Q&A: Geek Cutes

What is Geek Cutes?

Geek Cutes is a collection of 8 short love stories. Most of the protagonists are lesbians, some of whom are cisgender, while others are transgender. The stories span a variety of genres, including sci-fi, horror, superhero, and fantasy. The stories aren’t very deep, and mostly cover the early stages of the relationship. Therefore, they’re “Meet Cutes,” but for geeks, hence “Geek Cutes.” While the stories do contain some sexual situations, they are not explicit.

What stories does this collection contain?

(Key: TW=Trans Woman, CW=Cis Woman, TM=Trans Man)

Dungeon Therapy (CW/CW): A couple meets while playing an online RPG.

Gilded Cage (CW/TW): A teenage girl is locked in her room by bigoted parents.

Mother’s Day (CW/CW): A cop and an occultist must solve a murder together.

Fairy Dust (CW/TM): A fey kingdom is attacked by dragons.

Hero Worship (CW/CW): A woman falls in love with a superhero.

Think Tank (CW/TW): A deity gives the world an ultimatum.

Strangers in the Void (CW/CW): Two women meet during a power outage in a space station.

Vigilante (TW/TW): A masked woman fights crime in the streets.

 

Are there any content warnings I should be aware of before reading the book?

The story “Mother’s Day” contains a scene of horror that might be scary for some. “Hero Worship” has a scene involving a mass shooting. Some religious people might find “Think Tank” to be blasphemous. “Vigilante” contains a bit of violence, as well as mentions of suicide.

What inspired you to write this collection?

When I wrote the Bloodhunters series, I went to great lengths to use up any and all old notes I had, finishing incomplete stories and expanding on old ideas. However, some of those ideas just didn’t fit in the Bloodhunters universe. Some only worked in modern day, or involved magic and other supernatural concepts. I didn’t know where else to put these short stories, so I decided to release them in their own collection. Of course, while polishing off those stories, I kept coming up with ideas for new ones, so I had to write those as well.

What is your favorite story from Geek Cutes?

Probably Fairy Dust. I loved putting the mythology together. I wouldn’t mind writing more stories in this universe.

What is your least favorite story from Geek Cutes?

Vigilante. I don’t think it’s a bad story, but next to the other stories in this volume, it feels a little dull. As I explain in the author’s notes, it was originally going to go in a more “comic bookish” direction, but I decided to give it a more down-to-earth ending instead. Did I make the right call? You read it and let me know.

What’s your favorite line in the book?

“That implies the existence of a sour Jesus.” (Think Tank)

What challenges did you face when writing the book?

“Fairy Dust,” “Think Tank,” and “Vigilante” expanded on short stories I’d written years before, and it’s always difficult to recapture a story’s vibe after such a long break. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious where the break occurs, as the rest of the story almost feels like it was written by a different author. A challenge to you: When you read these three stories, see if you can guess where the break was.

Who designed your cover?

I designed and photographed it myself. My wife is a resin crafter, and she made the dice.

 

Is this a standalone collection, or part of a series?

It’s a bug hunt. Oh, sorry, I misread the question. This is a standalone collection. You do not need to read anything else first. One of the stories takes place in the same universe as Bloodhunters, but it doesn’t connect to those stories in any way. One of the stories has a sequel in Rainbow Nightmares, so if you’re going to read both, read Geek Cutes first.

Where can I buy this book?

It’s available on Amazon and several other e-retailers.

I have more questions.

Great! Check out my FAQ and see if I answer it there. If not, feel free to contact me on social media.

Cover Reveal: Untitled Short Story Collection

We got a lot of snow here a couple of weeks ago, which kept me from leaving the house for a week. I actually had to go an entire week without fast food, oh horror of horrors! One upside was that I got to take a few pictures in the snow, and potentially found a cover for an upcoming short story collection. This book will be the third in the series that includes Geek Cutes and Rainbow Nightmares. This collection is probably more than a year off, and doesn’t have a title yet. No, I’m not going to call it “Title Goes Here,” tempting as that may be.

The Challenges of Marketing Without Spoilers

I suck at blurbs anyway, but the blurb for Bloodhunters was particularly difficult to write. Here’s the problem: I want readers to know it’s a LGBTQ+ friendly book. I want them to know that one of the main characters is transgender. But in the book itself, that’s a plot twist that you don’t learn until about halfway through. And there’s another, equally important plot twist involving the identity of the terrorist they’re chasing. This twist carries much of the story, but I can’t talk about it in promotional material.

So what’s left to advertise? Well, it’s an action-packed sci-fi story about a team of bounty hunters, yada yada, but that doesn’t really separate it from a thousand other sci-fi books on the kindle store. IMO, there are two main reasons my story stands out, and both are spoilers.

And those who do buy it, I hope they don’t stop reading it before the twists. Even I admit the story is a bit generic before you find out you-know-what. I may have mentioned this before, but one of my beta readers quit halfway through, partly because he thought Vik was the main character.

And then there's the fact that I use a pen name. I have 160 friends on Facebook, and I bet a few of them would buy my books if I advertised them there. But I try to keep my main account and my Xine account separate. I don't like talking about trans stuff on main anymore, especially since I'm going to be looking for a new job soon.

My best hope is word-of-mouth. I really hope somebody reads the book and tells a trans friend, “You should read this. It’s not what you think.” I know I won’t make a lot of sales that way, but at least that means the books will be read by the people who would enjoy them most, and that’s the important thing.