PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Sam Lant

This year’s final official Pride Month (EXTRA!) interview is with actor/writer/director (and my nephew) Sam Lant:

Hi, Sam! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

Mostly I’ve taken things slow and allowed myself to use the time as a break. When the pandemic started, I saw a post that said something along the lines of don’t pressure yourself to make the next great work of art during the lock downs and honestly that was really freeing. Taking the time to just take care of my plants, hang out with my dog, and watch some movies has renewed my creative motivation and changed my perspective of what impact I want to have on the world.

You now identify as non-binary, but you’ve had quite a journey from confused kid to accepting who you are. Instead of a specific question, I’m going to just ask you to talk about that journey a bit.

I grew up very self-conscious about my body and my sexuality. Coming from a small town I didn’t get the exposure to the amazing LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles my late teen years.  I had no clue that there was more to sexuality and gender than Lesbian, Gay or Straight. As I grew up, and I expressed more interest in things that fell out of the stereotypical norm for straight boys, I started realizing that I wasn’t a straight male. Without understanding gender and having a very limited knowledge on sexuality I just assumed well I must be gay. The older I got though the more I realized that that assumption I made was ridiculous because I never once had been romantically attracted to a guy. At that point, I thought I was broken. I wasn’t gay, but I didn’t feel like I was a straight male either. For a long time I was constantly at battle with myself hating my body, hating myself for wanting to wear make-up like my female friends, and feeling like I had to hide from the world. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I was exposed a more well-rounded LGBTQ+ community and I realized that all the self-conscious feelings about my body and discomfort around it was due to gender and what I was experiencing was dysphoria. I learned about the transgender community, read about trans people’s experiences, and realized so much of my life made sense. I felt like I had figured out what had been haunting me my whole life; but was still terrified about the idea of telling friends or family. So, I still hid from the world. I did my make-up in secret and snuck my female identity into small accessories like rocking hot pink sunglasses. Eventually I got more confident and I came out to a few people but always would immediately go back into hiding myself again. It wasn’t until I was 18 or 19 that I found a great group of friends that were confident in their sexualities and genders which gave me the confidence to start wearing makeup and feminine clothing around them. The uncomfortable feelings I felt whenever I looked in the mirror started to fade away, the more confident I got the more traditionally female clothing and makeup I wore. After a while though, again, I started to feel discomfort and like I was still missing a big part of myself.  I couldn’t understand it and I felt awful. It was like a was a kid again just lost and confused about who I was. I fell back into depression and self-hate. I thought I was a fraud for a while.  Eventually I just had to say “fuck it.” I’m myself, I’m who I want to be. I don’t fall into any category perfectly, I don’t perfectly fit the ideal male image and I don’t perfectly fit the ideal female image, but that’s perfectly okay. For the longest time I was basing myself on what society deemed to be masculine and feminine and letting my personal identity be determined by how I dressed. For the first time I felt completely free of dysphoria and any self-hate. Instead of dressing a certain way because society deemed those clothes more female or male, I started dressing in clothes that I deemed an expression of who I am. For some people gender and sexuality fall into categories perfectly, but for me sexuality and gender are nonbinary. I fall into multiple categories and am full of wonderful contradictions that make me uniquely myself.

Of course, since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being non-binary influenced or informed your acting and your interest in writing/directing? And is it at all different from when you started acting?

When I was younger, I was scared that if I let people know I was LGBTQ+ that I would limit myself to the roles I could play. I didn’t want people to see me and think he can only play the nonbinary characters or the trans characters. Now I realize that I don’t want to work with people who are going to cast me based on gender, so I’m much more open about who I am. I’ve also realized that I’m very critical of myself and would love to start letting myself be uninhibited by my criticisms when acting much like I had to stop over criticizing my identity.  With directing, writing and acting I’d like to start making films that have characters as unique and wonderful as my friends I’ve made. My friends all have wonderful identities that showcase the beauty of gender and sexuality that if I could make characters even half as well rounded and amazing as them, I’d be happy.

What inspires you?

My mom’s work ethic, she works so hard despite having so much struggle in her life. My friends confidence and attitude toward life even when things got tough during the pandemic. My dog’s ability to be happy and wag her tail over the smallest things in life. Film wise I’m a huge fan of Kevin Smith, I think Chasing Amy is an amazing film. I also love Tarantino. For TV/Film... I’m a huge fan of Stranger Things, Scream, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and The Graduate.

What does your creative process look like?

 Oh gosh, controlled chaos? I don’t necessarily have a set process, I have a lot of tools for acting, writing, and directing but not every project calls for every tool so there isn’t really a set in stone way I do things. Its more about letting things come naturally to what make sense within a scene.

What are you working on now? Do you have anything coming out that you’re allowed to announce yet?

Right now, I’m mostly working on not catching covid-19, I have asthma and my lungs are just trash so staying home and staying healthy is my main focus. I have a few projects filmed before lockdown that I can’t announce yet, but as soon as they get finished and I get the okay to talk about them I’ll let you know.

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

I am currently not really using social media. I don’t feel it is being used for the greater good. I don’t believe it is being used as intended and it is having negative impacts on our lives.  So, I guess you can check out to my IMDB ... all the projects are updated as I am able to announce them.  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3137618/ 

Sam Lant is actor/screenwriter/director living in Burbank, CA.   Most known for his role of Dave the teenage party crasher in the cult classic Project X, he can also be seen in various independent films and on Fox’s Last Man Standing.  He is currently attending college to earn a degree in directing with hopes to make thought provoking artistic films.  He loves food, flying squirrel onesies, unplanned adventures, playing video games, and his dog Harmony. 

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEWS: John "Jack" Curtin

Today’s Pride Month (Extra!) Interview is with theatrical and television/film hair and make-up artist John “Jack” Curtin:

Hi, Jack! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

When the COVID-19 Pandemic shut down the entertainment industry in March and closed the Make-up Artists & Hairstylists Local 798, IATSE office, I started feeling anxious. I started making masks in an attempt to do something to calm those feelings. It actually worked to up my mood and reignited my creativity for sewing. I sent a bunch of masks to our mutual friend Karen Toth Seymour for her and the nurses she works with. I made them for my staff and Executive Board. Then I had a conversation with a friend who participates in Krew de Pink, a breast cancer charity in New Orleans. They have an annual Art Corset auction to raise money. So I pulled out my patterns and books from college and started making a corset to be auctioned. Now I plan to work through my fabric stock making things!

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being gay influenced or informed your work in the theatre?

Being gay while working in theatre has been a mixed experience. While homosexuality is common in the arts and theatre, there have been issues.

I started out touring the country in the early 1990s as a wardrobe supervisor and truck loader. The touring company was a family where we could all be who we are; when we entered the theatre, we had to gauge how out we could be. In some places it was best not to be ‘found out’, in others we were ‘gay ambassadors’ educating people that we are all the same, no matter who we are attracted to. I have been cursed out, spit on and even been on the receiving end of a gun. Conversely, I had people thank me for being an “out gay man” as it helped them on their journey to come out.

