I finally completed the trailer for my late uncle, John Rigney Jr.'s novel, "The Lost of New York." Yes, it was published in May 2022, but as the saying goes, better late than never. In putting it all together, I realized there was a vast difference between my uncle's ability to hand-type his novel, as well as other stories, never knowing if they'd ever be published. Compare that to my spending a few hours on an upgraded video editing application to try to capture the tone and spirit of his book. This is after spending months scanning, editing and twice formatting it in book form! If you did ..read more

While the holiday shopping season may be over, authors like myself hope that you still consider buying books. A new outlet, along with a recently developed one, provide the opportunity to purchase books like mine from independent booksellers online.  One book that you won't find among those is my first novel PINS. I'll explain why, but first the good news. ShopQueer.co is a new LGBTQ-owned online shop co-created by author Eric Servini. They're growing their inventory evevry day, and you can find the best recent LGBTQ books there. It was very easy to use as an author. I simply entered my ..read more

photo: Dana Jacobs If you know even a little bit about my books, you know my sixth novel, "Now I'm Here," is infused with Queen's music and song titles.  But it took the reminder from guitarist-composer Brian May himself (okay, one of his staff assistants) who shared my Bay Area Reporter review of their November 8 Chase Center concert, to remind me to share it here: Themes of science fiction, steampunk and outer space projected onto multiple screens did not upstage the musical artistry of Queen + Adam Lambert at their Chase Center concert November 8.  With additional musici ..read more

Books with LGBTQ themes are under attack while anti-gay harassment is spiking nationwide. To counter the book bans, Castro district Fabulosa Books has organized Read For Filth, a 24-hour celebration of queer literature, on October 7-8. The event is a fundraiser for Books Not Bans, the store's program to send queer books to LGBT centers and groups in red states. It's timed with the national Banned Books Week, Oct. 1-7, created by the American Library Association, with bookstores and libraries highlighting censored books. (photos: Authors Rasheed Newson with Jonathan Escoffery at a re ..read more

  Gay romance novels have never been more popular than they are today.  The most popular example is of course “Red, White and Royal Blue,” Casey McQuiston's bestselling 2019 novel. The recent premiere of its film adaptation became the number one viewed film on Amazon Prime. And it's well deserved.   Having recently assigned both a review and an interview with the film’s director for my day job with the Bay Area Reporter as Arts Editor, I was happy to receive an unsolicited complimentary press packet of not only a book, but a pair of socks as shown in the main poster, along w ..read more

  I'm on Broadway! ... World, that is. Finding Tulsa got a nice advance mention on Broadway World. The notice includes a story summary and link to my IndieGogo campaign, which is still accepting backers. $25 gets an online thank you and ebook (your choice of format). $50 gets you a signed first edition paperback, and a bonus ebook of any one of my books. Donate more and get more books, including paperback, ebooks and audiobooks. Just want a book? Pre-order now online (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo) or at your favorite independent bookstore to help my rankings when it's released. That ..read more

Dink: “Welcome to the Orange and Black.” Joey: “Huh?” Dink: “It’s always Halloween.” That’s one of my favorite lines from my debut novel PINS and this week –actually last month– is the 23rd anniversary of its publication. It’s not a very auspicious anniversary except to say that I should’ve posted this before Halloween, but I didn’t. Holidays and all are good for annual reminders. But I’ve been really busy. The reason Dink’s remark is one my favorite lines is because it’s multilayered. Dink is warning Joey, new to his also new school’s wrestling team, that he needs to prepare for the pres ..read more

October is underway and that means it's time for pumpkins!  I'm not just talking about pumpkin spice and all its stereotypical memes and humor,  but the actual gourds that I go crazy for.  Allow me to explain how my love of pumpkins stems (pun!)   from working on a pumpkin farm and led to help developing my sixth novel,  ‘Now I'm Here.’ As you may recall, in 2018 the novel was published by Beautiful Dreamer Press.  ‘Now I'm Here’ involves Joshua, a piano prodigy, who becomes a little  bit famous by playing a piano solo of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody ..read more

  Bookshelf at Books a Million, Rapid City SD Read any banned books lately? The list of literary works under attack by right wing idiots continues to expand. But the stupid thing is of course that the more that they try to suppress these books, the more people are curious to read them. And people, particularly librarians, are fighting back.  It all comes at an odd time while we’re allegedly under a Democratic presidential administration. But bitter right-wingers still worshiping their deposed king Trump continue to infiltrate school boards, library staffs and find other wa ..read more

  Hidden away for more than half a century, my late uncle’s novel, The Lost of New York,  is finally a book (May 6, 2022). So, why did I task myself with the arduous process of converting a faded stack of chapters into an actual book? Mostly because it fascinated me. I also felt a sense of familial loyalty, seeing as my late uncle, John “Butch” Rigney, Jr., preceded me as the first writer in the family, albeit unpublished. His hand-typed writing made its way across country –twice– before being published. The gritty and sad urban tale, set in early 1960s Bronx, New York, may be unfi ..read more