Victoria Noe

New year, new beginnings, right? I find that some of my writing this year - will be focused on repurposing.

As you probably know, I’m deep into work on a second edition of F*g Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community. The truth is, it won’t really be a second edition; I’m not just updating what I already wrote. Instead, the new book - which still does not have a title - will actually be a new book. Because the first book necessarily leaned into stories of women who did fabulous work early in the epidemic, this one will focus on what’s happening in the HIV/AIDS community now. It will probably only go back to 2017, and will include two administrations and another worldwide pandemic: COVID. I can’t tell you much beyond that yet because I’m relying on the women I’m interviewing to shape the book. I can only guarantee it will be eye-opening. But…none of that is repurposing, is it?

That’s because while I work on this, I will be doing some preliminary work on the book that will follow that one. Yes, I’m working on two books at once, something I haven’t done since I started the Friend Grief series. Oddly enough, this book has a title - “It’s Not Like They’re Family”: Stories from the Friend Grief Series.

The original series of six little books was published between 2013 and 2016. I’ve thought about pulling them off the market because some of the stories are very out of date, so they don’t sell as well as they used to. One title is also out of date - Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of Burying Our Friends. Thirty years is now close to forty-four.

Throughout this year, I will be posting a story from the series once every month on Patreon. The first one will be posted on January 28. Every story will be from the series, but updated and/or expanded. They will all be part of the new book, but there will be a lot more than twelve. 

As usual, I needed a push to do this. But it gave me an opportunity/excuse to expand my planning beyond the end of this year. And it will give new life to the stories that meant the most to me in the series. 

You can read along with this new project only by signing on as a paid subscriber to my Patreon group. You’ll have the opportunity to comment on the stories, make suggestions or corrections. In addition, you’ll have access to all the other content there, as well as invitations to events, like the book launches of the new F*g Hags book in September and October.

If this all sounds like a lot…it is. I will need a lot of help and support along the way. Nothing I’m planning is impossible. Just…a little scary most days.

But I’m looking forward to a very busy, very productive year.