When I started working on Broadway in the late 1990s, I thought I had left all that behind. Sadly, while it was ok to be gay, there were still people who would voice their negative opinion openly. I actually had a stage hand beg me not to let on we knew each other as he was seeing my roommate and we worked on the same show with his father.

Thankfully, we have evolved! The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which Local 798 is a charted member of, created the IATSE Pride Committee. Discrimination based on sexual orientation will not be tolerated. At last year’s Pride March, all Locals of IATSE marched as one as LBGTQIA+ people.

I am the Local 798 Pride Committee Coordinator, overseeing the NY and GA Local 798 Pride Committees, and looking to create committees in every state in our jurisdiction. We need to keep informing people about the LGBTQIA+ community, and win the protections we need to insure our rights.

I would love to hear a bit about your history doing hair and make-up for live theater and for television.

As I mentioned, I started out in Wardrobe as I studied Costume Design & Construction in college. While on tour, I started taking care of the show’s wigs, and started developing an interest in hair styling. I took the time to go back to school and received my Cosmetology License from New York State. I have been fortunate during my career to meet great mentors and found great opportunities. My tenacious attitude and strong work ethic helped as well. Broadway Wig Designer David Lawrence gave me my first break on a Christmas show in Chicago, and then Dream, the Johnny Mercer musical. While working with David at Bob Kelly studio I met many other Broadway designers, and was introduced to Michael Ward. Michael asked me to supervise a little show called The Lion King. It was the pinnacle of my Broadway career.

As you know, it is still running some 20 years later. My experience with work prior was a six to nine month run, then move to a new project. At the end of year two, I should have moved on as there was no creativity for me. At that time I became an Educator for Paul Mitchell as a creative outlet. I worked hard and became a Color Specialist and finally a Senior National Educator. After 5 year on The Lion King I chose to go back to salon work and take a break from theatre.

Theater and the Arts had a different plan for me. I did not take well to salon work, and after about a year was back swinging (filling in) on Broadway shows. I found a home at 42nd Street for the last 3 years of its run. During that time, I studied and took the Journeyman Upgrade test Local 798 offered. After 42nd Street closed, I started working in film and television, “day- playing” as needed. I was working with film legend Colleen Callaghan on a low budget film called Joshua. She recommended me to Department Head Kidnapped, which I had to leave early to again assist Colleen on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (on the Louisiana location) which won the Oscar for Make-up and Hair. This is what sparked my love of working on period shows.

Thankfully, earlier in my career I met Jerry DeCarlo who became my mentor and good friend. I assisted him on Carol and The Knick, both garnered various nominations; Make-up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards, Emmy Awards and BAFTA. I also assisted Jerry when he ran background on Bridge of Spies and Vinyl.  If you would like to see all of the work I have done go to https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2226766/.

Which leads me to ask: what’s the process like for developing a character’s look? How much say/lee-way do you have? And is it different for live theatre versus working on a television show?

The process to develop a character’s look is a long and involved one. After reading the script at a table read with everyone involved, there are discussions with the Director, Costume Designer, Actors and Production. We all bring our research to the table and discuss the direction the character will go. We then have wigs made, hair colored and cut as agreed upon. Then the look is screen tested and any alterations are done to finally reach the final look/s.

Hair/Wig Designers have a good deal of input as we do the research and present it. That said, compromises have to be available to allow all visions room to exist.

What inspires you?

Love and Life are my prime inspirations.

I look back on my life and am happy with the majority of it. I regret we were not able to be our true selves in our youth, and that we were taught the wrong messages regarding LGTBQIA+ people. That said, I am so proud of how far we have come, and having been a voice for change. The beauty of life and its ability to endure and blossom is awe inspiring.

I have celebrated Love in my life, and am grateful and humbled by it. I celebrated New York Marriage Equality while working on Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and by getting married the following November in my home state of New York. The Love my husband and I share is the warm comfort in happy times and the steel needed to endure the hardships. As Whitney Huston said “Learning to love yourself is the greatest gift of all”. That self-love has been my sword and shield against the adversity of life, and has helped me grow into my true self.

What are you working on now?

I am working for all working people who have been marginalized by reversals of Workers Rights by the current administrations National Labor Relation Board. Specifically, Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists in the Entertainment Industry. 

In 2014 I became the Sergeant at Arms of my Local and became more involved. I also was the Education Director and worked hard to create a Membership Orientation Class for new members. In 2016 I made the choice to step away from working at my craft and to run for the office of Secretary Treasurer. It was a hard decision to make, but I saw a need to work for my Local and the membership. I won my election and took office in December of 2016. I am currently in my second term.

I was fortunate to join Local 798 in 1996, and work under Collective Bargaining Agreements which provide good wages, health, annuity and pension benefit so I will be able to live well now and retire with dignity. It was time for me to step up and insure that what was created by those who came before me to be available to those who will come after me.

Also, as I mentioned previously I have returned to creating through sewing. I’m starting with this Art Corset which I will post on my social media platforms (currently Facebook and Twitter, I have to get back to Instagram). After that I am researching male corsets and may create a second for the Krew de Pink auction. From there who know what else I will create!

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

Most of my film and television work can be found on many of the streaming platforms currently available. For a complete filmography you can visit https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2226766/.

John “Jack” Curtin is currently the Secretary-Treasurer of Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Local 798, IATSE. Jack is an Emmy and MUHS Guild Award Nominee and worked on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which won the Academy Award for Outstanding Make-up and Hair. Film Credits include Wonderstruck, Bridge of Spies, Carol, Deliver us from Evil, Almost Perfect, A Little Help, Make Yourself at Home, Spinning into Butter and Joshua. Television Credits include The Path, Vinyl, The Knick, The Americans, America’s Got Talent (guests), Kidnapped and Law & Order. Broadway Credits Include  Pricilla, Queen of the Desert, La Cage aux Folle, Grease (2008), Coram Boy, 42nd street, The Lion King, and Dream.

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Bernadette Gambino

Today’s Pride Month (EXTRA!) Interview is with former police officer and current private investigator Bernadette Gambino:

Bernadette Gambino (left) and business partner AnGèle Cade

Hi, Bernadette! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

Wow, that is tough! I have been working on a few projects. One is a musical, where I am Executive Producer. It is called Empty Hands, which is the English translation of Karate. It is about bullying. A sort of cross between High School Musical meets Karate Kid.

Retired police officer, actor, business owner, CEO, athlete, parent, grandparent, life coach and private investigator. Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being lesbian influenced or informed your very varied career path?

