Activated Authors

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

Listen Later

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:

    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Activated AuthorsBy Activated Authors
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    7 ratings