George Seaton - Author

The Absent Author Returns - "The Palisade" Published by MLR Press

2011-08-29T08:51:00.000-06:00

Yes, it has been a while since I devoted any time to this "author" blog. Seems I've taken most of the summer off. Falling off my horse again in July did not help with whatever motivation to write I might have otherwise had. Seems my muse has yet to recover fully from what I guess I'll call the summer of the horse. And what a summer it has been!

Good news is that MLR Press has published (electronic only) my little novella, "The Palisade."

As I noted in a prior post, I'm horrible at writing meaningful blurbs; and those I struggled with which eventually ended up being published, really just hint at the content of this work.

"The Palisade" is probably thirty percent biographical, forty percent fiction, and thirty percent a mulligan stew of both. The published blurbs really don't do justice to the story. And, of course, that's no one's fault but my own.

There really was (is still?) an apartment complex in east Denver, surrounded by a six and half-foot brick wall, a palisade. In the late '70s and early '80s, the owner of this apartment complex actually wanted the units to be rented to gay folk. We are--most of us--quite a tidy bunch who take pride in our surroundings and tend to be, well...tidy.

I'll take this opportunity to write another blurb for the storytelling within "The Palisade"...one not restricted by word count.

Firstly, I see this story as representing a writer's (he is not yet published) urge to reckon the lives of the occupants of The Palisade. He is obsessed with his lost, fading youth and so desperately wishes to know if the experiences of his youth--his coming to terms with his sexuality--were so terribly different or so strikingly similar to those who share safe harbor behind the walls of The Palisade. There is a quietly intense love story here between the writer and his young partner who, the writer observes, takes him, the writer, less seriously than the writer takes himself.

Secondly, this story provides vignettes of the lives of many of those who call The Palisade home. Their lives are as diverse as the scrubby flatlands of east Texas are to the flash and sparkle of 42nd Street, Manhattan.

Thirdly, there is the specter of the HIV/AIDS scourge that began it's unkind, deliberately deadly carousal amongst us all in 1981.

Fourthly--and the published blurbs don't really address this aspect of the storytelling at all--there is that existential moment when the writer (and I hope the reader) realize that walls, palisades both shut in and shut out.

Fifthly and finally, there is in the storytelling somewhat literary fodder encompassing the history, the--part truth, part fiction--retelling of the writer's past, his life.

I look at "The Palisade" as kind of a quirky exposition of what it is a writer, an author finds him/herself dealing with when formulating their storytelling. How much should be told? What need not be told? How far does one go with one character or another, with one scene or another, with one passion or another?

If you have the opportunity to read "The Palisade," I hope you enjoy it. But, more than that, I hope you understand where I intended this storytelling to go; I hope you understand that the incompleteness of the vignettes, the mere snippets of information, the holding back, if you will, of beginning, middle, and end was quite deliberate, quite intended.

My Problem with Blurbs - Re: "Finding Deaglan"

2011-06-04T09:22:00.003-06:00

My partner, David, and I and our dear friend, Fred, sat on our patio last evening sipping martinis and shooting the proverbial shit about one thing or another. The conversation eventually moved to the revelation that my current WIP--a follow-up novel to "Big Diehl - The Road Home"--is set in Fred's family's neck of the woods...the high plains of northwestern Colorado. Fred had enjoyed "Big Diehl..." and asked when I would finish the follow-up. I told him it would be several months. I then realized that I hadn't given him a copy of "Finding Deaglan," my latest novel. I stepped into the house, grabbed a copy of the book, and took it out to him. The discussion then drifted to David's thoughts about "Finding Deaglan," which he is now about half-way through. As David voiced his impressions/conclusions about what he had read, Fred studied the blurb on the back of the book.

"The blurb is really not that representative of the content," I told him, as he turned the book over and looked at the cover art.

"Now that you mention it," David said--a phrase that usually signals a Oh my, here it comes moment--my ears as well as my sensibilities (Oh, those fragile egos writers carry as crosses!) perked a bit. "That blurb stinks. It really does. I don't really see how anyone could read that blurb and actually want to read the book."

"Yeah," Fred said, again turning the book over, "I can't even pronounce some of these words."

Okay. Suppose it would be helpful to provide the blurb. Here it is: "A coterie of inheritors of Denver's old money, including twenty-four year old Stephen Thaxton, find themselves inextricably entwined in an imperative to close a hoary circle left open in the other world, the other side where retribution is sought for wrongs committed by their progenitors a century before; wrongs that eradicated wolves from Colorado, and saw the indigenous Indian tribes of Colorado robbed of their lands, all to enhance the wealth and privilege of those who now find themselves the last of their family lines."

"...coterie...inextricably entwined...hoary...progenitors..." Ahem.

