Tag: writing

By John McFarland

It was to be the trip of a lifetime. One of those ‘bucket list’ deals that retirees dream of. My wife Cindy’s ex daughter-in-law, Michelle, had always stayed close to Cindy through the years. And after years of hard work, elevating herself to comfortable circumstances, Michelle invited us to join her family on a tour of the UK.

Although Michelle’s family trip was only to encompass the UK, Cindy, always looking at the big picture, saw a larger opportunity. Having two publishers in Germany, Wandler-Verlag and Zagava, and an illustrator in Seville, Spain, she planned that we could get a Europass and see the Continent by rail after our hosts went home. These were exciting prospects, and it occurred to me that there was yet another literature-related possibility open to us before we left England for the train tour.

I had become facebook friends with Ramsey Campbell perhaps three years before. He was always the first person to wish me happy birthday every year, and I enjoyed reading his regular-bloke posts about partying with his friends, cinema, horror, and The Three Stooges. He was and is an avid assembler of 1000 piece picture puzzles and loves a good glass of cheer. We had a sort of connection through the person of the iconic T.E.D. Klein.

The very first fiction I ever wrote was a tale called One Happy Family. Ted was the wunderkind editor of The Twilight Zone Magazine in those days and he accepted that story and published it in October 1983 issue. Subsequent stories I submitted to him didn’t fare so well, but Ted always explain in detail and with much kindness, what he felt was lacking in them. I reconnected with Ted when my first story collection appeared in 2020 and he was graciously supportive and gave me very positive blurbs. He even sent a collection of essays he had recently published, as a gift.

As it turns out, Ted was equally encouraging to Ramsey when he first came on the scene with his novel The Doll Who Ate His Mother, also in the early ‘80’s. They have been friends ever since. Ramsey was impressed when I was honored to be included in a two author chapbook with Ted issued by Wandler-Verlag.

I messaged Ramsey through Facebook that we were going to be in the UK in late August. I asked if he were going to be available then and if we could meet. His response was ‘Let’s have dinner.’ We selected a Turkish restaurant Ramsey and his wife Jenny had wanted to try in Wallasey Village, across the Mersey River from Liverpool. The restaurant was just a few blocks from their home. Ramsey made reservations for four for the evening of August 25.

Cindy has never been a fan of horror. She felt ill-equipped to meet an author whom I had told her was a celebrity. “How famous is he?” she asked me.

“Maybe not quite as well-known as Stephen King, but close to that.”

I told her I was a little apprehensive too. I had never met, face-to-face, a writer in that hierarchy and though I had read three of Ramsey’s novels and many of his short stories, I didn’t consider myself qualified to speak authoritatively about his work.

Cindy and I got to the restaurant first. It was a nice neighborhood place, but completely empty, but for us. We were seated in a booth in the front window. Remembering Ramsey’s love of jigsaw puzzles, I had bought him a gift of a thousand-piece puzzle of horror movie posters over the years. For good measure, I threw in copies of my two story collections.

After about a ten minute wait, an Uber pulled up outside and Ramsey and Jenny made their way out of it. “Here they are,” I told Cindy. I stood to greet them, hoping the coming conversation would not lag and would take on a life of its own.

It took about three seconds to see that Ramsey was the same fellow in person as he is online. His left arm was in a sling. He said he had taken a fall a few weeks before and broken it. “Lucky it wasn’t my writing arm,” he said, as he had just started another new novel. Jenny apologized for looking tired but said she was just preparing for a weekend babysitting her rambunctious grandsons. “But first things first,” Ramsey said. “What are we drinking?”

The first of several bottles of Pinot Grigio was brought to the table and we made short work of it. Cindy need not have been concerned about her conversational skills as we spoke of non-horror books, wines, grandkids, travel, sightseeing (Ramsey and Jenny had just returned from visiting a son in Singapore) and pets. We ordered our food and everyone shared whatever was on their plates. More wine came and Ramsey entertained us with magic tricks and tales of such notables as Robert Aickman and Ted Klein. And always an occasional Three Stooges reference.

I gave Ramsey his gift bag. He was delighted with the puzzle and seemed genuinely grateful for my books. “Did you sign them?” he asked. I had thought he might resent the presumption. But, not at all.

For four hours we talked, ate and drank our wine. Jenny said more than once she was really enjoying herself and she hoped we would stay in touch. I called the waiter over and he took four photos of us together. We had the restaurant to ourselves the entire evening. At ten o’clock I paid the bill and offered to share an Uber with our guests.

