Interview: Jenna Rose

Today we’re joined by Jenna Rose. Jenna is a phenomenal author who specializes in LGBTQ+ romances. She has currently released two novels in a planned 5-book series. It involves a mysterious supernatural society and a pair of PIs who try to solve the mysteries in their communities. It sounds like a fascinating read and Jenna obviously loves writing it, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I write LGBTQIA romances. My favorite genre is fantasy, and science-fiction, but I have some stories in the works that have a more contemporary setting.

The books I have published are written with co-author Katey Hawthorne. They take place in a world where a supernatural society exists in secret alongside our own, and follow Lowell Kanaan, a private investigator and wolf shifter, and John Tilney, an author and pyrokinetic, as they work together to solve mysteries in their community. Lowell’s a gruff kind of guy with a heart of gold underneath it all, and John (who’s demiromantic!) is a sweet and tenacious oddball.

There are currently two books out in a planned series of five. The first in the series is Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers, and the second is Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Man-Eater. I will mention that the books do contain sex scenes, so if those aren’t your jam, you can skip over them or they just might not be the books for you. Thanks to the publisher I’m currently with, sex scenes are no longer more or less required, so future books of mine will not always have them.  🙂

What inspires you?

Man, so many things! I save pictures of places all the time. Natural wonders, different kinds of houses, abandoned places… Anything that I think would make for a cool setting. Other books inspire me too. I might read something and realize hey, I’d love to see a steampunk story with queer characters, or, it might touch on a subject that I would have liked to seen explored more.

Also, I play Dungeons & Dragons and I find their character creation system in the current edition weirdly useful for coming up with character concepts.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

The list of things I wanted to be when I grew up changed a lot when I was a kid. One day I’d want to be a Power Ranger, then the next I’d want to be an archeologist (because, you know, Lara Croft), annnnd then the next I’d want to be a zoologist. But, writer was the one thing that was always on the list. I loved how books contained whole worlds you could get lost in, and I always wanted to create my own and share them with people.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Haha! I don’t, but now I feel like there should be.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Be comfortable with things not going the way you expected them to. There will be times when a plot point won’t always work out the way you hoped, and now and again a character will surprise you and do something unexpected. Hell, sometimes you’ll end up writing something completely different than what you started with. And you just kinda gotta go with it.

When I was younger, when I dreamed of being a writer, I didn’t see myself writing romance. I wanted to write Young Adult novels. LGBTQIA romance is something I kinda stumbled into. Turns out, though? I love writing romance. I’m having fun and getting to tell stories I love. It’s totally not where I expected to end up, but now that I’m here, I’m glad that I did.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I identify as biromantic demisexual.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

I’m lucky to work at a publishing company that works hard to be inclusive, so I’ve never run into any issues with anyone at Less than Three Press, or with any other authors. However, I do unfortunately get the occasional review that’s acephobic or just uneducated about asexuality in general.

I think, like with anyone, I have my good days and bad days when it comes to dealing with prejudice or ignorance. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes not so much. On the days it’s harder to brush off, I try to remind myself that part of why I write LGBTQIA fiction is because of how little representation there is out there. A lot of people don’t know or understand what asexuality is and, my hope, is by putting it out there in my writing that it will help educate people. And if not? Well, my writing isn’t for them. It’s for people, like me, who want to see themselves in stories. If even just one person out there feels a little bit less alone, or realizes that they are not broken and are fine just how they are, because of something I wrote, then that’s all that matters.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

This is a tough one. There are a few things I hear all the time, even from my own family, but I guess the most common would be is that asexuality isn’t a real thing. I’ve seen arguments that aces just haven’t met the right person, that we need to experiment more with sex, or that we just have low sex drives and medication would fix things. I’ve even seen accusations that asexuals are making it up for attention, or so we’ll be included in queer community without actually being queer.

But the craziest thing I’ve heard? I’ve legit had my own family tell me that my lack of interest in sex is normal for women. Lots of women feel like I do, so clearly asexuality is a made-up thing and why do I need a special label for it anyway?

It’s a lot of bullshit arguments with nothing to back them up other than ignorance, sexism, and acephobia.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

You’re not alone. I know that there are times when it feels like you are, and that you might always will be, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are people out there, both asexuals and allosexuals, who love you and accept you for who you are. There’s an entire community eager to embrace you. You belong, you’re valid, and you are loved. And, if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here for you.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

They can check me out at my website (http://www.jennarosewrites.com) which has links to my Facebook, Tumblr, and other social media accounts as well as information on where to find my books.

