And the Winner Is....

The Hop Against Homophobia has come to an end. Thanks again to all those who particpated and to all the organizers who made it happen. Also, many thanks to all of you who stopped by and left messages of support and encouragment. As fate - and the randomizer- would have it, I am extremely excited to announce that the winner of JCP's new book Mnevermind: Persistence of Memory is none other than...

Erica Pike! Congratulations Erica!!!

I will be in touch shortly, Erica. Hope you all have a fantastic Monday. And, if you are jonesing for a good read, there's always a new YA sci-fi fantasy story going up at The Ravens Crossing. Head on over and check it out. It's free, it's fun, and it's all about diversity!

Win a Copy of JCP's Mnevermind 1: Persistence of Memory

Today is day 3 of the Hop Against Homophobia. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to comment and all who have left me private messages of support. Your words have meant so much. Many thanks to Erica Pike and the organizers of this hop, not to mention all of the authors, publishers, reviewers, and readers who participated and spoke out against homophobia. Every voice matters.

Stopping intolerance and its tragic effects has great personal significance to me. I posted my personal story on the first day of the hop. Yesterday, for day 2 of the hop, I shared  how I'm getting involved, though political activism, and through a collaborative creation called The Ravens Crossing, a YA LGBTQIA website that is crossing barriers through science fiction and fantasy by promoting acceptance, equality, and diversity for young adults. I also shared a sample of my gay fiction story, Cory's Pride, soon to be available for free on Goodreads M/M Romance Group as part of the Love is Always Write event.

For the last day of the hop, I'd like to talk with you about one of the authors who inspired me to write LGBT fiction, Jordan Castillo Price (JCP). Several years ago, while I was still in graduate school studying to get my degree as an interdisciplinary artist, I was turned on to the Psycop series by a close friend and fellow alum at Goddard. When I should have been doing my course credit work, I found myself unable to put Jordan's stories down. I stayed up for nights on end reading them all. These were some of the first M/M books I read, and I was hooked. Finally, I could read stories of adventure with characters I could relate to. I was thrilled to find well-written, character-driven stories starring gay protagonists going about the business of living and loving. What I find most attractive about Jordan's stories are her wonderfully flawed characters who are usually stuck in some fantasitcal paranormal, science fiction, or horror world that she manages to make completely plausible from beginning to end. She inspired me to begin writing my own character-driven LGBT stories.

Some time later, Jordan and I began talking regularly, around the time I realized she was not only writing, but also self-publishing and creating all of her own graphic designs and book covers. As it turns out, we have a lot in common due a mutual love of animals and a similar background in visual arts. She has been extremely generous with her time and advice. When she asked me if I would be interested in content editing for her latest project, Mnevermind 1: The Persistence of Memory, I jumped at the chance to work with her. It has been a fantastic journey seeing her latest science fiction thriller series come to life. By the time she was working on the last drafts, I'd gotten so hooked on Danial and his mysterious man in black, I've had to make myself refrain from nagging her to let me at book 2. I can't wait to find out what happens.

When I started thinking about what I wanted to give away for this hop, I decided to choose the very author who inspired me to write LGBT fiction. It is just icing on the cake that she happens to be someone I admire, someone I consider a friend as well as a colleague. I truly think you'll love her latest series. But don't just take my word for it. It's been getting rave reviews on Amazon. To win a copy of her book, leave a comment below with your email address. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced here tomorrow.

Mnevermind 1: Persistence of Memory - Summary

Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father’s heart.

While forgetting your problems won’t solve them, it does seem like it would make life a heck of a lot easier. Daniel thought so once. Now he knows better. He and Big Dan have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like his father remembers.

They’re both professionals in the memory field—they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn’t they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that’s wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation seems to be sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn’t had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.

Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel headed down the same path to fantasy-land as his old man?

***

Hit this link to read the excerpt!

Creative Antics to Promote Tolerance

It's day two of the Hop Against Homophobia, an event to honor the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Yesterday, I posted my personal story, explaining why stopping homophobia and intolerance is so important to me. Today, as promised, I will share with you a few of the creative ways I am getting involved and attempting to promote change. Like all the blogs participating in this hop, if you leave a comment on any of the posts from yesterday though tomorrow, and provide your email information, you will be entered into a free giveaway.

Here, at Creative Antics, I am offering a free copy of the first book in Jordan Castillo Price's fantastic new gay paranormal fiction series, The Persistence of Memory (Mnevermind 1). Jordan's writing is partially responsible for inspiring me to write gay fiction. I became a fan several years ago. Now, I'm honored to call her a friend and colleague. I'm very proud of her latest work, which I will blog more about tomorrow. So be sure to stop back by. Leave a comment for the chance at a free copy of her book. The winner will be picked via randomizer and announced this coming Sunday, May 20th, 2012.

So just what are these creative antics of mine that attempt to promote tolerance? There are a lot of ways I am actively involved in the fight for human rights and equality. Probably  the most important, and perhaps the least exciting, is that  I write letters to my politicians. A lot. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them now roll their eyes when they get another mail with my name attached. I also vote responsibly. By this I mean, I do more than just show up at the poles for a Presidential election and vote according to whatever hype has been spewed at me. But, this didn't feel like nearly enough to me. So, I began searching for more creative ways I could fight for tolerance and equality.

