5 days ago
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure Preface
Preface 
During my teen years, I wrote several science fiction and fantasy stories. Most of those got lost during moves, but one of them grew into the novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, which led to the sequel Sons of Taldra. I occasionally tried to develop a novel from my 1983 fantasy story “The Return of Innocence.”
The novel, however, remained unfinished for years, still a sketchy jumble of drafts and notes with potential. I eventually considered cowriting it with a fantasy author. When I mentioned the idea to my friend Toni Davis, she decided to read through some of the chapters and quickly fell in love with my fantasy world of Theln. Toni mostly wrote poetry and fan fiction back then, but wanted to explore new characters.
Toni brought fresh perspectives to a long-neglected project by interjecting ideas, fleshing out characters, and exposing flaws. Unfortunately, work and her own projects took her away from Theln. Eventually, I combined our ideas to write a complete draft. Though the finished book only includes a little of her writing, it also contains her inspiration, and I appreciate her efforts in making sure I could finish Sasha Varov’s story. I revised the novel in 2017.
Duane Simolke, Lubbock, Texas
Saturday, June 13, 2009
We’re Glad Our Son Is Gay
The following excerpt comes from the revised, second edition of my novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.
The planet Valchondria seems advanced and remarkably humane in many ways. But the government regulates people's weight, reproduction, theology, actions, and speech; the government also forbids travel and contact beyond Valchondria's atmosphere. A charismatic leader called "Gazer" leads the cult of Degranon; he promises change, but at a violent and oppressive cost. In between these two dystopias (failed Utopias), we find Taldra and Hachen, striving to make a better world for their twin sons. Obviously, the book raises many social issues, but it often does so in humorous or exciting ways. This scene obviously pokes fun at the ridiculous Earth tradition known as "homophobia," but it still has some scary overtones. (The Valchondrians use "same-gendered" in place of the words “gay” or “homosexual.”)
Her gray eyes sparkled like no eyes Hachen had ever seen. Actually, she had broken the law by secretly telling him that her eyes were light brown, but, unlike his gifted spouse, he couldn’t see in color. He couldn’t even see the redness of her skin, though he knew from history class that most people on Valchondria have red, brown, or black skin, and some of the people who had once lived there had yellow or white skin. To him, everyone simply looked white or black.
During history classes, before the Maintainers expunged certain anti-glory facts from the school curriculum, Hachen had learned about how white-skinned people and yellow-skinned people faded from existence. After the Supreme Science Council realized that those two races contracted certain illnesses that no one else contracted, they worked with the Maintainers to pass a constitutional amendment, banning any two members of those races from marrying. The measure supposedly protected Valchondria’s families and stability. Within three generations, both races ceased to exist; only the red, black, and brown races remained obvious, or some mixture of the three.
That time in Valchondria’s history brought outcries of shame, and the government vowed to never again use the law to promote bigotry. But then, little more than a hundred years later, the SSC found that obesity caused many illnesses, adding to increased national healthcare costs. So another constitutional amendment passed, this one allowing the Maintainers to fine people for not keeping a healthy height-to-weight ratio.
And after the virus came, the Maintainers and the SSC passed yet another constitutional amendment that promoted discrimination. That one made the ridiculous assertion that discussing colorsightedness posed a heavy hazard threat to traditional values, and that claiming to be colorsighted was nothing more than a plea for so-called “special rights.” It amazed Hachen that a civilized culture could keep taking away people’s civil rights. It also hurt him, because the woman he loved was the target of that bigotry.
And the new forms of bigotry kept emerging. Next came legally permitted language, initially called “socially recommended rhetoric,” creeping slowly into schools and the media and then into the law. And then Maintainer cameras came. And freedom left. All in the names of preserving traditional Valchondrian values. All suffocating Valchondrian creativity, thought, and progress.
Hachen clasped the slender hand that reached toward the tiny person in the infant pod that was attached to the bed.
“I’ll get him,” said Hachen. He gently lifted the pale infant, who was wrapped in a white cloth as soft and warm as his skin.
“I was hoping to be able to say ‘them.’” She accepted the crying child into her arms, and he grew quiet as she rocked him back and forth.
