Chad Grayson

Queer SFF Author/graphic designer. neuropunk. Feral shitposter. He/him/his. Probably looking for my keys right now. chadgrayson.com

Public Key

npub1n8v5mu9ekft8gc6822f52pq3k6awhqcg9jx8gtv5ddk0kd3xsluq7l8vwz

NIP-05 Address

ChadGrayson@mastodon-otherworldsink-com.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsfnk2d7zumy4n5vdr49y69qsgmdwhtsvyzerr59k2xkm8mxcng07qpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qz9nhwden5te0wfjkccte9ehx7um5wghxyctwvs22jfa7

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

relay.nostr.band

Author Public Key

npub1n8v5mu9ekft8gc6822f52pq3k6awhqcg9jx8gtv5ddk0kd3xsluq7l8vwz

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Last Notes

2025-03-31 22:59:22

#writerscoffeeclub Mar31 Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility! What trans author has inspired you the most?
For both her fiction and her writing advice hands down this is Charlie Jane Anders for me.

2025-03-30 02:06:13

I don't want to alarm anybody but another one of my books has escaped containment.
https://books2read.com/u/b5Gjp7

2025-03-22 00:46:11

My new Gay standalone SF romance, World Enough and Time, is coming out in June. I'm actually going to do preorders and marketing for it, maybe a virtual book tour. I believe in this book and I think it deserves better than my usual 'drop the baby on the doorstop and back away slowly' approach.
Will be up for preorder in May and released June 3rd, just in time for pride.
I am also looking for ARC readers so hit me up if you're interested.
#bookstodon

2025-03-03 17:15:58

#writerscoffeeclub Mar 3: How can your current working routine be improved?
By actually showing up, ready to work, at the times scheduled..

2025-03-03 17:15:09

#wordweavers Day 3 - MC POV: You get to spend a fun night out with anyone. Who do you choose and where do you go?
Jack would take a Griffin to an open mic night downtown, where he would debut a new song he's written for him..

2025-01-20 22:03:32

#writerscoffeeclub Jan 20: Do any of your stories take place on the sea? In what way?
I don't know much about boats or nautical life so I have avoided this. Bright Harbor, the setting of The Circl and the Shadow, is a seaside port city, however, and that becomes more important in later books.

2025-01-20 22:01:56

#wordweavers Jan 20: Do you feel the Covid pandemic has affected your writing or stories? If so, how?
I have a weird relationship with this because I started writing full time in July of 2019, and the pandemic closing the libraries was what prompted me to create my home office set up..I wrote an insane amount during lockdown. So in a way it was responsible for me getting a running start at this, though in many ways it was miserable.

2025-01-17 23:07:16

#writerscoffeeclub Jan 17: What are your biggest fears for the writing world in 2025?
That we all get censored and aren't allowed to publish queer or smutty books. But if they want me back in the closet, they're going to have to kill me..

2025-01-08 21:38:09

#writerscoffeeclub 8 Jan - Do you agree with Samuel Johnson, who said, "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money?"
No, but there is something to be said for treating yourself like a professional. People get all kinds of things out of writing. What you shouldn't do is pay thousands of dollars to vanity publishers to get published, and you should be on the lookout for other types of scammers along the way.

2025-01-07 21:29:52

#writerscoffeeclub 07 What are your biggest hopes for the writing world in 2025
That people continue to discover and get into reading and also that more attention can be paid to books other than the half dozen or so that seem to dominate booktok. That we can acknowledge the audience all genres have, not just the 'hot' ones. And that I never see another post about GoodReads vs StoryGraph vs Fable.

2025-01-07 21:26:41

#wordweavers 07 What's the biggest threat your world is facing?
The fact that the Maker is dying and consequently the entire world is breaking down into chaos. Weird weather, interdimensional incursions, mysterious diseases, places where the physical structure of the world is just unraveling..

2025-01-03 00:46:15

#wordweavers Jan 2. MC POV: If you could make the antagonist do one thing that doesn’t involve anyone’s death, what would it be?
He would like the faceless one to call off his goons and leave everyone alone..

2025-01-03 00:45:18

#writerscoffeeclub 25-01-02: Have you ever made up something in a story which has come true in real life?
Most of my stuff is sci Fi and fantasy so ... no?

2025-01-01 23:41:07

#wordweavers Jan 01 Where are you on your writing journey? What have you accomplished and what are your plans for the future?
Today u started the first draft of what I hope will be my 12th published book, a sequel to my bestselling book so far. I have a little bit of an audience but am not really breaking even yet when it comes to publishing, but I have created a body of work I am proud of and that's the most important thing.

