Why it Matters — I have always been an avid reader, since the day when I was four years old and a little phonics segment on Sesame Street clicked with me. By the time I was six, I was reading full-length novels, like A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Since I mostly…

Homophobia in social media advertising — I have been running Facebook ads on and off ever since I published my first novel in 2018. I’ve occasionally run into issues with their advertising review team, but none as seemingly insurmountable as what I’ve just experienced. Why was I running Facebook ads? Over the years, I experimented with boosted posts from my Facebook author’s…

Writing our own voices — I began writing fiction in 2015 and published my first novel in 2018. I’ve mostly written gay erotic romance stories featuring gay, cisgender men. When Amazon announced their new writing platform, Kindle Vella, in early 2021, I decided to dip my toe in the water and write a gay, transgender…

How my celebrity crushes kept me in the closet — Almost everyone forms a crush on a celebrity during their lifetime. There are exceptions, but most people I know have had at least one celebrity crush, and I’ve had my fair share. The earliest celebrity crushes I can remember having were on Sean Cassidy and Parker Stevenson from the Hardy…

What I’ve learned, what’s improved, what still needs work — Amazon’s serial writing platform, Kindle Vella, officially launched in July 2021. As a self-published author on Amazon, they invited me to try this new platform last year. After one month, I wrote a piece on the pros and cons, and how I envisioned myself using Kindle Vella in the future. Kindle Vella: Pros and Cons A review of the new Amazon writing platformmedium.com

The backlash against queer people is getting worse — Pride Month each year brings with it an interesting mix of genuine support for the LGBTQ+ community, corporate greed in the guise of performative allyship, and blatant queer phobia across the spectrum. As both a gay and transgender man, I run into both transphobia and homophobia quite often. Celebrating Pride June is…

An update on my transition journey — Four years ago, I started my medical transition by receiving my first injection of testosterone. The journey has had mostly ups and a few minor downs. I’m writing this as a follow-up to the article I wrote back in 2019 when I hit my first year on testosterone. FTM Transition: My First Year on Testosterone Two years ago, I began my transition journey. It began with my social transition, when I came out to my close friends…glbalend.medium.com

My continued journey of self-discovery — I have written a lot about my transition journey over the past few years. What I hadn’t mentioned in all my writing until now were my struggles with social interactions, sensory issues, and other signs that made me suspect I was autistic. Instead, I waited until I could undergo an…

I’m getting too old for this — Everywhere I turn on social media, regardless of my intentions, I’m finding members of Generation Z either upset with what I’ve said or attempting to gatekeep me out of a particular community, merely because of my age. I’m a member of Generation X, and I was born in the 1970s…