“We had to work quickly. It’s bad enough we’re violating the codes. We can’t jeopardize Geln’s career as well as our own.”
“I know, Hachen. I just wanted a chance to see them both. I can’t believe I passed out during the birth.”
“I think those mind relaxants had something to do with it. I’m just glad no other healers came in. No one knows except for you, me, and Geln.”
“Wouldn’t the gossip masters love this story? ‘Leading scientists discover a rift in time and transport illegal twin into the past. Check your collector for details.’” She rubbed the tiny infant’s red face, and he seemed to smile. “Is this Argen, or Telius?”
“Argen,” said Hachen, sitting down on the edge of the bed. They had agreed on given names for the twins long before Taldra even started showing. “They’re identical. I performed a genetic scan; they’re both healthy and of potentially high intellect. Telius will need that to survive in his primitive environment.”
“But you said the village is peaceful. Hachen, where are we sending our baby?”
“Someplace where he at least has a chance.” Hachen had never seen her look so vulnerable before, like anyone could crush her with a touch. Before, she always projected herself as brave and outspoken, sometimes even reckless, but he could tell becoming a mother would change her. Somehow, she seemed less courageous but more protective. He tried to think of words to reassure her. “The village is peaceful. I just meant that he won’t have all the luxuries and protections we have. He’ll be like…well, like a colonist.”
The look of worry gave way to one of wonder. “I like that analogy.” She smiled at the baby who slept in her arms. “Maybe one day, we’ll all be on one colony together, the four of us.”
“That sounds nice. To the side, the genetic scan also showed that they’re both same-gendered.” Hachen used the term with pride, and Taldra smiled with the same pride. At least no one ever came up with the crumbled idea of discriminating against people who identified romantically and emotionally with members of their own gender. No culture could ever be that rusted, he told himself, but then thought again of how utterly ridiculous he saw all other forms of bigotry; none of it made sense. Discrimination and prejudice never made any sense at all to Hachen.
Holding Me Together, featuring Reactions to Homophobia
SWS Pride in the Arts For The Record Award! Reactions to Homophobia counters anti-gay comments (“Adam and Steve," “Sodom and Gomorrah,” “special rights,” “cures,” etc.). The revised, second edition of Holding Me Together begins with an updated version of Reactions to Homophobia, followed by poems and short essays on a variety of topics, such as writing, AIDS, religion, racism, violence, friendship, family, and gay relationships. It also includes many new or newly revised essays and poems.
Table of Contents
Part One: Reactions to Homophobia, An Essay
Reactions to Homophobia: Introduction. “Unlike gay people, I don't tell people what my wife and I do in bed.” “They can be gay, as long as they hide it.” “If a normal guy or a white guy gets beat up, hate crimes laws can't help him. That isn't fair.” “I’m not queer, so why I should care about those people?” “We shouldn't have to see gays when we watch TV or movies.” “I would accept gays, but I believe in family values.” “Family members spending time with their gay relatives would suggest that they endorse that lifestyle.” “They live that gay lifestyle.” “It's an insult to African Americans to compare being gay to being black.” “The parts don't fit.” “If we weren't so tolerant of gays, there wouldn't be any.” “I wouldn't mind gays if it weren't for them checking me out.” “Having gay parents makes children gay.” “Gay people should try to be cured.” “Homosexuality is a mental illness.” “If everyone were gay, we'd stop having children, and die out.” “You deserve what happens to you, because you choose to be gay.” “Accepting homosexuality destroyed empires like Greece and Rome, and even led to the Holocaust.” “They recruit.” “They just haven't met the right person of the opposite sex yet.” “Gays can't adopt, because their children will get teased, and that isn't fair.” “God sent AIDS to the homosexuals because He loves His children and wants to turn them back to Him.” “God didn't create Adam and Steve.” “The Bible says it's wrong.” “The Bible says God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of gays.” “I love the sinner, hate the sin.” “Anyone who condones homosexuality can’t be religious or moral.” “We can't allow gay marriages, because tradition protected heterosexual marriage and reproduction for thousands of years.” “Public schools need to quit hiring gays and quit promoting homosexuality.” “Gays can't serve in the military, because that would disrupt efficiency.” “Surveys prove gays are a much smaller number than they claim, that their average lifespan is 44 years, and that they have 5000-15,000 partners per year.” “Homosexuals are just a bunch of men dressing up like women.” Reactions to Homophobia: Conclusion. Resources for Reactions to Homophobia.
