I'm super excited to be on the blog tour for Out Now: Queer We Go Again! edited by Saundra Mitchell! There are so many authors participating in the anthology, and I can't wait to read them all! Read on for information about the book and an interview with the editor, Saundra Mitchell!
Interview:
1. What advice do you have for teens and young adults trying to add their own identity into the stories they write?
Understand that you can write your experience, but you can’t write a universal experience. Everyone is different, and the way our lives intersect with race, gender, orientation, income, ability and more, tailors that experience to specific people. There are lots of things people in a group share, but it’s important to acknowledge other stories in the same space. (This will also prepare you for reviews!)
2. What are some of your favorite resources for discovering diverse and LGBTQ+ stories?
LGBTQreads.com is a great site; We Need Diverse Books, also a great resource. But mostly, I follow every queer YA author I can find on Twitter, and then I follow their colleagues, and then their colleagues. Being active in the community opens you up to lots of amazing voices.
3. Are there any new or upcoming YA stories you think fans of Out Now will enjoy?
There are seventeen of them in OUT NOW! I mean, I know that’s shameless, but I do truly love every single story in this anthology. I’m going to recommend anthologies, because that’s how I love finding new stories.
I also have a deep and abiding love of THE PHOENIX FIRST MUST BURN, a stunner of an anthology edited by Patrice Caldwell. The subtitle says it all: “16 STORIES OF BLACK GIRL MAGIC, RESISTANCE, AND HOPE.”
Elsie Chapman and Ellen Oh’s A THOUSAND BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS is rich and vibrant, and full of up-and-coming authors, which is something I always especially enjoy.
Finally, I’m super looking forward to the queer MIDDLE GRADE !!!! anthology coming from Nicole Melleby and Katherine Locke, called THIS IS OUR RAINBOW. I haven’t read any of those stories yet, but I am DYING for this antho. Lots of people still treat queer kids like an impossibility, but they’re not and they deserve to see themselves on the page, too!
4. How is it different for you writing a novel versus editing an anthology?
Two completely different things. Writing a novel is all about expressing myself, and seeking answers to my own questions about life. Editing an anthology is all about helping other authors write the story they need to write. And paperwork. There’s a lot of paperwork!
5. Do you have a dream story you want to write? Or have you already written it?
I’ve always wanted to write a novel about Tutankhamun’s wife, Ankhesenamun, who disappeared from history after she was made to marry her late husband’s Vizier, Ay. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to write it-- but I think about it, a lot!
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Release: May 26, 2020
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Pages: 416
Synopsis:
A follow-up to the critically acclaimed All Out anthology, Out Now features seventeen new short stories from amazing queer YA authors. Vampires crash prom…aliens run from the government…a president’s daughter comes into her own…a true romantic tries to soften the heart of a cynical social media influencer…a selkie and the sea call out to a lost soul. Teapots and barbershops…skateboards and VW vans…Street Fighter and Ares’s sword: Out Now has a story for every reader and surprises with each turn of the page!
This essential and beautifully written modern-day collection features an intersectional and inclusive slate of authors and stories.
You Can Find it At:
Goodreads
The Regulator Bookshop
Bookshop (A new platform helping indie bookstores!)
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Books-A-Million
iBooks
Google Play
Amazon
Author Bio:
You Can Find Her At:
Website
Goodreads
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