I came out late in life. I was about 25 years old in 1990 when it hit me that I was gay. When I say hit, I mean jumping off a cliff about a thousand feet high and hitting the ground. I was suicidal. Picture this… I just graduated from the Sheriff’s academy and would sit on my couch with my revolver and my 18 month old daughter asleep in the next room.  It was a very traumatic time not to mention my counselor said not to come out at work because the Sheriff’s department was still firing people up until 1988. Also, my very Catholic parents did not react very well.

As I grew older and through meeting my late wife, I grew to love all of me and recognized that God chose this path for me and now I honor that! For me, it’s not about being a lesbian that defines me but learning to love me who happens to be gay…if that makes sense.

It wasn’t that long ago that it was difficult to be openly gay or lesbian and be a police officer. I’d be interested in hearing your experiences while on the force.

I stayed in the closet a long time. Even when I got together with my late wife in 2002 and wore this beautiful diamond ring she gave me, I still pretended it was from a guy. It took a long while for me to love me enough to be in a position that I didn’t care what others though of me.

I know there were those who spoke behind my back or said things that were homophobic. I came to realize it was their problem not mine. My late wife, Mona Miller, showed me and taught me about loving all of who I am without judgement or shame. It took some time, but eventually I came out and embraced that part of my life without fear of who I was or fear of other’ judgement of me.

I’d also be remiss, given everything that’s going on recently, if I didn’t ask for your take as a retired officer on the nationwide systemic problems when it comes to police and minority populations.

 I believe some of the issues we face as a nation and the issues Law Enforcement faces with the general public and people of color is self- induced. Yes, there are very racist Police Officers who take advantage of the power coupled with their own egos to prey on minority communities, but we also have to be careful not to dismiss the Law Enforcement Officers, of all races and colors, who are an example to the profession and to the communities they serve.  A knee jerk reaction to the current climate is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

If Law Enforcement agencies took a more proactive approach to community policing….. if the good citizens of the various communities worked in conjunction with their local law enforcement…if problem officers were held accountable sooner… and I can go on.  We are facing a multi-faceted problem that requires a multi-faceted solution. It cannot be a one size fits all solution because most of the time there are too many variables.

You’ve recently started up a private investigations firm. What inspired you to move into that sphere?

After I retired, I was asked so many times to conduct or assist in a variety of investigations. I finally decided to open my own firm. In addition, I am a full-service private security firm as well. We have some very interesting specialties. You can check out my website: eipainc.com

You’re a mother and grandmother. Kids today are facing possibly more pressure socially, academically, and in the virtual online world, than ever before. Teen and pre-teen suicide seems to continually be on the rise. What advice do you have for coping with those stresses, and especially those dealing with the added stress of being LGBTQIA in a world that professes acceptance but often acts just the opposite?

Having been in that queue I know that self love without judgement played a significant role in my survival. Learning to love one’s self in spite of the damaging world around us is a journey filled with lots of peaks and valleys but when truth becomes the paramount goal it can change everything.  BELIEF IS STRONGER THAN TRUTH UNLESS YOU BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH. We will create from that which we believe…..what we believe about ourselves.  We can only change ourselves and when we search for self love we find empowerment. It is in that empowerment that we can combat the judgement and hate from others. A miracle is a change of perception. When we work on ourselves from the inside out, find our own self love, leave judgement and fear at the door, others can’t hurt us. Is it an easy task….HELL NO! But definitely a worthwhile one!

In my life coaching business, it is issues such as these that are my specialty. I help people get out of their own way so they can find the person they were intended to be, not the circumstances of their life that made them!

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

My life coaching website is:  Communicationartscompany.com  or they can email me at:

bernadettegambinocomart@aol.com

My private investigation and security business website is:  eipainc.com  or they can email me at

bernadette@eipainc.com

Executive coach Bernadette Gambino of Communication Arts Company and business consultant AnGèle Cade of Executive On the Go joined forces this year to create Empowering the Business of YOU—presenting conferences and one-on-one coaching to help women who feel stuck, frustrated and unfulfilled. Bernadette has more than 25 years of experience in mentoring, coaching and counseling individuals to help them achieve their goals. For nearly 20 years, AnGèle Cade has counseled more than 15,000 entrepreneurs across the country on starting or fixing their businesses. 

PRIDE MONTH INTERVIEW: Jordan L. Hawk

Today’s Pride Month (EXTRA!) interview is with author Jordan L. Hawk:

Hi, Jordan! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during the current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

Hi, and thanks for having me on the blog!

I’ve tried a few different approaches, but focusing on getting what feels like a “small” amount of work done every day seems to work best. What would have been a small amount before is about all I have the energy left to do, so I do that and refuse to feel guilty about not doing more.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: this past year, you announced you are transgender. How has that self-discovery influenced or informed your writing?

I don’t think I’ve had the chance to really notice yet. Certainly it’s shone a light on a lot of the themes present in my work, but I find I’m still drawn to “person with a secret about their identity” stories.

You’ve recently ended your well-regarded Whyborne & Griffin series. Did you always intend for the series to run the number of books it did? I know I’m not the only fan who wishes it were longer!

I’m a big believer in endings, and though I know I could have continued on indefinitely, I felt ending the story would give it weight and meaning. I think we’ve all known series that overstayed their welcome, and I did not want W&G to turn into one of them! I never had a set number of books so much as “here’s a list of what I want for the story, so which part or parts works for the next book.” I’d say by Maelstrom (book 7) I did know it would end with book 11, though.

You’re not done with the city of Widdershins, though. Can you tell us anything about the spin-off series you’re launching?

Rath & Rune follows the adventures of Sebastian Rath, librarian and chief archivist at the Ladysmith Museum’s library, and Vesper Rune, newly hired bookbinder and conservator. There’s murder, evil books, necromancers, and of course romance. Book 1, Unhallowed, will be out July 17.

Since I recently ran a “Series Saturday” post about your Hexworld series, I’d like to focus a few questions there. The world-building is a bit more intricate than in W&G or Spirits – tell us how magic works in Hexworld.

Magic in Hexworld needs three ingredients: a hex (usually a drawing) to hold and shape the magic, a familiar to provide the magic, and a witch to channel the magic from familiar into hex.

Familiars shift between human and animal shapes. They have to form a magical bond with a witch in order for the witch to use their magic, as they can’t charge hexes on their own. Unfortunately this has led to a societal view of familiars more as resources to be exploited than people with their own lives and desires.

The formula for Hexworld so far is that you’ve introduced new witch-familiar combinations in each book and focused on their romantic ups-and-downs. Will there come a point where you’re no longer introducing new couples?

The upcoming Hexworld series, Roaring Twenties, will focus on a single couple.

If I remember correctly, the characters from your novellas “A Christmas Hex” and “Wild Wild Hex” have yet to be tied into the main novels. Is there any plan to see those characters again? (Given where Wild Wild Hex takes place in relation to the novels, that one might be a bit hard.)