I had to help Ramsey to his feet. I think his injury had taken something out of him. The four of us waited on a deserted street for our ride. When it came I helped Ramsey into the car and in five minutes we were at their home on a comfortable, ivy-draped residential street nearby.  Everyone hugged everyone and Jenny repeated she wanted to stay in touch. Ramsey seconded this and I could see they had really taken to Cindy. Me too, apparently.

I didn’t initiate this memorable evening with any plot or plan, but as it turns out, Ramsey really did read my books and loved them. He gave me several blurbs to use in the future. More than I ever expected. I just wanted the chance to meet him and talk writing. And, as it turns out, Wandler-Verlag will be publishing another chapbook next year, featuring Ramsey and myself.

I still hear from him regularly. And many of the messages, though not all, begin or end with some reference to The Three Stooges.

JOHN MCFARLAND’S first novel, The Black Garden, was published in 2010, and the story continues with the recent Mother of Centuries. His work has appeared in The Twilight Zone Magazine, Eldritch Tales, National Lampoon, River Styx, Tornado Alley and the anthology A Treasury of American Horror Stories, which also included stories by Stephen King, Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. He has written extensively on historical and arts-related subjects and has been a guest lecturer in fiction at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a lifelong Bigfoot enthusiast, and Annette: A Big Hairy Mom is his first novel for young readers.

By Rachel A. Brune

As the summer grinds on, I’m hard at work on the third volume in the Rick Keller series—available from the Literary Underworld! My secret agent werewolf and his partners are back on another mission, and I’ve been burning through my stash of index cards trying to figure out the twists and turns of middle section of the book.

And so, because I’m supposed to be writing, I’m instead surfing my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, refreshing my author page, and generally doing lots of things other than writing, including reading a rotating selection of books from the local library.

I picked up my phone to mark my latest book as “read” on Goodreads (gotta make that annual Goodreads challenge!) and dashed off a quick review. And it made me think—will this writer see this review? If I really like the book, should I post something on social media? Should I recommend that book? How can I let people know I really liked it?

After thinking about it—and yes, procrastinating a little more from Rick and friends, I have come up with this list of five different—and maybe somewhat unusual—ways that readers can show some love to their favorite authors.

And hey—they don’t even have to be your favorite authors – if you read their book and liked it, share the love! (I’ve gotta confess—these are all on my writer bucket list.)

1. Place their work on your body via tattoo art. If you’re into decorating your body with art, use a favorite quote, character, or object from a book as an excuse to get more ink! Not a fan of written quotes and how they look? Take the quote to your favorite tattoo artist (I’m a big fan of James Tuck) and ask them to use it as inspiration for an original piece. (Obviously don’t do this one if you’re not allowed to get a tattoo for parental, legal, health, or religious reasons.) Literary tattoos make great conversation pieces, and you’ll be supporting not just one but two creative people!
2. Make some fan art. As a reader, I love seeing other people’s takes on a book I’ve read and enjoyed. I especially love it when a writer will post (with permission) pictures of fan art they’ve received. These may range from basic pencil or crayon sketches all the way to professional-level drawings, but the one thing they all have in common is a shared love of the writer’s world that they are expressing authentically. Sometimes the characters depicted in the art look exactly as I’d imagined in my head—and sometimes they don’t. That’s all part of the fun of it!
3. Pick their book for your book club. Don’t have a book club? Start one! All joking aside, this is a great way to find people with whom you can schmooze about the books you enjoy over a nice snack and beverage. Not only that, but you’re helping an author find a wider audience, and that is a magical thing. If you reach out to them, the author might even be available to attend your book club meeting and answer your questions about their work, either in person or via Zoom. At the very least, they will appreciate the gesture.
4. Write a poem praising them. The more complicated in terms of meter and rhyme the better! There exists a long literary tradition of praising someone by writing a poem (the technical term is, coincidentally enough, “praise poem”). Channel your inner chaotic good Bard and share your love of a writer’s writing by writing them some writing about their writing!
5. And of course, give them a review, subscribe to their newsletter, and follow their public platform! Every writer I know spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to communicate with the people who enjoy their work. Whether it’s a website blog, social media account, or newsletter, authors love to hear from the folks who have read and enjoyed their work. Let’s face it—this is a hard business to gain financial fortune; many of us really appreciate the messages from our fans that feed our souls in between royalty checks. And if you’ve followed a single writer online, you already know how much reviews mean to writers (and their publishers!)

