I realized the other night that, while I do have a writeblr intro somewhere on my blog, it was posted in 2018 and is wildly out of date.
|| Who I am ||
My name is Parker. I am a queer author in my Adult Years. I use They/Them or He/Him pronouns.
I have been writing since I was very young, and have written everything from (not very good) novels to poetry to short stories. I enjoy reading, am obsessed with dragons, and drink too much iced coffee.
|| What I write ||
Though I started out writing fantasy almost exclusively, in recent years I've been writing far more contemporary stuff. I'm currently dabbling in contemporary romance, supernatural romance, horror, and speculative fiction. It's mostly NA or adult fiction.
All of my writing is incredibly queer, with queer themes and topics, queer characters, and queer romance/sex.'
|| Current WIPs ||
Shit Show - Contemporary/Speculative Fiction, LGBT+ Fiction. Currently seeking feedback from some friends, may seek out beta readers soon.
Pride and Prudence - Supernatural Romance, Angels vs Demons vibes. Currently in the plotting/planning and Early Writing stage.
Beauty and the Streamer - Contemporary Romance, Stealth Queer, T4T. Currently in the plotting/planning/general vibes stage.
|| Published Writing ||
I currently have two short stories published on Amazon/Kindle:
Hive Mind
For The Water is Deep
|| Last Thoughts ||
I adore ask games and interacting with folks here. My ask box and submissions are open. I'm also always more than happy to chat with other writers, follow other writeblrs, and read/share others' writing!
As I've been completely forgetting I even have a tumblr, and not using it much as a result of that (and of my busy schedule), I believe the time has come.
I need beta readers for Shit Show.
If you're interested, hmu here (I promise I'll remember I have a tumblr).
Here's the WIP page I have for Shit show, though it's a bit out-dated.
Themes | Humanity, Hatred, Hope, and Finding community
Setting | The USA, the year 2030
Status | Second Draft/Heavy re-writes complete. Word count: roughly 55,000
Possible triggers/Content Warning: Drug use/abuse, alcohol use, tobacco use, mentions of past sex work (including allusions to underage SW/abuse), violence, general bigotry, hate speech/slurs, (mostly off page) animal death
Summary |
“Freak shows rose to prominence in the mid-eighteen hundreds. A product of society’s simultaneous fascination with and repulsion at physical differences, freak shows flourished well into the nineteen hundreds. The affluent, bored and with money to spare, came to marvel. They came to feel better about their lives, because at least they weren’t like those poor freaks. Of course, you’ll hear arguments that the freaks were exploited, but many of them profited handsomely, and most wouldn’t have survived without those shows. They were given the chance to work for pay, a chance many of them wouldn’t have had otherwise, because they would have been left to die by families who couldn’t afford to care for them.
With the advent of anti-discrimination laws and a more thorough understanding of medicine and science, freak shows died out. Only to rise to prominence again in the year 2022, after Novo Flu ravaged every country in the world, leaving the survivors changed beyond human imagination.
Now we have Deviant shows, where Deviants of all kinds can flourish.”
In the wake of a world-wide pandemic, survivors are left with mysterious, and in some cases dangerous, powers. No one knows what to do with these empowered folks, dubbed Deviants. While governments and social groups struggle with the implications of the empowered, the Deviants are left to their own devices, to survive on their own, if they can.
Evangeline doesn’t know what to make of the circus life she’s stumbled into. Nor does she know what to make of the girl with the many piercings, who brings up a lot of confusing feelings for her. As always, she must do her best with what she has, and hope.
What I'll be looking for from a beta reader:
General feedback regarding timeline, pacing, characters/characterization, etc. My main concern is whether or not the timeline is coherent.
Feedback about descriptions (of settings, characters, etc).
Feedback about the story as a whole. Not so much finding plot holes or anything like that, but just generally how you feel about the beats, the pacing, etc. This is a far more character-driven story than plot-driven.
Feedback about any places where you felt confused or lost, etc.
By all means, point out typos if you see them lol
Time frame:
I'd love to be able to get this finished up and ready to self-pub by the end of the year. So if we could do 6-8 weeks, perhaps? I don't need it like, immediately, but sooner than later would be best.