Those were both one-offs, and I don’t currently plan to revisit those characters.

What are you working on now? What’s next out of the gate?

I’m currently working on the next SPECTR novella, Harvester of Bones, and doing research for Hexworld: Roaring Twenties.

And finally, where can interested people find you and your work online?

The easiest place to check is my website: http://www.jordanlhawk.com, which has links to all the places my books are sold. You can also find me on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/jordanlhawk and Twitter at https://twitter.com/jordanlhawk.

Jordan L. Hawk is a trans author from North Carolina. Childhood tales of mountain ghosts and mysterious creatures gave him a life-long love of things that go bump in the night. When he isn’t writing, he brews his own beer and tries to keep the cats from destroying the house. His best-selling Whyborne & Griffin series (beginning with Widdershins) can be found in print, ebook, and audiobook.

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Michael Sonntag

Today’s Pride Month (Extended!) Interview is with stay-at-home dad Michael Sonntag:

Hi, Michael! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay motivated in these unusual times? 

Thank you, yes - we’re all doing well - a little stir crazy, but healthy which is the most important.  I will admit that being motivated can be a challenge during these times - I think we’ve all managed to slack on schedules and things like that during this time.  But honestly, with three little kids 6 and under at home 24/7 now, staying active and busy is not too challenging.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being gay influenced or informed your career? 

Hmm… that’s an interesting question.  I think it’s affected my career, and honestly my life in general, in a number of ways.  Feeling free to “be myself” in every way fully - it’s allowed me to unleash my creativity and not censor myself in any way because I might be worried about what people think.  It’s also allowed me to be more compassionate and think of others as I go about my day.  Let’s face it - being a white male from an upper-middle class family in America, I grew up with a fair amount of privilege - and honestly never really faced a lot of challenges.  But as soon as I came out - and as a result became part of a minority that people sometimes looked at differently (or even disapprovingly) - it changed the way I saw the world, and maybe for the first time, I truly understood what it was like to be marginalized.  I had a good education, often focused on social justice - so I thought I was pretty aware - but facing adversity only because of who I was - that was a new thing.  It made me so much more compassionate for others that face adversity in their lives, for all sorts of reasons, too.

You and your husband are raising three kids in St. Louis. What assumptions or prejudices have you faced as a gay couple with kids?

People might be surprised to hear this - especially since we now live in a red State (although the City of St. Louis is quite liberal politically) - but Nick (Kasparek) and I have not really faced much in the way of prejudice, as a gay couple with kids.  At least, not overtly.  I’m sure there are people that disagree, but we haven’t felt treated differently in any way.  I think that’s a good thing - I’ve found it surprising for sure - and I think it’s indicative of how far gay rights have come in a short period of time.  Plus, the fact that we’re choosing to live in places that we know are open to us to begin with.  If people do ever say anything about it, it’s really very positive - they think it’s great.  Now, in terms of assumptions, there have been some misconceptions at times, but they are mostly humorous.  People assuming we’re brothers (and not married to each other) hanging out with our kids while our wives are shopping (that’s happened several times) - I think that’s funny!  Especially when we explain it to them.  Otherwise, it’s really just navigating things sometimes in a society that’s set up for one mom and one dad.  Filling out forms, and having to fill out the “Mom” side (and skip the pregnancy questions).  Being in a group of Moms, and not losing your male identity - but that’s with any stay-at-home dad, gay or straight, I think.

Adoption of children by gay couples is still under attack in the courts, spearheaded by the current administration. And on the anniversary of the Pulse massacre, the administration issued a new regulation allowing healthcare professionals to deny treatment on the grounds of religious belief. Do you think we’ll ever see a day where sexual orientation is not a roadblock to adoption, proper healthcare, etc.?

I certainly hope so.  Just when it feels like we’ve come really far, there is a reminder of where we still need to go.  It’s really so often about fear and ignorance.  As more and more people continue to live their lives as their authentic selves, then I think that’s how we shift society.  Nick and I have made an active choice to proceed through everything with our kids acting as if no one will have a problem with it.  We know that’s not really the case.  But it forces people to confront.  And if we don’t act strange or put off in any way, it often diffuses them.  It’s sort of like killing someone with kindness.  Plus, our kids are little, and they should not feel anything is different.  We have begun talking to them about how some people might see us as being “funny”, and we’ll need to address it with them more as they get older.  But we want them empowered and self-confident, and living a life proud of our family and who they are.  One last thing, specifically about adoptions - honestly, I don’t understand it.  There are all kinds of different families these days, and there are so many kids in the foster care system in need of a good home.  Kids need love.  The rest can be filled in.  Adults who love and care for them - whoever they are - that’s what’s needed, and it shouldn’t matter whether it’s one or two dads, moms, grandparents, etc.  If there’s a want-to-be parent out there with love to give, why would we ever want to try to stop that??

On a happier note: as a parent, what do you think is the most important lesson for your children to learn?

It’s actually pretty simple - do what makes you happy, act out of love for your fellow man, and do something that serves the world.  If we can teach them to follow these three simple guidelines, then we will be successful in raising content, caring members of society.

We can all use inspiration in these trying times. So what inspires you? What causes are important to you, and to your family?

I am inspired when I see other people making a difference.  Whether it’s at my kids’ school, in our neighborhood, in the City, in the country - when people act unselfishly to make the world a better place - that’s what I find inspiring.  It makes me want to get up and do the same.  And thankfully, there are lots of examples.  We have a multi-racial family - we are white, and our kids are Hispanic and African-American.  After the death of George Floyd, the protests against systemic racism in the U.S. have been quite inspiring.  I’ve gotten a chance to protest a little myself.  It’s important that we stand up and speak to the injustice that has gone on for far too long in our country.  It’s probably the thing I worry about most for my kids - we are teaching them already that not everyone treats each person fairly - and often, just because of the color of their skin.  I want them to understand and FEEL what true equality is - and recognize that it is possible for them.  But sadly, I also need them to be very aware that there are other people who don’t agree - and they need to be vigilant, smart, and protective at the same time.  It’s something we’re going to really need to instill in them as they get older.  We’ll eventually be having “the talk” with all of them - I wish it weren’t so.

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to say about raising kids in the 2020s?

It’s not easy!  And doing it in a pandemic is something that we definitely didn’t account for.  The world moves at such speed now - life just seems to fly past, and there are so many different pressures.  Just trying to keep your kids healthy is a full-time job!  And I feel that there are lots of resources available to help us navigate our way through this - it’s just about balancing life.  Kids are way more resilient than we are.  Our goal is to not let them grow up too fast - it’s great to be a kid, and we want them to have every chance possible to do that for as long as they can.  It’s an awesome thing getting to be a parent (even an older one!) - we learn every day from raising our kids and they bring us so much joy, even when they’re driving us crazy.  It’s about slowing down enough to enjoy this time with them because they grow up fast.  I feel very lucky that I get stay at home with them right now - there’ll be plenty of time to do the other things in life later.  It’s a cliche - but, they’re only this young once.

