This week I’m the spotlight author at Divine Magazine, “an online magazine and a social networking website, tailored specifically for the LGBTQ community and anyone who supports the rights of its members.”
Stop by and check out my interview where I share a bit about my writing process, one of my favorite places, my cats, the first M/M Romance I read, and more.
Following the wonderful Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage across the United States, my partner and I were legally married in our home state. It was a long-awaited, lovely day, and I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all of you out there who get what it truly means. Your support and understanding mean more than I can say.
Because it’s not just about being able to state that “We’re married.” It’s about survivor benefits, next-of-kin status, legal status to your spouse’s children, access to medical coverage and disability, ability to take family leave to care for an ill spouse, inheriting your spouse’s estate, and the list goes on and on and on. Over 1100 rights and privileges granted to married couples in the US.
No more living in fear because you are merely roommates with the love of your life. Now that person is legally “your person.” No one can deny you access and information. You can be with your sick partner (or even claim their body if they’ve passed). You can make decisions as their spouse. You can more easily share finances and health coverage. You can be a family in the eyes of the government.
Thank you to all of the supporters of LGBT rights, to the Supreme Court justices who voted in our favor, and to Jim Obergefell, my fellow Ohioan. You fought for all of us and changed our lives. Thank you!
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
1. I find little sticky notes around the house that say things like “don’t forget the Superman underwear” and “move the BJ to the next chapter” and “are there too many blowjobs in the first half?”
2. I get to giggle at typos like “ass checks” and “coch rings” and “me nipples” and “he stopped the teasing of my dicks.” I mean, how many dicks does one man have?
3. When I’m really into a sex scene or romantic moment between my heroes, I get totally lost in the moment and forget every worry in my life or every horrible problem in the world, and the world shrinks to that one moment in time when everything’s beautiful and right.
4. I can stare out the window at the leaves blowing in the wind, at the swans peacefully gliding over the water, at the white snow falling down, and I’m still working. Because sometimes I have to stop typing and just daydream, or how else will I ever know what happens next?
5. Looking at my website stats gives me a good laugh when I see what keywords people have typed in to find my site. Stuff like “wild roommate scenarios” and “tumblr gay desert sex in cowboy boots” and “videos of a gay man ramming his pointy shoe up a man’s asshole.”
6. I get to spend my days with people who I love being around. (Okay, so they’re fictional people. I still really like hanging with them).
7. I can’t think of any other job where you can tell your boss, “I’m stuck on a problem and I gotta go for a walk so I can figure out how to get my character’s head out of his ass.”
8. I can write with a cat on my lap. They sorta frowned at that at my old job.
9. When a book is done, I can think back at that blank document it started out as (no story, no characters, no dialogue, nothing), then compare that to the final manuscript and feel really damn proud of the world I’ve created, with all the complexities and nuances that make it unique from any other story that’s been written before.
And my favorite…
10. Hearing from readers who were so drawn to the characters, so moved by the story I wrote, that they decided to take time out of their own busy lives to send me a note of thanks.
So thank you to every reader who’s contacted me, who’s tried one of my stories and liked them enough to keep on reading my work, who’s helped me make a go of this writing thing. All through my childhood I made up stories that were just for me–and my imaginary friend. You have no idea what it means to me that I get to share the characters and stories in my head with others. Thank you!
Was planning to meet my parents for dinner at Pizza Hut the other night when my mom sent the following text…
See u @ 6 @jizza hut.
Not that I would mind going to jizza hut, but I really don’t want to meet my parents there.
Mom was having trouble signing into her computer. She called me for help and this was the explanation I received in her most serious tone.
“The password box is there and the little cursor is cursing, but I can’t type anything!”
Thank God a reboot fixed the issue. Because I couldn’t say anything for several minutes while I just laughed at her cursing cursor.
I do appreciate the little laugh-filled breaks my parents offer on the days when I’m locked in the writing cave.
(Blog note: Starting next week I’m going to be changing my blog schedule to Wednesdays and Fridays. Actually I shouldn’t call it a schedule. I don’t stress over making sure I post every so often since writing my fiction is my main priority every week, but I have fun with the blog so I like having specific days on my schedule as a reminder to post. Also, for those of you on email subscriptions, I switched to a new email RSS service called MailChimp. Anyone previously signed up to receive the blog posts via email through Google Feedburner or WordPress have been automatically transferred to the new service. Hopefully no one is getting duplicate posts in your email, but if you are, you can always unsubscribe from one of them using the link in the email. The MailChimp version is the new one you’d want to keep. If anyone else would like to sign up to receive these posts by email, you can use the form on the homepage of my website. There’s also one there for my newsletter.)