So there you have it! Five different ways you can show authors some love. Maybe one of these will be perfect for the book you’re reading now. What’s that? You are in need of a book to read? Not to worry—check out one of the Literary Underworld’s nearly 200 titles—and if you end up getting some new ink, or hosting a book club, or want to send us some fan art, then drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you!

Rachel A. Brune graduated from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2000, and was immediately plunged into the low-stakes world of entry-level executive assistantship. Her unexpected journey out of that world and into the military is chronicled in her self-published book Echoes and Premonitions. Rachel served five years as a combat journalist, including two tours in Iraq, and a brief stint as a columnist for her hometown newspaper. After her second tour, she attended graduate school at the University at Albany in NY, where she earned her M.A. in political communication, and her commission as a second lieutenant in the military police corps.

Although her day job has taken in her in many strange, often twisted directions, Rachel continues to write and publish short fiction. She released her first novel, Soft Target, in early 2013, and other books have followed. In addition to writing, she is the founder and chief editor at Crone Girls Press and edits the Falstaff Dread line of horror fiction at Falstaff Books.

By John S. McFarland

I have lived most of my life in or near St. Louis, Mo. And ever since I was old enough to realize that I actually liked being scared and unsettled, I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. I was surprised to learn, in recent years that there was a connection between the city and my literary hero, or at least one was in the making when Poe died. In fact, if Poe had lived another month or so, he very well could have been buried in one of the grand old cemeteries in the city which have been the last resting places of historical and literary figures for nearly 200 years.

When he died in Baltimore on Oct. 7, 1849, Poe was poised to move to St. Louis. There he hoped to realize his greatest ambition: the founding of his own literary magazine.

For many years, beginning in the early 1830s, Poe worked long hours for low pay, editing magazines for others. In addition to squabbles about his pitifully low salary, Poe also had frequent disagreements with his publishers about content, as well as the sporadic “irregularities” that were the result of his terrible alcoholism. Desperate for his own magazine, he issued a prospectus in 1840 for a periodical, solicited contributions from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and others and began years of futile attempts to raise money and begin publication.

Poe’s greatest friend as an adult was Frederick W. Thomas, a novelist and government bureaucrat who had moved to St. Louis from Baltimore. Thomas encouraged Poe in his dream and agreed to contribute articles. Eventually Thomas began soliciting subscriptions in St. Louis for the magazine, to be called the The Stylus.

Somehow, the needed capital was always just out of reach, and Poe’s plans were further set back by his debilitating bouts of alcoholism and tragic personal life. In 1847, Poe’s young wife, Virginia, died of tuberculosis, as had his mother and foster mother. By 1849, Poe’s health and spirits had greatly deteriorated, and the prospect of his magazine ever coming into being seemed far-fetched. Then, out of nowhere, Poe received a letter from the little northwestern Illinois town of Oquawka that offered him the prospect of realizing his dream.

Edward Patterson was a well-to-do newspaper publisher and admired Poe, and he had heard of the failed plans for The Stylus. Patterson offered to finance the project in Oquawka. Poe responded excitedly, outlining his vision of a lofty literary journal and predicting a circulation of 20,000 within five years.

More letters between the two men followed. Poe convinced Patterson to publish the journal in St. Louis, where Poe had support from Thomas and Joseph Field, editor of the St. Louis Reveille. Patterson agreed and arranged to meet Poe in St. Louis on October 15, 1849, to work out details.

His dream at last in sight, Poe began a lecture tour in the south to raise money and sell subscriptions to the magazine. Unfortunately, after a brief hiatus of sobriety, he resumed drinking and began experiencing paranoia and occasional hallucinations. When his tour brought him to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, he joined The Sons of Temperance, and became engaged to an old childhood love.

Then he made the mistake of visiting Baltimore, his home for many years, where he again fell off the wagon. It is generally accepted that Poe, who was possibly already intoxicated when he arrived in Baltimore, was plied with liquor by crooked electioneers and sent with other inebriates to vote repeatedly for a Whig candidate in a city election.

He was found delirious near the Fourth Ward Club, and died on Oct. 7, eight days before he was to meet Patterson in St. Louis.

