’t get caught up in stats about querying, or what everyone else is doing on social media, focus on the words and your craft and being the best storyteller you can be. 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

The third Witchlings book will be out next year, so I’m busy working on that and there is another graphic novel in my future which I will hopefully be able to talk about soon. 

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

Definitely check out Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper and In The Key of Us by Mariama J. Lockington! 

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Interview with Andrew Joseph White

Andrew Joseph White is a queer, trans author from Virginia, where he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022. Andrew writes about trans folks with claws and fangs, and what happens when they bite back.  

I had the opportunity to interview Andrew, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi y’all! Thank you for having me! I’m Andrew Joseph White (he/him), and I’m a queer, trans, and autistic NYT-bestselling author from Virginia. I use horror—usually gore, body horror, and violence—to explore my experiences as a queer and disabled person. But beyond just being a writer, I’m an artist, gamer, and cat dad. I grew up on creepypastas, leading to a life-long love of analog horror, low-budget indie games, and whatever disgusting thing catches my attention.

Fun fact: I’m actually a huge wimp when it comes to live-action horror movies. If you wrangle me into a seat, I’ll bring a stuffed animal and watch through my fingers.

What can you tell us about your debut book, Hell Followed With Us? What inspired the story?

So Hell Followed with Us—which came out in paperback May 9th, you should grab a copy, there’s some cool extras in this edition—is a YA post-apocalyptic horror about a teenage trans boy who flees a fundamentalist cult and joins an LGBTQ+ rebel group while slowly turning into a monster. Thematically, it’s also about far-right fundamentalist Christianity in the US and the way that queer children have to fight for survival against those who hate them.

It doesn’t take a media analyst to figure out that Dead Space and Far Cry 5 were huge inspirations for this book. I fell in love with necromorphs as a child, and desperately wanted to write a book where I could be friends with them. Plus, the religious extremists in Far Cry 5 really helped me give a nice kick to the book’s terrifying Angelic Movement. But most of all, this book was inspired by the anger I felt after realizing I’m trans. I felt cornered by a country that has done nothing but make things harder for me. I wanted to write a story where trans kids could express the rage that had built up in their chests, where the monsters were the good guys, where we could be mean and bloody and terrifying.

I’m heartbroken that so many young readers connect to my work, but I’m honored that I can be here for them.

What drew you to writing, particularly young adult fiction? Were there any favorite writers or stories that sparked your own love and interest in storytelling?

I’ve always been a writer—I started writing stories before I even knew what words were, scribbling on sheets of paper and calling them books. In fact, writing is one of my special interests as an autistic person. If I don’t write, it feels like I’m neglecting a part of my humanity. I have to.

As for reading, I devoured every story I could get my hands on, frequently chewing through novels in a day. In elementary and middle school, I loved The Last Apprentice, Cirque Du Freak, Ranger’s Apprentice, and, funnily enough, The Phantom Stallion. (I hope these bring back memories for people my age!) Eventually, in high school, I found a list of the most disturbing books in the English language and started working through those instead: Hogg, Cows, The Wasp Factory, and Exquisite Corpse have stuck with me to this day. Truth is, I didn’t actually read a lot of YA growing up. When I realized that I wanted to move this from a hobby to a career, I just knew I wanted to write stories that spoke to my teenage self—and in the current market, those happen to fall under YA. Looks like I made a good choice!

Hell Followed With Us is said to feature queer and autistic representation. What does it mean to you as an author writing this into your work, especially as a trans and autistic author yourself?

For me, it means getting to create the stories I desperately needed as a teen but couldn’t find—if I even knew to look for it. It also means taking myself apart to inspect my identity and my feelings, then scooping up the bloody mess and throwing it on the page. It’s so, so freeing to create characters who share my identities and get to be the heroes instead of jokes or tragedies. I write about trans people who are angry and badass and deeply influenced by their identity yet not overshadowed by it, and autistic people who aren’t just obstacles for other characters to overcome or gawk at. It’s a breath of fresh air, and I get to give those stories to anyone who wants them.

I don’t think I’m ever going to get over all of the young trans and autistic people who have told me they’ve never felt so represented.

How would you describe your writing process? What inspires you as a writer?