I did not admit to David and Fred that, yes, it was I, the author, who wrote that blurb. What the hell was I thinking when I wrote the damned thing?

This, of course, can be filed in that Lessons Learned compartment at the back of one's mind where the oops are stored, hopefully retrievable for later reference.

Yes, a blurb should be short and sweet, and designed to capture the interest of the potential reader. This particular genre--M/M Romance/Paranormal--is so, so competitive, that a lousy blurb can relegate the book to obscurity in a quick minute.

So, what should I have provided blurbwise? Oh, I'm pretty good at cranking out four-hundred pages of narrative. But when it comes to short blips, like blurbs, I am, alas, a boob. (Not a breast, rather a... Oh, hell, you get the point.)

New blurb #1: Stephen Thaxton and his lover, Tom Daly, believe there is something amiss in Stephen's pristine 1880 Queen Anne ancestral home. They engage a psychic to "read" the house, and from that "read" the last of the lines of some of Denver's oldest, most wealthy families are drawn in to an ancient, simmering stew of rage from the other world--the world of the dead--where wrongs done a century before to Colorado Native Americans, wolves and the land itself beg requital.

New blurb #2: Stephen Thaxton is a fabulously wealthy, hunky twenty-four year old stud, with a boyfriend, Tom, whose emerald eyes are just glorious. Five old gay farts--also fabulously wealthy--Trummel, Finster, Mobley, Martin and Merriweather, all get together, along with a little baby, Deaglan (oh, those big blue eyes), and deal with some pretty scary stuff with wolves and spirit winds and all kinds of other world shit in an old house in Denver. There's an old Indian, too, whose got some of his own magic up his sleeve, as well as a psychic who really almost pees his pants when he steps into the old 1880 Queen Anne house Stephen inherited.

Hmmm... Well, I was going to provide about four or five alternate blurbs. But, I gotta tell you, this ain't easy for me. I just can't write short. And, of course, there's the rub. I think next time there's a need to write a blurb, I'll swallow my pride, admit to my editor I just can't do this, and see what she/he might come up with. Or, in the alternative, I'll just effing learn how to write meaningful, short and sweet blurbs that will catch the potential reader's interest.

(I kind of like the second new blurb myself...)

A Post Office Tale - Ahem...

2011-05-19T11:45:00.093-06:00

Yesterday I headed for our local post office, four copies of "Finding Deaglan" in hand, with the intent of sending them off to the folks who expressed interest in having a signed copy of the book via my "Giveaway" as described in a prior post. I arrived early to avoid the little crowds that seem form around noon.

I had already signed the books, with a little note to each of the recipients on the inside title page. Finding that the post office was out of boxes, I grabbed four envelopes, stuffed the books inside and addressed the envelopes, as well as filling out two of those international declaration things.

So there I was standing before the sour-faced, middle-aged postal employee certain I had done my job well as a mailer, and there should be no surprises from the United States Postal Service... embodied there, standing across the counter from me scrutinizing my packages and asking the usual questions about fragility, liquids, etc. My response: "No, they're just books."

"Books?" she said, looking up from her task, scrutinizing me--(I hadn't shaved, and wore the hoodie that my horse, Shy, had slobbered on the day before)--with a bad cop kind of mien that, well, was a wee bit disturbing. "Are they autographed?" she asked.

"Yes."

Her interrogation continued. "Did you personalize the autograph?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

She sighed as if I were a dull student. "Personalize," she said again. "Did you write something about, oh, it was nice meeting you, or how is your dog, or just something...personal?"

I didn't know where this was going. "Well, no, I didn't write any of those things. Is there some difference in postage if I did?" (Yes, I know, I did write the name of the recipient, and added something like "hope you enjoy," but, no--to be precise--I did not say anything about how nice it was to meet them, or an inquiry about their dog.)

"Yes, oh yes," she said, as she studied me for a moment longer. She then resumed her task--weighing, stamping, affixing the international declarations. "If you personalize the autograph it takes it into another category of item."

"Oh. Really?"

"Really," she said, taking one more glance at my face, my soiled hoodie, as if I appeared sinister rather just a little unkempt.

So, all right. I succeeded in mailing the books. For Perpetua and Helen, your books will go--as the postal diva explained--"standby," which I gathered is much like airline travel for people. "If there's room on the plane, they'll put your packages on it." (I hope they arrive by the end of the year.) Ro and Cynthia, I expect you'll have your books in several days. Ike, if you're still interested, I need your address.

As soon as I got home I Googled "USPS Polices/Procedures autographed books." And, no, I found nothing to support the postal worker's contention that a "personalized" autograph jutted the nature of the mailing into some higher order of item requiring additional fees.