Could Poe have made a success of The Stylus in St. Louis? In Some Words With a Mummy, Poe wrote, probably self-analytically: “The truth is, I am heartily sick of this life, and of the 19^th century in general.” Many biographers doubt that in the 41^st year of a troubled life, Poe would have had enough strength to see the project through. It is likely that The Stylus, like so many women in Poe’s stories, represented to him an idealized and unattainable dream.  

*****

JOHN MCFARLAND’S first novel, The Black Garden, was published in 2010, and the story continues with Mother of Centuries. His work has appeared in The Twilight Zone Magazine, Eldritch Tales, National Lampoon, River Styx, Tornado Alley and the anthology A Treasury of American Horror Stories, which also included stories by Stephen King, Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. He has written extensively on historical and arts-related subjects and has been a guest lecturer in fiction at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a lifelong Bigfoot enthusiast, and Annette: A Big Hairy Mom is his first novel for young readers.

By Silke Campion

In 2021, I started a new pen name in a different niche of romance than where I’d previously published. The old name wasn’t getting any traction, the brand was a muddied mess, and I needed a fresh start.

It was also past time that I put some of my years of accumulated knowledge of marketing and writing to work for me. Enter Silke Campion, writer of short, hot instalove romance. There was an established niche for the kind of stories I wanted to write and (this is key) I really enjoyed writing and reading these short novellas. They provided the quick endorphin hit that many readers needed, especially post-2020.

I quickly wrote and published a reader magnet plus seven novellas around 20K each that I put into the Kindle Unlimited subscription program. All my market research indicated that KU was absolutely the right move for someone starting out in this niche, and many of my colleagues quickly populated my also-boughts. The readers had found me.

In 2022, I slowed down quite a bit and only published three novellas, all part of multi-author collaborations. Remarkably, my income increased slightly! Most of it came from my backlist, and my readership was split about 60/40 with the majority coming from KU page reads versus outright purchases.

I’d toyed with the idea of going wide because at the same time as I was succeeding, I also knew several well-established authors who had suddenly seen their Amazon accounts locked (some of them irreversibly) for no discernible reason. If they were all in with KU, that was it. They were sunk. Some of them scrambled to publish their work elsewhere and some of them had had enough of the publishing game and just quit. I cannot blame them at all. The devastation they must have felt haunts me.

On Dec 31, 2022, I went to bed, satisfied in the knowledge that my estimated royalties for the year were in a comfortable place.

On Jan 1, 2023, 30 percent of my income from the previous year was nowhere to be found. Surely, I thought, this is a glitch. The software was stuck somewhere along the line and in a couple of hours, all would be right again.

Reader, it was not a glitch.

Trying to downplay my panic, I scrolled through FB groups and Discord servers to see if anyone else was experiencing the same thing. What I found horrified me.

Occasionally, Amazon will decide that too many of an author’s page reads came from bots and strip half of them away. Since KU represented about 60 percent of my income, the amount I’d lost in a blink was an accurate representation of that math.

Remember Hades’ flaming blue hair from the Disney movie “Hercules”?

That was me.

To make an already long story marginally shorter, I got lucky. I emailed Amazon a polite, but tersely worded note requesting a review and reinstatement of my earnings. While their reply was the usual CYA “there’s nothing wrong here,” my page reads were returned to their previous numbers over the next 24 hours.

I repeat: I. Got. Lucky. There was no reason for them to even blink in my direction, but somehow, it worked out.

However, I’d come too close to losing it all. So this is my year to go wide.

The Facebook group, “Wide For the Win” has been invaluable in my research. I found knowledge and techniques that will help me move all my books over later this spring, tips to help me let my readers know what’s going on, and best practices for using aggregators or going direct to different vendors.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. I’d already planned to do some reformatting, updating backmatter and keywords, and refreshing blurbs, but this has put those plans into high gear as I prepare to publish my backlist to all vendors in the best way possible to pave the way for the new series I’m writing and plan to publish wide from the start.

A few years ago when I started self-publishing under my old pen name, I had already set up accounts at various vendors, plus Draft2Digital. Establishing a new pen name with those accounts has been one of the simpler tasks, but at least I’m not starting from scratch.

One of the things I’m prepared for is a dip in income. Hopefully, releasing new work as I debut my backlist will mitigate those losses, but the one thing everyone has said is that it takes time to build a readership on other vendors, which makes sense. As far as Kobo or Barnes and Noble or Apple readers are concerned, I’m coming out of nowhere. But it’s a mountain I’m willing to climb, rather than play a constant game of “the floor is lava” with Amazon.

hope to come back next year with news that everything has gone well and I’m now purchasing a private island with my income. Or at least I’m keeping my head above water as I dog-paddle forward.