These days, I start every book with a chunky chapter-by-chapter outline, often with additional character lists, definitions, and timelines. I did not do this with Hell, and I paid the price for it—editing was a year-long horror show. I also tried to plot my second book, but I didn’t go far enough, and editing that one also nearly lead to me throwing out the manuscript a few dozen times. These days, I’m very careful to cover all my bases.

Once it comes to actually putting words on paper, I’m a very revision-focused writer; I churn out the first draft as quickly as I can, then do a few different passes: usually one focusing on the plot, then themes, then wording. I find drafting and revision both wonderfully rewarding, just for different reasons.

When my creative well runs dry, I flock to indie games, ARGs, creepy video essays, and the homebrew TTRPG worlds I build for my friends. However, so many of the things my stories touch on come from real-life issues—US politics, transphobia and ableism, family history, etc. Those two sources combined help my work become truly unsettling, since horror becomes even more horrifying when it touches on real topics.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What are some of the most challenging for you?

Full honesty? I love getting edit letters. Sure, I sulk about them, and maybe I complain and whine, but even as someone who is violently protective of my solitude, the moment that my writing becomes a collaboration with an editor who loves my work as much as I do is unmatched. Ideas begin bursting from every corner and it’s a frantic, wonderful moment of togetherness and improvement.

The most challenging is probably plotting. I’m very open about how difficult it is for me and how much help I ask from my agent and editors. That’s why my outlines are so long—I have to nail everything down at the start or it’ll just unravel. I’ll run the outline by my agent once or twice, and then by the editor when it’s acquired, and then a few friends just to double-check. I’m prone to hand-waving things or including dull coincidences, and it’s a struggle to iron them out. I just want to write cool stuff and not think about it, but that does not a good book make. Boo.

One of the hardest parts of writing a book is finishing one. Were there any techniques/ strategies/ advice that helped you finish your first draft?

This question hits home. Growing up, I struggled to complete anything. My mom would always say, “You can’t get a book published if you don’t finish one!” And obviously, she’s right.

These days, the only thing that keeps me focused on a project is the fact that I’m getting paid to do it, and I have an agent and editor who will have to do more work if I don’t turn manuscripts around on time. However, when it came to the first draft of Hell, the one thing that helped me finish it was become completely, utterly obsessed with it, while at the same time challenging myself to write a thousand words a day in between college classes. I churned out 80,000 words in three months! From there, it was a mountain of edits and rewrites, but finishing novels is a skill, and you have to give it practice.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet, but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)? 

Okay, maybe this is a little bit of a spoiler, but: Why does Benji stay a monster at the end of the book?

I’ve been asked this once or twice, but I’m truly devastated that it doesn’t come up more often. It is so, so important to me that the main character, Benji, stays a monster at the end of Hell. There is no rewind, there’s no reversal; he becomes a giant beast with six wings and a hundred teeth and spikes and welts and claws, and he stays that way.

The short answer is, Benji stays a monster because I’ve always been upset that the Beast turns back into a prince. No, but seriously, Benji stays a monster because it would be so horrifically meaningless if he went through all this pain and did all this work to accept himself only for it to be undone. The theme of monstrosity as something that can be loved and good would be completely unraveled. In my opinion, turning Benji back into a normal boy would be the more traditional ending, but it’s also the coward’s way out. If you’re going to write a book about monsters, own it, you know?

Besides your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

My first instinct is that I’m literally just some guy. I love that people are so excited to meet me and ask me for advice, but I always laugh and say, “I’m just a dude!” I’m a guy with an overactive imagination that the publishing industry has taken a shining to.

I will say, I would like my readers—especially my neurotypical readers—to understand that my success does not negate my disability. I’m here because my community accommodates me. Lots of things are hard for me! I struggle with cleaning, showering, and taking care of myself; maintaining communication with me can be unduly difficult, and I frequently self-isolate for months at a time; I often can’t understand or express my own feelings. Sometimes speaking feels like chewing barbed wire and my anxiety gets so bad I become physically sick. I love my autism so much, but I don’t want non-autistic readers to think that I’ve “overcome” it or anything, you know? And I definitely don’t want my young autistic readers to have to hide themselves to be accepted. We should be allowed to be open about our experiences, and I want to help make that happen.