Part Two: Poems and Short Essays Home. Chasing Seagulls. Rainbow. How “Children in the Streets” Wrote Itself. Children in the Streets. Children in the Streets (Song Version). Friday Afternoon Spectrum. Reception. Album. Can God Cure You? Digging Up “The Gardener.” The Gardener. second year. Separated. Angels and Razors. Question. Faces, Parts I-VII. Process. Songs In Sign Language. Forgotten. Sock Poem. Higher Education. Haiku. TV Senyru. Not Worth Dying Over. Siblings, Ten Voices. Homeless, I: Cities Don't Build People. Homeless, II: Also. Family. Ex-Gay? Part I: Cocoon. Ex-Gay? Part II: The Ex-Me Movement. Ex-Gay? Part III: Who Does God Hate? Spiral Staircase. Violence. Storm. The Escape Artist. Daughter. The Same Lips. Pharisee. The Loss. Adding to the Hurt. Bareback. Success. Spelunker. Out Of the Closet. The John Doe Family. Family Reunion. A Great American Voice. Anne Bradstreet. Cycle. Cross. Hero. Two Rapes. If: A Satire. The Bible and Gays. Tonight’s Wind. Denial. Undetected. Elephant on an Opera Stage. Detour. Editing.
More About the Author and His Works.
Dann Hazel used Reactions to Homophobia as one of the resources for his book Witness: Gay and Lesbian Clergy Report from the Front. Kris Coonan, UQ Union, University of Queensland, used it as a resource for his article Sexual Prejudice: Understanding Homophobia and Heterosexism, Biphobia and Transphobia. The Queensland Government's Community Benefit Fund and PFLAG Brisbane used it as a resource for the PDF booklet Assisting Those Who Come Into Regular Contact with Lesbian and Gay Youth.
“By killing yourself, intentionally or through unsafe sex, you call yourself worthless and expendable. How can you think of a human being that way? Quit punishing yourself for the bigotry in society. Refuse to help the cause of homophobia. Take care of yourself. Learn to love yourself and protect yourself. See yourself and your partner as worth protecting. Treat safer sex as an act of defiance and gay pride, a statement about your love for yourself, a statement about the value of your life. Treat living each day as a tear in the fabric of bigotry.”
From Not Worth Dying Over, an essay in Holding Me Together. Copyright 1999/2005 Duane Simolke. Paul Harris quotes that passage in the book From Our Own Lips: The Book of GLBT Quotations. Minnie Van PileUp (the pseudonym of a writer who lives in Boston) quotes the same passage in The Quotable Queer: Fabulous Wit and Wisdom from the Gays, the Straight, and Everybody In-Between.
Mountman, a reviewer for StoneWall Society, has created animated versions of two poems from Holding. Visit MS Agent Pages for the software and links. (Note: the poems are earlier versions, and slightly different from how they appear in Holding’s 2nd Edition.)
Artist Roger Beauchamp created Team Leviticus, artwork based on Reactions to Homophobia.
Rainbowslash created the video He Holds Me Together for Home, one of the poems from Holding Me Together.
StoneWall Society used my books The Acorn Stories and Holding Me Together for spoken word readings during its Pride in the Arts Festival (Virginia, 2006).
Excerpts from Amazon.com reader reviews of Holding Me Together’s first edition follow.