They can also head on over to the official Kanaan & Tilney website (http://kanaanandtilneyinvestigations.com).

Thank you, Jenna, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Casey Wolfe

Today we’re joined by Casey Wolfe. Casey is a wonderful author who writes in a number of genres with romance being a main feature in all their work. The author bio from their website: “History nerd, film buff, avid gamer, and full-time geek; all of these things describe Casey Wolfe. They prefer being lost in the world of fiction—wandering through fantasy realms, traveling the outer reaches of space, or delving into historical time periods.  Casey is non-binary and ace, living with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, all of which informs their writing in various ways. Happily married, Casey and their partner live in the middle-of-nowhere, Ohio with their furry, four-legged children.” My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m an author.  I write everything from contemporary to fantasy and everything in between, with romance as a main element.  My favorite genre to write has always been paranormal.

What inspires you?

Really, it can be anything and everything.  I find inspiration in music, photography, artwork…  I can find it while people-watching or in a random piece of conversation.  I’ve even gotten my fair share of inspiration from dreams.  I literally never know when something will strike.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I started writing in the sixth grade.  We had to write a short story for an English assignment and from then on, I was hooked. I began writing more short stories. I didn’t start thinking it could be a career until high school.  That was when I started to write my first novels – nothing that has seen the light of day, but it helped me shape my style and grow in my craft.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

I like to use star imagery in my work.  I’m also a geek and tend to include quotes from movies/shows/video games.  I’m always interested to see if people can spot the lines I’ve used.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Write, write, write. You’ll never get better if you don’t practice.  You don’t even have to show anyone your work – I know how hard that can be.  Just as long as you’re writing, you’re getting better. You’re working on developing your voice and practicing technique.  If you have a writing group in your area, or can find a trusted group online, then getting feedback is also a helpful step, but only when you’re ready for it.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

Grey ace and demi

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

I’ve been very lucky to work exclusively with an LGBTQ publisher.  Everyone involved in the publishing house, including other authors, are queer as well, so we don’t have any issues on that front.  We’ve had people ask questions, wanting to know more. It’s a wonderfully open environment and we can all help educate as the need arises.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

We don’t have sex at all. Some aces certainly don’t.  But we are a large spectrum with a wide array of comfort levels with sex.  Don’t just assume because I’m ace that I’m sex repulsed or that my partner must “suffer from a lack of sex.”  Trust me, he’s fine, and it’s really none of your business anyway.  It’s pretty rude to try to assert yourself into someone else’s bedroom.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

You don’t have to “get it right” the first time.  You’re allowed to change your mind about how you identify later in life.  Never feel like you are being “fake” or you were “lying” because you identify differently now.  And definitely don’t let anyone else make you feel that way.  Give yourself time and space to explore who you are.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

Website: https://authorcaseywolfe.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcaseywolfe
Tumblr: https://authorcaseywolfe.tumblr.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/authorcaseywolfe

Thank you, Casey, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Jessica Suphan

Today we’re joined by Jessica Suphan. Jessica is a phenomenal author who has recently published her debut novel, a psychological thriller entitled Perfect World. Jessica hasn’t met a genre she doesn’t like and writes in a variety of them. She’s an incredibly passionate and dedicated writer, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

Gladly! I’m an author, I write psychologically based stories, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, any genre that pops into my mind. I write novellas and novels and short stories; just like I write whatever genre is needed for the story, I write whatever length is needed for the story I’m telling. Though most of them tend to be really long. It was very recent that I became a published author instead of an unpublished writer; my psychological thriller Perfect World came out in June. In a sentence, it’s about a young government agent who shoulders the burden of his utopia’s secret origins and has to struggle against psychosis because of those secrets. Just like all my other work, it’s extremely diverse. Perfect World features LGBT+ and ethnic as well as racial diversity. But I give all forms of diversity to my stories; it’s something that’s very important to me, and something I’ll never stop.

What inspires you?