What advice might you give to other aspiring writers?

My favorite go-to is be ugly! Write situations that are messy, imperfect, and have no good answers! Write characters that are cruel or feral or unlikeable! There is so much pressure for marginalized authors to write stories that are neat little packages that the majority can consume and accept without feeling bad about themselves. It’s pressure that I almost gave into—when I started writing Hell, I was terrified to write a book about a trans kid turning into a murderous monster. I thought it’d make us look bad. But we are allowed to be three-dimensional people. We’re allowed to be imperfect and rough around the edges, and I want nothing more than for that to be embraced for everyone.

If you’re as hungry for stories like this as I am, pre-order I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea. I was lucky enough to get an early copy and I promise, it’s just as good as it sounds.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Oh, publishing loves to make authors wait punishingly long times to announce projects and sales—but for what might be the first time, I don’t have anything to hide right now. Whew!

My sophomore novel, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, released this September—if you’re looking for a historical horror/fantasy about ghosts and an autistic trans boy battling ableism, conversion therapy, and the insidious terror of upper-class white society, then this is the book for you. Coming in 2024 is Compound Fracture, my West Virginia-based thriller following an autistic trans boy with a special interest in leftist history who faces off against his homicidal classmates with the help of a pissed-off ancestor.

And then, in 2025, I get to release my adult debut. You Weren’t Meant to be Human is a nasty book about the horrors of pregnancy, the failure to protect bodily autonomy in the US, and how queer and disabled children can slip through the cracks to become angry, shattered adults. (Plus there’s parasitic alien worms! Yay!) I’m so excited for this book, and I really hope it finds its readers.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

There’s so many to choose from! For those interested in trans horror, I’m recommending Alison Rumfitt to anyone who will listen—Tell Me I’m Worthless permanently rearranged my neurons, and I have a PDF of Brainwyrms sitting in my inbox right now. On the YA side, Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton needs to be on every young reader’s TBR, and I’d be amiss if I didn’t also recommend everything by H.E. Edgmon and Courtney Summers. Check them all out!

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Interview with Melissa See

Melissa See is a disabled author of young adult contemporary romances. When not writing, she can be found reading, baking, or curled up with her cat, most likely watching anime or 90 Day Fiancé. She currently lives in the New York countryside. You, Me, and Our Heartstrings is her debut novel.

I had the opportunity to interview Melissa, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself? 

Hi! Thank you so much for having me. I’m Melissa See, the author of You, Me, and Our Heartstrings and Love Letters for Joy. I write young adult contemporary stories the feature disabled teens falling in love, being messy, and being loved for exactly who they are.

What can you tell us about your latest book, Love Letters for Joy. What was the inspiration for this story?

Love Letters for Joy follows seventeen-year-old Joy Corvi—a fat, disabled, queer girl—who wants to become the first disabled valedictorian of her elite New York City prep school. She just has to beat Nathaniel Wright, her academic rival of the last four years. But when she realizes that she may have missed out on having a high school romance, she reaches out to her academy’s anonymous love-letter writer known as Caldwell Cupid. But as she begins falling for the mysterious student behind the letters, she might be risking her dreams at valedictorian—as Caldwell Cupid is the last person she ever would’ve expected.

The inspiration for Love Letters for Joy came from Cyrano de Bergerac—which is also why Love Letters for Joy is a retelling of the play. Me writing a Cyrano retelling was completely unintentional, but when my friend made me realize I had, I decided to really delve deeply into aspects of the play: love, withheld identity, and letters being the strongest aspects I drew from.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, specifically young adult fiction and romance?

Well, I knew that I wanted to be a writer by the time I was just seven years old. (Spending summers going up and down the east coast while my sister was on a traveling softball team, I carried bags of books with me wherever we went.)

As for young adult fiction and romance, when I read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, an entire new world had opened up before me. I knew that writing young adult romance, specifically, was absolutely something I wanted to do. (The love confession scene at the end of Anna and the French Kiss remains one of my favorite scenes in all of fiction.)

As an aspec reader, I was really excited to read about another ace book coming out into the world. If you feel comfortable, could you tell us what having asexual and disabled representation in your writing means to you?