As an endnote, I’d like to say that, despite all the Zon’s shenanigans, my KU strategy worked. It got new stories from a new writer in front of thousands of people, and I profited from it. In fact, I’d still recommend it as a short-term strategy to use their algorithm of rapid releases and build backlist quickly. But I don’t think the center will hold for everyone, so stay on your toes and always have an exit plan.

Good writing!

Silke Campion writes hot, flirty, sweet and dirty romances featuring heroes who will gladly take control to ensure their heroines get their Happy Ever After. She’s been married to her own military hero for over twenty-five years, living and loving through dozens of cross-country and international moves with their two children and a menagerie of dogs and cats. Now they’re settled back in the U.S. where — when she’s not head-down writing — she contemplates the serious issues of what to make for dinner with the ridiculous amount of basil she grows in her herb garden, what cocktail will go with it, and what cross-stitch project she’s starting next. She also writes paranormal and sci-fi romance as Sela Carsen.

Find out more at https://www.silkecampion.com/

By Dennis R. Upkins

A great bard by the name of Toni Morrison once said, “If there is a book you want to read and it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Both the quote and the late author herself have been a guiding light for me both as an activist and as an author.

Case in point, my latest story “The Bonds That Bind.” Appearing in the forthcoming Afrofuturistic themed Spyfunk anthology, the short story was inspired in part by the dearth of quality and progressive speculative media featuring LGBTQs as the leads.

Some progress has been made in recent years with the likes of CW’s Batwoman, Black Lightning and even Supergirl, he latter making HERstory by introducing television’s first trans superheroine in Dreamer, who was played by Nicole Maines. But there is more work to be done.

Stories have power. And representation matters. Media and progressive storytelling may be the only resource and lifeline for so many LGBTQs. 

In Between Men:  The series examines the personal & professional lives of four urbanites from different walks of life who do not fit into the lives & perceptions expected of them. Forced to live “in between” a gay world, whose cliches they don’t relate to and a straight world they don’t belong to,  while navigating life as they live, work and play in New York City.

This show easily joins the ranks of Torchwood and Queer As Folk as one of the greatest (gay) series of all time. Speaking of the latter, I appreciated the pseudo-passing of the torch with QAF alum Michelle Renee Clunie appeared in an episode.

What makes In Between Men special is that it spoke to a demographic that is often overlooked on a topic is purposely ignored. For myself, a few loved ones and others, who for the most part, can pass for straight but are shunned by heterosexuals because of bigotry, but because we don’t limit ourselves to cliches or ignorant purviews of the “gay identity,” we’re often alone without a people. This series tackles the issue of masculinity, identity, with a most diverse cast, in a very refreshing and surprisingly nuanced manner. At least it was surprising until I found out the creator of the series, Quincy Morris, is a brother and all that artistry and excellence made sense.

While a few years have past since the first two seasons, I would love a final installment as a film just to give the characters and the series the proper sendoff it deserves.

In any event, I highly recommend it and it’s available now on YouTube.

I Am Not Your Negro:  In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, “Remember This House.” The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as Baldwin’s perspective on American History. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this 93-minute documentary combines archive footage and animated visuals with the prose with one of history’s greatest writers, which results in a phantasmagorical journey which both entertains, educates and challenges the viewer. Created on a $1 million budget, the original release had a very limited run which resulted in $7.7 million box office: practically unheard-of for a documentary and a testament to the artistry of this film.

Game Face:  Exploring the coming-out journeys of LGBTQ athletes: telling the parallel stories of Fallon Fox, the first female transgender pro MMA fighter; and Terrence Clemens, a college basketball player in Oklahoma who happens to be gay.

Even if you aren’t a sports fan, you’ll definitely appreciate this film. Directed by Michiel Thomas, this documentary does a masterful job of humanizing the individuals behind two trailblazing athletes and allowing the audience to follow Clemens and Fox on their respective quests and experience their trials and triumphs along with them. While the name of the film may be entitled Game Face, gamechangers is just as apt for these two pioneers.

Eastsiders: Written and directed by Kit Williamson (Mad Men), who also stars in this dark comedy as Cal, an ambitious young photographer who navigates the complex world of modern gay life, infidelity, and relationships with his boyfriend, Thom, played by Van Hansis (As The World Turns). 