Michael Sonntag spent 25-years working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, CA as a film/tv/theatre producer, casting director, teacher, and actor, before moving halfway across the country to the greener pastures of St. Louis, MO to become a full-time Dad in Chief to his three little kids.  In Hollywood, Michael founded and ran two businesses - as Executive Director of the non-profit One World Stage & Screen, and as President of Studio C Artists, a production, casting, and arts education company; worked as an independent producer in film and television; produced 35 theatrical shows, cast numerous commercials for clients such as Southwest Airlines, Intel, NFL Networks, Cisco, TV Land, Walt Disney Studios, and the U.S. Army.; and served as President of the Mid-City Neighborhood Council for the City of Los Angeles.  Michael now spends his time in his most important role yet - as a stay-at-home Dad raising his three young children, with his husband, Nick Kasparek.  He also currently works as a general contractor on the extensive gut-restoration of their 125 year old historic home, serves as President of the Compton Heights Neighborhood Betterment Association, and acts as President-Elect for the PTA at his kids’ school.  If there’s any spare time left, Michael enjoys cooking, throwing lots of parties, and watching anything on TCM.

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Nisi Shawl

This afternoon’s Pride Month interview is with author Nisi Shawl:

Hi, Nisi! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

I’ve been meeting daily with other writers via Zoom and doing a combination of talking about craft, talking about what’s happening in the world, and writing silently.  It seems to have really helped so far--it’s keeping me going and inspiring others, too.  At the moment my co-writers are L. Timmel Duchamp, Joanne Rixon, Kristin A. King, K. Tempest Bradford, Manjula Menon, Teri Clarke, Leslie What, and Eileen Gunn.  There are two distinct groups, and we get together for two separate sessions of two hours each.  Virtual presence seems to provide the right mix of community and solitude for me, and the socializing punctuates the work focus very nicely.  I’ll be adding a series of Saturday sessions in July which are supposed to be attended by some of the participants in Clarion West’s Write-a-thon fundraiser.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being non-binary influenced or informed your writing?

It’s made me open to the possibilities of the many-faceted aspect of life, and the myriad ways of representing that.  It’s also led me away from the trap of mapping the binary onto most elements in life’s literary depiction.  I very much hope that it has helped me understand the marginalization of other identities--especially the intersections of those marginalizations.  I’m sure there’s plenty more--I plan to keep figuring it out as I go along.

It seems like non-binary and gender-fluid folk often get left out of conversations about LGBTQIA rights (and even left out of most acronyms for the community, as evidenced right in this question!), as do queer POC, despite being at the forefront of the movement from the beginning. How do we change that?

I think this interview is a great start!  Also, can we make weirdness equal coolness?  Can we set up some sort of scoreboard where people get geekpoints or something along those lines for every difference from the dominant paradigm?  Because being counted as weird even among the weird should be like a feather in my cap.  It should add to my luster, and the luster of all the other ultra-outsiders.  But in line with my point concerning the interview, the thing is that stories are what move and motivate people.  More relevant fiction, more movies, more songs, will change the narrative and render it much more inclusive.  This will allow people to see themselves in less distorted ways--they won’t have to throw their necks out tilting their heads to get a glimpse of someone with at least one of their traits.  And that atmosphere can encourage yet another increase in examples--another wave of stories to model the next on.  I’ve seen it happen with BIPOC representation, so I know it works.

Back to writing, what inspires you? What does your creative process look like?

Everything inspires me: weather, animals, machines, songs, wounds--you name it.  Ideas are everywhere.  I know I’m onto something when one of these elements stays with me, looping on constant replay, carrying a powerful emotional burden.  Sometimes I’ll see that an issue is touching other people as well, and that’s even more motivation to explore it.

The creative process for me begins when these ideas come together and form a critical mass.  The ideas are usually embodied by characters, the plot by questions.  Finishing the story doesn’t necessarily mean answering the questions; sometimes the end is about understanding enough to ask it.

I always pray when I write.  I practice an indigenous West African spiritual tradition called Ifa.  The divinity in charge of stories is the Trickster, the one who makes the impossible not just possible, not just probable, but true.  Writing is a religious process for me.  I’m creating worlds, inhabiting them.  That’s holy work.

And it’s work readers do too, creating worlds from writers’ words.  Every day.

Everfair was such an amazing alternate history novel, and inspired me to read more about the actual history of the region. Is there any chance you’ll be returning to that world?

Yes.  And no.  I’m drafting a sequel to Everfair.  It’s called Kinning, and I’m a few chapters in, and so far we’ve had scenes in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Kenya.  I’m hoping to reach Everfair’s borders soon.

There are already a couple of Everfair sequels published.  They’re short stories, though, not novels.  And neither of *them* takes place in the country of Everfair, either: one’s in Cairo, and one’s on Zanzibar.  “Sun River” is in the anthology Clockwork Cairo, and “The Colors of Money” is in the anthology Sunvault.

I also published “Vulcanization” at Nightmare Magazine, online.  It’s Everfair-adjacent.  It’s a horror story from Leopold II’s viewpoint.

Finally, I put a few Everfair-related pieces on my website, like an essay about nonstandard sexuality in African countries, and an outline of Matty’s play “Wendi-la.”  Check it out.

What are you working on now and what do you have coming out soon?

As I said, I’m mostly focused right now on Kinning.  A couple of months back I finished revisions on a Middle Grade historical fantasy called Speculation.  That should be coming out next year.  Sometime this year an anthology called Sword Stone Table will be published with one of my stories in it: “I Being Young and Foolish.”  It’s a subversion of the Merlin/Nimue episode of the Arthurian mythos.

I have an essay due next month on how to describe African-descended people’s hair, and that anthology, Pocket Workshop, will appear this December.

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

NS: Google me!  I have a very Google-able name, don’t I?

I did just get a piece of flash fiction featuring a nonbinary character published on the Arizona State University website.  The story is called “Fourth and Most Important.”  The character is called Mx. Pickell.  Read it--it’s short!

Nisi Shawl, winner of the 2019 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, wrote the 2016 Nebula Award finalist Everfair about an imaginary Fabian socialist Utopia in the Congo, and the 2009 James Tiptree/Otherwise Award collection Filter House.  Shawl co-wrote Writing the Other: A Practical Approach.  Their story collection Talk Like a Man is part of PM Press’s “Outspoken Author” series.  They live in Seattle and take frequent walks with their cat.