Thank you so much! Having asexual and disability representation in my books means a lot to me. Growing up, there really weren’t a lot of books that included disabled characters—or queer characters—so I am elated to see that representation increasing. In providing both disability and asexual representation through Love Letters for Joy, I’m hopeful that readers will get to see themselves reflected in the pages of a book in a way I didn’t get to growing up.

How would you describe your creative process?

I genuinely do not have a creative process. I write whenever I can and try not to put pressure on myself. (Such as not needing to write every day, especially if I don’t have the spoons to do so.)

As a creative, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?

Some of my greatest creative influences are authors whose books I love, such as Jonny Garza Villa; David Levithan; Emily Lloyd-Jones; Jen DeLuca; Brian D. Kennedy; Daniel Aleman; Andrew Joseph White; and Stephanie Perkins (who I mentioned previously). I also just recently finished Into the Light by Mark Oshiro, which I loved.

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

As far as stories I’m touched by now, the first one that comes to mind is The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White. It’s an incredible gothic young adult horror that tackles ableism and transphobia in such a brilliant way. Getting to see Silas’ autism on the page and having it remind me of my own experience being autistic was something I’d never had up until I read this book. It comes out in September, and I cannot recommend it enough.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

My favorite element of writing is character creation. It’s one of my favorite aspects of anything creative I get to do. It’s this awesome place of endless possibility, and I love exploring it.

I think the most frustrating element of writing for me is when I can’t figure out how to work a plot. A large part of that is me being a character driven writer. But talking to my author friends about that helps immeasurably!

One of the hardest parts of writing a book is finishing one. Were there any techniques/ strategies/advice that helped you finish your first draft?

I didn’t use any techniques or strategies to finish my first draft of Love Letters for Joy, as writing it was a whirlwind. (I’d been moving to New York City during a good amount of it, so a lot of the process has become a blur to me.) Writing as much of it as I could, whenever I could, but also knowing how to balance myself, was what helped me the most, I think.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would like readers to know about you?

I’ve been involved in performance spaces—from music to theatre—for most of my life. And now, I’m a TTRPG performer. What that means is I appear on Twitch streams to perform in actual plays of different TTRPG systems. Having a creative outlet like this has been such a joy!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)? 

Question: Without giving spoiler-filled context, what was one of your favorite scenes to write in Love Letters for Joy?

Answer: The Valentine’s Day scene. It’s one of the earliest moments of romantic tension, which are some of my favorite parts of any story I get to write.

What advice might you have to give for other aspiring writers?

One of my biggest pieces of advice is: You don’t need to write every day. Write when you have the spoons to do so.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m currently drafting a young adult contemporary that can best be described as Dungeons & Dragons meets Paper Towns. It follows a group of friends—bonded together by a fantasy TTRPG—who embark on a cross-country road trip to find their Game Master when he goes missing.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ and/or disabled books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa; Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White (which has both disability and LGBTQ+ rep); A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy; The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones; and Into the Light by Mark Oshiro.

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Interview with Trip Galey and Chris McCartney of Bona Books

In a world where corporate entities maintain a tight grip on the institutionalization of creativity and where representation mattering is still more of a conversation than a mainstream practice, a glimmer of hope emerges in a new queer press, Bona Books. The London-based press established by Trip Galey, Chris McCartney, and Robert Berg, Bona Books plans to be a place the queer community and allies can pick up science fiction and fantasy and see themselves fully reflected in it. As Chris says in one of the many gems from our recent chat, “To see that representation, to see the community that we love and the people that we love reflected in stories that we love” is what Bona Books is all about. I sat down with Trip and Chris (sadly, Robert was unable to join) prior to the launch of the Kickstarter campaign to fund Bona Book’s first anthology, I Want That Twink OBLITERATED!, which met its full fundraising goal in less than 32 hours after officially launching on September 13th, 2023, and was picked as a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter themselves. Our conversation was playful as much as insightful as we spoke about the innate queerness of science fiction and fantasy, obliterating twinks memes, and the space they hope Bona Books can hold in the world of publishing. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

First, I’d love to know a little bit about each of you and how books and reading were a part of your upbringing.