I’ve been a fan of Van Hansis for many years. Not only is he a wonderful actor but an outspoken activist for social justice, but he’s also a trailblazer. Taking over the role as Luke Snyder on CBS’s As The World Turns, Hansis’s character became involved in a romance with another male character and the pairing is considered by many to be the first gay supercouple in American soap opera history. So when I learned he was one of the stars, I was all too eager to check it out.

And before she was Fresh Off The Boat, Constance Wu could be found in this series stealing nearly every scene she was in.

Eastsiders is definitely one of those sordid black dramedies that is good for the self-esteem. Because this show will remind that in spite of all of your bad decisions that you made or continue to make, even your worst, you’re probably still better than this lot on their best day.

Feral: A close-knit group of young twenty-something artists living, loving, and figuring out how to pay the rent in Memphis, TN.

Between the cinematography, the story arcs, to the cast performances, this series is a testament to the artistry and ingenuity that indie content creators can produce. What also makes this 8-episode series stand out is that while the three main characters are gay/bi, the could have easily have worked as straight leads. But these rural complicated characters who produce visual art, indie films, and rock out to Lucero, show that LGBTQs come from all walks of life and we come in all forms, just like cis heterosexuals.

With the exception of John Grisham’s Rainmaker, this has to be the WHITEST Memphis I’ve ever witnessed (seriously what the hell) and there are countless other towns in Tennessee with nary a Negro in sight where this story could’ve taken place and made sense (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Kingsport, Bucksnort, Erin, Columbia). I have an easier time suspending disbelief when I’m watching Chronicles of Narnia. But I digress. For now. And that’s only because this is such a wonderful series. Feral is definitely a series worth viewing and adding to your library.

Strut: With Whoopi Goldberg at the helm as executive producer, Strut is a reality television series that revolves around the world of modeling and fashion. What makes this short-lived series unique, however, is that all of the models featured are transgender. The show goes inside the models’ personal lives, showcasing their struggles to make it in the fashion world and revealing emotional conversations with family members. The featured models include Laith, who was one of the first transgender male models to appear in a national campaign; Dominique Jackson, who has been modeling for more than 20 years; Isis, who was a fashion designer before getting into modeling; newcomer Ren, who hopes modeling can help her reconnect with her distant father; and outspoken Arisce, who has walked runways during New York, Los Angeles and Miami Fashion Week shows.

Strut is definitely a fun and entertaining reality tv series. If you’re a fan of America’s Next Top Model, or Project Runway, this series will definitely be up your alley. Before she was serving shade and snatching wigs on FX’s Pose, Jackson was rocking runways and photoshoots with flawless precision. A testament to how talented she is as an actress, Strut showcases how the wise, regal and nurturing Jackson couldn’t be more polar opposite than the villainous Elektra Abundance she portrays on the hit FX series. While the series only lasted for six episodes, you get a full story arc and the opportunity to meet some awesome models who all have been making moves since the short-lived Oxygen series aired.

Matt and Blue: The YouTube channel of musician Blue Hamilton; his husband, actor Matt Dallas (Kyle XY); and their adorable son Crow, chronicles the misadventures of their lives on their four-acre farm.

Whether it’s sharing their personal experiences, offering advice on a number of topics, or informing you of some their sponsors’ excellent products to check out for some great deals, Matt and Blue are the definition of family goals and proof that there is fun, life, and adventure after marriage.

Love, Simon: Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it’s a little more complicated. He hasn’t told his family or friends that he’s gay, and he doesn’t know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he’s fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing.

I have one monumental issue with Love, Simon. It’s that I wish there had been a film like this when I was a kid. It’s a coming of age tale that’s a romantic teen dramedy, but it’s layered, smart and it’s got heart without even trying. What truly makes this film a groundbreaking classic is that it showcases multiple compelling Black protagonists, including a love interest which sadly even in the 21st century mainstream (read: white) gay media is blatantly racist and specifically antiblack. This film thankfully avoids the racefail. But this shouldn’t be a shocker given that CW Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti is the director. It should also be noted that Berlanti has gone on record giving credit to Muhammad Ali for giving him the courage to come out to his parents. So when you have The Greatest as one of your heroes, greatness tends to follow.

Also, speaking of following greatness, Love Victor, the television spinoff picks up where the film leaves off with cameos from prominent players from the film and it is awesome.

