The Crotchety Old Man

For longer than I care to admit, I haven’t had a new project. Producing unique and interesting posts for blog tours for three releases this year kept me busy. As I was writing posts for the Whippersnapper blog tour, I realized how hard my first three novels had been to write. Setting all three in a real place in a different time required lots of research. Whippersnapper takes place in a fictional Kentucky town. I still had to do a little research (about programmable sewing machines, for example), but getting the details right was a hell of a lot easier with made up places. Writing a sequel to Whippersnapper would be fun. I love little Fallisville and the people who live there. In fact, I …

Memorial Day honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Nobody in my family has died as a result of military conflict since the Korean War. I appreciate the men and women who gave their lives for our country, but on this national day of remembrance, my thoughts turn to other losses. Between them, my four grandparents raised more than twenty children. All of my aunts and uncles married; most had children of their own. Being part of such a huge extended family was perhaps the greatest gift I’ve ever received, but loss came early in my life and often. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is tough. Unfortunately, it’s something we all must …

The push for transgender rights is much in the news these days. The guidance issued to schools by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education provoked a flurry of fear-mongering commentary from opposition groups. You’d think the world was coming to an end. Science has established that gender, sexual preference, and gender identity are three completely different animals. The switches are set one way or the other in the womb. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Sometimes they line up the same way, and sometimes they don’t. Shortly after North Carolina’s governor signed the transgender bathroom bill into law, I posted a comment on Facebook saying I was unwilling to patronize a state or business that discriminates. I was commenting …

Recent events got me to pondering the difference between ignorance and stupidity. Neither is in short supply. The good news is that one is fixable. Despite a lack of formal training, I consider myself to be an expert on ignorance and stupidity. Life has taught me all I need to know. Decades of observations and more than fifty years of practice and personal experience inform my thinking. Ignorance is about a lack of information, and therefore; fixable. I am ignorant about poisonous insects of the tropical rain forest. Should I ever plan a trip to the tropics, however, you can be sure I’ll read up on the subject. Be stupid not to, right? I’m also ignorant about quantum physics, string theory, combustible engines, …

Release Day Jitters begin early in the first draft of a new novel and continue for three-to-six months after the big release. Anxiety builds with each completed step, from finishing the novel, signing a contract, and working with editors to arranging cover reveals and release tours. By release day, I’m an optimistic wreck. Could this be my breakout novel? Will this be the one to make the New York Times bestseller’s list and get me interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Terri Gross? When the preorder links go up, release day jitters are ramped up. Action is required. I monitor various bestsellers lists, check my Amazon rankings every few hours, and watch Goodreads for new ratings and reviews to come up. …

I am a life-long serial monogamist. At the tender age of pushing sixty, I’m currently without my Mr. Right. This is the longest stretch (going on four years) without a significant other since grade school. Single life agrees with me more than I care to admit or thought possible. Still, I don’t see my bachelor lifestyle as a forever thing. One day he’ll come along… I’d like to meet a nice, gorgeous, and likable guy with a car, his own place, and full retirement benefits who takes good care of himself, thinks I’m amazing, and can’t keep his hands off of me. Is that too much to ask? Life is too short for bad relationships. I’ve reached the age where individual body parts have …

DsP Publications releases No Good Deed tomorrow. It’s been available for preorder since January from the publisher, and since early March from Amazon and other outlets. The first edition was published as After Christmas Eve by MLR Press in 2013. My four novels include enough romance — barely — to have been picked up by romance publishers. Thanks to the folks at DsP and MLR for giving me a chance and for everything they’ve done along the way to help my writing career. I’m truly grateful. In the gay romance genre, I was a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. The covers and blurbs for my stories were crafted to appeal to gay romance readers. Readers expecting that kind of story are …

A few weeks ago I renewed my gym membership again. The sales staff has been after me to re-up for months with phone calls and email messages offering “today only!” special deals. I fell for the “today only” thing the first time I renewed. Four years later, I know better. They’ve had the same specials since I joined. Pushy sales people annoy the hell out of me. For years, the high pressure tactics employed by gyms kept me from checking into memberships. I’m especially skeptical when the cost of the item/service being sold is not public information. Keeping pricing plans secret tells me one thing: the range is wide open. I know a little something about invisible pricing. A long time ago, I was …

