diversity

#writeLGBTQ #LGBTQIP #ValentinesDay2019 #Paranormal Tidbits of Love

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A just for fun, in honor of Valentine’s Day, bonus snippet from Keeping House, which is set for an August 2019 release. tidbits of love

 Cent slowed for a skunk meandering across the road ahead. “Mating season. Wrong time of year to be searching for love if you ask me.”

     “It’s their time.” Dane’s hand remained on her shoulder. “All things have their happy season.”

     And you’re remembering one of ours just like I am. “I’m not certain where I’m at on the road anymore.”

     “Well, it’s February. Valentine’s Day was last week and—”

     “Get your head back on the drive.

Do something nice for a loved one, for yourself, or for the universe because love, as they say, is love.  ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

#QueerLit #LGBTQbooks #WritingTip Ten Things to Know Before Adding a Non-Binary Character to Your Story

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Note: This post has grown significantly in the past few days, so there are more than ten. If you want the short and sweet version, read the orange and bold-italic sections. That’ll give you the gist. However, if you’ve never written a non-binary character I strongly suggest you read the entire post. 

So I’ve been reading, a dangerous thing these days, I know, especially for an author. But really, I have been reading, and beta-reading too, and I’ve come across several problems that I believe need to be addressed concerning non-binary characters.

Authors, if you add a non-binary character into your story, please take the following into consideration:

  1. Non-binary characters shouldn’t have their assigned at birth gender revealed early in a story, if at all, and only if it’s totally necessary. If the character still goes by their assigned-at-birth pronouns, fine, but if the character goes by they/them or any other non-binary pronoun choice then an author should respect this. Negating the non-binary by revealing the birth gender is unacceptable unless it is a situation like a courtroom (most states in the U.S. don’t recognize the non-binary) or the bedroom (where there should be frank discussion IMO before anything happens) and then the author should tread lightly, more so if the author isn’t non-binary (#ownvoices).

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#WIPpetWed #AppalachianElementals 1/2/2019: Something Bad

/ jlgfellers / 11 Comments

New Year, new you? Not so much, or at least I hope not. I ended 2018 with the below. It’s not as bad as it looks, but there it is. A bad cut to my middle finger right in the middle of getting a manuscript ready for my betas.

So goes life.

And, yes, I took two weeks off from #WIPpet Wednesday, but I’m obviously back, holiday weary and nearing done with Keeping House, at least to the beta stage of things. Oh, and welcome to #WIPpet Wednesday, a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress (WIPs).

Here’s my WIPpet math for 1/2/2019: 9-1=8 paragraphs from the end of Chapter One of Keeping House (I’m counting the verse as one paragraph).

Note: Gan, if you don’t know, is an air elemental, and Aunt Tess’ S.O. Gan appears later in Cleaning House.

     “Where’s my marker?” asked Gan.

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#HolidayTreeNovella #RainbowSnippets Seventy-Six 12/15: Caffeinated Mediation

/ jlgfellers / 14 Comments

Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

 

 

This week I’m sharing from my new holiday novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree, which is set within the Appalachian Elementals Series. At 22K words in length, it’s a shorter novella, but it packs a lot of great things within its 74 pages.

The setup:  Cent’s struggling to relate to her mother, but that’s nothing new.

 

I set my star on the table and stare at it, tracing its top with my finger, following the evoking points. Fire. Air. Water. Earth. I push energy into the star so it vibrates under my hand. “Spirit.”

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#HolidayTreeNovella #RainbowSnippets Seventy-Five 12/8: Counting Points

/ jlgfellers / 12 Comments

Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

 

Here comes the snow, or at least that’s what local and national meteorologists are saying: winter storm watch that’ll probably be a warning by the time this post goes live. We’re as ready as we can be, I suppose. We’ve secondary heat, water, and a good supply of ready-to-eat foods for emergencies.

The problem with living in NE TN is that we’re either on the side of or in the foothills of several mountains; we’re part of the Smokies, so the weather either 1) passes around us because of the mountains to our north and south or 2) settles in to stay a while. If it does the latter and brings heavy moisture with it, we’re done for. It’ll snow until it peters out or finds the oomph to pass over the mountains, usually the former.  They’re saying up to eight inches with ice. I know that sounds like nothing to some of you, but this is the Southern U.S., not deep south, mind you, but still south and people here have no idea how to drive in deep snow, so it’s best to stay in if at all possible.

This one’s supposed to bring the moisture, so it’s all a matter of timing and oomph.

On to this week’s writing. I’m sharing from my new holiday novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree, which is set within the Appalachian Elementals Series. At 22K words in length, it’s a shorter novella, but it packs a lot of great things within its 74 pages.

