Gabriel Hargrave is the acclaimed author of Orchid and the Lion series. when he is not writing he enjoys crochet, playing D&D, reading, and educating people about trans issues, sex, and kink. He gave us a few moments of his time to take a peak into his process and upcoming works.
Q) Your latest book It Happened One Light: Grim Reaper-cussions, is about a grim reaper who falls in love with a person who refuses to pass on, What inspired you to write the novel?
A) I started working on Light a few years ago while I was struggling with writing The Lion and the Dahlia. I’m a huge proponent of taking a step back from a project that’s not working so you can come back to it fresh and ready to tackle it again. I’ve always wanted to write a book involving the anthropomorphic personification of Death (and have a different book that I’ve been working on since college featuring a version of Death that’s very different from The Manager), so I started there. Ben and Danica grew organically from me wanting to write trans characters dealing with something that isn’t related to what’s going on in the real world, and The Manager developed as I went because I love writing characters who are exasperated with the people they’re forced to work with.
Q) You won several awards for The Lion and the Dahlia did that make it easier or harder to write your next novel?
A) It made it much harder, honestly. My goal as a writer is for my next book to be better than the ones that came before, and on top of that, I have a really hard time accepting praise and recognition. So as honored as I was to win those awards, it also made me hyper aware that I had my work cut out for me going forward. Now that the third novel in the OatL series has gone through alphas and betas and is with my critique partner, I’m confident that it’s my best work yet, but there’s still that little voice going, “But are you sure? Like, are you sure you’re sure?” LOL!
Q) Are you a plotter or a pantser?
A) I’m possibly the pantser to end all pantsers. LOL! I’ve tried plotting, and everything gets away from me, and I have to throw the whole thing out and start again. When I start a book, I have a vague idea of what I’d like to have happen, but as I discovery write, I find new roads to go down, and I follow them to see how things will turn out. If they don’t work, I go back and try again. And again. And again. LOL! Often, though, I find something beautiful, something that changes my original plans into something way better. It’s intimidating writing a series like that, but I don’t think I could write any other way. My characters know better than I do what their stories should be, and I’ve learned to trust them.
Q) Are there any queer authors you think deserve more attention?
A) Oh, gosh, so many. Andrew Slinde’s Sins of the Elders series is some of the best storytelling I’ve ever read. E.M. Harding’s Labours of Stone is one of my favorite books, and I tell everyone to read it. Juniper Lake Fitzgerald and Vesper Doom have amazing work available, as do T.G. Joye, Andrea Marie Johnson, Jayme Bean, and D.T. Brandt. I would also recommend Rory Michaelson and Lysander Arden. Their books are incredible. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful crew of writers involved in the Unapologetic Love anthologies. The first volume was released last month, and the second is coming soon. It’s a collection of unapologetically queer stories, and all the proceeds go to the ACLU.
Q) Do you have a writers group or set of beta reader that help you edit?
A) I have a small writing server that I’m in, and we alpha read for each other. I also have a wonderful critique partner that I’ve been working with since I wrote The Orchid and the Lion. On top of that, I have people who beta read for me and a proofreader who helps me clean everything up before I publish. Writing a book takes a village, and I’m really lucky to have a village full of people I love.
Q) what is your next project you are working on?
A) My critique partner and I are working our way through the third novel in the OatL series, The Dahlia and the Wizard, and I’m finishing up a novella in the same series that will be released before book three. After that, I’ll be editing Nanny Bazzy’s Guide to Not Falling in Love with Your Boss, the first in a series of queer romance novels that take place in Rochester, NY, where I spent almost 20 years of my life before moving to the Midwest. That series will be low- to no-spice and will be published under the pen name Gabriel Crawford. I’m hoping to release it later this year.
Q) If people want more information about your or your projects, where should they go?
A) They can check out my carrd: https://gabrielhargravewrites.carrd.co/.
https://gabrielhargravewrites.carrd.co/
And if they’d like to book me as an editor, they can email me at gabrielhargraveauthor@gmail.com
Final four questions we ask everyone
Q) When the zombies take over the world where will you be?
A) Hiding out at home and finally catching up on all the books on my TBR list.
Q ) What is your favorite Fandom
Oooh, that’s a good question. I’ve honestly moved away from fandoms because they tend to wind up pretty toxic after a while, but my proofreader and I are single-handedly keeping the Alias fandom alive. Leave it to the two of us to stan a show that’s been off the air for 20 years. LOL!
Q) What piece of art, be it in the form of music, a book, a film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?
Dang, this one’s hard. Actually, wait, no, I know which one. I just recently rewatched The Good Place, and it’s not just an amazing show but also a really wholesome pick-me-up. Things are awful right now, but it’s a great reminder that people are inherently people. Most aren’t entirely good or bad; they’re just doing what they can with the hand they’ve been dealt. Diving back into it has helped me to remember that we’re capable of change and growth and that things can and will turn out alright if we work together and focus on improving the world around us.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
A) I’m a skilled tarot reader, and my collection of decks keeps growing (I currently have five).
Paper Phoenix ink 