Ask the Author: Huston Piner
Answered Questions (10)
Huston Piner
I looked around the room, turning to the mirror in time to see the clawed fingers grabbing at my throat. Fanged teeth gnawed at my flesh, the pain subsiding as the pool of blood billowed around me and the room grew dim.
Huston Piner
Hi!
Yes. As time passes, the experience of being a gay teen also changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. The new fully revised edition of My Life as a Myth is the first book of the Seasons of Chadham High series, featuring semi-independent stories set at different times/eras. Each book is a 'stand-alone' story, but characters who are high school students in one book may return as adults in another. Along the way, some questions may be answered while others may be raised. Ultimately, the series aims to be an enjoyable, insightful, and hopeful experience for the reader.
Yes. As time passes, the experience of being a gay teen also changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. The new fully revised edition of My Life as a Myth is the first book of the Seasons of Chadham High series, featuring semi-independent stories set at different times/eras. Each book is a 'stand-alone' story, but characters who are high school students in one book may return as adults in another. Along the way, some questions may be answered while others may be raised. Ultimately, the series aims to be an enjoyable, insightful, and hopeful experience for the reader.
Huston Piner
It's a tough question. On the one hand, a fictional world like Middle-Earth would be a wonderful place to visit - assuming you visit the good areas during peace-time versus, say, Mordor. With locations like Michel-Delving, Bree, Lothlorian, etc, the experiences would be (ahem) 'magical.' On the other hand, a "fictional book world" could mean the setting of any work of good fiction, not necessarily a Fantasy/SciFi one. Several come to mind: the Cornwall seaside of Jamie Deacon's excellent Caught Inside, the Florida of Anthony Paull's hilarious and moving Outtakes of a Walking Mistake, the Seattle of Jerico Lenk's Collide, the Michigan of so many of Jeff Erno's books, the Nevada of anything by the wonderful Kim Harnes, etc. If I tried to make a comprehensive list, it would be too long for this format.
Huston Piner
An excellent question. I should first say that I can't narrow the field to a single favorite fictional couple. There are just too many wonderful books with enchanting, beautiful, characters who leave me, as a reader, breathless with their gentleness, fragility, and love for each other. But that said, if pressed, I'd highlight a few memorable couples. Russel and Otto in Brent Hartinger's wonderful series (beginning with The Order of the Poison Oak) share a simple, sweet relationship. JR Lenk gives us Hazard and Jesse in Collide, a couple grappling with the emergence of real love from a 'friends with benefits' bonding. Kim Harnes presents a haunting love between Jess and Brody in Still Photo. And the painfully exquisite relationship between Nathan and Roy in Jim Grimsley's Dream Boy moves me every time I read it. And I can't help but love Tyler and Billy in Anthony Paull's Outtakes of A Walking Mistake. Jeff Erno never fails to present honest, romantic couples, as for example, Shawn and Bobby in Trust Me, to name but one. And dare I add Samwise and Frodo? Or Ron and Hermione? I could go on and on.
What all of these couple have in common is the purity of giving of themselves to each other, sometimes consciously, sometimes almost through the forces of nature itself. The unfolding of love comes as the slow realization that being complete, having a full understanding of who we are, can only happen in the reflection of our love for the one who loves us. That mutual self-revelation is at once universally recognizable by any reader who has a heart and truly inspirational.
What all of these couple have in common is the purity of giving of themselves to each other, sometimes consciously, sometimes almost through the forces of nature itself. The unfolding of love comes as the slow realization that being complete, having a full understanding of who we are, can only happen in the reflection of our love for the one who loves us. That mutual self-revelation is at once universally recognizable by any reader who has a heart and truly inspirational.
Huston Piner
Inspiration is the great mystery; if I knew how to conjure it at will I'd go into business marketing it.
That said, one thing that works for me -- which Stephen King mentions he uses in his excellent book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" -- is to think up a situation. That inevitably presents one or more characters from which a story can develop, and from which a basic loose concept of a plot line may begin to form. What must be said, however, is that you've got to be open the Muses and allow for those radical left turns you had not anticipated (cf Raymond in "My Life as a Myth"). It is moments like that which can make a story glow.