Now, having been an insufferable bureaucrat for twenty-three years myself, I understand the worth of law, policy and procedure when it comes to doing what bureaucrats do. In my experience, most of the time those laws, policies and procedures made sense, or at least were somewhat relevant to the subject matter they applied to. I am at a loss, however, to understand why ten or eleven "personalized" words preceding an autograph are, in the collective eyes of the United States Postal Service, something to be concerned about, something that evokes the interrogation I experienced. Surely those extra ten or eleven words didn't make the item heavier. Hmmm...

If anyone can explain the why/wherefore of this USPS law? policy? or procedure? I would be grateful. As it stands, I'm still scratching my head...a prolonged WTF moment.

P.S. Just found the policy (4.3). Again, hmmm... The upshot of all this is that the USPS has the right to "inspect" Media Mail to determine whether or not it meets the USPS criteria for the same and, if not, then "Postage Due" will be affixed to the package and the recipient will have to pay the additional postage. I understand that Media Mail rates are discounted, and that some folks out there attempt to get the discounted rate by identifying packages as Media Mail, the contents of which are not Media Mail at all, but material that should rightfully so (according to USPS policy/procedure)be classified as First Class or some other higher rate. But, Lawd, an author who autographs a book and includes the recipient's name and a little note like, "Enjoy!" hardly, I humbly say, does not qualify as anything but Media Mail. (Sure, if the author provides two-hundred words on the inside cover about his/her trip to Dubuque, and the cornstalks swaying in the wind, the flow of the Mississippi and the utterly delightfully charming Iowans, and by the way, how's your dog, etc. etc. etc. then, yes, that might qualify as a "personalized" autograph.)

Authors beware. Most of you are probably already aware of this. I wasn't. Yesterday was the first time I'd been interrogated by the USPS about my book shipments. Hereafter, I will just pay the higher rate and leave it at that. Actually I'll inform the postal worker that, yes, I personalized my autograph and please, oh, please charge me the higher rate. The potential embarrassment of hearing that the recipient of one of my autographed books had to pay additional postage because the USPS inspected the contents of the package and determined there was a verboten personalization within... Well, just suffice it to say I would be embarrassed.

So, Helen, Ro, Perpetua, Cynthia, if postage is due, please let me know.

"Finding Deaglan" - Free Giveaway of Hardcopy

2011-05-16T08:35:00.004-06:00

Thanks to all who responded to my offer. Will be sending out books today, to Ro, Helen, Perpetua, Cinderella (need your address), and Ike (need your address). Again, my email is: seatongm01@comcast.net for those who have yet to provide addresses.

I've got to end the giveaway now. Think I'll do this again, perhaps on M/M author/reader Yahoo sites. Again, thanks to those who participated.

"Finding Deaglan" is 470 pages, 120,000 words. Had a thought yesterday that reading all those words is something I certainly wouldn't want to undertake on an electronic reading device, much less on my computer screen. I know, I know... Ebooks are rapidly catching up with print. But it's also pretty clear that most ebooks are much shorter, much more manageable via electronic readers than is "Finding Deaglan." So, silly me, I thought it would be a nice gesture to give a few print copies of this, my latest novel, to folks who have an interest in reading it. (If there are any???)

Here's the deal: I'll start with just two copies. The first two folks to request a copy via comment on this post can opt either to receive a signed copy at their home address (I'll get your address via email), or receive an unsigned copy via ~~"gifting" through Amazon to your email address~~ Amazon. (Occurred to me that one can gift only electronic versions via Amazon.)

Okay. Let's see how this works. If there is interest then I'll probably extend the offer to the next three, four of five folks who provide a comment on this post. If your email address is not included with your comment, then please email me ("Contact" tab below the picture of Shy), and I'll get in touch with you.

No, this isn't some kind of effort to get traffic to my website, or some cutesy contest to invoke interest in "Finding Deaglan." This is simply my desire to give folks the opportunity to read the book and, hopefully, let me know what you think of it. Period. That's all I'm after. Trust me. This is my first attempt at M/M paranormal, and I'm really curious if I pulled it off.

Be well, y'all.

George

Finding Deaglan - Published Today

2011-04-02T12:50:00.000-06:00

"Finding Deaglan" was published today by MLR Press. This is my second novel--not counting my self-published (vanity press) work, "A Circle of Magic."

"Finding Deaglan" was an adventure to write, taking me to places that I thought would never capture my interest as a writer: paranormal, occult, a bit of shapeshifting. I was in comfortable territory, however, with the characterization I put into the novel. It is my characters who drive my work, and if they are not interesting, if they do not capture the readers' interests then nothing else about my storytelling will.

This is another long one--over 400 pages, about 120,000 words. So I expect it will be a while before I get any feedback. That's fine. I'm in no hurry.