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Ellen Kushner

Today’s first Pride Month interview is with author Ellen Kushner:

Hi, Ellen! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during urrent events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

I’m having the most incredible experience! My wife Delia Sherman and I always leave our apartment in NYC in late February to stay with friends in the magical city of Tucson, Arizona, at the edge of the Sonoran desert, to take a couple of weeks’ retreat to work on our novels. Our friends there have a little guest house, and a big yard with a wall around it to keep out the desert creatures that live all around us and will come in and wreak havoc if they’re not kept out. We were here when the pandemic hit, and decided, wisely, not to go back to New York City. We’ve been here ever since – and for the first time, I’ve seen the desert wildflowers come up after the spring rains, then the cactus flowering, and even a baby monsoon. It’s incredibly stimulating, being somewhere so completely and utterly different from anywhere I’ve ever lived before. I finally understand why Terri Windling wrote The Wood Wife when she lived out here. (We visited her a lot, but never for enough time to see the year turn like this.)

I’m now working on the garden, learning the ways of decorative desert plants in the amazing heat (it hasn’t been under 105F all week! But neither has the humidity been over 12%), as well as what familiar ones like tomatoes and basil will do under conditions that couldn’t be farther from my last garden in Massachusetts. We’ll have to go home eventually…but I hope I get a couple of little tomatoes first!

If by “creatively motivated” you mean “working hard on your overdue novel,” well, I’m not sure any of this counts. But I’m definitely re-filling the well. And working on the novel….some. I love looking out at the mountains when I work.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being lesbian influenced or informed your writing?

Well, for one thing, I find it incredibly awkward to write about women having sex. It’s far too personal. But then, fantasy literature in particular mediates between raw experience and subtle art . . . . My work tends to be very sexy; I just inhabit all the roles.  At this point, I’m coming to realize that I’m not merely bisexual, but genderqueer as all getout. I dislike labels as a rule, and have resisted them all my life; but this one, being so protean, is actually kind of a relief.

As you know, The Fall of the Kings, which you co-authored with your wife Delia Sherman, made a huge impression on me. It was, I think, the first fantasy novel I was able to see “myself” in after I started my coming-out process. So thanks again for that. Over the years from Swordspoint to The Privilege of the Sword to The Fall of the Kings and the four seasons of Tremontaine on Serial Box, plus countless short stories, you have populated the world of the Riverside district and the City that surrounds it with such a wide range of LGBTQIA characters that I think every reader can find themselves. Did you imagine the world growing so expansively when you were writing Swordspoint?

Not at all! In fact, I planned never to write a sequel to the novel. And so my next book was Thomas the Rhymer (which did win some awards, so that was nice). But I found I missed my imaginary city, as well as my characters, and wanted to see how they were progressing. And so I made a rule that I was allowed to return, as long as I kept playing with viewpoints and styles, so it didn’t get stale or repetitive. I hope you can forgive me.

Tremontaine was an adventure in “shared world” writing: we gathered a group of mostly gay and lesbian writers together to write a collaborative prequel to Swordspoint. There’s almost no one straight in the entire four seasons of serial stories we wrote for Serial Box! The only one I can think of, in fact, is one of the villains.  But only one: in Season Two, for example, Tessa Gratton created the most chilling pair of rogues imaginable, who are always having spontaneous hot sex up against a wall when they’re not trying to murder someone. And even most of the “straight” people turn out to be bi, which is very much in keeping with the series as I first imagined it. Of course, I never, ever imagined a project like this growing out of my first novel! But Serial Box invited us, and we had a blast. I’d do it again in a heartbeat – especially with colleagues like Tessa, and Joel Derfner, and Malinda Lo, and Karen Lord.

That was such an amazing crew of writers. I loved every minute of the series, and I wish Tremontaine had continued beyond Season 4, and that sales had supported print versions of seasons two through four. Rumor has it there’s more Riverside/City/Land books coming. What are you working on now and what do you have coming out soon?

My WIP is another novel written out of order in the Swordspoint/Riverside/Tremontaine sequence: It takes place fifteen years after The Privilege of the Sword, and is the story of Jessica Campion, Alec’s bastard daughter, the angriest teenager in the world.

Currently online is a little fantasia made up of some of the child Jessica’s flashbacks to her visits with her father and Richard St Vier on their island of exile: It’s called “On the Island,” and it’s part of Jo Walton and Maya Chabra and Lauren Schiller’s wonderful Decameron Project, which they began the minute the pandemic hit. They have a spectacular array of work up there, ranging from unpublished chapters from the WIP of lesbian genius Laurie J. Marks and SF writer Rosemary Kirstein’s “Steerswoman” series, to work by Usman Malik, Laurie Penny, and many, many more.

I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Coming in November is a story I wrote for Silk & Steel: An adventure anthology of queer sf&f with high femmes & dashing women. It’s another Tremontaine story, featuring a challenge by a new Riverside sword, a woman named Angwar Bec, who loves pastry almost as much as she loves steel. It was a lot of fun to write – and thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, I’m even getting paid for it!

I’m always happy to have more Tremontaine/Riverside/The City in my life! Finally, where can people find you and your work online?

I’m over-active on Facebook and Twitter (@EllenKushner), under-active on Instagram. I have a website, which I try to keep reasonably up to date: www.EllenKushner.com If you got to my Bibliography page, you’ll find links to a lot of the short stories that are up online.

Two recent interviews that are very thorough but not yet on the website are:
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2019/11/interview-with-ellen-kushner-swordspoint/

http://locusmag.com/2017/01/spotlight-on-ellen-kushner-tremontaine/

Ellen Kushner usually lives in New York City with her wife, writer Delia Sherman. They also spend a lot of time in Paris, which hardly influences their writing at all not even a little bit, no. During the CV-19 lockdown, they are sheltering in a friend's guest house in Tucson, Arizona, where they happened to be on a writing retreat when the Virus hit the fan. Kushner's novel Swordspoint introduced readers to the city to which she has returned in two more novels (one co-written with Delia), a growing handful of short stories and the collaborative serial prequel, Tremontaine (SerialBox.com). A longtime performer and public radio host, she narrated all three as audiobooks for Neil Gaiman Presents. Her award-winning Thomas the Rhymer is a Gollancz “Fantasy Masterwork…..” But wait! There’s more!  EllenKushner.com

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: AW Burgess

Today’s Pride Month Interview is with author and educator AW Burgess:

Hi, A.W.! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

What a great and terrible question, in the same way that OZ is the great and terrible. I feel like I almost need to distract your dear readers with some fanciful magic that would have them believe I’ve been muddling through just swell! The truth is, the pandemic and other issues, like what is happening with the Black Lives Matter movement, have done a toll on me, emotionally and physically. It has been very difficult to be creative. I’m not the kind of thinker or writer who does my best work in times of strife; I know that a lot of writers thrive on turmoil and uncertainty, but I find that it is when I’m most at peace that I am able to focus and to put out my best (and greatest amount) of work. That said, since my output has been low, I have increased my input. I’ve been reading a lot; fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. I’ve been finding inspiration in the bodies and voices of people on the front lines, and I’ve been trying my best to avoid social media so that I can actually and effectively take in all that is happening, all that I’m thinking about, and all that I’m feeling about it. This has always been a cycle of mine, though; a year of furious output followed by a year of immersion in others’ works. So, perhaps I’m just on that particular swing. I do have a complete draft of a novel that I need to get to work revising (beta reader feedback has begun to come in!) and I’ve been writing and submitting some poetry. I may turn my attention more to poetry in the coming year, to be honest, which is new and unsettling, but also wild. Speaking of which, I was interviewed in a 5-part series at Poetry Mini-Interviews, if anyone is interested: http://poetryminiinterviews.blogspot.com/search/label/Adam%20W.%20Burgess.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being gay influenced or informed your writing and blogging?