2024-12-26 21:31:58

#wordweavers Dec 26. What other forms of media do you go to for inspiration?
Mostly music and nonfiction..music for emotional beats I want to hit, nonfiction (books, documentaries, one shot films, etc) inspires story ideas and world-building whether directly or indirectly.

2024-12-24 23:08:08

#wordweavers Dec 24. If your MC was a plant, which one would it be? Why?
Griffin would be a sheltering oak tree.
Jack would be rose bush.. dramatic but full of thorns.

2024-12-15 21:04:22

#writerscoffeeclub 12/15: Do some readers over-interpret your work? Do they get messages you weren't sending?
I've never had this experience. If anything, they've been surprised by things I thought were obvious.

2024-12-10 19:48:05

#wordweavers Dec 10: What kind of stories do you like telling?
Stories about big ideas and emotional connection.

2024-12-05 22:59:01

#wordweavers Dec 5th Who truly understands your MC?
Ok, they pretty much understand each other as much as any 2 people in a relatively new relationship can.
Jack would say he's surprised but his human mom and dad seem to get it (despite some major secrets they were keeping in the first book)
For Griffin it's also his bff Ro, and his uncle, Lorenzo..

2024-11-15 23:15:37

#writerscoffeeclub Nov 15: What do you owe the real people you base your characters on?
I don't base any characters on actual real people. I occasionally remix details from different people, but no one is wholly transfigured into my fiction. That said, Curse of the Onyx Heart starts several characters that started as my and my friends D&D characters, and I ran by my plans for those characters with their creators (but then wandered far afield from the game characters anyway).

2024-11-15 23:11:27

#wordweavers Nov 15. How would your story change if you had to use another MC?
It wouldn't work at all, at least not the one I want to tell me. It would be more disaster survival from the VP of civilians..

2024-11-12 00:53:21

#wordweavers Nov 11. What emotions did your character experience in the last scene you wrote?
Haven't started drafting book 2 yet but book 1 ended with Jack intrigued and frightened about what he's found out about his true origins.

2024-11-08 17:26:31

#writerscoffeeclub Oct 8: "Where do you get your books?"
Print books, usually Barnes and Noble. Also we have a pretty kick-ass giant used book store I go to a lot. Ebooks and audio, Amazon and audible (I know!)

2024-11-08 17:25:01

#wordweavers 11/8. SC POV: Who knows your deepest secrets?
Griffin: Ro, pretty much. Matthew some. I don't intentionally keep secrets from Jack but he doesn't know everything.
Jack: these days, everyone, because I can't keep my mouth shut!

2024-11-02 02:24:17

#writerscoffeeclub Nov 1. Introduce yourself in the third person, as if you're a world-famous author.
Chad Grayson has been a writer his entire life but finally wrangled his ADHD to the point he could finish things in 2019 (thanks, Adderall!) He's the author of 8 books with many more on the way. He lives in far northern California with his family, where he is also a graphic design student.

2024-09-06 20:48:45

- reply

@npub1k74…dmux great minds, right? Maybe we should collaborate on a project. Lol.

2024-09-06 00:35:46

#wordweavers Sep 5 — If you could collaborate with another author, who would it be?
Honestly, the thought of collaboration does not appeal to me at all. My bff is also a writer and we help each other with potting and world building but that is as far as I'd want it to go.

2024-09-06 00:35:46

2024-09-01 22:45:57

#writerscoffeeclub September 1 - What have been your writing-related achievements in the last year?
I published a fantasy novel in, and then released a short story collection exclusive (until January) to my newsletter subscribers in August. Also, I am about to finish my third book written this year. And I did all of this while going to school full time, so I feel pretty good about that.

2024-09-01 00:11:21

#wordweavers Aug 31st Would your MC give up their goal to help someone else achieve theirs?
Um, in general, yeah, he does not put himself first but in this instance his goal is to save the lives of everyone in his village so ... not this time, sorry.

2024-08-30 18:01:30

#wordweavers 8/30 Share something about your work.
It's Hopepunk (usually) queer science fiction and fantasy with smut.
I mean, there's got to be an audience for that, right?

2024-08-12 19:53:46

#writerscoffeeclub 8-12: Someone asks permission to use AI to write a book in your style outside your usual genre. Do you allow it?
Nope but it's not like they'd actually ask permission anyway.

2024-06-18 21:32:12

#wordweavers 18: If your book came with a small toy, what would it be?
If Curse of the Onyx heart came with a small toy it would be a small wand that had a piece of amber-colored stone at the end that would light up.

