#058: V.S. Holmes – Advocating for queer and disabled representation, winning awards, and collaborative relationships.

V. S. Holmes is an international bestselling author. They created the REFORGED series and the NEL BENTLY BOOKS. Smoke and Rain, the first book in their fantasy quartet, won New Apple Literary's Excellence in Independent Publishing Award in 2015 and a Literary Titan Gold in 2020. In addition, they have published short fiction in several anthologies.

When not writing, they work as a contract archaeologist throughout the northeastern U.S. They live in a Tiny House with their spouse, a fellow archaeologist, their not-so-tiny dog, and own too many books for such a small abode. As a disabled and queer human, they work as an advocate and educator for representation in SFF worlds.

In this episode we go deep into:

V’s tiny home and how that came into being
What the life of a contract archeologist looks like
How V got into writing and what fuels that passion
How V won their awards, and what the process looked like in the five years between
V’s understanding of complex political structures and how they apply that to their writing
What is that bone behind them on camera?
V's approach to genre hopping and how that affects their writing
What is Amphibian Press and how does that changes their publishing process
What’s the secret behind raising the voices of marginalized voices?
What are the common mistakes people make when writing queer or disabled characters
The importance of at least trying to write the voices of characters outside your comfort zone
Working with sensitivity readers as part of your writing process
V recommends an example for reading queer voices
Working and building a collaborative universe
How to market books in a collaborative universe
Managing conflict and disagreements when you go your separate ways in a collaborative arrangement
Exploring the possibilities of direct selling through your own website
Managing pen names across genres
Why V writes

Find out more about V.S. Holmes:

https://vsholmes.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/authorvsholmes/

https://twitter.com/VS_Holmes

https://www.instagram.com/vs_holmes/

Links from the show:

The Other Side anthology: https://www.devilsrockpublishing.com/theotherside

9 Things Career Authors Don’t Do, Marketing: https://books2read.com/u/bPKVOz

Dan’s Boot Camp: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/bootcamp

O. E. Tearmann’s “Aces High, Jokers Wild” series: https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Were-Given-Aces-Jokers/dp/B07TMGQLBL/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=o+e+tearmann&qid=1603124448&sr=8-3

Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!

https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws

GWS Press books:

Collaboration for Authors:

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