Chris: I was very much one of those kids who always had a book at all points. My earliest memories are all book-related. When I was very very young the way my dad would coax me to have a bath was he’d read to me. So, I have recollections of him reading The Hobbit and Sherlock Holmes stories. He read me the entirety of The Hobbit in installments and got to the end and I was like, ‘Yeah, this great! I love it!’ [Chris’s dad said] ‘There is a sequel, I’m not reading you that.’ [Laughs]. At age 8 or 9, I embarked on reading The Lord of The Rings and it took me about six months.

And by that time you were old enough to bathe yourself, I’m assuming?

Chris: Yes [laughs]. So, yeah, always been a bit of a bookworm and it’s kind of almost always been genre fiction. As I grew up I read lit-fic as well, but when I was going to the library as a child it was always straight to the science fiction and fantasy section. It was always the genre stuff. [Referring to the first part of the question] I’m probably a bit of a jack-of-all-trades as anyone who writes these days is. I don’t support myself writing. I’m a civil servant working for His Majesty’s government. I have had some short fiction published, I’ve got a novella that I’m working on with Trip here, which will be my first foray into editing, which is really exciting and, I suppose, in terms of how I slot into Bona Books and the Kickstarter is that one of my big skillsets in terms of my civilian life is project management. I’m the hyper-organized person who has a spreadsheet for everything so, I’m kind of the central admin making sure the Kickstarter gets off the ground. 

Trip: My first book was Go, Dog. Go! I forced my parents to read it to me so many times that I eventually learned to read just recognizing the words on the page from what they were reading me and they had to repair it multiple times with duct tape because I read it to the point it fell apart. I basically grew up on the road. My parents were professional Rodeo athletes so, I was on the Rodeo circuit in the back of the pick-up truck all the time. I would have a stack of books and that’s how I would keep myself entertained. I would just read as they drove. And then when I got older I very much just went straight for that fantasy section, but I grew up in the middle of absolute nowhere in the pre-Amazon days, not to date myself. So, I had to build my own science fiction and fantasy library and I went through a period of wearing nothing but cargo pants because the pockets on either side of the pair of cargo pants: exact right size and shape for a  mass-market paperback. I could have two, on the go, at the same time, which was necessary because I just read too much. 

I do support myself just with writing. That’s a mix of ghostwriting, a small bit of copywriting, and my debut novel is coming out 12th September, it’s called The Market of Dreams and Destiny and it’s out from Titan. That’s been a crazy experience. And in terms of Bona Books, I have started, and ran, and head-editored a small science fiction and fantasy magazine, which I did as part of my doctoral studies while I was a doctoral candidate as an extra project because I certainly didn’t have enough to do. [Laughs] That’s not a habit I’ve gotten into at all. So, I have done a bit of this contracts and acquiring short fiction before. But this is very much my first foray into doing it a bit more seriously. 

And just to jump in for Robert, I know a whole bunch of his stories. Robert’s grandfather was a lawyer and Robert lived with his grandfather growing up. [W]hen he was very little, [his grandfather would] take him out to see the moon and would tell him stories from Shakespeare and mythology. And then he obviously got into reading and one of his earliest memories with a book is he had this book, I don’t remember what book it is unfortunately, and he went to a petting zoo and the goat literally ate his book. Outrage ensued from there. He is [also] another big fantasy nerd. He works as a professional copyeditor and proofreader. He works with some actual publishers and he works freelance as well. In Bona Books, he is the eye-to-detail editorial and about ten years ago he had a reviews blog where he did a lot of pop culture reviews, including media. And so he has reviewed a lot of authors, some of whom may now be appearing as solicited authors in our anthology efforts.

That’s amazing! Storytelling has been a huge part of all of your upbringings and your lives thus far. What is the story of how the three of you came together? 

Trip: So, it will be Robert and my anniversary in October and we will have been together for… math, math, math… 16 years. So we’ve been together for yonks and then we moved over here six years ago for me to pursue a doctorate and five of those years ago we met Chris? Four and a half of those years ago? 

Chris: That sounds about right. 

