Out Western Pennsylvania author Joshua Skye should have a banner year.
Skye, 38, has seven books currently under contract and set to be released in the next year, as well as a series of short stories that will be published in anthologies in the coming months.
Skye lives in Warren, near the Allegheny River, with his partner of 15 years and their 7-year-old son.
Having a young child doesn’t make a full-time writing career easy, but Skye said he’s learned to balance his commitments.
“He’s young and likes a lot of attention so it can be pretty difficult sometimes, but my boyfriend’s been really great with taking care of things so I can focus on writing,” he said.
Skye describes his style of writing as speculative fantasy/horror and said he is largely motivated by iconic horror author Stephen King.
“I started reading Stephen King in third grade,” he said. “I actually got into trouble when I brought ‘Night Shift’ into school and got caught with it. But I didn’t get in trouble with my mother and she started buying me Stephen King books, and that really inspired me.”
Skye previously worked in the theater and indie-film industry in Texas and, most recently, left a position at a call center to devote himself exclusively to his writing pursuits.
He had a number of stories in his stockpile but was hesitant to seek a publisher, the impetus for which eventually came from his son.
“I hadn’t submitted anything for a long time because I was afraid of rejection,” he said. “I was writing ‘The Argento’ and my son asked if I would read him some, and I had to tell him it wasn’t really appropriate for his age, so he asked me to write something that was. So I started working on [novella] ‘Xerxes Canyon’ for him, and eventually decided to submit that and it was accepted by my first publisher. From then on, I had the confidence to submit my other work.”
While the content of Skye’s stories runs the gamut from adventure to erotica, most of his writing features lead characters who identify as LGBT.
“I try to create a wide spectrum of characters,” he said. “And I like to incorporate [LGBT] characters and topics as much as I can.”
Skye said he plans to continue to churn out both full-length and shorter works and is eager for LGBT and mainstream readers of speculative fiction to find resonance with his material.
“I hope that my work really connects with the audience. I’m being afforded the time to pursue this right now, which is a great opportunity, and I’m hoping to be successful and to be able to support my family.”
For more information, visit www.joshuaskye.yolasite.com.