Robert J. Halliwell: “My own experiences with love and romance influence me massively. I’m not the sort of person who can write things that I have no connection to.” AS WE celebrate Pride Month, I’m thrilled to feature an Own Voice author whose work brilliantly highlights the importance of diverse voices in fiction, including authentic […]
Nicholas Young: “I’m sure my sexuality influences my writing subconsciously. It would be strange if it did not.” I WANT to welcome Nicholas Young to the Blog. Nicholas is a Canadian author whose work delves into themes of queerness, memory, isolation, and belonging through intimate, character-driven storytelling. His debut novel, Under the Covered Bridge, is […]
“…we lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.” — Margaret Atwood BIRTHDAYS ALWAYS make me think about random, specific moments from my life. Good, bad, and odd. Like that one time my parents forgot my 18th birthday. Yes, I […]
PERPETUALLY DRAWN to the shadows (I mean, I was a goth for a reason—there are pics!), I seek out stories that not only linger in the dark but actively pull you into it. Of course, some are more successful than others. I’m always looking for authors who aren’t afraid to explore the thrills, the horrors, […]
LATELY, I’ve been thinking about the strange relationship readers can have with an author’s work, how some of our books are eagerly picked up while others get dismissed outright. What if a story truly is more than its designated genre? This topic is not new territory; authors have engaged with it since the dawn of […]
Glenn Quigley: “Coming from an Own-Voice perspective means I can draw from lived experience, not just from what I’ve read online. My characters can be people, not catchphrases.” GLENN Quigley is an author and artist originally from Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland, now living in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, with his husband, Mark. His debut novel, The Moth […]
THIS article was sparked by a discussion I had with my husband about my occasional use of Queer Theory in conversations about contemporary queer issues, as well as in literary and other contexts. He pointed out that some of the terminology felt “dated.” So, I wondered: has Queer Theory evolved, or is it outdated? Am […]
IN A WORLD that’s increasingly aware of the importance of representation (and “bollocks” to those seeking to dismantle it), the value of authentic queer narratives cannot be overstated. LGBTQ+ stories have routinely been filtered through heteronormative lenses by non-queer writers, often resulting in portrayals that are exoticized, misrepresented, oversimplified, and, unsurprisingly, maligned. Unconscious/implicit bias in […]
“‘The Fantastic Freewheeler is going to save the park and defeat your mall of doom!’” ― Molly Felder, The Fantastic Freewheeler vs. the Mall of Doom ALWAYS on the lookout for books for my nephews―because BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS―I came across author Molly Felder, a whimsical storyteller who infuses a passionate “own-voice” element into her captivating […]
“Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted―” E.M. Forster I was recently asked how I would categorize my novel, Vindictive. The options presented to me were Thriller/Suspense, Mystery/Crime, and Action/Adventure. To me, however, something key was missing. So, I answered it my way. The truth is, I never have to […]
