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Hi there! I'm a 30-year old trans girl who grew up seeking out any fantasy novels she could find, and I think Skull of Truth was the first book I ever read to openly feature a gay man as more than a quick aside or sly gag. I always thought it was really neat how you worked a discussion about queerness into your story's themes about honesty and loyalty. The Magic Shop series has probably influenced my own writing a lot more than I realize. Was the uncle's coming out always planned as part of the story, or did it develop organically when you were looking for ways the skull's power could cause mischief?
Reply by Bruce Coville
That's a great question. I approach different books in different ways - sometimes with a full outline, sometimes with just a concept and a vague idea of where I'm going. The Uncle Bennie strand of the story rose organically when I was working on the dinner/disaster scene.
It was groundbreaking for the reason you mention, but also because it did not dominate the story. There were a few books with gay characters, but they were "problem novels" where the whole book was structured around the issue. To the best of my knowledge this was the first MG novel where the gay character was essential to the story, but was not the central issue of the book, just a part of the matrix of Charlie's life.
BC
It was groundbreaking for the reason you mention, but also because it did not dominate the story. There were a few books with gay characters, but they were "problem novels" where the whole book was structured around the issue. To the best of my knowledge this was the first MG novel where the gay character was essential to the story, but was not the central issue of the book, just a part of the matrix of Charlie's life.
BC