I can't decide which of my novels to submit for publication. I Get No Kick From Champagne is fairly polished and it was the first novel I really felt comfortable with while I was writing it. It's got some explicit sex in it, though -- which I think is necessary to the story, which is about a straight guy finding out he's more than that -- which will limit its placement to the gay shelves of straight bookshops (dear old Borders, for example). Maybe not even there -- lots of gay blokes won't even read books with bisexual characters. Some kind of gay fascismo. The novel I'm working on right now (intermittently, I do confess), which is provisionally called The Torc, also has bi characters, but will have no explicit sex, and will therefore be able to safely go on the fantasy shelves of Borders. Of course, even there, the thin-lipped Christian-Fascists might have a heart attack (if they had hearts), but still, it will be available for a wider readership. Trouble is.... it's not written yet! And it still needs substantial rewriting -- too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'. So....
BTW, the charming dragon picture is from this website. Hope they don't mind me using it (I'll take it down, honest, if you complain). And yes, there are dragons in The Torc. Definitely.
2 comments:
HI Nigel, I found my way here from googling your name.
I've heard lots of published author's lament about how they started writing for the love of it then wrote for the publication.
As a non-published author, can I suggest you stay true to your roots and write what YOU want - don't worry about possible acceptance. The best accepted artists are those who wrote to please themselves.
As my husband, another non-published writer, once famously said (in this house anyway)
Write to appeal
Write what you see
but most of all
Write what you feel.
Alex of the Marsh
That's good advice. Write what you want to read In effect just keep on doing what you are doing. Why not? Makes sense.
Post a Comment