Blog Overhaul

For the last few months, I have been maintaining several different blogs – a personal blog, a professional blog, and blogs for reviews, free fiction, etc. When I first started to publish, this was fine, I had the time, but lately I’ve realized that I’m really damn busy. I don’t know when it happened, or how I didn’t notice, but with the nearly 90 lb loss has come something I didn’t really expect to have – a social life. My email, twitter, and texts have been going crazy lately and honestly, I couldn’t be happier. Last weekend, I picked up a new iPhone to help me manage the craziness, and I think because everything is on the same device, that’s when I really understood just how things have changed for me in the last year.

A year ago, I looked at authors like Marie Sexton, Jan Irving, and Rick Reed and envied what I thought at the time was their perfect life. I mean, they are popular, successful authors so they must have it all together, right? I have five published novels and three shorter stories with more on the way, and I realized that while I’m not in their league, I’m not unrecognized anymore. I see people I don’t know talking about me on Twitter. I get fan mail. I get reviews and mentioned in blog posts, and it’s surreal. But, it’s helped me to see that I need to make my social media efforts as streamlined as possible. To that end, my friend @_Absynthe, whom I love and adore, is going to be helping me streamline all of my blogs into one single place where I can connect with people. I’m a software developer by trade, so the technology is not unfamiliar, but she is a WordPress goddess. You will not notice any real change unless you’re subscribed to one of the blogs. I also plan to consolidate blog posts into a monthly email. More information will be coming on that venture soon.

A couple of weeks ago, I met an extraordinary guy. For two years, he lived with the constant pain and fear of domestic abuse. During that time, he was not allowed an online social outlet where he could express himself and keep hold of the truly special person that he is. So, when my friend and I put together a blog for him and taught him how to post, I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen. He took to it like a duck to water, and I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s using his blog and twitter to make his voice heard. A few of my friends have a single unified blog where they combine their personal and professional lives, so I’ve decided to follow in their example.

My new blog will be a reflection of my personal and professional life – new releases, works in progress, fitness, friends, and my constant battle to be a more socially adjusted person.

So, thank you @_Absynthe, @Blaculicious, @Devon_Hunter, @PhillipAubreyXXX, @SorceressCirce, @Naelany, and @ZeeWriter for helping me to see that I’m a person worth sharing with the world through more than just my stories.

The Grabbys

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I would be in the hospital last week. Everything went very well, and it looks like things may be smooth sailing from here *crosses fingers*. Being in the hospital last week meant that I was unable to attend the Grabbys here in Chicago with my friends @_Absynthe and @Blaculicious who sent tons of images and a play by play of the fun so that I could live vicariously. :)

With their permission, I'm sharing images from some of their exploits this weekend and all I have to say is... I can't wait until next year.

We'll start with the man that I would be most interested to meet - Tony Buff.  @_Absynthe linked me to his work Industrial Encounters, and I have to say that I'm intrigued.

Next, we'll go with Kennedy Carter because even if I'd never seen a scene with him in it, he's easily one of my favorite guys. Funny, charming, and sweet - all of my friends who have met him say the same thing - he's a hell of a nice guy.

And now to Parker Perry - I don't think I've ever seen a more gorgeous more natural picture of a guy.

And he seems very fond of Donny Wright... 

Wow - I almost didn't recognize Brent Corrigan.

Last, but certainly not least - porn's favorite power couple: Samuel Colt and Chris Porter



There are other images, some pretty explicit, but they may have people in them who aren't models. I'll let them post their own images on the internet.

A beautiful review

When I met Devon Hunter for a lunch a few weeks ago, I left him with a signed copy of Little Boy Lost: Enlightened to thank him for answering some questions and helping with research on another novel. Being the eternal optomist, I expected him to politely thank me and toss it into an overflowing book case. (I'm merely guessing by his quick wit and extensive vocabulary that his book cases are overflowing)

On Friday, I saw several comments from him on Twitter (as shown above) that made my whole day. Not only did he take the time to read the book, but he gave it a heartfelt recommendation to nearly two thousand followers. For me, as a woman writing gay romance, it was honestly the highest compliment for a gay man to tell me that he felt my portrayals are realistic and affecting, as Devon had.

