Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Waterways by Kyell Gold Kyell says: Waterways came about through an odd series of circumstance, starting with me joining the now-defunct eroticfurrywriting group. I did not set out to write an inspirational text for young gay furries, but "coming to terms" (as opposed to coming-of-age) has always been a theme of my writing, and that naturally came to the fore in Kory's story. I've been surprised and touched by the number of people who have taken strength and inspiration from this story. I appreciate all the letters I've received from all of you about it. Waterways by Kyell Gold. Here are a few questions I get asked pretty often. If you want to ask me anything else, check out my Contact page for my contact info. Will you read my story? Correct your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In your first draft, you can be sloppy. You should not be showing your first draft around. Anything you show someone from whom you want a professional opinion should be as professional as you can make it. Read your story aloud to yourself. Not in your head. Out loud. Read it to a friend, if that will help. You'd be amazed at what sounds fine on paper but ridiculous out loud. Write down in one sentence what your story's about. It can be a long sentence. For example: "Waterways is the journey of a young otter coming to grips with his newly realized sexuality." Or "Volle is about a young spy learning to think with his head as well as his sheath." If you can't do this, maybe your story needs to be more focused. Read a lot more fiction. Not just online, not just furry, not just science fiction. By reading what other people are doing, you'll become a better writer. Post your story online and ask for critiques. There are plenty of writers there who will be happy to tell you what they like and what they don't. None of them will be 100% right, but they will all be worth listening to. All books written by me (as opposed to "X," which is just edited by me) are or will be available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Books, and on Apple's iBookstore. My publisher (Sofawolf Press) prefers to keep the books print-only for a certain period of time before releasing the e-book edition. You can always check when print and e-book editions are coming out at my Publication Dates page. Check my contact page to see upcoming confirmed appearances. I usually will not confirm an appearance until I have plane tickets bought, which is usually two to three months before the convention. On a year-to-year basis, the conventions I try to attend regularly are: Further Confusion, Furry Fiesta, Emerald City Comic-Con, Furry Weekend Atlanta, Comic-Con International, Rocky Mountain Fur Con, and RainFurrest. I have also had a great time at ConFurgence, Camp Feral, EuroFurence, OklaCon, Gaylaxicon, and Midwest FurFest, and as time permits, I will get back to those. There are many other conventions I would love to visit for the first time, and if time permits, I might make it to them. And of course, if a convention invites me to be a Guest of Honor (or Honour), I will definitely be there. Sofawolf.com or FurPlanet.com are my main publishers, and both sell books on their sites. You can also buy print books from Amazon and furry distributors such as Blackpaw.de, Bookshelf Bear, and Rabbit Valley. For a complete run-down on where to buy books and how it affects me money-wise, see my blog entry on that topic. Read. Never stop exploring new stories, new styles. Go back and re-read old favorites to see how your favorite authors achieve the effects you love. What is it about their descriptions, their dialogue, their characters that moves you? Write. Get your story out. Write that first draft. Go back and edit it. Don't be afraid of criticism, and don't take it too harshly when it comes. Keep writing. Keep writing. Keep writing. There are a few more tips at my Ten Things You Can Do To Improve Your Writing page. I appear periodically at conventions and usually have scheduled signing times there. If you see me wandering around and not particularly busy, feel free to come up and chat, and if you have a book I will likely be happy to sign it. Once or twice a year I will do signings for books sold through Sofawolf or FurPlanet so keep an eye out for those. By all means, send me a note! I love to talk writing. Check the convention dealer list. If Sofawolf, FurPlanet, Rabbit Valley, Bookshelf Bear, or Blackpaw are on the list, then you will likely be able to find my book there. If I am attending the convention, you will likely be able to find my book there. Newly-released books will generally continue to be sold at conventions following their release, as publishers like to make money that way. If you have a question about a specific older title, contact the dealer who is coming to the convention to make sure they will have it. I am not ruling anything out, but none is planned at the present time. Kory's story has a definite arc and has--for the moment--reached an end. There will be other stories in the Forester Universe, and