You know I hate to do it, but I need to make some money pretty urgently. I've always done commissions kind of off-and-on, but I rarely put a lot of effort into putting it out there that I *do* do commissions.
You can find all the details on my DeviantArt if you want, or reach out here. You can also find a bunch of my commission sample on my DA, or my personal writing right here.
I'll write pretty much whatever, within reason. Original or not, most genres, sfw or NSFW, I know y'all Tumblr peeps won't disappoint on that front lol
Its still Sunday, technically. Nevermind that I haven't actively written anything in...a while.
Consider this an open tag, because I never know who to tag in this sorta thing.
Rules: Post seven sentences from what you've been working on
A sudden howl rose into the night air.
It was an elongated, ululating cry, piercing the otherwise still night. The hairs on Theo's arms stood on end as a chill worked its way through him. He'd heard that howl plenty of times on tv, and even a handful of times in real life. He'd never heard it as he was hearing it now, alone in the woods, in the dark, and knowing the man he loved was somewhere out there too.
It was a wolf, crying out in one long, continuous howl that rose and fell on the rapidly chilling night air. It went on for what seemed like forever. When it finally died away, Theo stood for another beat, expecting a response.
I've been meaning to do this for a while. My goal this year is to do more reading. I'd like to read at least 1 book a month, ideally more.
I'm going to count one of the books as this year, even though I technically read it on 12/31/24, because I make the rules, so there lol
Anyway: (more under the cut, for space purposes)
Books read so far: Six-ish
Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry - @aritany
A truly devastating little read for me. I don't make a habit out of reading YA so much any more, but I loved this one. Way too relatable, really.
Sunbringer (Fallen Gods, #2) - Hannah Kaner
The sequel to a book I read last year, definitely just as enjoyable as the first one. Lovely queer and disability rep, some delicious pay out from the stuff set up in the last one, and some more fun set ups for the third, which I'm eagerly awaiting.
Holly - Stephen King
A pretty classic King, featuring one of my favorite of his characters, Holly. Fun little thriller/mystery, told with alternating timelines illustrating the steady decline of the books' villains.
Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield
Fantastic. Wonderful. A delightful, slow descent (pun intended) into dread and despair. Lesbians and tragedy, can't really get any better than that, right? Also felt strangely familiar, if I can find the story it reminds me of, I'll update.
How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager - D. N. Bryn
Bryn remains one of my favorite indie authors. I enjoy their writing no matter what, but this was a fun departure from what I'm used to reading from them! Who doesn't like queer vampires?? (This is the "ish" part of the books I've read this year. I read like, 75% of this last year, and just now finally finished it lol)
No Gods, No Monsters - Cadwell Turnbull
This book was doing...something. I'm just not sure I was picking up what it was putting down. I'm 99% sure that's to do with how my brain processes information, and the fact that certain writing styles and I just don't jive. The ideas were fascinating, the world engaging. There were just SO many characters, none of whom were described, and the rotating list of names got too confusing for me. Plus I'm still not sure what tf was really going on, and I don't feel like the first in a series should leave me questioning what the actual, core deal is. Like, I should leave the first in a series feeling like I got some sort of closure, but with more questions/concerns that leave me wanting the next book. I didn't get that, here.
Currently Reading:
Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King
2025 TBR - (In no particular order)
Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Hunger Pangs - Joy Demorra
Nine Years Yearning - Cameron Sidhe
Notorious Sorcerer - Davinia Evans
How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love
How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck - D. N. Bryn
Parable of the Talents - Octavia E. Butler
It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over - Anne de Marken
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - Lindsay Gibson
I've been meaning to do this for a while. My goal this year is to do more reading. I'd like to read at least 1 book a month, ideally more.
I'm going to count one of the books as this year, even though I technically read it on 12/31/24, because I make the rules, so there lol
Anyway: (more under the cut, for space purposes)
Books read so far: Eight-ish
Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry - @aritany
A truly devastating little read for me. I don't make a habit out of reading YA so much any more, but I loved this one. Way too relatable, really.