I am excited and humbled by the success that Enlightened has had, and I only hope that the rest of the series can live up to the expectations set by the first novel.

Little Boy Lost: Enlightened makes the Dreamspinner Press "Bestsellers" List

I am really excited to share with you that Little Boy Lost: Enlightened has made the Dreamspinner Press Bestsellers list.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me, and supported the series through this transition to Dreamspinner Press. It has been an amazing experience.

An Open Letter...

Friends -

As we embark on this next leg of our journey together, I wanted to take a moment to stop and say thank you. Most of you know by now that I have moved from strictly self-publication to more traditional publishing. At present, I have seven pieces contracted which will be released over the next year.  I have no plans to submit The Forbidden Room series to any publisher in any form.  Community Service and any other stories that are written about Ethan and Jayden will continued to be handled solely by me. If you've read the series, you understand that Ethan is not fond of strangers.

Whether you have been with me from the beginning, or have found my stories more recently, thank you so much for taking the time to read, review, recommend, and discuss them.  It is because of you that I have the courage to continue putting my work on the global stage.

I miss those early chat sessions with you. Sitting in a group chat on google, talking about the stories or just anything that came to mind. Your comments and questions were incredibly insightful, showing me where I could improve and helping me to make each story the best that it could be.

Please know that you can always find me for questions, comments, to just to say hi. I couldn't continue to write on such a scale without you.  I hope to be able to meet and talk with you at GayRomLit in October, but you can always find me online:

Twitter: @JPBarnaby
Email: jpbarnaby@me.com

With deepest appreciation,
J. P. Barnaby

Love Thy Editor

 This morning I was reading an article in Writer’s Digest called 25 Ways to Improve Your Writing in 30 Minutes a Day because I hold no illusions that my writing can be improved.  In this article was a quote on style from “an elderly practitioner” which read “Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar”, which I found interesting.  As most of you probably know from different interviews I’ve participated in, my major in college was Physics not English so my working knowledge of grammar and punctuation leaves something to be desired. For me, this results in a fundamental respect for people with that knowledge, especially my editor.

Since I’ve started working with Dreamspinner Press, the editing process for my work has changed in a very positive way.  The books released through the publisher go through not only my personal beta but several levels of editing at Dreamspinner.  Little Boy Lost: Enlightened just finished the second round of editing and the suggestions that the editor made for continuity, timeline, and logic made the book so much better.  For example, the editor caught that I’d had Brian and Jamie sitting across from each other at a lunch table with two other guys across from them.  While technically possible if they were on the end and opposite another table, it isn’t what I’d intended and was able to change it.  I had read that passage dozens of times in my writing, revisiting, and revision and never even thought twice about it.

Being in different author circles for the past year, both amateur and professional, I’ve heard the phrase “those who can’t write, edit”. I don’t share that sentiment at all.  First, my beta is a very talented author who has her own stories and her own fans. One story in particular evokes very powerful emotions in her audience, and her descriptions of setting and mood rival a lot of published authors I’ve read. Second, if it weren’t for editors and their breadth of knowledge and experience, books would still be the working clay model and not the artistic sculptures that they eventually become. In my case, I really hope they’re paid by the misplaced comma because they’d be able to retire.

My take is that I took the clay to mold Brian and Jamie out of my own imagination. It took the right tools, time, and creative energy to make them beautiful. My beta looks them over and with her amazing eye for detail tells me that because of a certain piece, the sculpture is off-balance or that just a bit more clay along this edge would make it perfect. The editors at the publisher, however, take that piece which is the best that my beta and I can make it, and turn it into a finished, fired, glazed work of art.

So, to everyone who has worked on my books - from those that decided my clay was worth showing, to those that help me package it, to those that help me make it worthy of an audience – I sincerely thank you.