Hope you enjoy the read.

WIP (Work in Progress) Snippet - "Tucker Beene"

2011-02-28T11:14:00.001-07:00

One of my works in progress, "Tucker Beene," is the story of a nineteen year-old kid from the flat lands of southeastern Colorado who becomes a "dead of night emigre" from his daddy's cow operation, heads for Denver, and finds work in a gay bathhouse clandestinely owned by the North Denver Italian mob. The story takes place in 1975, with commentary from a much older Beene--perhaps in his fifties--looking back on those days of his youth where danger was tangible, love fleeting, and hopes and dreams were never lost--maybe not fulfilled, but never lost.

This little snippet provides a bit of Beene's history.

His granddaddy had built a rock house into the southern side of a bluff in the treeless misery of the southeastern Colorado desert, near the town of Lamar and within sight of the notable natural attractions of a place called Two Buttes. Two Buttes was two buttes sitting off by themselves as curious erections in the middle of nowhere, so close to Kansas that the righteous odor of Creationism wafted sour and slow-witted up to the rock house whenever the wind changed. When they’d moved from east Texas to Lamar, Beene’s daddy shoved a doublewide alongside the rock house and opened up a hole for a door between the old house and the new. Beene spent the last years of his adolescence passing each morning, each night from the leavings of one generation to another, from rocks to tin walls and large-looped carpet the color of pea soup. Thing about it was, the old rock house stayed warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The tin house, balanced on cinder blocks, stayed hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Beene thought often about the whole thing, about the rock house being cut open to accommodate passage to the new doublewide, its tin walls with seams that whistled when the wind blew. Thought there was something wrong with the skin-thin rickety new butting-up against the solid old of the home place. Thought his grandpa had probably turned a bit in his grave with it all. Wondered, too, why his daddy’d left the home place in Lamar and gone off to Texas in the first place. Didn’t make much sense, till his daddy’d told him he and his own daddy had had a falling out, a misunderstanding of sorts. Why that was enough to cause his daddy to head to Texas, Beene had no idea. If Lamar was hell, Texas had been the devil’s kitchen.

Beene trudged his days as a boy. Up before the sun, he’d muck the stalls where Flapjack and Lucille nudged his shoulder with their heads, flapped their lips and stared at him with eyes large with want or love or just smarts that critters seem to take for granted and people had just lost somewhere along the way. He’d place his palms on either side of their heads, move his lips close to their muzzles, a prayer of sorts, and tell them he’d return, he’d be back. Then he’d whisper to them, repeating what his mama had said to him when he was put to bed as a child: “You make the sun shine and the flowers bloom, the rain sweet and the world complete.” He loved the horses, no two ways about it. Scooped hay, a little alfalfa into the stalls, then filled the water troughs, hooked a bucket, a quarter full of sweet grain, where they could get to it. He’d move on to the pigs. Just two. His daddy would eventually butcher them both, then replace them, wait a while, then cut the new ones up. Beene would always have an excuse to be off somewhere, atop Lucille, far from the homeplace, when his daddy’d start sharpening that pig knife.

The sun would peek over the eastern horizon by the time Beene checked his mama’s chickens, grabbing eggs, throwing feed. Then he’d eat some toast, eggs, drink a little coffee, grab his books and stand out on the no name county road and wait for the yellow bus to pick him up.

WIPs (Works in Progress) - Continuing the Trudge

2011-02-17T07:57:00.002-07:00

My next novel, "Finding Deaglan," recently went through the last phase of the edit process--proof--and is now ready for cover art. MLR will, hopefully, issue the book this spring. Part of MLR's process includes the opportunity for the author to describe what they would like to see on the cover. My initial response was to provide imagery comprising a good deal of the plot lines within the storytelling. Revisiting my cover art request, I realized that what I had provided would be impossible for the artist to accomplish; there were simply too many images that would result in a very, very busy cover. I think--being relatively new to this publishing craziness,(well, maybe not "craziness," but certainly esoterica that I've yet to become comfortable with)--I've realized that the simpler cover art is, the better. I do believe cover art attracts potential readers, and the allure of just a wee hint of the storytelling--the imagery on the cover--is preferred to the busyness I had originally envisioned. I haven't heard from the cover artist yet. Looking forward to her/his "vision."

I have commenced a sequel to "Big Diehl - The Road Home," that sees Diehl and Joe Tye on the High Plains of northwestern Colorado, working a small ranch, as they sort through the lingering horrors of war Diehl saw in Iraq, and the soothing presence of the land and the critters upon it that will, or maybe won't, cement Big's and Joe's commitment to each other. I don't know the outcome. I never plot endings. I do not outline. I just write what the muse provides.