The setup:  Poor Cent’s trying hard but…

“No, the Star of David has six points.” I’m trying. Gods help me, I’m trying, but Mama… Continue reading →

#HolidayTreeNovella #RainbowSnippets Seventy-Five 12/1: Denial

/ jlgfellers / 14 Comments

We’re pushing full-throttle into the holiday season, which is always stressful for those with auto-immune and/or neurological issues. Lucky for me (read the last with decided sarcasm) I have both and they’re interlinked.

Most of my holiday shopping takes place online for good reason.

 

That said, I want to share a review for Cleaning House (released 8/1/18) that comes from a regional library publication. Local review for a local work by a local author. That means a whole bunch to me. Best of all, she liked it, which means even more, and I’ve been told the book is in steady rotation. ❤️❤️😊😊❤️❤️

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#WIPpetWednesday #WIPpitWed #AppalachianElementals 11/28/18: Bone of Contention

/ jlgfellers / 6 Comments

This has been a heck of a week, but I am happy to report that the first draft of Keeping House is finished, and it’s a whopping 122K in length. Now, as we all know, that length will change during the revision process, but I certainly don’t want it to grow in length. That length pushes the limits where I’m concerned, but there’s a whole lot going on in this book… overturned community, love lost and found, relationship conflicts, magic, vivid flashbacks of past lives, multiple faiths, new characters, welding, iron fabrication… you know, the general chaos I’m known for. (grin)

Welcome to #WIPpetWednesday! Since Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree has been released I’m again sharing from Keeping House, novel two in the Appalachian Elementals series.

I shared the prologue for Keeping House a while back (you can find it under #WIPpetWednesday under Topics to your right), so I’m currently sharing from Chapter One.

I’ve found a song that fits the overall tone for the novel as it stands right now, and it’s actually on the Keeping House playlist for chapter four when things really going to “hell in a handbasket” (Cent’s words).  The song is Shinedown’s “Darkside.” The link connects to a lyric version on Youtube because the song is an album track and not a single. (Their album tracks are often their best ones IMO because they’re not working for a chart success.)

Here’s my WIPpet math for 11/28/18: 8-2=6 paragraphs from Keeping House, novel two in the Appalachian Elementals series

The sentence in orange comes from last week’s WIPpet.

  (Cent speaking) “I’m going to miss you, baby, especially at night.”

     “I am going to miss you as well.” Stowne pulled her into their lap to hug her to them. “I am glad you will have Pyre and Exan to watch over you.”

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#HolidayTreeNovella #RainbowSnippets Seventy-Four 11/24: Hot Stuff

/ jlgfellers / 4 Comments

Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

 

This week I’m sharing from my new novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree, which is set within the Appalachian Elementals Series. At 22K words in length, it’s a shorter novella, but it packs a lot of great things within its 74 pages.

The setup:  Cent’s lover, Stowne, has joined the conversation and helped convince her that she needs to spend time with her difficult mother.

“So what ornaments are we making?” I’ve grudgingly accepted the idea of spending the day with Mama.

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#HolidayTreeNovella #RainbowSnippets Seventy-Three 11/17: Stuck

/ jlgfellers / 8 Comments

Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

This past week has been interesting. I’ve been triggered and experienced passive-aggressive not-submissions to the publisher I do acquisitions for (If I can’t talk on the phone then, oh well, I just don’t have the time). Okay. And?

I’m going holiday shopping with my mother today. Let’s hope that helps because my current view of humanity rather stinks.

I’m sharing from my recently-released novella Mama, Me, & the Holiday Tree, which is set within the Appalachian Elementals Series. At 22K words in length, it’s a shorter novella, but it packs a lot of great things within its 74 pages.

The setup:  Cent’s just been berated by the homestead’s aggravating house spirit.

The first sentence, in yellow, comes from last week’s snippet.

  “Be nice to your mama.” A self-lit orb shoots across the kitchen and into the living room, trilling laughter as it goes.

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#WIPpetWednesday #WIPpitWed #AppalachianElementals 11/14/18: Technicalities

/ jlgfellers / 6 Comments

#NaNoWriMo and me, we should be snuggling at this point but…. not so much. Yes, I believe I’m going to finish the first draft of Keeping House. Actually, I can see the end from here. It’s a matter of connecting the dots. But 50K?  (Context: Keeping House is now nearing 108K) Nope, not happening. And finishing off my Sci-Fi novella? That’s not happening either, but I can get it done in December.

 

 

Ideas though, they keep coming. Plot bunnies run amok. New ideas are good, but those bunnies can complicate WIPs.  This series and side stories could keep me occupied for years to come.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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