neo_prodigy

A few months ago, four POC novelists held a round table discussion which tackled the challenges that authors of color have to face in both the publishing industry as well as the media in general in terms of race, gender and orientation.

http://arsmarginal.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/round-table/

With diversity in media, in particularly in terms of queer content, an LGBTQ-themed round table was recently conducted. This time it was opened up to playwrights, comic book creators and artists of various storytelling mediums.

Participants submitted questions and topics they wanted to address. What was interesting reading the responses while composing this round table. The participants only saw their own responses, so the answers often made for fascinating reads. With an eclectic mix of writers from very different backgrounds, sometimes there would be seven vastly different answers and in certain instances, the answers were unanimous and almost verbatim.

One thing was certain, this was definitely a conversation that has been long overdue, and certainly one that needs to continue.

Seven storytellers, one powerful discussion.

Read More....

So as many of you know, my novel, Hollowstone, was released through Parker Publishing.

A fine indy press that celebrates quality fiction for readers of distinction, Parker celebrates black, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic literature. In addition, it's been the home to some world class authors, including the late L.A. Banks.

While romance has been Parker's tour de force, they've recently made a concerted effort to expand and to branch out into other genres through various imprints. I was honored to learn that Hollowstone was in fact one of their first titles for their Moxie line.

Moxie focuses on the multi-ethnic Young Adult stories which ranges from the contemporary to paranormal. These tales explore the young adult's journey while embracing the diversity of culture.

In addition to Hollowstone, Moxie also some other excellent titles. Excellent titles whose signal should be boosted.

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The Gene Apocalpyse
By Suki Michelle & Carlyle Clark

Global pandemic is raging.

Olivya Wright-Ono's once loving home has been converted to a hospice for the dying.• Her ability to see auras forces her to witness, with agonizing detail, the vibrant colors of life consumed by malignancy.

The beautiful and troubled, Mikah, is an elite Empath in the ancient Kindred clan, led by the brooding, ever-morphing, monster named Prime. Mikah has learned a terrible truth . . . the plague is linked to Kindred origins. When Olivya sees evidence of disease creeping into her mother's aura, she has no one to turn to but Mikah. Can he unearth the Kindred secrets and find a cure?•

Can she trust this boy whose power allows him to• manipulate her very emotions? With her mother's life, and that of the world, in the balance, Olivya and Mikah embark on a quest to stop the Pandemic, only to discover it is far, far more than a mere disease . . .

Nascha and the Medicine Man
By Leah Leonard

When her mother is killed by a drunk driver and her grandmother is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Sasha Johnson’s life is changed forever.

With nowhere to go, she leaves New York for New Mexico to live with a father she never knew she had—a Navajo Medicine Man.

Sasha hates her new home but when her grandmother dies, her father is the only person she has left.

As Red Feather teaches Sasha about the Navajo way, she develops her own path toward acceptance in this strange new world, reaching for happiness even as she develops her own frightening abilities—abilities that include seeing and communicating with the Chindi—the spirits of the dead.

Coins of Power
By J. A Lesley

Paige loves stories about myths and monsters but she never thought she’d become part of one. When Paige’s crazy Welsh aunt sends her the last in a series of ancient talismans for her fifteenth birthday gift, her whole world turns upside-down.

Cam, the new boy in school has mystical secrets too and when he sees Paige’s birthday gifts he realizes his grandfather’s warnings weren’t nonsense, after all. Danger looms in the form of Balor and his band of sea monsters.

Along with friends Tegan and Jacko, Paige and Cam must learn how to wield their mysterious powers if they are to protect their treasures, their families and maybe even the world.

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Each of these titles are highly excellent, and if you're like me and think diversity in writing is not only important but long overdue, here's an opportunity to show your love and support some great titles and some gifted writers.

http://www.parker-publishing-shopping.com/index.php?m=&c=149&l=product_list&sortby=num_sold:desc

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments. Aside from the fact I found these books extremely homophobic, I boggle at the idea that you can consider Alec to be a main character of the books. He barely even qualifies as a side-kick.