A novella--twenty to thirty-thousand words--is also in the works. I call it, "An American Memory." This is a coming-of-age story, that centers on the seemingly banal existence of a fifteen year old kid who understands his sexuality early on, and deals with it in the staid environment of Denver in the early '60s.

Finally, I'm also digging into an admittedly literary piece, "The Palisade,"(Why do I feel the need to apologize for literary?), that explores a writer's life within the confines of an all-gay apartment building in Denver during the early '80s. This storytelling encompasses two POVs: one of the protagonist, and the other omniscient. The difficulty with this one is in assuring the reader understands the movement from one POV to the other. I do like this story. Finding a publisher, however, might be an issue.

So, there's an update on my WIPs. And in providing this update, I do acknowledge that I work slowly, methodically. I can't crank them out, one after another, with only months in between publications. I suppose I envy those who are so prolific as to barely have time to add another three-hundred "friends" to their Face Book page, before their next novel, novella, short is published. Ah, so be it. I do what I can with what I've got.

I continue the trudge.

A Review Request - Denied (Gently so...)

2011-01-18T09:58:00.087-07:00

I am reading Annie Proulx's, "Bird Cloud," that provides the reader with Proulx's reflections on building a house on the High Plains of southeastern Wyoming. Well, reflections not only on the building, but on so much more that encompasses the essence of this woman's insatiable curiosity about critters, people, family, flora, the history of the place; the history of the people who inhabited the place long before she did. In the reading, I came across her narrative of the despicable practice of killing eagles, balds and goldens, by sheep ranchers who, quite incredibly, justified their killings by affirming--wrongly--that eagles were actually carrying off sheep in their talons, killing valuable livestock to the detriment of the ranchers...again, wrongly affirmed or assumed. Appears there was a significantly churlish "sport" aspect to the killing of eagles, that nearly wiped out those magnificent creatures in parts of Wyoming. Proulx notes, "The tough alternative newspaper, High Country News, took up the cause and Wyoming public opinion began to quiver and shift."

I mention this only as a preface to what I'd like to tell you.

My collection of three shorts, "The Cow and Other Colorado Tales," published by Untreed Reads, provides storytelling that takes place in High Plains of northwestern Colorado. The stories are PG13, with no M/M component to them at all. Yet--even though I do write M/M romance--I love these little literary glimpses into the lives of ranchers and town folk who inhabit this particular area of Colorado...much like the area where Proulx chose to build her house.

Since these stories are not within the M/M Romance genre, my task (as is the perpetual task of all authors who are published by small houses) was to find a venue that would review the work which, as we all know, contributes to readership, sales, income for the author as well as the publisher.

I have a very dear friend who lives in Crawford, Colorado--southwestern Colorado, a stone's throw from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and, coincidentally, quite near the town of Paonia where High Country News is published. I asked my friend the pertinent question: Do you believe High Country News would do a review? The answer: Maybe. You'll just have to try. I won't spend much time here noting the "mission" of High Country News, but, suffice it to say, these folks are dedicated to environmental causes, and the preservation of the land and critters across the eleven western states in which they publish. And they do reviews of published work.

Okay. So I figure who better to review "The Cow and Other Colorado Tales," than High County News. I mean, really: "The Cow and Other Colorado Tales," deals directly with the land and the critters, and the people who work that land and deal with those critters on a daily basis. And, besides that, my publisher, Untreed Reads is, um--careful now, this is important--an ebook publisher who doesn't cut down trees in order to sell their wares. Environmentally friendly? Yes! Something that High Country News should celebrate? Well, yes, of course. So, off I went, sending my review inquiry to the managing editor of the High Country News.

I received a response from the Managing Editor of HCN, something that I'm told is not that usual, something that I'm told should be considered significant in the whole scheme of things relevant to the operation of this--as Annie Proulx pointed out--"...tough alternative newspaper..." I won't detail those exchanged emails, but I suppose it is important to note that I was told HCN does not, at this time, review ebook storytelling and, ahem, does not consider works that are essentially "self-published." My response, of course, noted that Untreed Reads is a royalty paying publisher, and "The Cow and Other Colorado Tales," was not self-published. I did not go into the above argument about the HCN being largely dedicated to environmental issues, including--I hope!--the conservation of forests that are destroyed in order to provide print editions of books. (Will admit here, I love the feel, smell, the presence of a hard cover book in my hands!)

Oh well... I've been quite blessed with reviews of my M/M Romance work, that come exclusively from web-based sites. Not so with my literary work, that encompasses my passion for the land and the critters upon it. And, now that I think about it, my M/M Romance work nudges up to that passion, as well.