Trip: I was doing my studies and lecturing in Cambridge and Chris was working at Cambridge and we have a mutual friend who introduced us and we just started meeting every week after I got done lecturing and after he finished work. We’d go to the pub, we’d have a pint or two and we would talk about, oh, I don’t know, science fiction and fantasy, and books, and writing for a couple of hours at a go before I caught the train back and he went to make dinner. 

At what point did those conversations turn into, ‘should we start a press??’

Trip: So, that sort of goes: group chat, meme, Chris comes into the kitchen (cuz we all live together now, three of us we share a flat called The Writer Flat in London) but I’ve talked for a lot so I’m going to let Chris talk.

Chris: You’re the one with the charismatic storytelling ability! 

Trip: Says the man who just got a short story published? Woo woo!

Chris: We’re not going to have this fight right now! [Laughs] Yeah, as Trip said, the meme came first. If you look it up on Know Your Meme there’s a little bit of a history to it. Originally there was a Wattpad comment and it took off a bit on the internet and it got picked up by Anthony Olivera, the comics writer and is in a Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling and it’s thrown at the Marvel character, Wiccan, by the villain and he [Olivera] talks about the fact that it was him kind of wanting to queer the text of the comic so, that not only is there a queer character in it but it’s this queer culture reference that gay readers will spot in the language that’s being used and will be talking to them in a way that comics, even when they normally have queer characters in them don’t talk in that way. 

Anyway, that’s all by-the-by. We were making “I want that twink obliterated” jokes and I think Robert said, ‘That would be a great title for an anthology!” laugh, laugh, laugh, chat chat, chat. And that just stuck in my head for a second. I was like, “We have the skills. We have the technology. I’m ridiculously organized, Robert has a load of contacts and is an editor and proofreader, Trip has run a magazine before.” So I walked into the kitchen and was like, “Trip, we could actually do this.” And then we paused and went, yeah we could, couldn’t we? And I think it was about a minute before we got to, “We’re doing this aren’t we.” It was very much like that.  

Trip: Yeah, I have that scene burned in my mind. Just Chris coming into the kitchen and being like, we could do this… do we have to do this, do we need to do this… beat… I think we need to do this. Yeah. 

What else was underneath that need? There has to be something really grounding to take something that’s like, a fun meme, jokey thing [seriously]. I know so many people, including myself, who will joke with friends about, ‘Oh my god we should do this or we should do that” so, what exactly was it that really made that pivot to this is not just a joke anymore, we’re doing it?

Chris: For me, I’d say, it’s a real burning desire to see queer narratives out there in the world. Particularly, in science fiction and fantasy. Particularly, unapologetic queer narratives written by queer authors. Representation has gotten a bit better in science fiction and fantasy over the last few years. But… often queer characters written by non-queer people do better. My instinct would be that, we feel so starved for it and we so desperately want it to exist. To see that representation, to see the community that we love and the people that we love reflected in stories that we love. As soon as we realized, “Oh, that’s a good idea, that’s a good enough idea that people will like it,” not only do we have the skills to do it but, I think, if we put that out into the world and put it in front of people, people will back that. Because if it was an ok idea and you’re pushing a boulder up a hill, maybe you’d think twice. But it seemed like such an obviously good idea that it would be pushing through an open door. And if we have that opportunity and we can make those stories happen, then I think, like Trip said, it wasn’t really a choice. 

Trip: Yeah, It sort of felt like a foregone conclusion. Like the decision made us, we did not make the decision. [Laughs]

On that note, can you please pitch the I Want That Twink OBLITERATED! anthology and tell the readers at Geeks OUT what it and the Kickstarter is all about? And who are you hoping to reach?

Trip: I Want That Twink OBLITERATED!, is a fun meme. It is irreverent and it speaks directly to the community and that is, first and foremost, who we are hoping to do this for and who we are hoping to reach. It’s those portions of the queer community that loves science fiction and fantasy and those portions of  science fiction and fantasy who love queer content, be they queer themselves or allies. The concept of the anthology itself is classic pulp, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The sort of things you would find on the shelf in like, the 40’s/50’s in those old magazines like, Weird Tales that were, for so long, a mainstay of not only the genre, but also the community. [T]hose magazines were such an ongoing conversation. Science fiction and fantasy is fantastic because of the feedback between fandom and the authors and between authors themselves. Science fiction and fantasy more than other genres are ongoing conversations about ideas. And you get those so much in those old pulp magazines where people would write in, and they would have ideas, and they would discuss this, that, and the other. 

