Hello! I’m still alive, I promise! I’m even still writing, though probably not what you would expect. More on that later…
I have been very busy lately, however. In the fall of 2023, I got to see the culmination of three-years of hard work, an immersive theater work called The Boundary. The show ran for almost three months, and I was both part of the creative team that made the show and a performer. I’m extremely proud of the finished show, and it even made a few end-of-year best-of lists. It did, however, take up the majority of my creative resources for a fairly extended amount of time.
Since then, 2024 has already proven to be a year of big changes—at my day job, at home, with my family, and in my creative life. I’m still trying to re-prioritize my creative life, so I hope you continue to bear with me.
One of those big changes is that I decided to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time… write a fantasy novel. Mysteries were among the first books I ever fell in love with, but, if you’re on this page, then you already know I love fantasy as well. Elements of the supernatural were woven into both Killian’s and Cav’s worlds. But, for years, I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a full-fledged fantasy series. Concepts came and went, some even getting outlines, but one finally stuck with me.
So… I finally decided to do it.
So far, I have a rough outline for a three-book trilogy, a complete outline for the first book, a full character list, A LOT of world-building documents (I could make an entire wiki), and one whole chapter completed. Woo!
And, yes, it will be queer. Duh.
So why fantasy?
While Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie ignited my love of reading while I was still in elementary school, it was fantasy writers who changed my life. Authors like David Eddings, Robin Hobb, Lynn Flewelling, Tanya Huff, and, particularly, Mercedes Lackey expanded my horizons in new and exciting ways. Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series was the first time I ever saw queer people represented in a positive light. Her Last Herald Mage trilogy haunts me to this day. (Vanyel was my first literary crush. If you know, you know.) Her books were literally pivotal to my acceptance. (And this is why the MAGA crowd is so hellbent on banning books by and about queer people and other minorities, but let me not get distracted. Vote blue this fall and, remember, local elections matter.)
Obviously, the genre has long held a special place in my heart, and this just felt like the right time to start a new adventure. I had that story that I couldn’t get out of my head, and, to be honest, I was a little burned out on mysteries. I have been writing them for 25 years, after all. I needed something to really inspire me again, to make me fall back in love with writing. And world building is a lot of fun! Did I mention I’ve done a lot of it? There are maps!
By now, you’re probably wondering what the new series will be about. While I’m not ready to go into plot details just yet, I can say I won’t be reinventing the wheel or anything. It’s a fairly straightforward (gayforward?) hero’s journey, with maybe just a little trope subversion here and there. I can say that it’s not fantasy in the Tolkienian vein—there are no elves, orcs or goblins—but it is high fantasy in that it’s set in a roughly medieval, earth-adjacent setting where magic is an accepted part of everyday life.
So… What am I going to do with this story when (if?) I finish it? At this point, I don’t know. One thing I doubt I’ll do is go the traditional publishing route. I’m not ruling it out completely, but anyone who has followed my writing career knows my long history of publishing woes, and it’s an industry that is really struggling right now across the board. There are a lot of other options, and I’m considering and weighing them. (Have a suggestion? Hit me with it.)
What does that mean for you (assuming you want to read something that doesn’t involve cute gay boys who see dead people solving crimes)? I don’t know yet, but I’ll be sure to keep you updated when I know more.
In the meantime, let me know what you think about my potential new series. Leave a comment or shoot me an email. And if you’re interested in being a beta reader, let me know! It’s a whole new world. Let’s explore it together.
Josh Aterovis 