they or others from their story may appear in future books. The fifth and last book, "Over Time," came out at Further Confusion 2016 and is on sale at Sofawolf in print and Bad Dog Books as an e-book (wider distribution March 1, 2016). There will likely be at least a collection of side stories that didn't fit in the novels (including the bonus stories, for you softcover collectors) and another novel, so this world is by no means done. Dev and Lee probably have at least one more novel in them. My personal and business goal for my stories is to get them into the hands of as many people as possible. ALWAYS assume that my novels, at least, will be published in as many forms as I can manage. Patreon is a great way to give people sneak peeks at a work in progress--whose goal is to be eventually published. YES, all my print books will be published as e-books. YES, I am investigating audiobooks, though that's not something that I can do alone so it's not always possible. . Sometime in the future. I don't like pinning myself down to specific dates unless the book is more or less done and nearly off to the publisher, though sometimes I plan releases for certain conventions. Keep an eye on my FA/blog/Twitter or subscribe to my newsletter to be kept up to date on the release dates as I talk more about them. When I do have firm dates for release (including e-books and audiobooks), I will post them on my website . Keep an eye on my blog or subscribe to my newsletter, where I always talk about my upcoming projects. I'd really rather not, not because I think it's not a good idea, but because I don't want to accidentally crib someone's idea in a future book. If we come up with the same idea independently, but you never told it to me, then you can just be happy we think alike. :) As for commissions, I won't say I never do them, but I only do them under extraordinary circumstances. If you can pay off my mortgage, then let's talk. :) Currently, everything published after "Waterways" (with the exception of "Shadow of the Father") has illustrations in the e-books, I think. For the older ones, I own the text rights but not the image rights. I'm negotiating with the artists to be able to include images in the books, but it takes some work and re-formatting of books. Waterways by Kyell Gold. Kory was having enough trouble in high school. His girlfriend just dumped him, his poetry made him a target for ridicule, and college applications were looming. The very last thing he needed was to fall in love with another boy. Waterways is the complete novel from award-winning author Kyell Gold that includes his beloved story "Aquifers". Join Kory as his feelings and faith collide, washing away the life he knew. His brother Nick, friends Samaki and Malaya, and Father Joe are there to help, but it's Kory who has to navigate the thrills and perils of the new waterways that make up his life. At stake? Nothing much — just a chance at true love and happiness. And he still has to graduate from high school. Winner of the 2008 Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Novel! Cover and interior illustrations by John Nunnemacher. The 10th Anniversary Hardcover edition. It has been ten years since Kyell Gold released the novel Waterways, and to celebrate this anniversary we are proud to present Kory and Samaki's story for the first time in a hardcover edition. The original text has been updated and revised by the author and the new edition features two new short stories featuring Nick, Malaya, Kory, and Samaki. Waterways is a romance novel intended for an adult audience only and contains some explicit sexual scenes of a primarily Male/Male nature. It is not for sale to persons under the age of 18. Reader's Boulevard. "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." Review: “Waterways” by Kyell Gold. “To any gay teens who feel like they can’t keep their head above the water. Remember: you’re an otter. You can swim.” To conclude LGBT Pride Month, I’m going to review a book I’ve actually ben wanting to talk about on Reader’s Boulevard for a while. It’s actually the first Kyell Gold novel and first furry fiction I’ve read, and it really influenced me as a writer and as a member of the fandom. This book would lead me to be writing anthropomorphic animals in my written works, and I am proud to talk about Kyell Gold’s first installment into his collection of novels, short stories, and novellas set in his fictional Forrester Universe, “Waterways”. At Number #1 from last week’s ‘Top 10 LGBT YA Novels I Recommend’ List , you’re still probably wondering why this is at the top of the list, am I right? Well, allow me to start from the beginning. Set in the Forrester Universe’s equivalent of Milwaukee, “Waterways” is about a teenage otter named Kory Hedley, a young religious teen who had just broken up with his high school girlfriend and is being teased for being published as a poet. Escaping to the municipal pool for peace of mind and to swim, Kory literally bumps into another teenager named Samaki Roden, this one an intellectual black fox with a sense of