Well, being gay has turned out to be a rather important part of my academic and creative life. Much of my graduate work focused on LGBTQ history, particularly literature, and I wrote my dissertation on gay literature in the United States before Stonewall. Similarly, my creative work has been inspired by what I learned as a student, both in terms of being a student in dozens of classes where gay issues never came up, and feeling so very alone; but also in terms of my work, which very much came of those lonely experiences and the curiosity it generated. Did gay people not exist before the 1960s? Does it not matter that these writers, male, female, and other, were not heterosexual? Why do all my professors avoid these issues, these questions? I did not want to be that person, that kind of professor. And that commitment has overflowed into my creative writing, insofar as I try to write the stories that I wish I would have found when I was a kid. The ones I needed desperately, sometimes.

In 2019, you published From a Whisper to a Riot: The Gay Writers Who Crafted an American Literary Tradition, covering a period in the development of gay literature that has been under-represented in other histories. Tell us a bit about the inspiration for the book, and about your research.

Thank you for mentioning my book and for reading it. Your review was absolutely wonderful, and I’m very grateful to you for it. That book came directly out of my doctoral work mentioned above. It was an interesting journey, really. I chose a specific PhD program because the University was ranked highly for LGBT+ inclusion and because it offered a graduate certificate in LGBT Studies (which I pursued and earned). It was my time in that certificate program more than my time in the literature classroom that influenced me, really, because even in graduate courses, I was getting very little from my professors as far as diverse representation in the required reading. Ultimately, I created my own course of study, which meant I had to come up with a list of 100+ texts to read, a course to take with a faculty advisor, and then an exam based on that extensive reading and study (supplemented by my certificate program in LGBT Studies). When I managed to complete all of that, I was allowed to propose a dissertation topic. That topic? Openly gay writing by openly gay writers before Stonewall. Gay history is so long, has so much depth, but nobody knows about it. Everyone knows Stonewall. Everyone knows what has happened since Stonewall. But the reality is, so much was happening before the 1960s. Before the 1900s, even! I thought it was important to get this information collected and put out there into the world, if only so we can have a healthy rebuttal to that dismissive attitude we sometimes face, that gay/trans issues are just “too new.” They’re not. They’re a human constant.

You’re an English Professor, specializing in LGBT Studies and American Literature among other things. I’d love to hear about the process, and challenges, of developing an LGBT Studies curriculum, especially with the boom in LGBT fiction (and especially genre fiction) in the past decade or so.

Yes, it has been a blessing and a curse! You want to teach all the things, particularly when there’s such a new interest in this field. College is the time that a lot of people are coming of age, which means, for many, coming out. I want to do justice to everyone who might be in my classroom, whether they signal anything personal about themselves. One of best ways I know to do that is to diversify my reading lists in every course. A colleague recently commented, after a review of my last three years’ syllabi, that I always have more women than men on my reading lists. That’s true. And I also have writers of color, queer writers, translated writers, writers with disabilities, etc. The toughest part is still the debate about who and what to include, especially now that I know how long and rich our history is. My goal right now is to offer as much of a historical and contextual experience as I can for my students, which means regardless of the class topic, I try to include readings that cover a broad timeline, many places, and multiple perspectives. Something I hear repeatedly from students is that they have seen themselves represented for the first time in something they’ve read from my class, whether that be a text by a Latinx writer, or about a transgender experience, or a translated text from a Filipinx native. This is the most rewarding comment I can ever hope to receive, because I know how valuable it is to see ourselves represented in what we are expected to study. When a professor elevates your experience to something worthy of scholarly consideration, it is beyond validating.

What has “distance learning” looked like for you and your students over the past few months?

Fortunately, I have taught some of my courses online and in hybrid formats for many years. To be honest, though, this has been a challenge. It is not just the fact that all classes moved online, but that combined with the circumstances that required it, which have everyone feeling stressed, confused, and sometimes defeated. When we moved online mid-semester in the Spring, I did everything I could to keep my students motivated and encouraged, from allowing extra time on assignments to incorporating “mental health break” activities, like visiting a virtual zoo or going “star-gazing” online. The funny thing is, I think these challenges, these experiences, have added an entirely new and welcomed perspective to my pedagogy, things I will keep in mind and keep adapting even when (if?) we return to a more traditional environment.

You’re also a well-published essayist and book reviewer, and you’ve talked about working on short stories and a novel. So what are you working on now? Do you have anything coming out in the near future?

Ah, did I give away the game already? I have two major projects right now. The first is revising my young adult novel (it is so queer!) based on feedback from beta readers. I hope to then send that off to publishers and agents for consideration. I had received two full manuscripts on it already, but the work simply wasn’t finished. The other thing I’m working on is my poetry. Poetry is something I’ve been reading and teaching for years, but I hadn’t really tried writing much of it. But in the last year or so, it has been calling to me. The worst thing a writer can do is ignore whatever is calling to them. So, if anything comes out soon, and I hope it will, it will be either my very first novel, or some poetry. I’ll be sure to share any updates to my blog and on social media.

And finally, the usual: where can people find you and your work online?

The best place to keep up with me will be my blog, Roof Beam Reader. I have a love-hate relationship with social media, so while I do have a few accounts, my impulse is not to use them very much. Thanks so much for having me, Anthony, and happy pride!

A. W. Burgess is a southern Nevada writer whose works of fiction and non-fiction have appeared in various creative and academic publications, such as Towers Magazine, Brave Voices Magazine, America’s Emerging Writers, and Watermark Journal. Among his greatest inspirations are Kurt Vonnegut, Joan Didion, Ocean Vuong, and James Baldwin. Currently, he lives with his husband in Las Vegas, where he is an Instructor of English and a frequent explorer of Clark County’s trails, mountains, and wetlands. In 2019, Burgess began work on his first novel. More information can be found on his website, http://www.roofbeamreader.com.