Codebreaker: Codebreaker tells the remarkable and tragic story of one of the 20th century’s most important people. Alan Turing set in motion the computer age and his World War II codebreaking helped turn the tide of the Second World War.  Instead of receiving accolades, Turing faced terrible persecution.  In 1952, the British Government forced him to undergo chemical castration as punishment for his homosexuality. In despair, Turing committed suicide. He was only 41 years old. Documentary elements seamlessly interconnect with drama scenes in Codebreaker to offer a three dimensional picture of Turing, his accomplishments, his tragic end, and his lasting legacy.

Unlike that abomination of a film, Codebreaker is a true testament to Alan Turing. Codebreaker is a bittersweet film that pulls no punches exploring the persecution Turing endured which led to his death, the qualities that made him one of history’s greatest (and still unsung) champions, and how his legacy can be found today. Case in point, the computer device you’re reading this article from. This film is a tribute to the life and legacy of a bonafide superhero and one I can’t recommend enough.

People You May Know: The lives of several friends are at a crossroads which is only further complicated when their relationships are thrown into chaos after a drunken one-night stand. 

People You May Know is without question the greatest cinematic masterpiece of the 21st century. I say this objectively as an artist and academic. This assessment certainly has nothing to do with the fact that this film provides Sean “I’m Too Pretty To Be Legal” Maher in the type of hot sexy scenes usually reserved for the Paul Morris oeuvre. Nope, this is all factual objectivity.

Just joking. Sorta. Maybe.

In all seriousness, what makes this movie truly special is that even though two of the three leads are gay, their arcs make them relatable to any demographic. Each of the leads are searching to discover what will fulfill them and some of the choices they make may not be conventional or the right choice for others but it’s right for them. In one way or another, the completion they’re each searching for, they ultimately find within. People You May Know is a dramedy that has the cinematographic sensibilities of an indie film without being overt and pretentious.  An amazing film and definitely one worth watching.

Did I mention it stars the delightful and gorgeous Sean Maher?

Dirty Computer Emotion Picture: An Android, Jane 57821, attempts to break free from the constraints of a totalitarian society that forcibly makes Jane comply with its homophobic beliefs.

This groundbreaking Afrofuturistic short film is a love letter to Black LGBTQ Excellence. Co-starring Tessa Thompson as Jane’s love interest, Emotion Picture accompanied the release of Monae’s third album, Dirty Computer. If you have not seen this tour d’force…. your life choices, make better ones.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray: Combining the first two seasons of the hit animated series, which premiered on the CW Seed, as well as includes never-before-seen footage, Freedom Fighters is the animated origin story of Ray Terrill, who discovers himself as a superhero from a parallel Earth called Earth-X. The new superhero is on a mission to fulfill his destiny as the Earth-X Freedom Fighter, The Ray.

I previously discussed in depth why Freedom Fighters is an exceptional film and a most important one. The original CW Seed animated series is television’s first gay male superhero lead. Non-straight male superheroes are very few and usually relegated to supporting roles. Freedom Fighters is a must-see because LGBTQs need to witness that it doesn’t get better, it gets real, and that’s okay. This film is definitely an A-lister and is shining a ray of light on how artistry, diversity, superhero narratives, and social commentary are properly blended and executed.

Hopefully, Freedom Fighters (and the aforementioned titles on this list) is lighting the way for other exemplary narratives to follow.

DENNIS R. UPKINS is a proud Atlanta, Ga. native. A voracious reader, a lifelong geek and a hopeless comic book addict, he knew at an early age that storytelling was his calling. In 2011, his debut novel, Hollowstone, was released by Parker Publishing. His sophomore title, West of Sunset, was also released by Parker Publishing in 2014. Upkins has also worked as a freelance artist and a digital photographer. His artwork and short stories have appeared in Drops of Crimson, Sniplits, and a number of other publications. Upkins regularly critiques and analyzes the representation and portrayal of minorities in comics and media and has served as a contributor for Ars Marginal, Black Girl Dangerous, Prism Comics, Nashville Geek Life, and Comicbook.com. In an effort to help enlighten society about the cultures of the African diaspora and promote a more accurate and positive image, Upkins launched the Black Folks Being Awesome initiative in 2013. When he’s not out saving the world and/or taking it over in his spare time, Upkins’s hobbies include drawing, modeling, acting, photography, cosplay, rollerblading, martial arts and of course writing. His website can be found here.