humor. After a few apologies and exchanging numbers, the two become quick friends despite the fact Samaki is gay and Kory’s mother is religiously strict. As time goes by, Kory suddenly begins to have weird dreams and becomes conflicted between his feelings for the fox and how he and his little brother Nick have been taught about homosexuality as Christians. However, that doesn’t stop him and Samaki from becoming a couple, and from this Kory opens up to a world and hidden part of himself he never knew existed. After that, everything changes. Secrets are revealed, unique friends are made, old friends are lost, family members become divided, and the young otter’s life he knew changes forever as college comes closer. However, will this end happily and with a conclusion Kory and Samaki can be contempt with? Does the author like to split the book into only three VERY LONG chapters and a small epilogue? To answer the second question: yes. I should probably bring up a small complaint that some people have for the novel, and it’s the format style Mr. Gold went with. “Waterways” doesn’t have chapters, and is split into three sections meant to symbolize Kory’s journey called “Aquifers”, “Streams” and “Oceans” followed by an epilogue. The reasoning for this is because the first section actually started off as an online story, and Kyell later decided to expand it to 300 pages. It’s not a terrible idea as it makes each section feel like a stand-alone epic, but it may irk a few readers. With that said, where do I honestly start? Despite the story itself not being original, what makes “Waterways” the LGBT book I highly recommend is how Kyell Gold writes so many simple but powerful elements into this novel. He brings us two characters, one who is a self-assured teenager from a poorer family and the other a religious upper-middle class teen who doesn’t know how to deal with the fears and confusion he is feeling. And the driving force of the entire story are these two characters. Kory is an amazingly likeable narrator, whom anyone can relate to despite not even being human. He’s well-spoken, but hates to show off. He’s a firm believer in God and the Bible, but doesn’t stop his curiosity from being a rule-breaker and having an average life. He’s kind, but has limits, and sometimes lets his emotions control him, sometimes for the best and worst moments. And much like his species, he often likes to swim past dangers while treading through life’s unpredictable storms without being noticed. However, even with a personality like his, you can relate to Kory 100% as he is going through this journey, especially if you’re religious. Speaking of which, that remind me of another good quality: his character and his beliefs. What really pisses me off when it comes to authors writing Christian characters is that they sometimes make their religious views their personality and that’s it. Like any fictional person in a ‘Pure Flix’ film, instead of coming off as perfect, they come off as bland and stereotyped. Kory Hedley is what makes a good Christian character; he evolves with society and himself. Forget that he’s gay or that he’s an anthropomorphic otter: this is a great character that Christian readers can relate to even if Kyell pulled the coming out story behind it. He may be a Christian teenager, but he’s still a teenager that does reckless things. He goes to see R-rated movies, jokes about how bad they are with Samaki, hangs out with friends at some clubs, and has sexual tension like any other young man, but at the same time he doesn’t like to swear and goes to church on Sundays. Then we have Samaki, who is probably one of my most favorite furry characters of all time. This foxy young man (pun intended) has a personality that shines across every page he appears in and infects you with how confident and charismatically kind he can be. I mean this is a teenager who lives in a sketchy neighborhood, lives in a small house with only a few bedrooms, and is born into a low-income family of two working parents and four other rambunctious siblings. Even so, he’s only happy to be alive and breathe the air. And when he isn’t running track or working hard in school, he’s either reading or working on scholarships. Even so, he isn’t perfect; Samaki’s stubborn, but empathetic to others, he’s polite but can be frustrated, and is carefree but serious when it comes to either his relationships or schoolwork. The way he and Kory work off each other is also just adorable His design is wonderful as well, giving off this mature but young sense of adolescence that’s reminiscent of Kory. In fact, the artist who got to do the cover and illustrations inside is amazing! Quick note: his name is John Nunnemacher (aka ‘Cooner’ in the furry fandom), and the way he drew the characters showcases their personalities and quirks. It makes me wish if he and Kyell would ever work again for future projects. Kory’s mother is also interesting. Whenever she’s on the page, Mrs. Hedley is like a cheerful yet pessimistic single mother who acts like she wants to be in control of everything around her. It’s even