Nothing is simple any longer. Nearly everything is infinitely more complicated than was the case twenty or thirty years ago. Hardly a day goes by without an encounter with something complex enough to make my head explode. Take my medical flexible spending account — please. Tax-free dollars are transferred with each paycheck to an account I access with a debit card to pay for medical expenses. But any time I use the damn thing to pay a doctor bill, I get an email message telling me to upload receipts or the charge will be denied. Wait a minute. We’re talking about charges made at a doctor’s office — like me and my doctors have a big scam going to steal my money! The …

Since my first novel was published in 2012, finding the right shelf in the bookstore for my stories has been a challenge. I’m talking, of course, about genre. Turns out, my stories don’t fit in any particular genre. Genre is a handy label to give readers an idea of the kind of story they’re about to read. The label also creates expectations. Fail to meet those expectations and genre purists blow a gasket.   My novels are labeled as m-m fiction with additional labels — such as mystery. thriller, or historical — tagged on for clarification. Even when I try, I don’t write the kind of story romance readers expect. Happy Independence Day was my first serious attempt at a traditional m-m …

Four years ago this month, I switched from Windows to Apple at home and at the office. I love the way all three devices (iMac at work, Macbook Air at home, and an iPhone wherever I may be) worked together. Life was good. I’m still happy with my iPhone. When I switched wireless providers (that half-price Sprint deal was too good to pass up), upgrading to a new phone — thanks to the iCloud — was easier than ever. The handy little device is rarely more than an arm’s length away. The giant iMac at the office continues to serve me well too. In truth, it’s more than a little under-employed with far more capability than I’ll ever need.  I’ll probably …

I grew up in Kentucky, lived in D.C. for eighteen months, and for the past seventeen years, have called Athens, Georgia  home. Most folks would say I’m a Southerner. I say most because some denizens of the Deep South don’t consider Kentucky or D.C. part of the South. Blame the War of Northern Aggression, or what you might know as the Civil War Folks down here have a different way of talking. In fact, some outside of the region have a hard time understanding what we say. Part of it is the accent, but the words we use can be confusing too. Here’s a guide for folks outside the region.. Anem. Everyone, as in, “How’s yer momma anem durrin?” Bless …

Dreamspinner Press held their annual Authors Workshop the first weekend in March. For the second year in a row, I was able to attend. What a great weekend! During the drive down to Orlando last year I realized something new was up with my vision. The macular degeneration in my right eye progressed from dry to wet, and my vision in that eye deteriorated from decent to legally blind. This year I hitched a ride. My pal Eden Winters who lives in Greenville, SC detoured through Athens to pick me up. P.D. Singer was with her. I met Eden shortly after my first book came out, and P.D. a few months later at my first GayRomLit conference. You’d be hard-pressed …

Attitudes about homosexuality have changed much faster than I ever expected. In the 1950s and 1960s, mothers worried about protecting their children from homosexual pedophiles. Today, they’re card carrying members of P-FLAG. Sixty years ago, homosexuality was illegal in every state but Illinois. Until 1974, the American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality to be a mental illness. In 1975, the federal government lifted a ban on the hiring of homosexuals. Fast forward to 2015 when the Supreme Court decided gays and lesbians have the right to Equal rights and widespread public acceptance of LGBT folks are good things. Kids come out as gay, lesbian, and transgender at younger and younger ages. Understanding is growing that gender, gender identity, and sexual preference are …

My guest today is Tellumo Magnamater. He’s the star of my new release, Whippersnapper. If you ask me, everything about him is interesting. Thanks, Tellumo, for stopping by. Tellumo: You’re welcome. I’m thrilled to be here and excited about answering questions from you and readers. MR: Well, the first question everybody asks is about your name. Where did it come from? Tellumo: My parents are lesbians and devout feminists. In mythology, Tellumo was the masculine counterpart and consort of the goddess, Tellus — the earth mother. Magnamater (or Magna Mater) is Latin for Great Mother. MR: Very interesting. What was it like to be raised by lesbians? Tellumo: More normal than you might think — at least for me since …