Hi guys! We have J. Scott Coatsworth visiting today with his new release Spells & Stardust, we have a great exclusive excerpt, a brilliant $20 Amazon GC giveaway, and Shorty’s review, so check out the post and enter the giveaway! ❤ ~Pixie~
Spells & Stardust
J. Scott Coatsworth
Spells & Stardust is Scott’s first anthology – eight sci fi and fantasy shorts that run the gamut from regeneration to redemption.
The Bear at the Bar: A gay fish out of water tale with a pinch of magic.
Tight: What happens when your lover disappears in midair?
Morgan: The year when everything changed.
Re-Life: What if you were reborn in a strange new future?
A New Year: They met every eleven years. And each time, Hank’s life changed.
Repetition: What if you wanted to go back in the closet?
Gargoyle: Sometimes you get what you deserve. Sometimes it happens on All Hallows Eve.
Avalon: A few bright moments in the sun, stolen from outside time.
Most of these stories have been previously published in various anthologies and journals. This is the first time they have all been collected in one place.
Warnings: One story contains attempted suicide; another has a homophobic incident
Excerpt!
from Repitition
“Sure, it’s unorthodox. Past-pathing’s always a dicey proposition.”
Davis twisted the phone cord between his fingers, frowning, thinking of all the contingencies involved. The background work alone would be extensive, but the challenge might make it worthwhile. “When can you come down? That’s right, 147 Alpine, corner of Main, just behind the Quickmart. Long gray building with a flat roof, military barracks conversion. Can’t miss it.”
Harlan’s framed image stared back at him as he talked, his handsome face a mockery of the present. Davis snorted and tossed the frame in the trash. Long past due.
“Oh, nothing, sir. Just a sneeze.” He spun around in the chair, fingers rambling over the key slate. “Tomorrow, ten sharp? I’ll need to do a preliminary scan, then feed the data through our AI server to find the best places to start. It’ll take me, what, maybe two days? Then we can talk.” He scratched behind his ear unconsciously, the ideas already spinning in his brain. He’d have to write some code tonight to weed out the worst of the dross from the first run in the morning. Then he’d see about narrowing down the resulting data set and cleaning up the main lines from there.
“Gotcha. What? Nothing… just yourself. Right-o. See you then.” Coupla days, no sleep. It was doable.
He sat back, rubbing his chin, staring out the window at the reflective glass windows of the soaring forty-story tenements. He’d never had a request quite so close to home.
Why would someone want to go back into the closet?
It had been hard enough coming out in the first place back in the late nineties in conservative Arizona, when many folks still blamed AIDS on the sexual promiscuity, despite the hard scientific evidence to the contrary.
Davis sighed. The longer he lived, the more he realized things always came around again.
The current administration was proof enough of that.
The real question was, could he do it?
He glanced at the neat, hand-lettered sign he had hung above the desk:
You’re not God.
Never mess with your own past.
Remember, you’re not God.
About J. Scott!
Scott spends his time between the here and now and the what could be. Enticed into fantasy and sci fi by his mom at the tender age of nine, he devoured her Science Fiction Book Club library. But as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were in the books he was reading.
He decided that it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at his local bookstore. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.
His friends say Scott’s mind works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He loves to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.
He runs both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own lives.
Website | Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | QueeRomance Ink | Amazon
Giveaway!
Win a $20 Amazon GC!
Review
Title: Spells & Stardust
Author: J. Scott Coatsworth
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Length: 8 Short Stories (169pgs total)
Publisher: J. Scott Coatsworth (December 5, 2018)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 4 1/2 – 5 Hearts (combined)
Blurb: Spells & Stardust is Scott’s first anthology – eight sci fi and fantasy shorts that run the gamut from regeneration to redemption.
The Bear at the Bar: A gay fish out of water tale with a pinch of magic.
Tight: What happens when your lover disappears in midair?
Morgan: The year when everything changed.
Re-Life: What if you were reborn in a strange new future?
A New Year: They met every eleven years. And each time, Hank’s life changed.
Repetition: What if you wanted to go back in the closet?
Gargoyle: Sometimes you get what you deserve. Sometimes it happens on All Hallows Eve.
Avalon: A few bright moments in the sun, stolen from outside time.
Most of these stories have been previously published in various anthologies and journals. This is the first time they have all been collected in one place.
ISBN: B07KDXHLWS
Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Shorty
Review:
The Bear at the Bar Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Dex walks into a bar looking for a hook up. What he gets instead is the shock of life when Colin, the bear from the bar switches bodies with him. Dex learns how others react to how is now and he witnesses how others perceive him when he goes back to the bar to confront the man who took his body. I loved this story. It tells a powerful message as the story continues. Fantastic read.
Tight Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
A tale of one mans’, Christopher, struggle to live and come to grips after the death of his partner Eric during a trip on a plane where he has a heart attack. I found this story intriguing. Christopher’s struggle is real as are the dreams he has. I felt an immense sadness at the loss he suffered. The ending while painful to read was at the same time a happy one for those who have lost someone then find them in the ever after.
Morgan Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Zach meets Morgan and the two seem happy but soon things grow distant between them until a two week separation brings them together before Morgan heads back home. Morgan never tells Zach who he is or where he’s from but leaves him a parting gift in the form of a bracelet which Zach uses to find him. Loved it.
Re-Life Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖 4 Hearts
Cute story about Eric who has been reanimated in a newly made body from his DNA after he dies from cancer five hundred years prior. I loved how the story progressed and was detailed enough to explain the way things were. Eric struggles to come to grips with the past and the way things used to be for him. Jory was an absolute dream and I loved him and his backstory. It was interesting the way certain things are in this new world.
A New Year Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 4 1/2 Hearts
Heath meets Finn the night he attempts suicide. Then they meet every eleven years after. Though they did meet when Heath was nine. I found it entertaining and fascinating as we get glimpses about who Finn is. He never seems to age as time goes on. We finally learn who he is at the end. Great read.
Repetition Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Davis is a man who can change anyone’s history with use of code and data. But such things are dangerous if you’re not careful and you could completely wipe out someone from existence. John wants to be obliterated. Davis finds out by going through the streams that he knows the man intimately. If he does what John wants he could alter his own timeline. This was a unique story that I found fascinating. I would love to see it in a much longer story.
Gargoyle Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 4 1/2 Hearts
I loved reading about James. He was sweet if a bit naive. Daniel cares for James but has not told him due to James having a crush on homophobic football player Randy. When he warns James things don’t go as planned but James soon learns the truth. I found the gargoyle to be intriguing as to why he was there. It was an interesting addition to the story that I loved. I did want to know how it all got started though and what exactly happened for it to begin in the first place.
Avalon Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
This story broke my heart. Tony is taking care of his dying lover Jake. There is a homophobic ass who enjoys hurting both men to the bitter end. Though Jake and Tony seemed happy for a short while Brent destroyed both men lives simply because of his hatred. I honestly didn’t get the happily ever after sense except for Jake who went to Avlon after his death at the hands of Brent. Still it was a wonderfully told story.
Overall this is an amazing collection of wonderfully written short stories that will touch your heart and make you feel one emotion or another. I was fascinated with all the stories.
