Brandon Mead

A bit late for Leo season, but still proud to announce my inclusion in the Zodiac series curated by . High Drama was written thirteen years ago and though it did win the 24-hour Short Story Contest in 2013, it sat forgotten for many years as nothing more than a digital file. When I saw the call for stories inspired by the star sign Leo, I knew my little tale about an actress seeking the warmth of the spotlight to return (by any means necessary) may have finally found a home in print. And I’m happy to at the editor agreed! I don’t get to write and submit much these days because capitalism but I wake up and fall asleep thinking about my characters. Their voice. The weird little moments I want to retell for the kind of people who smile at the absurdity. I hope to compose more of those stories soon, get them out of my brain. Until then, I hope to at least occasionally find a wonderful home for the ones sitting completed on a hard drive. Here’s to the lions who know when to sleep and living for the drama, even if you have to make it up yourself 🦁👑 ♌️🔥💅🏽 ***rwriter ♌️🦁👑 ***rauthor

Very excited to announce my publication in Issue 12 of ! The theme of this call for submissions was “Masks” and I knew right away the story I was ready to tell. “The Oracle of Delphi” is about discovering the equivalent to ancient prophecy in the line for the bathroom at a gay club. It’s about every gender in one place with a common goal: to find happiness and p*e. Possibly not in that order.

The wisdom that sometimes comes from intoxication isn’t a new concept. Our prophets have long imbibed to connect with the spiritual realm. And when you’re suffering from the kind of heartbreak not even rainbow lights cascading off a disco ball can solve, you listen for the divine. You seek fortune tellers and sage words, even when they’re coming from someone who can’t stand up in their own platform heels.

I want to thank Paris Lit Up for giving my Oracle a home in this issue. Though I could not attend to read in person for the launch in Paris, I’m proud to be among some incredibly talented writers in this collection 💜

Very excited that this anthology from () will be coming out soon and includes my story “Toppings”! I don’t want to give a lot about this one away, but I will tell you that all Feenix wants is a slice of pizza and he’ll do whatever he has to at work in order to get it.

“Toppings” is one of the more transgressive stories I’ve ever submitted for publication. And it feels right because I grew up on transgressive fiction. While kids my age were talking about Harry Potter, I was reading Chuck Palahniuk and Craig Clevenger. At summer camp, I walked around with a copy of My Secret Life under my arm. It was thicker than David Copperfield, non-linear, and contradictory, but I read every page.

When I was finding my writing voice, I knew I wanted to tell q***r stories with grit. Honest words and situations that stuck in the mind like thick brown glue behind deteriorating floral wallpaper. What I noticed as I wrote though is that I wanted my characters to have a happy ending. To find a silver lining in whatever terrible circumstance they’d found themself in. To have them look at the audience and just laugh. To make sure readers knew, it would be ok. As ok as it can be, at least.

That’s what I’m aiming for with the collection I’m working on now. Transgressive tales with a glimmer of hope. Grit with sparkle.

Until I can share more details about that, if you’re into the kind of fiction that makes your insides churn and want to take a deep dive into the adult industry, pop over to Outcast Press and keep an eye out for the publication date. I’ll definitely let you know when I have this beautiful book with this incredible cover in my hands!