That said, one thing that works for me -- which Stephen King mentions he uses in his excellent book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" -- is to think up a situation. That inevitably presents one or more characters from which a story can develop, and from which a basic loose concept of a plot line may begin to form. What must be said, however, is that you've got to be open the Muses and allow for those radical left turns you had not anticipated (cf Raymond in "My Life as a Myth"). It is moments like that which can make a story glow.
Huston Piner
My most recent (actually soon to be released) book, Conjoined at the Soul, focuses on gay high school sophomore Randy Clark and his misadventures searching for a boyfriend. The idea came to me in thinking about the evolving differences for gay teens since the 1969/70 setting for My Life as a Myth. By 1979, young people were much more aware of homosexuality and LGBT youth were beginning to own their orientation in a more positive way. I imagined Randy looking in the mirror (as people will sometimes do) and telling himself, "You, young man, are gay." It's the kind of historically significant difference between the before and after Stonewall challenge to societal homophobia. Before Stonewall, young people may have known they were gay, but few felt comfortable so much as admitting it to themselves out loud.
Whereas, My Life as a Myth deals with a teenager coming to terms with his orientation, Conjoined at the Soul takes the reader from that realization through the process of coming out to selected friends and the fears that are universal to all young people in seeking romantic companionship. We see Randy growing in his understanding of what love is as he makes mistakes, gets hurt, and deals with prejudice, bullies, and a non-accepting culture. His most difficult -- and important -- struggle is with his own sense of self-worth and how it influences his expectations.
Readers who enjoyed My Life as a Myth will find Conjoined at the Soul a much happier book that still doesn't shy away from harsh realities. Romantics who demand a happy ending will be delighted with its tale of the most clueless, gaydar-deprived, teenager on earth in his conquest for true love.
Whereas, My Life as a Myth deals with a teenager coming to terms with his orientation, Conjoined at the Soul takes the reader from that realization through the process of coming out to selected friends and the fears that are universal to all young people in seeking romantic companionship. We see Randy growing in his understanding of what love is as he makes mistakes, gets hurt, and deals with prejudice, bullies, and a non-accepting culture. His most difficult -- and important -- struggle is with his own sense of self-worth and how it influences his expectations.
Readers who enjoyed My Life as a Myth will find Conjoined at the Soul a much happier book that still doesn't shy away from harsh realities. Romantics who demand a happy ending will be delighted with its tale of the most clueless, gaydar-deprived, teenager on earth in his conquest for true love.
Huston Piner
At the moment I have a couple of projects: The first is about four eleventh graders: The two girls, a straight guy, and a gay guy. It's a star-crossed humorous romance. The second concerns a man's return to his childhood home and the dark past that haunts his memory. In addition, I'm doing some editing on a completed project.
Huston Piner
I can only pass on what just about every other writer has said: Read, read, read, write, write, write. If you've ever studied a musical instrument, you'll know that not only does practice make for better playing, it also changes how you hear music. By writing regularly and reading constantly, you'll start paying attention to how a writer words things, the flow of the narrative, the precision of detail that sparks your imagination. You find your voice via vocalizing. Let reading and writing become a habit and you'll find yourself a happy addict.
Huston Piner
One of the best things is when a scene unfolds beneath your fingertips actually surprising you (the writer) in the process. The Muses have a way of taking over sometimes and the results are exquisite.
Another great thing is when someone tells you they liked something in your book that was significant for you, too. There is a special satisfaction that comes from knowing that something you wrote connected with another person; it's a very intimate thing.
Another great thing is when someone tells you they liked something in your book that was significant for you, too. There is a special satisfaction that comes from knowing that something you wrote connected with another person; it's a very intimate thing.
Huston Piner
Sometimes you just have to set a project aside and work on something else. A break, be it for exercise, running errands, or distracting yourself with a game, TV, or a movie helps open things up. The thing is to not dwell on the problem. I believe that often the block is caused by too close a focus on the wrong thing or having set up a situation that is outside the flow of what you're writing. The key is to not give up -- even if you abandon one project for the time being.
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