creepier the way she acts calmly when Kory comes out to her, and talks to him about ‘pray the gay away’ camps like her son’s going through nothing more than a temper tantrum. I wonder if Kyell will ever write something more about her back story. To everyone who has read the book, my favorite side characters are your favorite side characters. I love Kory’s supportive and wise little brother Nick, I love Kory’s womanizing best friend (also an otter) named Sal, I love Samaki’s funny and witty fox family (especially his parents XD), I love Kory’s liberally religious pastor named Father Joe, and I laugh my ass off whenever Kory and Samaki’s friend Malaya (a lesbian bat with a cynical sense of humor) is in a scene with them. These characters are very memorable and leave an impression on you no matter how many times you read “Waterways”. I don’t know whether it’s because of their witty lines, their dialogue, or even their personalities, but these are the types of people that each have their own interesting story. The only character I have a small complaint about would have to go to Kory’s ex-girlfriend named Jenny, and how she doesn’t even make an appearance in the story. We hear about her in conversations, but Kyell literally could’ve just written Kory being single and it wouldn’t change a thing. We don’t even see her at the climax of the novel. Still, that’s a small nitpick. The way Kyell Gold writes this world is very reminiscent of today’s world. When he isn’t making painfully obvious puns (‘Schwarzenotter’? Really?), Mr. Gold creates a world where politics and American urban life blend together with anthropomorphic citizens. He even incorporates how species would work in a city and how they’d live, such as having Kory’s family live in a house with waterways as halls, having poorer neighborhoods turn the streets lights for nocturnal animals, and a multi-climate controlled homeless shelter for gay teenagers called the Rainbow Center Kory and Samaki eventually volunteer at. It’s sort of like Disney’s Zootopia on paperback. Another great thing about “Waterways” is how it brings up so many topics without going into too much analysis, such as identity, college, homeless youth, sexuality, change, teenage rebellion, teenage angst, teenage love, and especially social classes and segregation (much like how real-life Milwaukee is very segregated). The way the book even optimistically explains how relationships, both sexual and friendly, can end without seeming uber-preachy. That reminds me…I should probably warn you that even though this is a novel primarily for young adults, it does have sexual scenes between Kory and Samaki, yes sexual scenes between an anthropomorphic fox and an anthropomorphic otter. Granted it shouldn’t be a surprise to some readers, but then again this does have furries as the main characters and it can make some incredibly uncomfortable. They’re not long though, and unlike other LGBT books that exploit sex, “Waterways” has sexual scenes to show how Kory becomes more comfortable around Samaki and his sexuality. In the words of furry entertainer Uncle Kage, “Sex is a plot device, not a plot.” Written beautifully and enriched with fantastic characters enduring complex issues, “Waterways” is a powerful story of coming to terms with your sexuality, and how it impacts your life, your religious beliefs, and your relationships. We follow Kory as he begins a gay relationship with his first boyfriend, and treads the waters as he accepts his sexuality. And what makes this seemingly unoriginal story work is how likeable the main and side characters are. It makes the journey even more refreshing when we read the epilogue, and how optimistic yet wary the future seems for Samaki and Kory. There’s a quote Father Joe makes to Kory when he asks him about God and sexuality. I dare won’t tell it, but let’s just say it perfectly sums up the feel of “Waterways” and how a gay person should feel when it comes how God may feel about who they are. I’m not going to act like this is a literary masterpiece or Kyell Gold’s magnum opus, but the stuff that’s good in this is really, really good. If you ever have the time, read “Waterways”, and be prepared to be entertained, sad, happy, and relieved at the final page. The book can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/2K5pEC1. The illustrations presented on here were illustrated by John Nunnemacher (aka ‘cooner’) respectively. If you want to check out more of his art, here’s a link to his website Waterways. Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's " 1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger) Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light. The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours. " 1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless. The Basis of the Oscar-Winning Best Adapted Screenplay A New York Times Bestseller A USA Today Bestseller A Los Angeles Times Bestseller A Vulture Book Club Pick. An Instant Classic and One of the Great Love Stories of Our Time. Andre Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.