June Writing Projects: Retreat in Pride Month

The writing highlight of June—scratch that, of the year—was Penna's and my annual writing retreat. Five glorious days of plotting stories and exchanging ideas. This year was particularly meaningful since we'd been forced to postpone our trip because of the pandemic. Originally, we'd planned to scheme about Angela's wedding which was held at our retreat destination of San Juan Island. The year's delay meant that instead we were visiting sites mentioned in Penna's now-finished story Lavender Dreams. It was a thrill for me to see the places Penna had described so beautifully in her story.

Along with Angela and Michael, two other couples were featured in Lavender Dreams. Sara explored her relationship with Neal in a series of dreams inspired by Jane Austen's novels. Henry and his boyfriend Eric's relationship also took a major step forward.

It's fitting that in Pride Month, diversity was a key discussion topic for our retreat. We're proud that several of our most popular original characters, including Henry, Travis, Richard, Eric, and Neal's art advisor Myra Stockman are gay. Over the past couple of years, we've added trans characters to the cast. Myra's wife Britta Forsberg is trans. I included a trans woman in Silent Planet. In the next Arkham Files story, Zoog Whisperer, another character will out herself. One of our upcoming arcs includes a new trans character. Recently, Penna has featured ace characters in her stories.

I called Britta Myra's wife, but technically she isn't. One of the challenges of writing stories set in 2004-2006 is that gay marriages were only legal in Massachusetts. None of our gay characters have marriage licenses, although several consider themselves to be married.

In addition to diversity, new arcs for Caffrey Conversation, Crossed Lines, our original stories, and Arkham Files were on the table. Penna provided much-needed inspiration for my sequel to Watling's Marsh, and a certain lavender duckling captivated us with her romantic prospects. Some of the ideas from retreat will appear in my stories beginning in October.

Thanks to all of you who've commented to our stories! Many of your thoughts provided inspiration for future arcs.