These Interesting Times
We are living in interesting times, Faustketeers.
Social media has reached the subterranean nadir of enshitification and is still digging vigorously. Between the Nazis, the AI slop, the outrage porn peddlers, the scambots, the cryptobros, the parasocial stalkers and the Whataboutism Brigade, it’s becoming more and more unusable every day. I’m tired of screaming into the slipstream knowing that most of what I post will be lost in the cacophony. I’m tired of never seeing anything I actually want to see and realizing I’m losing touch with all my friends and favorite authors. And I’m willing to bet that you are too.
If that’s the case, and if you are one of the three people who aren’t my mom and actually want to read my shit, you’ve come to the right place.
I’m new to this and I’m figuring it all out as I go, so I hope you’ll bear with me. I chose not to go with Substack (because Nazis) for this newsletter, and so far I’m finding Buttondown to be quite easy and user-friendly. Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah Weinman!
My plan is to use it as a repository for longer-form musings on a variety of topics including but not limited to flicks, books, kink, gender, writing, aging, menopause, and my dog. Also, existing while queer in this fucked up timeline.
If you believe that writing should be “apolitical” or if you ever use the phrase “woke” unironically, you better hit that unsubscribe button now. Because for people like me (and all of us, really) the political is personal and vice fucking versa. We can’t help but show who we are through our fiction, and sometimes that truthful fiction feels like the only thing we have left to hold on to.
Still here? Good. You are my people.
And hey, what would a newsletter be without news? To that end, here’s what I’ve got going on lately.
First and fucking foremost, I’ve got a new novel coming out in March. It’s the last in the Angel Dare series from Hard Case Crime and it’s called THE GET OFF.
If you haven’t already, you can preorder it here.
Also, I have a story in Crime Ink: Iconic (an anthology of crime fiction inspired by famous queer icons) edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West. It’s a crackerjack lineup and I’m proud to be included!
About the Anthology:
A recent study by Jeff Marks of Queer Crime Writers found that in 2023, crime fiction anthologies featured 517 stories across 30 titles—but fewer than 1% were written by LGBTQ+ authors. Crime Ink: Iconic is our answer to this disparity.
This vibrant, thrilling collection features stories inspired by queer icons like James Baldwin, Oscar Wilde, Candy Darling, Radclyffe Hall, Megan Rapinoe, Laverne Cox,and more. From cozy mysteries to noir, psychological thrillers, and police procedurals, this anthology showcases the ingenuity and originality of queer voices in crime fiction—with plenty of twists, unforgettable characters, and long-overdue representation.
Featuring an incredible lineup of LGBTQ+ authors:
Ann Aptaker, Chris Bollen, Marco Carocari, Katrina Carrasco, Baxter Clare Trautman, Diana DiGangi, Margot Douaihy, Meredith Doench, Christa Faust, Katherine V. Forrest, Kelly J. Ford, Stephanie Gayle, Robyn Gigl, Ellen Hart, Cheryl Head, Greg Herren, Renee James, Anne Laughlin, Kristen Lepionka, Mia Manansala, Ann McMan, Penny Mickelbury, David Pederson, JM Redmann, & Jeffrey Round.
My story Hollywood Prometheus is set in Los Angeles in 1952 and features James Whale, the legendary out gay director of Bride of Frankenstein. It turned out quite a bit darker than I had originally intended, because, well … (waves hands around at America.)
After you’re done preordering my novel, you should preorder this anthology here.
I’ll be attending Left Coast Crime in Denver on March 13-16th, which coincides nicely with the upcoming release of THE GET OFF.
While I’m in Denver, I’ll also be doing some events at the Lighthouse Writers Collective, including a conversation with Ben Whitmer.
I’ll post updated info with exact dates and times as soon as they are available.
Also, I’m gonna try to hit at least two in person flicks at Noir City Seattle this year.
I usually post my yearly Noir City coverage on my blog, but will be covering the two new (to me) flicks here first, so if you love these films as much as I do, you’re not gonna want to miss that action.
Anyway, thanks for subscribing, all you beautiful perverts out there in the dark!