It’s a dumb answer, but I’d have to say everything. I adore worldbuilding so cool tidbits from various cultures get tucked away into my mind along with science facts (mostly space) and psychological phenomenons. I’m a counseling psychology student so I learn a lot in the latter most’s area. Tumblr’s a great place too. I’ve gotten ideas of things to add to stories, ideas for characters, phrases that leap out. Perfect World actually has a scene inspired by a Tumblr post that asked why we never learn about other cultures in dystopian stories, and a character inspired by another post about how we never see a man sleep his way to the top. My friends do too, along with nature. Have you ever walked outside when it’s raining? Not a downpour, just raining. If you look at flowers and leaves then, it feels like the world is a fuzzier and gentler place. That’s a feeling that really sticks with me. And injustice.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve been a writer as far back as I can remember. My first finished story happened when I was in fourth grade. It’s the first story I recall writing, but my parents assure me that it went on beforehand, and I’m not surprised. Like many writers I was a voracious reader; how could I not want to add to the number of worlds in the universe, even as a young child?

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Hm. I’m not sure if it falls under it, but I do love putting exact onomatopoeia in. Exact though. It’s such a delightful yet challenging thing to write if you want to get the true sound of what just happened. A metal fan’s blades don’t go rrrrrr, they go brrirrrr, a rock doesn’t grind sssssss against another rock, it grinds ssszzzzzt!, but you have to stop and listen and focus only on the sound in order to get it. I’ll spend easily an hour trying to figure out the spelling of something that isn’t even a word.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Just write. A lot of advice will tell you to copy how great authors write, and you totally can if you want. But I’ve never seen the point of it. Write like you. That’s how you find your voice, something else writing advice frets about, because your voice is how you naturally tell a story. Not only that, but write what you know doesn’t mean you’re stuck writing high school stories until you graduate. Good heavens, can you imagine how awful that’d be? You can write anything you want because, for me at least, that phrase is about emotion. I will hopefully never experience what it’s like to have my child go missing. But I’ve experienced the emotions of panic and dread and frustration at my own helplessness. I haven’t gone to another planet (yet). Still, I know the thrill of exploring, that tight stomach and fizzy head that comes from embarking out into something I couldn’t possibly know. And don’t write for word counts. I’ve found that sitting down to write a scene gives you a lot more success than sitting down to write ______ words. In the latter you’re pausing to count words, focused on those instead of the story. When you sit down with the intent to write a scene you’re honed in on the story and moving it forward, and we all know scenes can be very long. So if you write one you can look back on pages instead of a paragraph that leaves you wanting more.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m homoromantic asexual! A girl who has romantic interest in other girls but no sexual attraction or urges whatsoever.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Everything I’ve experienced has been ignorance. Since I hang out with other writers who also know the importance of diversity that’s slightly less common than it otherwise might be, but it’s still very much present. I personally really enjoy teaching people things. So if something comes up, I take pleasure in patiently but (if needed) firm explanations. The vast majority of the time, people just need to be treated with respect and not attacked for their ignorance, and they’re happy to learn and respect. Of course you have to be more aggressive with some people though, it can’t be helped. I do experience compassion fatigue though with all the activism I do (where your brain is so overloaded and so tired from caring so much about everything you could read the most heinous article title and be unable to feel anything about it), so sometimes I let a comment pass. With those though, they have to be both ignorant and not harmful in a large way.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That asexuality = aromantic pops up, but the most common one is absolutely that asexuals don’t have sex ever. Some don’t. But some, myself included, have. Asexuals might like it on an intellectual level, because they crave physical contact that much, because they enjoy the emotional intimacy that comes from it, or any number of other reasons. It’s very common for me to get nothing but crickets when someone says that I just need to try sex and I tell them I’ve had it several times and am still asexual. That’s my truth, it’s the truth of many people, and there’s nothing wrong or “lying” about it.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

You exist. You’re okay. I promise you are, you’re not broken and you’re not wrong. There hasn’t been a term for us until now because there wasn’t a safe space for us to be heard, talking about sex was taboo, and the expectation was that it was a necessity not a pleasure. That’s why it’s “new”, not because it’s made up. We’re real.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

Right here on Tumblr! My blog is scripturient-manipulator, and you can find Perfect World as a print book, as an ebook, or for your kindle. Feel free to message me to talk as well!