2024-06-13 17:32:27

#writerscoffeeclub June 13: What's your favourite antagoist to write? Villains, anti-heros, rivals?
I like to write villains who are absolutely convinced of the rightness of their cause. They're not selfish (they think) l, they are taking necessary steps for the betterment of the world/system/the right kind of people. Most of my actual villains operate this way. It doesn't mean they are not also psychopaths, but they feel justified in whatever they are doing..

2024-06-08 17:22:36

I feel like if you could not legally get a job at a pre-school you have no business being president but that's just me.

2024-06-05 18:45:36

#wordweavers Jun 5: Do you have fans / people who enjoy your writing? What’s your relationship to them?
I do have a few people who seem to enjoy what I do. Some of them have reached out, and I thank them for their messages, and save them to look at when I'm feeling discouraged.

2024-05-22 19:36:12

Selling books at the Renaissance fair this weekend and the cursed part of my brain can't get the phrase 'Renaissance is futile' out of my head and I'm like is that anything? Like should I get T-shirts made or possibly bumper stickers?!

2024-05-21 01:02:09

#writerscoffeeclub May 20 -When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
So early I don't even remember. I think it was when I realized that the books I loved were written by actual people and that I could do it too.

2024-05-09 00:53:45

#wordweavers May 9. Does your MC agree with any of the last two days?
Matty does not agree with the last two days worth of posts but knows he needs to keep his head down or else his true nature might be discovered and he will be executed. so he doesn't rock the boat.

2024-04-05 03:56:32

#wordweavers April 4 - is there writing advice you used to follow but changed your mind?
I've absorbed a lot of advice over the years and discarded much of it. What has proven true is that every writer needs to find their own way to finish things, and that method may be different for each project. Whatever works is valid..

2024-03-30 20:57:49

#writerscoffeeclub 30: How do you keep track of your work? Do you have a system?
I have a whiteboard with my scene outline on post its. I keep most of my notes either in a small world-building notebook or transferred into notion. I use Scrivener to draft then export it to word when I need to get it ready for my editor.
https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/system/media_attachments/files/112/186/635/570/713/584/original/a8e4a5fe2f03cd24.jpg

2024-03-10 21:22:18

#wordweavers Mar10. What annoys your antagonist most about the world they live in?
That certain people, including his own son, don't respect his authority the way he thinks they should.

2024-03-06 18:10:34

#writerscoffeeclub WritersCoffeeClub March 6th: What five things do you need to become a writer?
1. Patience
2. Discipline
3. A reliable way of getting in 'the zone' on command.
4. A way to get feedback
5. Adequate time management skills.
I struggle with several of these. Lol.

2024-02-21 15:59:41

#writerscoffeeclub Feb 21 Would you ever use emojis in your writing?
Um, no? Emojis are for shitposts, not professional work meant to be taken seriously. The only time it would be appropriate is if you're quoting text or social media conversations.

2024-02-08 18:37:03

#writerscoffeeclub 8: Which words do you overuse? Be honest.
Just and actually. Those are my favorite filler words.

2024-01-31 15:01:54

#writerscoffeeclub 1/31: Where do you write?
In my home office..I used to be a digital nomad, writing in coffee shops and libraries but during COVID I turned my son's old bedroom into an office and it has been a game changer..

2024-01-19 04:15:11

I have #ADHD which means I have 2 modes:
1. Accomplish 3 hours of work in 30 minutes
2. Accomplish 30 minutes of work in 3 hours.
I do not control the modes! They seem to be randomly assigned!

2023-11-20 19:11:01

Wisdom from Elizabeth Gilbert:
'Dont be a lazy perfectionist, be a disciplined half-ass.'

2023-11-02 04:46:44

Rewatching the first episode of stranger things. These kids do not know how to play d&d. They're attacked by the demogorgon, and everybody is shouting at each other. No one rolls for initiative before attempting a fireball, and everybody knows if your dice falls off the table, you reroll, no matter how good or bad it was. Honestly, the whole thing is a mess.

2023-05-27 06:07:56

- reply

@npub15wt…7rek @npub146j…zgn0
The Soul Cages. Boy meets boy..boy falls hard. The feeling is.mutual. boy finds out boy's ghost brother is part of the deal. Hijinks (and tragedy) ensue.
https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Cages-Chad-Grayson-ebook/dp/B0C64XCSV2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=RNGH1OPRQQCG&keywords=the+soul+cages+grayson&qid=1685167593&sprefix=the+soul+cages+grayson%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1