So, it was really about that core root nurturing amazing part of science fiction and fantasy that a lot of minorities were shut out of in those days. Not just sexual or gender minorities, but all kinds of people who were just not invited to the conversation or had to work very very hard to get their voices heard in the conversation. We want that sort of classic pulp fun, but we want non-traditionally masculine heroes and villains. We’re talking, twinks so, The Obliterators and The Obliterated, we want to take the fantastic rich heritage and inheritance that we have from that period of science fiction and fantasy, but we want our part of that. We want our portion of that inheritance. We want the queer heroes, the queer villains, the unabashedly homosexual dialogue. Queerness has a culture to it. And it’s a whole collection of different cultures. But the way it intersects with fantasy and science fiction and these literatures of the possible it’s super exciting! It is that sense of new possibilities and new horizons, but in it, unrepentantly queer. 

Chris came up with several examples as part of our guidelines for publication and so we’re really hoping to see stories with like, trans berserkers fueled by queer rage, we want stories with gender-fluid starship captains, and a rainbow band of rogue’s crew stashing across the universe and having amazing pulpy adventures, we want stories with li-ter-al demon twinks. Unapologetically science fiction and fantasy and unapologetically queer. 

As you’re talking I’m just thinking about how sci-fi and fantasy are the perfect vehicles for queer stories and it’s hard to not feel like… I don’t know, I think about watching Star Trek with my dad back in the day. I feel like all of it has to be queer-coded in some way because it’s all about the expansion of the human experience and beyond. Those stories are so important, I think as we’re navigating who are we and what is this world and what is our part in it. Especially, with these political environments that keep wanting to make everything smaller and more binary. There’s not really a question there, just kind of a word vomit. I don’t know if you have any response to that. 

Chris: I think I completely agree with you. It speaks to queer experience. It probably, I cannot speak to this with any authority, but I suspect it also speaks to other forms of minority experiences as well. It’s all about moving towards the boundaries of what’s socially permissible. It’s about imagining other worlds. Or, at least, when it’s done well, it is. You have the sort of classic Star Trek format of every week they’re in another planet, every week it’s another problem planet and so, obviously, it’s never going to be, Oh yes! They turn up on a planet that’s exactly like ours, all of the cultural mores are exactly the same, and all the dominant assumptions are just reinforced. That’s never going to be what the story is. So, yeah, inherently you end up in that sort of marginalized space because that’s where the boundaries get pushed. That’s where the interesting things are. 

How do you think about that tension now where, as you mentioned before, there does seem to be more representation? It is a bit better, but it’s also such a heteronormative sphere that keeps caving in on everyone and also in on itself? I don’t even know if there’s really a question in there either, but in some ways, and to use Star Trek again, in the 60’s or in the Next Generation there is this huge, expansive feel to it. It feels like things have gotten just a bit more compressed.

Trip: Yeah, that’s a really interesting question because you can approach from multiple angles. If we’re talking, for example, publishing. Since this is an anthology, we’re a small press, we’re putting out queer work by queer authors, hopefully (support the Kickstarter!). If you look at the publishing ecosystem right now, 20 years ago you had the big 6, the big 7. There was a healthy mid-list, there was a healthy variety of imprints. We’re down to a big 4 and a lot of those medium-sized publishers have been swallowed up. There’s been a concentration of editorial talent and complete evaporation of editorial attention because people don’t have enough time. They don’t have enough time to do all the work. So, you get these big publishing houses, 20-30 years ago 20% of the books supported the other 80% in terms of sales if we’re talking just cold, hard, cash numbers, which I absolutely hate talking about, but that’s what it is. But now, the way the publishing industry has consolidated, we’re looking much more at 5% of titles bringing in all the money and covering the other 95%. So, there’s a lot more focus on those 5% of titles and publishing, like we’ve seen in Hollywood, they don’t like to take risks. If their financial continuation depends on 5% of titles hitting it big, they’re not going to take creative risks because that is much harder to predict. They’re not going to pump all of their marketing dollars behind those edge titles. Even if sometimes they do well. Even if they are excellent in their own right and there is an audience there for them. 