Thank you, Jessica, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Lee

Today we’re joined by Lee. Lee is a wonderful artist who does a bit of everything. They love cooking the most, but they also do some writing and crafts. They also enjoy music and play a number of instruments as well as sing. It’s very obvious they love creating, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I like to cook, knit, cross-stitch, write and play music. I love cooking the most, as it provides a lovely meal for you to eat when you are done! My specialties include mushroom risotto, spaghetti carbonara and chicken chow mein. My knitting and cross-stitching is really good for relaxing in my spare time with some music and a cat on my lap.

Writing is also one of my favourite things to do, but unfortunately writer’s block stands in my way like a stubborn boulder more often than not. I like to write romance (because asexuals can still have lovely romantic relationships!) and horror. Sadly for my characters, they are sometimes combined.

As for music, I can play bass, keyboard and ukulele, and I love to sing. My friend gives me the nickname Tyler Joseph because I can rap as well. I mostly do covers, but recently I composed an original song.

What inspires you?

My inspiration for cooking and writing almost always starts with a ‘what if?’.

I love to take tropes and recipes that people are used to and flip them on their heads. Adding a certain new ingredient can make meals really tasty, especially if you switch out a vegetable you don’t like for one you do. What if instead of beansprouts and lettuce, you had mushrooms and sweetcorn in your stir-fry? What if you added cinnamon to your muffins? (I add cinnamon to everything and anything I bake. Someone needs to stop me.)

In writing I love challenging tropes, and mostly I use it as an opportunity to make my characters diverse and three-dimensional. For example, what if the superhero is ace & aro and never gets a love interest, but the villain is so busy trying to find out who they’re dating that they don’t realise the hero has found their lair? If I’m writing fanfiction, my question may become “what if this scene went differently?” Or “What if these characters had a happy ending?”

Inspiration also comes from things I read; books, I like to believe, are not just paper. They reproduce, as plots and characters and settings from all different books inspire more plots and characters and settings in other writers. It’s like a whole new species.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’d have to say the thing that got me interested in writing was reading. I was the epitome of a bookworm when I was little, and all those books made me want to write some of my own. I thought, if these characters can have these adventures, what adventures can my characters have?

I’ve also always loved music and singing, but I was never very good at anything but keyboard until my music teacher introduced me to the bass guitar. It’s my favorite instrument as it’s simple yet really effective, and can serve as both melody and percussion. Plus, I can play the bassline to Dance Dance, which is one of my favourite basslines ever.

My interest in knitting and cross-stitching came from, as with many others, my grandmother teaching me how. Since she got arthritis and can’t do it anymore, I feel like I should carry on her legacy, so to speak. Plus, it comes back again to challenging stereotypes. Whoever hears of a teenager knitting?

And cooking, of course, comes from loving food.

I always loved writing and wanted to be an author, but I never thought the other three would become so important in my life.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

I think everyone who has read my writing knows that I use ‘though’ in every other sentence.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Make some art. And then make some more. And if you have art block in one area, try another. Things like drawing, painting and writing can take up a lot of mental energy because your creativity is being pushed to its limits. If you’re struggling with a particular piece, find something new to create that has a set of instructions to follow, like my personal favourite, knitting. Once you get into the hang of whatever you’re making, your mind wanders and maybe you can have an idea that can help you! Remember that all art is good art and you don’t have to be amazing at everything straight away. Be patient with yourselves.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I am currently questioning my position on the spectrum, but I believe I am most likely to be completely asexual. I’m not rushing to get to an answer, though. I’m also questioning my position on the romantic spectrum, though as I am currently in a lovely relationship I think it’s safe to say I’m not aromantic.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Luckily I am quite sheltered from a lot of prejudice and ignorance as most of my friends are very well educated and/or on the asexual spectrum themselves. I haven’t experienced any as of yet.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

Again, most of my friends are well educated on asexuality, but I do find that people tend to go straight down the path of ‘not finding the right person yet’. It’s a bit like telling someone with a nut allergy that they haven’t found the right nut yet.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

If I’m honest I’d say I’m one of those people who are struggling with their orientation, but I think that being patient with yourself is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to identity. There’s nothing wrong with identifying as anything as long as you’re not harming anyone.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I have posted one of my covers on my YouTube channel anomalee, and more will probably be up there soon.

My AO3 account is heyitslee, though I would advise you stay away from the old stuff.

