I have an overactive imagination.
For as long as I can remember — or perhaps for as long as I’ve been aware of sex — I got into the habit of plotting stories in my head in the time right before falling asleep and the time right after waking up. (Neil Gaiman’s work has often been described as possessing that quality.)
It’s really the only time of day I have to focus exclusively on fiction. It’s this habit which has allowed me to store up a lot of ideas.
Just so I have something to reference later, I’m going to take an inventory of the story ideas I want to eventually write, if not later publish. All titles are tenative.
Crux novels
Crux — Already in the works. Nine months after being transformed into a vampire hunter, Crux unwitting kills the most powerful vampire in New York City. Some people want revenge. Shaun and Calvino, however, want Crux for their own purposes.
Amelia — The eldest daughter of the most powerful mortitian in the underworld has been murdered, and Crux has been asked to find the killer. Everyone thinks it was the vampire boyfriend who did it, but Crux uncovers a motive in which he may have been involved.
The Lightning-Struck Tower — A homeless man who draws Tarot decks on index cards is murdered. A shopkeeper who helps the homeless man out is killed. A Tarot deck finds its way to Crux. And someone wants to stop that deck from reaching its future owner.
Emma — Crux meets a vampire in broad daylight. She doesn’t know how her body has regained some of its mortality. Does Crux know?
Chasing Jackson Streng — The final Crux story. No details yet, but I want it to be a parody — a remake, if you will — of Murakami Haruki’s A Wild Sheep Chase. Crux is the Rat. Jackson Streng, I’m thinking, is the sheep. The chase starts in New York City, hops to Chicago, Austin, Portland and ends in Honolulu.
Gary/Mitch novels
The Courtship of Gary Huang — Finished.
Family Business — At first, this story was supposed to be about Gary’s family, and how he fumbles his relationship with Mitch just because he hadn’t made an effort to let his family become comfortable with his life. I’m not too thrilled about this particular plot now. I’m thinking of expanding the plot to include the challenges Gary and Mitch face as an interracial couple (Chinese and black, respectively.)
Trevor — The relationship of Gary and Mitch is on the skids. Mitch wants to have a child, and Gary doesn’t. Both of them have committed infidelity. When the untimely death of Mitch’s sister forces Mitch to take in his 10-year-old nephew Trevor, it looks like their relationship is over. Mitch, however, finds he’s not as equipped as he thought he was to take care of a grown child, and Gary finds himself befriending Trevor.
Crash novels
TBD Book One — Crash’s ex-boyfriend is found murdered, and Det. Mark Cleary catches the case. Cleary follows a drug angle, but Crash suspects something else.
TBD Book Two — I know nothing of the plot — all I know is Crash goes back into the courtroom, something he’s been avoiding for seven years.
TBD Book Three — Either Cleary gets shot, and Crash goes mad finding the shooter. Or an old rival from the DA’s office asks Crash to defend him.
Porno stories
The Mansion — A prison in which men who deny their attraction to other men “face” their fear.
The Education of Jeff Smith — Follows the sexual development of a bisexual man in his early 40s. He meets a man who gives him in an incentive to explore sex with other men.
Fairy tales (Old ideas I can’t seem to make work very well)
Cinderella
Beauty and the Beast
Miscellaneous
As Time Goes By Parody — A gay version of the British comedy. Only, the reunited lovers in this version are still sexually active.
Waterloo Is the Center of the Universe — I blurted this story idea out during a trip to Galveston. It’s a series of short stories in which Waterloo Records somehow figures into the background.