Today’s post is an interview with Casey Hamilton, the author of MENAFTER10, a collection of interrelated short stories, all based around a gay hook up app. It released just a couple of months back and, if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction, you should take a look at this one. And read this interview, of course.
And, while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Casey on twitter!
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into writing?
Creative writing was always in me. Initially, I pursued screenwriting and since screenwriting is something that largely does not see the light of day unless the elusive Hollywood higher-ups greenlight a project, I felt the need to get my ideas out, whether Hollywood approved it or not, so I created a “run it and gun it” scripted web series, called Judys. It was a “comedy about drama” involving four friends and their adventures in gay Atlanta. And that was great for a while because I was creating. I was gaining an audience. I was pursuing my passion. But we had no budget. I had no crew. I was the writer, director, creator, editor, casting agent, lead actor… I was every man.
Also, although I was dedicated to doing the show and making it a vehicle to a bigger opportunity and platform, not everyone else involved with the show took it as seriously. When people didn’t show up, we couldn’t shoot. I couldn’t afford to pay people to incentivize them into taking the show seriously, either. So, basically, I got burned out. And I told myself that the next project I do, I want to be 100% in control of its success or failure because I can trust myself to put 100% into it.
Writing a book was something I always wanted to do and it seemed like a great time to do it, since I was looking to create something that wasn’t dependent on anyone that was not me.
What are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
I’m a fan of storytelling, so fiction is pretty much where I live as both a reader and writer. As a gay reader and writer, I try to avoid the abundance of stories that center around coming out, as though our complexities end at coming out of the closet. I think our complexities begin there. Being a gay man isn’t just about struggling to be accepted by society at large. It has so much to do with struggling to be accepted by other gay men.
How do you get inspiration for your books and what’s your writing process? At what point do you let other people read your drafts and who are they?
I only write things that I’m passionate about. I think that’s the greatest hack to writing because writing is hard. It’s lonely. It’s high on rejection and it’s low on pay. If you write from a place of passion, you have a fire that keeps fueling you to go on despite all the cold winds in the process that can burn you out. Thankfully, I have a lot of inspirations that come to me, but I only pursue the ones that stay with me, that make me uncomfortable, that I can’t leave this Earth without writing.
As far as my process, I believe that the book-in-progress should be a writer’s best friend. When I’m in the writing stage, I write everyday. The days I feel like crap. The days the book reads like crap. The days I think it’s the best story there ever was… I write, regardless. And the routine of it all, forms a relationship between the book, myself and the characters. When you spend that much time together, there’s an intimacy that develops and a certain level of care that goes into your characters that forces you to do right by them as a writer.
And just like a friendship, you have to be careful with outside parties, so I don’t really talk or share much about what I’m writing. Talking is talking and talking about writing ain’t writing. Besides that, people really don’t care much about a book that hasn’t been fully written yet. Even further, a book doesn’t usually start resembling something that’s actually readable until around draft two and getting to draft two can take… some time.
Which three authors would you say influenced your writing the most?
Iceberg Slim because he taught me that I could be raw, both in terms of language and subject matter, and it didn’t make me any less literary. Shirley Jackson because she made being attracted to dark material seem cool. And most of all, Gloria Naylor, because The Women of Brewster Place showed me the impact and resonance a well-written book can have on someone, particularly someone it may not have necessarily been intended for or that was born far outside of the period it was published in.
And for something that is also very important to us & what we put a lot of emphasis on when blogging. What does ownvoices LGBT representation mean to you?
I have so much respect for #ownvoices authors who write authentic stories for marginalized groups that the publishing world does not really consider a viable market for reading/sales purposes. As a Black gay author of Black gay fiction, I’m proud of myself for pursuing a story that wasn’t popular to pursue, but necessary. Black gay men influence our culture too much for them to have so few stories that depict their culture in its true color and complexity.
What’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
Trust your journey, and that’s with emphasis on the “your” because your journey isn’t supposed to look like anyone else’s. It is unique to you. The timing, the twists and turns… they are all intended for you and only you. When you realize that, you realize how pointless it is to compare yourself to someone else.
If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
This is a great question. Hmm… Never really thought about that. Luther Vandross! Am I allowed to say Luther Vandross? I’m a huge fan of vocalists and Luther being the star that he was in the time period that he was… That’s a story I need to get, honey.
Is there a famous franchise or simply a movie/TV show you’d like to be able to write for?
I wish I could write for I May Destroy You or whatever it is that Michaela Coel decides to create next. That was my favorite show of last year and it was a great depiction of how complex sexual violation is.
Rec us some great LGBT books you’ve read recently!
I’ve been on something of a reading streak lately. I just finished Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck by Joe Okonkwo, an amazing writer. This book blew me away. It subverted my expectations. It made me think, made me wonder. I strongly recommend reading it. I think it’s a very well-done piece of LGBT fiction that should be discussed as such. Also, South by Thera D. Pitts was a solid read, for those who are fans of YA with LGBT themes/subject matter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Casey Hamilton is a writer with his roots in raw, fictional storytelling. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a graduate of Southern University and A&M College, he now writes from Atlanta, Georgia. After briefly working as a freelance copywriter, Hamilton followed his passion for creative writing with his 2013 amateur debut as a YouTube content creator and star of the gay web series, Judys.
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