It’s so interesting because it seems very antithetical to financial advice where you want to diversify your portfolio. When you’re limiting yourself  by putting all of your eggs in one basket [it’s] kind of asking for a big problem down the line, which I think we’re definitely seeing in Hollywood at the moment with the strikes and everything, or one aspect of it. So, where does Bona Books fit into all of that for you? 

Trip: It’s a passion project, you know, we’re doing this because it is important to us. I can’t remember if this is Toni Morrison or not, I could be horribly misattributing this quote, but it’s something to the effect of, “If you can’t find the book you want to read, you have to go out and write it.” And that sort of sentiment has come up again, and again, and again on almost every single panel discussion I have been on with queer writers writing queer science fiction and fantasy. The queer stories that they want to read don’t exist. So they’re going out and creating them and they are writing them themselves. Chris, Robert, and I we do have the knowledge and the skills to take a run at producing anthologies of queer fiction for queer people and a wider audience and, between the three of us, we have the stability to take on a passion project like this. We’re not doing this to get rich or make money, like, publishing is not a great way to make money generally, with very few, small exceptions making it look the other way. We’re doing it because we love it and we can offer our skills and we can offer our time. We can offer as much of ourselves as we can spare to bring these things into the world so that they’re there for people to find. 

Chris: That’s the proper answer and all the focus should be on that. I’ll add that… in the back of my head I do have a little 5-year plan that’s going along. I think particularly with the Kickstarter and with how crowdfunding works we have to take it one day at a time, trying to get as many people as possible to hear about the Kickstarter. If the Kickstarter doesn’t happen then this doesn’t go anywhere. But we put a book together and, if that goes well, we’ll put another book together, then we’ve got a lot of experience under our belt at that point talking to publishers and working on layout and doing the editorial work. And if it’s successful, if there’s a bit of extra money in the kitty we can look at getting some novellas published, we’ll have more contacts… there’s a plan, but I don’t want to get out in front of my skis. I would love in five years time for it to be this little, small press. We’re never going to be doing dozens of books a year. But if a couple of times a year we put out something that people go, “Oh yeah, I always check out what Bona Books puts out because it’s got a really queer voice and they support and lift up queer writers” I would be chuffed a bit. 

As a debut author, Trip, with your book coming out around the same time as this Kickstarter, how is your mental health?

Trip: [MANIACAL LAUGHTER] Just insert maniacal laughter here. 

I will, literally, put that in the text [laughs in less maniacal]

Trip: I think the most generous term I can use is overclocked. There’s the book coming out, I am working very hard on the sequel right now, and then the Kickstarter and some other things that are all happening in September. So, yeah I’m slightly overclocked. But, I can’t complain because what am I doing? I’m writing queer science fiction and fantasy and I am working with my best friends in the world to produce more of it! 

Chris: The book is so good! 

That’s excellent. It’s so exciting! Is there anything else that I didn’t ask about that you would like to touch on?

Trip: While we do have solicited offers for this anthology, it is very important to us to foster new voices from the community. We want to get the word out to as many queer creatives and other minority creatives as we possibly can. We want your science fiction, fantasy, pulp, adventure stories starring twinks. You can be pro-twink, you can be anti-twink, put a twink in there as a hero, put a twink in there as a villain, we want to hear from every color of the queer rainbow. Send us your stuff please, please send us your stuff! We especially want to hear from women, we want to hear from… 

Chris: …We’d love to get more non-binary and trans authors on board, that would be wonderful, particularly given the non-trad masculine aspect of the anthology. That would be beautiful. As Trip said, every single stripe of the progress flag should be represented if possible. 

Trip: Writers of color, everyone. 

Where can people reach out to you if they have something to share?

Chris: We will have a submission guide linked to and funneled through the Kickstarter and we’ll basically open for submissions as soon as we know we’re funded.

To support the funding of Bona Books, the production of their first anthology I Want That Twink OBLITERATED!, future releases by them, and to submit your own work head to their Kickstarter page linked here. Also, be sure to also follow them on all the socials @bonabooksltd

Header art by Stephen Andrade