I will reveal one issue that arose in the exchanged emails with the Managing Editor of HCN, which was obviously significant to the discussion. She noted that only 9% of total books sold are in ebook format. The link supported her contention. My thought then as now, was/is, okay then, obviously there's a connection here between the essential worth, importance of an author's words that is directly tied to sales. Since ebooks represent only 9% of the market, then--who can argue?--any work published in ebook format is necessarily devalued, not because of content, but, yes, because of reported sales.

I did not say it, but my conclusion with this whole experience is I expected more from that "...tough alternative newspaper...," which was instrumental in ceasing the senseless slaughter of eagles in Wyoming. But, then, that's just me. What the hell. Why should they look at that 9% as significant of a second (or even first!) look?

Am I whining here? Probably. More likely I'm just a wee bit frustrated. Guess I could try the Denver Post. But, I'm told, if you don't know somebody at the Post, or your publisher isn't New York based, or you're not on the bestseller list, then they have no interest.

I'll keep trying. Or maybe I'll just let it be. Hell, that 9% is rising every day. Who knows what it will be next year, or next month? Book publishing just ain't what it used to be. (But I do so love those hardbacks....)

DADT Repealed - So much more left to do...

2010-12-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Just watched President Obama sign the bill ending the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that was instituted in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who, shoved up against the political wall by a new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate--notably Sam Nunn of Georgia, and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina--opted for the absurdity of requiring Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen to lie, something that the honor codes of the five service academies (West Point, Annapolis, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine) would ipso facto qualify as an offense requiring expulsion. But--and herein lies the absurdity--gay/lesbian service members were required, beginning in 1993, to lie about their personal lives.

Writing more than a decade ago (the more things change…), I observed that: After hearing that with the new Republican majority in the United States Congress, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina would most likely head the Armed Services Committee where the Don't Ask,Don't Tell policy was given a difficult and ugly birth, I recalled watching a portion of those hearings on T.V. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts was testifying before Sam Nunn of Georgia and Strom Thurmond. Nunn and Kerry were debating the probability that if openly gay soldiers were to remain in the military, then the section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (“Military justice is to justice as Military music is to music.” Georges Clemenceau), dealing with sodomy would have to be revised. At one point, Strom Thurmond–looking like the weathered, ancient, evil, Father of all Beasts that he is–asked “Senator Kerry I have one and only one question for you. Do homosexuals commit sodomy?” Kerry stammered a bit, saying that some homosexuals probably do commit sodomy but that some heterosexuals commit sodomy, also. “Just answer my question, Senator,” Thurmond shouted. “Do homosexuals commit sodomy?” Kerry stammered again and Thurmond announced that the military was not the place for “…sodomites. There’s only one place for sodomites and that’s in jail,” he said.

The polemic is clear. The lines have been drawn. What surely seems to denude the honor from the gay or lesbian soldier’s service in the minds of the anti-homosexualists is the manner in which those homosexuals make love or have made love or might make love sometime in the future. How absurd this shibboleth should frighten the bejesus out of the brass-plated bastions of what is probably the most masculine institution in this country. But, it does. And, as politically correct as Bill Clinton may have been in proposing an end to the ban, it is unfortunate that his motivation was political correctness rather than heartfelt commitment. There is a difference.

It was, I suppose, quite enough for Bill Clinton–of all people!–to have been the drum major for ending the ban on gays in the military. Drum majors strut. And, they’re supposed to strut at the head of the band until the parade is over. What seems to have occurred, however, is that our drum major crapped out at the point it was clear the band was not playing the kind of music the crowd wanted to hear.

There is something desperately wrong with the American military’s obsessive paranoia with regard to the homosexuals amongst them. Randy Shilt’s study of homosexuals in the American military (and the categorical dispossession of the military careers of those homosexuals), Conduct Unbecoming, is not read so much as something factual but as something you can’t quite believe; something like standing upon the autumn grass at Gettysburg and not quite believing that seven-thousand men once lay dead and forty-thousand lay wounded upon the gentle slopes of those quiet Pennsylvania hills. Did this horror really happen here? Did our country really do this to itself?

I served honorably in the United States Army. I was a soldier. Not a gay soldier or a white soldier or a Colorado soldier. Just a soldier. Period. That was, after all, why I was there. But, that was only for two years. What about the career soldier who happens to be gay or lesbian? What about them? Does being a soldier necessarily preclude that that soldier may also be a human being? No, for heterosexual soldiers it doesn’t. But, what about us? What about the gay or lesbian soldier who is willing–and has and will continue–to die for their country? What about them, Strom?

There is so much that needs to be addressed with regard to this new place and time where Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be shoved off the table into the ignoble dustbin of this nation's history.