Sunbringer (Fallen Gods, #2) - Hannah Kaner
The sequel to a book I read last year, definitely just as enjoyable as the first one. Lovely queer and disability rep, some delicious pay out from the stuff set up in the last one, and some more fun set ups for the third, which I'm eagerly awaiting.
Holly - Stephen King
A pretty classic King, featuring one of my favorite of his characters, Holly. Fun little thriller/mystery, told with alternating timelines illustrating the steady decline of the books' villains.
Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield
Fantastic. Wonderful. A delightful, slow descent (pun intended) into dread and despair. Lesbians and tragedy, can't really get any better than that, right? Also felt strangely familiar, if I can find the story it reminds me of, I'll update.
How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager - D. N. Bryn
Bryn remains one of my favorite indie authors. I enjoy their writing no matter what, but this was a fun departure from what I'm used to reading from them! Who doesn't like queer vampires?? (This is the "ish" part of the books I've read this year. I read like, 75% of this last year, and just now finally finished it lol)
No Gods, No Monsters - Cadwell Turnbull
This book was doing...something. I'm just not sure I was picking up what it was putting down. I'm 99% sure that's to do with how my brain processes information, and the fact that certain writing styles and I just don't jive. The ideas were fascinating, the world engaging. There were just SO many characters, none of whom were described, and the rotating list of names got too confusing for me. Plus I'm still not sure what tf was really going on, and I don't feel like the first in a series should leave me questioning what the actual, core deal is. Like, I should leave the first in a series feeling like I got some sort of closure, but with more questions/concerns that leave me wanting the next book. I didn't get that, here.
Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King
A re-read. One of my favorite Stephen Kings, a precursor to probably my absolute favorite, The Outsider. I'll probably try to re-read that one this year, too.
Winter's Orbit - Everina Maxwell
Another re-read for me. I really enjoy this one, even as someone who's not super into sci-fi. Hits the arranged marriage trope, with some fun political intrigue and various mysteries to uncover. Pretty significant cw for topics of abuse (physical, mental, isolation, etc.).
Currently Reading:
2025 TBR - (In no particular order)
Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Hunger Pangs - Joy Demorra
Nine Years Yearning - Cameron Sidhe
Notorious Sorcerer - Davinia Evans
How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love
How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck - D. N. Bryn
Parable of the Talents - Octavia E. Butler
It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over - Anne de Marken
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - Lindsay Gibson
One hill I will die on is that some stories genuinely work better in first person, and that people who have this rigid opposition to reading first-person narration no matter the context or premise (I see this a lot) are depriving themselves of some really excellent stories.
It makes more sense for most mermaids to be fat, considering the difference in temperature. Even in tropical waters you'd make the most of the temperature with lots of muscle for speed and movement.
In cooler waters though, keeping warm (see: seals, literally any whale) needs a lot of insulation (fat/blubber). Also when youre larger you have more neutral buoyancy. If you're a deeper water mermaid having a slower metabolism can increase age (see: greenland sharks), and you need fat storage because of sparse food sources.
I grew up really near Camp Pendleton, and this is not a surprising report at all. I'm assuming the ones old enough to drink would go to SD for the bars, but the ones under 21 had ONE single place to go for fun.
An 18+ Country-style club in my tiny hometown. It ofered an electronic bull, a dance floor, and line dancing. Every single night, a fight would break out, because you pack a bunch of 18-20 year old military men into a room, what do you expect to happen?
happy normal fuckin day to everyone who doesnt celebrate christmas or rly any holidays today n tomorrow. hope you have an average day. hope its chill like any other
omg, I think you're the only other person I've ever encountered to reference the book The Trumpet of The Swan!! That was a firm childhood favourite in our house! <3
Aw yeah! Let’s see if I can nail you with anything else you didn’t think other people had ever referenced, from my highly specific sniper rifle.
Quite a lot of these are “rewire your brain” books - not necessarily Good or Unproblematic or whatever, but serious and strange and meaningful: intense, stay-with-you books that - if you hit someone with a precise snipe from your rifle - will light up people’s brains like Christmas trees.
and with publication dates ranging from the 1960s to 1999, they’re officially obscure - not something people pick up casually, if they even can.