Ann McCaffrey’s Dragonflight Series. Seriously – Ann “Tent peg” McCaffrey is presented as a RECOMMENED GBLT YA. The gross stereotypes, the demeaning, insulting portrayals, the condescension – and even then out of the whole series, the gay characters cannot be more than the smallest, most minor of bit characters.

Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment? Don’t get me wrong, I love that book – but there were 2 lesbians and a portential for trans characters (albeit a bit of a stretch and arguable) and none of them could be called the protagonists.

Even George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones. How any of the GBL characters in that series can be remotely considered protagonists is beyond me.

Mercedes Lackey was mentioned – now I only read a few of her books but there was a whole lot of abuse and rape going on.

And it frustrates me, actually I have a full blown tantrum. Because even when confronted with the blatant lack of decent GBLT characters out there we respond by putting together lists of stereotypes, tokens and sidekicks? Or even utter side or bit characters. Is this the best we can do – or is this the best we can expect? Well, I know that the answer to both those questions is “no” but I do fear the answer to the third – is this what we’re willing to settle for?

Because sometimes I feel just the presence of a GBLT character, no matter how minor, how offensive or how token, is enough to garner rhapsodies of praise and a legion of cheerleaders.

Personally, I say no – hell no in fact – I am not settling. And I’m not going to write my own recommended list because, frankly I don’t have one. I haven’t come across enough half-decent portrayals, certainly not in dominant roles, to justify writing a list. But I will make a demand list – what I want from a book before I will praise it, recommend it and give the author those precious precious cookies for it

I want a lot when it comes to fiction. Not because I’m demanding – but because we’re currently so lacking. Because there are so few portrayals and so few good portrayals. And because there’s so much damage caused by our erasure and the deeply flawed portrayals we so often see.

1. Drop the homophobia. Just drop it. I’m tired of books that don’t even HAVE a GBLT character still throwing f*ggot around. Or having a HILARIOUS scene where 2 guys realise that someone thinks they’re gay and they have that oh-so-funny freak out. Enough.


2. I want a GBLT presence. Preferably more than 1. And this is ACTUAL presence. Not subtext, not “oh they looked at each other for 5 minutes, totally gay” not slash goggles or implications or possibly could/maybe. No retconning after the fact. No author edits after the book has been published. In fact, no single blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference from which their GBLTness never ever rises again


3. I want a GBLT protagonist. That means the book is about them. They’re the person we follow, the main character. Not the side-kick, not the villain, not the supporting cast, not the distressed damsel – they can be them as well, sure, but I want a protagonist. I am sick of being the supporting cast in someone else’s story


4. I want to see an actual decent portrayal, not a cookie cutter stereotype, not following the same insulting tropes. I want it written for our gaze, for the consumption of GBLT people – not something odd for the straighties, not something grossly fetishised or presented as some exploration of the alien. And I want to see diverse portrayals. I don’t want us doing the same thing every time, acting the same way every time.


5. I want to see GBLT people doing things beyond coming out/facing bigotry/transitioning/being bullied/dealing with AIDS. I want to see us on every shelf, not just the special issue shelf. I want us doing everything straight, cis protags do. And I don’t want our stories being treated as “niche” just because it has a GBLTQ character – a sci-fi novel with a GBLTQ character and a historical fiction with a GBLTQ character shouldn’t be filed together

When I get this lot? Then I’ll praise, hail, cheerlead and bake a hundred cookies. But I’m not settling for less and I’m not hailing less. I’m tired of settling, I’m sick of praising the mediocre and really beyond fed up with the scraps from the table

I don’t think I’ll be doing that any time soon.

All right gang, you fine people are in for a huge treat. Recently I had the pleasure and privilege in conducting a a one-on-one interview with my dear friend, the beautiful, talented, prolific and always fun Caitlin Kittredge.

Kittredge is the author of of four (count em four) popular series: Nocturne City, Black London, Icarus Project, and Iron Codex. All of which I can’t recommend enough.