I have a blog that occasionally posts tips for brit-picking, called its-not-block-its-street, that you can check out.

I also recently started a writing blog called thescientificterm. I am yet to post on it, but I will be posting some pieces I have already done on there soon, and any new pieces will be going up there. I am currently working on a horror piece for my creative writing coursework, so keep your eyes out for that! I might make it into a crafty blog and post some other stuff up there too.

Thank you, Lee, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: James Loke

Today we’re joined by James Loke. James is a phenomenal writer who has written in a variety of genres. Aside from being a novelist, they’re also a journalist. It’s very obvious that James is incredibly passionate about art, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m an author! My first published novel was Dead Ringer, an m/m romance about Brandon, a down-on-his-luck guy who looks exactly like his grandfather, who was a Marlon Brando, James Dean-esque actor in the 1950s. Brandon parlays his genetic luck into working as a look-alike escort, and meets a young film enthusiast shut-in with juvenile arthritis.

My upcoming book Kill Switch is completely different, hahaha — it’s cyberpunk, about a girl obsessed with XXX-rated horror fetish video games. She’s hired by a shady game developer to test their brand-new virtual reality horror games, only to realize there’s something not quite right about the company’s programs.

And for yet another completely different twist: after Kill Switch, I’m planning to turn my attention to writing speculative and contemporary YA.

What inspires you?

Other people’s art, mostly! My office walls are plastered with pieces of art, from paintings to short comics to newspaper clippings to screenshots from films and TV shows. I’m a super visual writer—I cast actors for all my characters and often keep folders of scenery inspiration like shots of cityscapes, streets, parks, the insides of shops, etc. When I’m writing, I’m watching the scene in my head.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, yes. The first thing I ever wrote was fanfic for the middle-grade series Animal Ark. I think I was eight or nine. And I sort of just…never stopped writing after that. In like sixth grade or so, I distinctly remember turning in an enormous tome of a horror story for a creative writing assignment and horrifying my teacher. Coming up with stories was one of the very few things I was effortlessly good at.

For, a long time, I never thought of myself as A Real Writer, though, and I never thought I could make a future out of writing. All through high school, I swore up and down I was going to go to college to be a forensic psychologist, because I was always told writing couldn’t be a career. But hey, I ended up going to journalism school, and now writing is my entire job, even if not all of it’s fiction. 🙂

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Oh, I don’t include anything on purpose. Except queer characters! All my books have queer main characters and I doubt that’ll ever change.

But I guess storytelling-wise, my books tend to have a trust theme. I like enemies-to-lovers stories, I like tenuous situations where people have to trust one another against their wishes in order to succeed, and I like writing about people fighting to learn to trust, or fighting to gain someone else’s trust. Trust is a hard thing for me to give, so I guess writing about people who freely give or receive it gives me the warm ’n’ fuzzies.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

A lesson from my mistakes: Don’t be too eager to “get up there.” Don’t get it in your head that you have to be published at 17 or a star at 21 or have your life together by 25, or 28, or 30. Or 40, or ever, really. Don’t look at the hard numbers of ages and compare your success to others’ based on how low that number is. Being published when you’re young and not yet ready is way worse than not being published till your forties or fifties.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

Asexual, alloromantic.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

I haven’t encountered it from any of my coworkers or fellow authors. I’m lucky enough to have LOTS of colleagues who are also asexual, and the queer romance sphere—where I’ve spent all my professional publishing time so far—tends to be a super supportive environment for people of all orientations and genders.

However, I have noticed pushback from readers when it comes to books with asexual main characters, especially m/m books with asexual characters, so that’s disheartening. I’ve seen readers go so far as to question why anyone would even want to write books about people who don’t want sex.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

There are two: (1) that we don’t have any sexual anything at all (2) that we can’t tell if someone’s attractive and/or can’t be attracted to people. With (1), there’s a huge misconception that we don’t masturbate or get aroused, and that’s waaaaay off base. In my experience, sex with yourself is a very different thing than sex with someone else, and ace people have all kinds of different levels of sex drive, just like allosexual folks.