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Daniel Rhyder

Today’s Pride Month interview is with actor Daniel Rhyder:

Hi, Daniel! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

Thank God definitely staying safe and healthy during these crazy times! At first I was kind of numb and didn’t have any kind of creative spark.  I actually got scared for the future of the entertainment Industry and was worried that we might never get back to work.  After a few panic attacks, and many glasses of wine, I decided to start painting again.  It was never meant to be more than a hobby, it was always there to calm my nerves and keep my creative juices flowing.  I had abandoned it, probably because of a brunch invite or a fun date night. Literally being stuck at home I was forced to find a way to not go crazy and a quick visit to Amazon.com got all of my supplies to me!  My main inspiration has been rainbows (this was before I knew we’d still be in lockdown during Pride month!) Needless to say I have MANY rainbow paintings throughout my apartment.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being gay influenced or informed your acting?

I started acting when I was 9 years old and basically have never stopped.  In my teens, as most of us are discovering our sexuality, I became hyper aware of my “lightness.”  I had an agent insist I get vocal lessons to help with my “voice, and speech.” I was terrified for people to find out I was gay. I thought it would ruin my career.  You have to remember I was a teen in the late 90’s, it was a very different time.  When I entered my 20’s something clicked. I didn’t want to hide. I wanted to be authentic in every area of my life so I decided to come out professionally.  I booked my first gay role on an MTV show called “Undressed” and I never looked back. And I’ve had the pleasure of playing some very interesting roles regardless of their sexual orientation through the years. Truthfully if I only ever play gay characters again, I would be thrilled.  A character’s sexual orientation is only one part of the whole person.  

Once you’ve booked a role, what’s your process for understanding or enhancing your character?

I’m really big on character development and the creative process.  The human condition is also extremely fascinating to me.  I’ve had a lot of great acting coaches through the years and everyone has reminded me that no matter what character you are playing you need to make them human.  Not necessarily likable, but HUMAN, without judgement.  So that’s always my goal to create a real life person from these words on paper.

What are you working on now, and what do you have coming out soon?

My last film, Façade, was actually released on Amazon Prime during the quarantine! I’ve been virtually auditioning as much as possible and as things start to open up I will hopefully book something else soon!  In the meantime I might start a rainbow Etsy store.  Just kidding, but actually might not be bad idea!

Where can interested people find you and your work online?

I have a number of projects that are available on Amazon Prime so search my name, Daniel Rhyder, and they should pop up. I am also on all social media platforms as Daniel Rhyder.   And finally, I have a YouTube channel where you can view my reel and music video parodies I have written and starred in as well. More content to come soon! And my website is www.danielrhyder.com.

Daniel Rhyder is a Santa Monica, CA native, and has studied the Stanislavsky Method of acting for over 20 years.  He has been in several independent films, most notably “Façade”, “Savage”,“Outcasts” , “Hatchetman”, “Far Flung Star” and “3 -Day Weekend.”  Daniel started his career as a recurring character on the popular MTV scripted series “Undressed” which received a GLAAD Media Award for his episodes.  Aside from starring in the critically acclaimed two-character feature film, “Layover,” Daniel can be seen in a Guest Starring role on the season two finale of ABC’s "Happy Endings.” He had a lead role in the popular web series “ The Cavanaughs,” which ran for four seasons, and had a recurring role on the outTV series “Boystown.”  Recent press includes a feature story in "Hollywood Covered" where Daniel was listed as "one to watch". 

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Ricker

Today’s Pride Month Interview is with author Jeffrey Ricker:

Hi, Jeff! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

Thanks, Anthony. I hope you're staying safe as well. I’m privileged in that my day job is such that I’ve been able to work from home, and I can afford to have things like groceries delivered. As a result, I’ve stayed home for about 99% of the past… how many months has it been, three? Four?

Creative motivation is another thing, though. I have not had as much luck in that department during this plague year. I try to cut myself some slack—there’s the day job, and up until the middle of May I was also teaching a class, so time has been short for a while. Besides, discipline and focus are a challenge for me at the best of times, anyway.

So I’ve focused on trying to finish things I’ve already started: short stories, a novel revision, that sort of thing. I’ve also been taking part as often as I can in a monthly flash fiction challenge that writer Cait Gordon organizes. She posts a prompt on the first Monday of the month based on some random playing card draws—one card for genre, one for setting, and one for an object to be included in the story. You’ve got a week to write a thousand words inspired by those elements and post it somewhere online. It’s been good fun, and I’m a big fan of prompts as a way to get the creative wheels turning. I use them a lot when I teach.

Recently, I think the dam may have broken when it comes to creating new work. I started developing characters for what will hopefully be my next book. It’s not the one I thought I’d work on next (I’ve had a few ideas floating around for a while), but sometimes the project chooses you rather than the other way around.

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being queer influenced or informed your writing?

Honestly, I don’t think anything about the way I look at the world (i.e., highly suspicious and slightly terrified) would be the same if I wasn’t queer. I’d be hard pressed to pinpoint a part of my life that being queer hasn’t influenced. It’s kind of like the water a fish swims in—the fish takes it for granted.

I don’t think I should make too big a deal about feeling like queerness has given me an outsider’s perspective, because other than that, my identity (white cis male) is pretty much packed with privilege. Still, I feel like it made me an observer—partly as a survival instinct, I guess. But being observant also comes in handy as a writer.

Suffice it to say I have a hard time writing anything that doesn’t have queer characters in it—and besides, there’s more than enough non-queer books being written as it is, I think.

Whenever I interview someone for the first time, I always have to ask: what does your creative process look like?

I’m totally a process nerd, too. Right now, my own is a bit of a mess. I used to be a “go-upstairs-and-write-until-midnight” person, but the older I get, the more the midnight oil burns out around nine-thirty. I became a “get-up-early-and-write” person, but that was before my most recent day job (so, four years ago). Now, I get to write for maybe a half hour before work and an hour in the evening, if I’m lucky. I try to cram in as much as possible on the weekends. Since my social life is nil at the moment (it wasn’t all that before quarantine, either), that’s a bit easier to do.

What are you working on now and what do you have coming out soon?

In addition to the novel revision, the new novel, and the short stories I’m trying to finish up, I’m going through edits for a science fiction novella, The Final Decree, that I’m going to put out myself. The guy who’s doing the cover design, Matthew Bright, pretty much works magic. I can’t wait to show it off.

Other than that, I’m really perfecting my skills as a sourdough bread baker.

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

The best place is probably jeffrey-ricker.com, where you can find out more about my books and how to read excerpts from them (try before you buy!), and there are also links to a lot of my stories, including many that can be read online.

Jeffrey Ricker is the author of Detours (2011) and the YA fantasy The Unwanted (2014). His stories and essays have appeared in Foglifter, Phoebe, Little Fiction, The Citron Review, The Saturday Evening Post, and others. A 2014 Lambda Literary Fellow and recipient of a 2015 Vermont Studio Center residency, he has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and teaches creative writing at Webster University.