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Writing

“…Until It’s Sold…” – Boogieman In Lavender

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I’ve been getting back into the groove of writing in the New Year after slowing down on doing longer stories. I actually have a list of longer stories I started that are unfinished. (“In progress,” as I say.) I’ve also been submitting stories to various markets online. I can do the last bit because I’ve been writing a lot of stories over the last decade or so and I have a lot that never sold. Some editors dismiss that as “in the trunk” stories but I disagree. Legendary writer Robert A. Heinlein once listed some rules for writers. Among them … Read more

Jeff Baker: Boogieman In Lavender. Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective.”

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Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective” by Jeff Baker Bay City…Early Nineteen-Sixties…Fog rolling in across the bay…the famous bridge…you know which city this is supposed to be. Bars that are clandestine rendezvous for furtive meetings between men in back rooms…bodies found in the darkness. Not warm, welcoming bodies but Gay men, murdered. No suspects. Few clues. One looks like murder-suicide. It isn’t Into this foggy mess steps Francis “Frank” Morley, detective for hire. The classic private eye with a dingy office, a loyal secretary and a hulking mass of muscle for an assistant. And Morley is as openly Gay as you … Read more

Jeff Baker; Boogieman In Lavender; “Facing the Blank Page.”

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Facing the Blank Page by Jeff Baker Oh Hell! It’s August! I spent most of last month writing “June” on my checks and now it’s August and I have a column due. What to write? What to write? What to write? Damn. Blank page. Damn! Review a book I’m reading? I haven’t read a book lately. Write about what I’ve been doing? Let’s see; sitting around, typing, watching TV, going to the store, drinking beer. Nope. Not enough word count. What time is it now? Damn! Later than when I started. Closer to the thirteenth. I could write about deadlines. … Read more

Spellcheck – Boogieman In Lavender

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writing tools - typewriter - pixabay

If I Ran the World… Well, first I’d get rid of war and poverty and injustice and crime and hatred and all those awful “Children of the Corn” sequel movies that even Stephen King wants nothing to do with. Then I’d get down to the really important stuff. There are words I just can’t spell worth a crap! I’m a writer, I’m supposed to be able to do this. I do use spellcheck but it’s so damn frustrating that after decades there are words I continue to spell the same way, and that way is WRONG! For openers, let’s check … Read more

New Release: Writing Fantasy – C.J. Solomon

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Writing Fantasy - C. J. Solomon

QSFer C.J. Solomon has a new non-fiction fantasy book out: Writing Fantasy. Are you a fantasy author who wants to create more vivid worlds or give them greater depth? If so, this is the book you have been waiting for. Subjects covered include: This is the perfect book for writers of fantasy. Get your copy now so that you can take your writing to a whole new level. Please note that only the paperback version is illustrated. Get It At Amazon Excerpt his book is less about telling you how to write and more about guiding you through the three … Read more

New Year’s 2023: Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

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lesbian new year - deposit photos

This Is Myyyyy New Years Resolution by Jeff Baker (title from Spike Jones) So here we are in Two-Thousand-Twenty-Three. As a guy who was watching reruns of “The Jetsons” back in 1969 I find that amazing. There are plenty of reasons for hope about 2023, if only from naive optimism. At the very least, Civil War did not break out in 2022 and the partisan hacks who thought they wanted civil war were shocked, shocked at any violence seemingly directed at them. And the possibility of turning back rights for LGBT people in the U.S. was squelched at least for … Read more

Truman Capote’s (Queer?) Tales of Fantasy. Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

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Truman Capote’s (Queer?) Tales Of the Fantastic by Jeff baker Hard to believe that a generation has gone by without knowing Truman Capote from their TV or movie screens as well as being parodied by comedians, all making him talked-about as not only one of the best-known American authors of the 20th Century but a master of self-promotion, gleefully eating it up every public chance he got. He was, of course, Gay (“Homosexual” was the term in his day) although he didn’t make a big deal of it, he certainly didn’t hide it. Sometime in his Twenties. Capote met the … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Write Short Fiction that Sells – Voss Foster

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Write Short Fiction That Sells - Voss Foster

QSFer Voss Foster has a new short story writing book out: Your Guide to Writing and Selling Short Genre Fiction for the 21st Century. Short fiction can and should make you money. Have a hankering to write a short story but can’t justify the time? Have an old folder full of flash taking up hard drive space and making you no money? Looking to diversify your publishing portfolio? I’m here to help. Short genre fiction is a gold mine waiting to be tapped. Want more money? More recognition? More publication credits? Short fiction can be the ticket to expanding your … Read more