And with (2), if I never have to see another “joke” where someone gasps dramatically because an ace person said Jason Momoa looks great soaking wet, it’ll be too soon.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Find someone asexual to talk to. Hell, talk to me. Through all my comings-out, being able to talk to other people who ID the way I ID has been invaluable. Obviously you can Google and learn everything you ever want to, but talking to a real live person who maybe shares your fears and doubts and questions of legitimacy is incredibly affirming.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

My website: http://www.jamesloke.com

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/jameslokewrites

Thank you, James, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Abe

Today we’re joined by Abe.  Abe is an up and coming writer.  They have dabbled in poetry but mostly work in fiction.  Their work is very character driven and sounds quite interesting.  My thanks to them for participating in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m a writer, to start with.  I’ve been writing for as long as I could read, which makes it about twelve or thirteen years, now.  My main focus, though, shifted from poetry to fiction somewhere about four years ago, and while I’ll still do the odd bit of poetry, I definitely don’t regret the change.

I write my fiction pieces mostly as character-driven pieces.  That is to say that I create the character(s) first, and then start tossing them into situations.  As a rule, I don’t write cis-het people and I try to limit the number of white characters involved in my stories.  By and large, though, my writing centers around queer issues in the POC community, and that means a lot of research.  A lot of hours spent reading the stories of queer POC and learning how they adapt to their communities.

What inspires you?

The resilience of the queer youth.  The determination to build something better that I feel in myself, and that I see in so many other people who, like me, know that the world could be so much better.  What inspires me is the persistence of MOGAI people to be positive people and to create positivity and change with their own hands.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

Like I said, I’ve been writing since I could read.  It was bad at first—really, really bad.  And then, only really bad.  And I like to think that I’ve maybe come past bad and gotten to kind of okay with a lot of room still to grow.  What matters to me, though, is that I remember what my message is: that queer people exist.  That we live.  That we go on adventures and fight or befriend dragons, and we overthrow empires and captain spaceships and duel space pirates.  And that we go to Walmart and get the hiccups and get really embarrassed when we do that thing where you choke on your own spit and then spend ten minutes coughing and wondering when you suddenly became ninety.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in our work that you’d be willing to reveal?

Not so much a symbol or signature, but you won’t ever read any writing of mine with a cis-het character in the main cast.  I just don’t write them, because every cis-het story has been told.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Write shitty stuff.  Write stuff so bad you physically cringe.  Write it, and keep writing it, and don’t stop writing it because you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your triumphs.  And when you know what’s bad, you can spot it a mile off in good writing and avoid it.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I ID as asexual aroflux, meaning that I don’t experience sexual attraction of any kind, and my romantic attraction exists on an ever-moving swing back and forth from “I like you” to “no but I love you” to “nah, bro, I like you.”

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

Yes.  A lot of it seems to be centered around the idea that a character like me — an aro-ace — can’t be a dynamic and fantastic character.  Especially not in modern fiction.  And it hurts to have so few examples of people like me anywhere in the field.

What’s more, people question my understanding of romantic love.  I love writing romance plots, and I like writing sex, and there’s this thought line that goes “well, if you’re ace, how do you even know what good sex looks like?” That one goes right alongside the “well, if you’re aroflux, how do you even know what a healthy relationship looks like?” And it’s absurd.  It’s genuinely absurd, because I’ve never been a pirate and I can write one of those pretty damn well.  I’ve never lived in New York, and I’ve never been a sluagh, and I’ve never lived in Palestine, but research allows me to write these things knowingly and delve into them.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That asexual people want nothing to do with anything sexual.  And while that’s true for some aces — and is totally and completely valid — it’s not true for all.  I guess my big issue is that a single version of asexuality has been left to represent the whole of asexuality.

For me, personally, I’m a part of the BDSM community as well, and it’s the same story.  A lack of real representation has led to a hyper-narrow public image of what BDSM looks like, and it’s not good for anyone.  I generally include aspects of BDSM in many of my romance-based plots, but not ever without doing my research and making sure I understand how a healthy scene works.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Statistics only apply to groups.  You are an individual.  If you feel like mixing and matching words to find the label that fits you, do just that.  Language exists for clarification, and anyone who starts pulling that “you’ve reached your diversity quota” crap on you obviously missed this key point.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

Right now I’m a bit in flux, but my tumblr is daddyabethings.tumblr.com, and once I set up shop somewhere more permanent that will be the first place you’ll hear about it.

Thank you so much, Abe, for participating in this interview and this project.  It’s very much appreciated.