I first met Kittredge a few years back through our mutual good buddy, Cherie Priest: the priestess of steampunk and all things awesome.

Since then, we’ve all been Dragon Con crewmates who can usually be found racing from hotel to hotel.

During the one-on-one, Kittredge discusses her career as a novelist, fandom, and a couple of brothers on a little known t.v. show called Supernatural.

Some excellent posts on the #YesGayYA issue.


Outer Alliance: Refusing To Straighten Up

Publishers Say No To Gay Protagonists

Read Gay YA, Change The World


And in related discussions, John Barrowman had the following to say about the criticisms regarding his hit series, Torchwood:


When you watch Torchwood there is a warning at the very beginning that some scenes may offend or disturb people, so if you allow your children to sit and watch it with you that’s your responsibility, it’s not ours anymore. We kissed, we held each other, we lay on top of each other in bed… and there were lots of complaints about that.

Nobody complained that I was shot in the head four times, there were burning people in ovens, that I was stabbed by a mob of 50 people hundreds of times, and I was hanging dripping my blood in a pit. So that’s what confuses me, because you’re not complaining about gay sex, you’re complaining about two men kissing.

And it’s 2011. And people say, “Well why should we have that on television?” Because the BBC have to represent the greater public — and there are gay people out there who pay their television license. For people to complain, that’s your prerogative — but you know what, none of them turned it off!

They were just embarrassed because it put them in a position where they had to explain things to their kids or their family which probably should have been explained a long time ago.

To quote Lipman: To be shocked that this could happen is a remarkable point of privilege.

Nevermind the fiasco that JUST happened to Jessica Verday this past Spring.

And what I said then, still applies now:

Do you honestly think this was an isolated incident or these kind of attitudes are happening in a vacuum?

This is most pervasive of the industry as a whole.

Ask yourself how many novels there are out there in mainstream speculative fiction that feature LGBTQs, particularly gay males, as the primary protagonists? For that matter ask yourselves how many mainstream speculative novels feature POCs, or better yet how many feature queer POCs. And none of that was a clue?

While the agent was being reprehensible, the truth is, they're being far more upfront in their bigotry than most are.

See many editors and publishers who see a story featuring an LGBTQ or a POC will simply say it’s just not a right fit for what they publish and keep it moving. While they’ll reject it because of racism or homophobia, they’ll hem and haw and use every other lie and excuse to save face.

Do you honestly think it's random happenstance that there's a dearth of POC/LGBTQ content. And why does it take an online drama/incident before people (who are in positions of privilege) decide to proactively demand better or raise the issue of diversity?

So until more people decide to get a clue about the realities in which we dwell, much less demand better, don't expect change to occur. Because the truth is, it’s simply business as usual.

This post can also be subtitled "Why It Pays To Not Be A Dick!" as well as "Why My Friends Are More AWESOME Than Yours."

The backstory. A few years ago, I was on an "anti-oppression" site online where a young woman (for now I'll keep her anonymous but if she wants to identify herself, she's welcome to do so) was being unjustly harassed and attacked by some fauxial justice blowhards. I stepped in on her behalf . I was angry I couldn't do more but in hindsight maybe it was for the best as we both eventually left that community as it continued to get worse. The one good thing from the experience (aside from leaving that cesspool hypocrites) is that she and I became friends and have kept in touch via our respective blogs.

Well as most of you know I've recently been on the never ending trek to find quality queer male media. The Holy Grail's got nothing on this quest.

And most of you know that I've been outspoken in expressing my frustration on how queer males are horrendously depicted, often by so-called allies.

During my search I came upon Scott Tracey's debut novel, Witch Eyes. The premise had me hooked and upon further research I learned the author's intent was to write an incredible story where the main protagonist happened to be gay as opposed to his entire existence revolving around his orientation.

I was sold. With the novel coming out in September, I've been too excited but I couldn't wait.

And low and behold I didn't have to.