A couple of my dearest friends, fellow authors and college alums, Andi Lea and West Thornhill, began brainstorming ideas on what we could do over our weekly coffee meetings. We all felt passionately that we wanted to reach out to our LGBTQIA youth, to provide stories they could identify with, fantastic adventures with the happy endings they are so rarely allowed. We wanted to provide reading they could easily access, in a place that would also offer them other resources they might need. The Ravens Crossing (TRC) is what grew from these discussions. It is a labor of love for everyone involved. The project is run fully by volunteers, and the fantastic people who work on this project have all been extremely generous with their time and talents. It's been a joy to work on, and I am thrilled to be involved. We have also teamed up with The Make it Safe Project to help provide reading materials for LGBTQIA youth in areas that don't have the resources to provide them.

The stories we write at TRC feature a diverse cast of characters. They are Young Adult, science fiction/fantasy adventure stories written by three authors and set within the same fictional neighborhood, Wildwood. Stories post six days a week and everything on the site is absolutely free. If you haven't already visited TRC, I hope you will check out "The First Time Here?" page, and if you like what you see, please tell your friends.

So, I write stories that promote diversity, stories that portray gay protagonists, that celebrate equality for everyone. And, I'm a big fan of genre bending whenever possible. One of my latest stories is actually a spin off from The Ravens Crossing. It will soon be published as a free read over at Goodreads for the M/M Romance Group's Love is Always Write event. Joining the group is free and the event offers you 150 free stories over the next few weeks everything from short stories to full-length novels. Each story was inspired by a photo and a prompt sent in by a reader. Below is the image and prompt for my story, and a brief excerpt of Cory's Pride.

Prompt sent in by Deanna: I'm a zookeeper and I care for the big cats. See Bogo on the left, he's been limping for a few days and I had to call in the vet. But the vet who just waltzed in here like he owned the joint is not Dr. Kate Sullivan. He's the new guy at her clinic. And I think the only way to wipe that cocky, arrogant grin off his face is with a hard kiss.... 
 

In case you didn't know, I actually spent twenty years as a professional zookeeper, and I used to take care of lions. So this prompt couldn't have been better if I'd written it myself. From Deanna's idea, I created Cory Stephens, the lion keeper for the Larabee Wild Animal Park, located just a few miles from TRC's Wildwood neighborhood. My hot new vet at Dr. Sullivan's Clinic turns out to be Dr. TJ Dylan. I sincerely enjoyed writing this story. It was a nice excuse to fondly remember my lion keeping days and portray some of my favorite lions as characters.

So, without further ado, I offer you a short excerpt from Cory's Pride:

***

“Alright boys, time to put on a show for the fans. Get your lazy butts moving,” Cory said.

Bogo cracked one eye open, but he made no move to get up from his comfy nest of hay. He lifted his head and yawned, showing a mouth full of shiny, white teeth. Then he rested his chin on his forepaws once more.

Pogo, on the other hand, was up and pacing the front of the cage, his saucer sized feet made shushing noises against the hay covered, concrete floor. He shook his golden mane and puffed, a greeting that sounded like a reverse sneeze.

Cory waited. He didn’t want to let Pogo out until Bogo was up and moving. Otherwise, all of the food he had hidden around the exhibit this morning would be gone before Bogo made it outside.

“What’s the matter, old man?” Cory frowned at Bogo when he simply gave him a bleary look.

Pogo looked at Cory, then at Bogo. He walked to the shift door that led to the exhibit and slammed it with his paw. He looked back at Cory as if to say, “What the hell are you waiting for?”

“Well, you could help me get the old boy up, you know,” Cory said.

Pogo turned and walked to Bogo, rubbing and pushing at him with his head. Bogo groaned. Cory laughed. Some days he could swear the pride knew exactly what he was saying.

“The girls are already out, gentlemen. Don’t keep them waiting.” Bogo gave him another bored look, but he stood, taking his time about it. He stretched, rocking his body backwards and forwards, obviously working the kinks out of his stiff joints. He was in no hurry to go outside to the exhibit adjoining his females.

“You’re like me, aren’t you, boy?” Cory said. “You prefer your big, strong man. Can’t say as I blame you. Pogo is dreamy,” Cory chuckled.

The two male lions were housed separate from the five pride females until it was time to allow breeding. Though Pogo seemed bi, joyfully doing his duty for the pride whenever he was allowed, Bogo hadn’t mounted a female in years. He mounted Pogo all the time, though. Some would say this was a show of dominance, or that Bogo was too old to breed, but Cory knew better. Bogo was not the first lion, captive or otherwise, who preferred same-sex partners. Cory smiled affectionately at the huge cat. Yes, gay was perfectly natural, even for a lion.

***

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by. Happy Friday! Don't forget to hop around, and leave a comment here for your chance to win. And I hope I have inspired you to get involved with the fight against homophobia. Every voice matters!