Jeffrey Ricker (Author of The Unwanted)

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Jeffrey Ricker

欧宝娱乐 Author

Born

in Kailua, Hawaii, The United States

Website

Twitter

Genre

Gay & Lesbian, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction

Member Since

May 2010

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Jeffrey Ricker is the author of Detours (2011), the YA fantasy The Unwanted (2014), The Final Decree (2020), and co-author (with 鈥橬athan Burgoine and J. Marshall Freeman) of Three Left Turns to Nowhere. His stories have appeared in Foglifter, Phoebe, Little Fiction, The Citron Review, The Saturday Evening Post, and others. A 2014 Lambda Literary Fellow and recipient of a 2015 Vermont Studio Center residency, he has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and teaches creative writing at Webster University.

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People talk about "Aha!" moments. What about "I've stopped caring!" moments? Can you recall a particular instance, in writing or in life, where stopping caring was the cure? Where *letting go* jettisoned you forward, helped you get unstuck? If so, can you describe?

Jeffrey Ricker Oh, really good question, and I think I could answer it either "yes" or "no." I think that's because "letting go" doesn't necessarily mean you stop ca鈥辞谤别Oh, really good question, and I think I could answer it either "yes" or "no." I think that's because "letting go" doesn't necessarily mean you stop caring (or at least, it doesn't mean that I stop caring). It may just be that I'm not at the right point where I can finish a particular project, whether it's a story or a novel or an essay or, heck, a to-do list.

Case in point: I started writing a short story in the spring of 2014 that I was hoping to workshop in the Lambda Literary Foundation's emerging writers retreat, but it was just giving me fits. I couldn't figure out where it was going or how to get to the ending that I had in mind. The deadline for submitting my work was approaching and I knew I was going to blow it if I kept banging my head against that story, so I put it aside and finished something else that, it turned out, I had much more momentum on.

Later, when I went back to the original story, I realized my initial concept for it was kind of flawed, but that if I let go of that, I still had a story that interested me, so I've been working on it since then (when I haven't been working on other things, at least).

So yeah, I don't know if it's accurate to say that I stop caring鈥攂ut I think if a story doesn't hold your interest as a writer, you can't expect it to hold a reader's interest, right? In the case of this story (the working title is "The Empty World"), I had to let go of where I thought the story was supposed to go and figure out where the thing that I had created actually did go.

Hopefully this makes sense; thanks for asking this! It really made me think.(less)

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What are you currently working on?

Jeffrey Ricker I always seem to be working on several things at once. At the moment I'm outlining the sequel to THE UNWANTED, revising several short stories, and wor鈥辞谤别I always seem to be working on several things at once. At the moment I'm outlining the sequel to THE UNWANTED, revising several short stories, and working on two other novels.(less)

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Jeffrey Ricker鈥檚 books

Average rating: 3.9 · 788 ratings · 236 reviews · 22 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	The Unwanted 4.09 avg rating — 106 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fool For Love: New Gay Fiction by Timothy J. Lambert (Editor), 'Nathan Burgoine (欧宝娱乐 Author) (Contributor), Jeffrey Ricker (欧宝娱乐 Author) (Contributor) 3.80 avg rating — 111 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Night Shadows: Queer Horror by Greg Herren (Editor), J.M. Redmann (Editor), 'Nathan Burgoine (欧宝娱乐 Author) (Contributor) 3.49 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Three Left Turns to Nowhere by Jeffrey Ricker (欧宝娱乐 Author), J. Marshall Freeman, 'Nathan Burgoine (欧宝娱乐 Author) 3.91 avg rating — 58 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Detours 3.75 avg rating — 53 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Final Decree 4.21 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Straightening Up 3.67 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	New Normal 3.73 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maternal Instincts 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lies I Tell Myself and Others it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Jeffrey Ricker's Blog

Be like water. Water always wins.

Well, this is a fine mess, isn鈥檛 it.

At the moment I鈥檓 on the other side of the world, so I was waking up while everyone else was waiting for the polls to close and probably feeling exhausted and jittery. We were heading to the ruins of the Heraion outside of Argos, a temple to the goddess Hera, patron of the city, as it became pretty clear how the results of the election were going to break.

The He Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 07, 2024 00:02

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Jeffrey Ricker wrote a new blog post Be like water. Water always wins. Well, this is a fine mess, isn鈥檛 it.At the moment I鈥檓 on the other side of the world, so I was waking up while everyone else was waiting for the polls Read more of this blog post »
Nov 07, 2024 12:13AM · like
Jeffrey Ricker wants to read One and Done by Frederick Smith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 25, 2024 02:22PM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of One and Done by Frederick Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� One and Done by Frederick Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jeffrey Ricker rated a book it was amazing Maggie & Me by Damian Barr (欧宝娱乐 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Jeffrey Ricker finished reading We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson (欧宝娱乐 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2024 04:01PM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jeffrey Ricker has read Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei (欧宝娱乐 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2024 04:01PM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jeffrey Ricker wants to read Blackouts by Justin Torres (欧宝娱乐 Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 06, 2024 09:28AM · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of Blackouts by Justin Torres. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� Blackouts by Justin Torres <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jeffrey Ricker made a comment on What to read: Catfish Rolling, by Clara Kumagai " <3 I loved this book SO MUCH. I can't wait to see what Clara writes next. ...more "
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Untreed Reads: Enjoy STRAIGHTENING UP by Jeffrey Ricker	1	3	Dec 04, 2012 11:47AM
Untreed Reads: New LGBT Christmas Short From Jeffrey Ricker: STRAIGHTENING UP	1	1	Dec 07, 2012 12:43PM
Making Connections: 703. STRAIGHTENING UP by Jeffrey Ricker	12	82	Dec 12, 2012 04:55AM