I recall from my novel, "Big Diehl - The Road Home," some haunting words that seem to crystallize only one aspect of what needs to be addressed by the American military as Don't Ask, Don't Tell is stripped of its legitimacy: "Occurred to Diehl he had made it. Since returning from Iraq, he'd never thought much about it. Why? So many dead, maimed. So many coming back in a box, the Stars and Stripes an honor bestowed on the dead, folded according to regulation, tight corners, handed cold from the coffin to widows, mothers, fathers. Wondered who he'd want to take the flag? Tony? Maddie and Chris? All three? Hell, wouldn't make a difference to the Army. They'd give it to his daddy. No queers in the Army. No need to ask the question: 'Who did this soldier love? To whom would this flag have meaning?'"

P.S. Yes, that's me in the pic at Fort Polk, Louisiana...becoming a man, becoming a Soldier.

"Just For Christmas" - Released by Untreed Reads

2010-12-09T07:50:00.001-07:00

My short, "Just for Christmas," was released yesterday by Untreed Reads.

This storytelling takes the reader through a succession of Christmas Eves. The story begins with the excitement of a grown young man, Frank, who still savors Christmastide with a child's fascination, and is intent on drawing his partner, Stephen, into the festivities. Throughout Frank's childhood, Christmas Eves were always celebrated at his home, with the gathering of family from near and far; a rite replete with food, good cheer...an annual reconnection with family members.

The story describes, in the context of these seasonal celebrations of family, Frank's childhood journey through his very early on understanding that he is somehow different from his contemporaries, an unarticulated but nevertheless profound realization that his sexuality is not "normal." As Christmas Eves come and go, Frank--with the perceptive insight of his Aunt Claire--gradually comes to accept himself, his sexuality, unashamed, unhindered by perceptions of "normal." Through it all, Frank continues to value family, and further realizes that there is more than one definition for that precious word. Family.

Okay, Stuff Happens -- And, it happened to "Another Fine Christmas"

2010-12-02T07:45:00.001-07:00

The publisher of "Another Fine Christmas" sent me a .pdf file of the story yesterday. I printed it out, and read it before going to bed. Toward the end of the story, I noticed a very abrupt scene change that wasn't right...something was missing. I checked my final edit of the story and, indeed, somehow, some way, a significant number of words were missing, thus providing that jolting transition from one scene to another. The publisher and I have identified the missing text, and I know they will do everything they can to reinsert it as soon as possible. My apologies to anyone who may have already purchased the story. Not that the incomplete version is unreadable. It's just that one may come away from the story with the nagging thought that they missed something; that they--the reader--ought to take a second look; or that he--the writer--ought to learn how to more effectively transition scenes.

Sorry about that. And, a word to writers: Beware those back-and-forth edits and proofs with your publisher. It is, ultimately, the writer's responsibility to assure the integrity of their work before it goes to print--electronic or otherwise.

P.S. Working all day yesterday, December 2nd, the publisher has successfully reissued the complete "Another Fine Christmas," to just about every ebook distributor out there. Like I said, stuff happens, but now a happy ending. (Thank you, Jay, K.D.!)

Two New Shorts Coming from Untreed Reads -- Merry Christmas!

2010-12-01T08:27:00.001-07:00

Just for Christmas by George Seaton (Street Date: 12/7/10)

Description:

Christmas is a holiday with family at the heart of the season. In this short story from the author of CONTINUUM, THE COLORADO COW AND OTHER STORIES and ANOTHER FINE CHRISTMAS, Frank discovers that sometimes discovering who you are is the best present, and that often the family you choose can be stronger than the family into which you were born.

Another Fine Christmas by George Seaton (Street Date 12/2/10)

Description:

What do you do when your partner is gung-ho for Christmas and you don't want to take part in the festivities? For the narrator, an escape into his writing world would bring a welcome diversion from the music and mistletoe of the season. A very unusual encounter in his dreams, however, just might restore his love for the season and allow him to view it with an entirely new perspective. A seasonal short story from the author of Continuum, Just for Christmas and The Cow and Other Colorado Tales.

"Another Fine Christmas," released today, December 1st.

"Finding Deaglan" - Work in Progress

2010-11-28T09:11:00.002-07:00

I suppose it is important, or at least informative, to relate that I do have a work in progress (WIP). Sometimes it appears as though a writer has run out of juice, so to speak, if only silence (a lapse in blog entries, or the absence of a timely "hype") is the only notable presence that writer provides to his readers...if he has any. I believe I've got a few. At least I hope I do.