My friend contacted me recently and informed me that while she was at a book expo, she grabbed an ARC of a novel which she strongly believed I would love and wanted to forward to me as a way of saying thanks for being a decent soul. And three guesses which novel that was?

I tell you, times like this, even if I wasn't the neo_prodigy, I'd wish I was.  ;-)
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A boy who can see the world’s secrets and unravel spells with just a glance.

Braden’s witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse.

Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything—lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder—to seize control of Braden’s powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, even through the shocking discovery that Jason is his father. While his feelings for an enigmatic boy named Trey grow deeper, Braden realizes a terrible truth: Trey is Catherine Lansing’s son . . . and Braden may be destined to kill him.

Ladies & gentlemen, it's a wrap. The gauntlet has been thrown, the bar has been raised, the standard has been set. THIS is how it's done! I haven't been this excited about a novel since Perry Moore's Hero.

Braden proves to be a strong protagonist. He's a three-dimensional character. He makes mistakes, he's fallible, he's human and sympathetic. And even when he gets himself into trouble, this is still a character you can root for. While there's angst aplenty, he has more than enough legtimiate reasons for said angst (which keeps him sympathetic) and Tracey does an excellent job not allowing said angst to pummel and warp Braden's characterization and development and make him stilted and obnoxious like a lot of writers do with their characters. Tracey's description and prose is quite impressive. It didn't overburden you with filler and purple prose. Between the descriptions and the first person narrative, you could place yourself in Belle Dam and easily visualize the town and its inhabitants. The mythos and the plot immediately sucked me in and I was dying to find out what happened next. Many of the characters have secrets and agendas, and you're eagerly awaiting them to show their hands. And more than once I got impatient with intel the audience finds out early on and was wanting to scream, REVEAL ALREADY. The anticipation was killing me.

Forgive the vagueness of this review but I'm trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible.

And can I stress how much I love the book cover?

Braden's orientation was also handled as-a-matter-of-factly, with nuance, with insight and respect. Witch Eyes could've easily have worked with Braden being a heterosexual and it was a relief to read a story that wasn't a formulaic coming out tale or a tragic gay angst tale.

What was also a relief was that the romance didn't overwhelm the story like you see too often in countless YA, gay novels, and urban fantasy books. The romance was one (albeit important) part of the complex and interwoven plot. The romance was well-executed, as was the mystery, the action and the drama. But it was all well-balanced which made the story that much stronger and that much more enjoyable.

And speaking of romance and love interests, Trey's a dick. I do not like him. Maybe it's because I've dated guys like him, but I'm less than impressed. Braden is too good for him and can do so much better. I'm down for Team Somebody Else. What Braden sees in Trey, I do not know....I myself have never been one to have a weakness for hawt blond bad boys. Not at all.

[sees readers crossing their arms and giving me the side-eye]

Don't give me that look. Besides this isn't about me or my dating life, this is about Braden and Braden's poor taste in men.

[sees readers still giving me the side-eye]

STOP JUDGING ME!!!!!

When it comes to storytelling, Tracey proves that he knows his craft and I found myself having to pace myself with the story because I didn't want it to end too soon. There isn't much resolution at the end which I found distressing. But said distress was quickly relieved when I found out that Witch Eyes is the first of a series and the next book is scheduled to be released next year. Thank God. From what little I've researched, it appears that Witch Eyes only answered a few questions to unlock more mysteries. Shorthand, to quote Jim Ross, business is about to pick up.

And if Tracey is this impressive in his debut novel, I can't wait to see what he accomplishes next.

It saddens me that it took three years for me to find another enjoyable book that features a queer male protagonist. The last one I read was Hero. When you stop and think about the number of books that get churned out each year which feature cis straight white protagonists, it's all the more infuriating.

But hopefully Witch Eyes is a sign of things changing. We still have a long ways to go obviously but maybe novels like this will lead to more.

Witch Eyes will be available on Sept. 8.  PREORDER IS YOUR FRIEND!!!!!