“In his exploration of what it is to be gay, Simolke manages to touch on a more fundamental truth: what it is to be human.” –Watchword
“If I had a magic wand, I would put this book in the hands of all our gay or questioning youth.” –author, painter, dancer Copernicus again
“In the long essay, ‘Reactions to Homophobia,’ readers will meet an intelligent and patient narrator who takes virtually every ignorant question and misstatement seemingly ever made about gays and lesbians and, as though speaking to those who ask such questions or make disparaging remarks about homosexuals, refutes the ignorance.” –author Ronald L. Donaghe
(Referring to the poems…) “My personal favorite is the aptly titled ‘Home’, which also provides the book's title. ‘Home’ describes the presence and the touch of a lover as ‘holding me together’. ” –James Whitney
In a review that previously appeared at QMediaReviews.com, critic Shawn Revelle called the revised, second edition of my book Holding Me Together “an inspiring and timely collection of works.” Revelle went on to share details about the book, which he also called “a worthwhile and life-affirming read.”
If you like my writing, please support it by ordering one of my books for yourself or someone else.
Read about Holding Me Together at bn.com, Amazon, Am.ca, Am.uk, Fishpond.co.au, or Fishpond.co.nz.
Also available, the short eBook Selected Poems includes the gay love poem “Home,” the strange story of “The Gardener,” and the comical “Angels and Razors,” as well as thirty other poems from Holding Me Together.
@dsimolke Holding Me Together: Essays and Poems #booktok #booktoker #LGBTQbooks #fictionbooks #poems #poetry #fictionwriter #lgbtqwriter #lgbtqauthor💙💚💛🧡❤️💜 #reading #writing #authorsoftiktok #writersoftiktok #bookrecs #bookrecs📚 ♬ Sky Aesthetic - Tollan Kim
Holding Me Together reflects my journey from internalized homophobia to embracing diversity. I wrote honestly about feelings and observations. Creativity led to positivity.
“Hateful knee-jerk phrases can stick in your mind, like a worn-out song you never liked in the first place, but you should learn to see yourself as beautiful and wonderful.” 🏳️🌈 Video.
“Treat other people’s insecurities as their weakness, not as a reason to hate yourself or remain silent.” 🏳️🌈 Video.
“Try to inform others and get along with others, but never base self-acceptance on whether others accept you.” 🏳️🌈 Video.
Please support my work by ordering one of my books for yourself or someone else.
Entry revised on 10/23/2022.
I've moved my links here. Please note that my GeoCities site will soon close. If you have links or bookmarks to me there, please change them to my permanent domain name.
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Friday, June 12, 2009
The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure
BookTok: Maybe the Right Girl Video
Sometimes, going home is the most dangerous adventure of all!
The Return of Innocence blends humor and romance with exciting fantasy action. Visit Theln, a planet of magic, dragons, nobility, and heroes. Sasha Varov was born into a noble home in the Thelni kingdom of Jaan, but Sasha’s father dared to oppose the king’s sorcerer, Wuhrlock. Sasha and her family became exiles on a desolate island.
At sixteen, Sasha left her island home to buy seeds in Jaan. She stumbled into a series of misadventures that ended with the death of Wuhrlock and made Sasha a legend, known as “Innocence.” Never mind that the legend barely resembled the truth, or that Sasha caught Wuhrlock in an unguarded moment. When Sasha returned for more seeds, the people of Jaan expected her to defeat a much more ruthless and powerful sorcerer.
I wrote the short story “The Return of Innocence” in 1983. With contributions by Toni Davis, I later developed it into a novel. As with all of my books, it includes gays and people of color. I released a revised eBook in 2018.
Kayla’s Reads and Reviews, referring to Sasha Varov, “I think YA fantasy needs more heroines like her.”
“This was a really fun fantasy book. I loved the world Simolke created, because it has the traditional ‘medieval’ sort of feel what with how it took place in villages where people bartered and traded, but it had many modern elements that I appreciated.” –Shawn C. Sproatt, author of The Misfit of Supernatural High (Supernatural High Series)
“As an avid Simolke reader, one way I judge a book is that I want to know more about the characters that are introduced to me. ‘The Return of Innocence’ is one of those books. (Duane, take the hint.)” –Joe Wright, for StoneWall Society
“In 'The Return of Innocence', Duane Simolke once again proves his writing mastery.” –Mark Kendrick, author of Stealing Some Time
“Not your typical swashbuckler.” –Bob Medak, for Allbooks Reviews
“An engrossingly successful story-teller.” –William Maltese, author of Beyond Machu
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- The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: 12/8/06: Simolke's fantasy novel up for award
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