"Finding Deaglan" is a departure from "Big Diehl - The Road Home," and my other work (shorts), in that it carouses a bit in the supernatural, horror maybe. More importantly, while the book provides an M/M romance theme (young, bright and beautiful boys), it also focuses on the relationships of older--mid to late 50s--gay men and lesbians who began their friendship, no, more than friendship--("Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel)--in the late 60s, early 70s, on the heels of Stonewall. If that weren't enough, the story takes the reader to that sorrowful time in American history when American Indians were moved from their age-old land, their Mother Earth by the requisites of Manifest Destiny; a time when wolves were slaughtered indiscriminately. There is, in the story, a Queen Anne mansion, infested with the hoary anger and grief from the other side, the realm of the dead. There's a bit of shape-shifting, a bit of spiritualism, a bit of occultism.

The present status of this WIP is a little precarious right now. Although I've already contracted with MLR Press, there remains the issue of word count. My content editor at MLR is working with me to attempt to reduce all those words (133,000), to a more workable 100,000 or so.

Okay. That's pretty much it with the WIP. Wish me luck...at least with the process of deleting lots of words that, in my humble opinion are absolutely required to further the plot, but, ahem, do not work well will the realities of ebook publishing, and, of course, the cost of print editions.

"Honorable Silence" - A DADT Anthology from MLR Press

2010-11-22T08:54:00.001-07:00

This short anthology dealing with the American military's DADT policy, published by MLR Press, was kindly reviewed by Jessewave. A caveat here: My short, "The Loss of Innocence Store," occurs in a time and place two decades prior the implementation of DADT. However, it is important to note that the American military's ban on gays serving in the military began a long, long time before DADT raised it's ugly head in 1993. I was both honored and surprised that Jessewave found my short to be...well, worthy.

"The Cow and Other Colorado Tales" Released

2010-11-16T07:02:00.010-07:00

Untreed Reads has released my collection of three short stories, "The Cow and Other Colorado Tales." These shorts take the reader to the high plains of northwest Colorado, where, in two of the stories--"The Cow," and "Fixing Fence"--the essential connection between ranchers, the land, and the critters upon the land is exposed. These stories provide the backdrop for what I hope are seen as meaningful insights into the hearts and souls of folks intent on valuing family, the land, integrity, and that special connection between man and animal. The other story, "Drogan's Things," takes place a little east of the high plains, and was, for me as the writer, a journey into a rather dark place where dreams are lost, avarice is valued, and secrets are revealed.

My favorite is "The Cow." Somehow I connect with that story more than the others. Go figure....

Ebook Addict has kindly reviewed "The Cow..."

P.S. These are PG13 stories, written outside the M/M genre. Pretty soon most, if not all, sites that provide ebook sales will carry this title. Also at Amazon.

"The Cow and other Colorado Tales"

2010-11-15T10:14:00.006-07:00

My three shorts, "The Cow and other Colorado Tales," soon to be published by Untreed Reads, is a departure from my other published work in that it provides a step into the literary genre; a genre that I love to read, and certainly one in which I love to write.

The pic above was part of my inspiration for the story, "The Cow." I love this story. The other stories--"Drogan's Things," and "Fixing Fence"--are no less lovable than "The Cow." Or, at least that's my opinion as the writer.

Can't wait for publication. Can't wait to see what you think!

Here's the deal...

2010-11-14T13:16:00.001-07:00

Yes, another blog.

It's decidedly axiomatic that authors not coddled by agents and huge publishing houses, must hype themselves with copious bombastic ballyhoo wherever and whenever they can. Yes, the small publishing houses do what they can to get our stuff out there; after all they do have a bottom line to meet, a profit to make. But, alas, it's really left to the author stabled at a small house to make the effort to assure his/her books are publicized, reviewed (reviews=sales), and, yes, hyped to the nth degree on the net through blogs, participation in Yahoo groups, daily posts on Face Book, networking through other blogs, Goodreads, and on, and on, and on. With all that in mind, the author must assure that what s/he provides to accomplish the end goal--to gain readers and sell books--must be presented with as much of the proverbial bang for the buck as possible. Writers don't have a lot of time to do anything other than write. So, the time that writers do take to engage in unabashed hype must be well-spent, presented in a manner that will reap the greatest return.

Any author reading this will, of course, shake their head, utter a "Duh!" and probably move on to more productive tasks.

The point of all this is simply to introduce my latest effort to accomplish those things I've noted that are pretty essential for achieving success as a writer if, indeed, you measure success in readers and sales. Sure, some of us don't. Most of us do.

So, here I am back at Blogspot. I think I've developed a fairly clean, informative site. Time will tell. I first began blogging years ago on Blogspot, then moved over to Wordpress, here and here. Not that there's anything wrong with Wordpress. Just seems that Blogspot has some functionality (for dummies like me) that Wordpress seems to be able to offer only through CSS enhancements.

If you've read this far, welcome. Hope there's something here that interests you, and that you might return from time to time.

P.S. Would welcome any suggestions for the site.