Today we’d like to introduce you to Waide Riddle.
Waide, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been writing poetry, stories, and journaling all my life. I won my first writing award in 1977 when writing for my junior high school paper, Northbrook Junior High, in Houston, Texas. I wrote the movie reviews. Fast forward… earlier in 2023, I self-published 3 paperbacks: “A Grieving Man,” “Meet Me At Third And Fairfax!,” and “The Little Boy In The Little Red Dress.” I’m very proud of that accomplishment. Now, for the year 2024, I’ve been writing 9 micro-short stories, 10-minute stage plays, and 10-minute radio plays. All 9 should be up on my Amazon Author Page by the end of the summer!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
While caregiving my grandmother, Paula Wagner, in Belton, Texas, in 2012, I had a spinal accident. She had just passed away, and then my injury. It was awful. Everything in my life abruptly stopped. Halted. Having no support system, I had to come back to Los Angeles and start over. It was one of the lowest points in my life. I had no money, transportation, employment, housing… I found myself in line at the social services department on Wilshire Blvd. and at the LGBT Los Angeles Center for medical attention. THAT was seriously a major turning point in my life. When I put a period at the end of the sentence in my life’s chapter and then started a new chapter and new page in a matter of minutes and hours. I had no other choice or option.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When I received the coveted “GET IT!” checkmark from Kirkus Book Reviews for my book, “They Crawl On Walls,” it put me on Barnes & Noble’s radar, like, overnight! Several of my titles can now be found at B & N. I’m thrilled! “They Crawl On Walls” is an LGBT Young Adult short story in paperback. What sets it apart from other current books is the fact I wrote it in 2012 when caring for my grandmother in Belton, Texas. I keep my fingers crossed because I would love to see “They Crawl On Walls” in every junior high and high school library in America. That’s how confident I am about the story. That’s how good the story is. Am I being overly self-assured? No. The story is that good and written for LGBT Youth. If our irresponsible governors, mayors, and senators are going to be abusive to our Gay youth, then it’s the writer’s responsibility to get involved.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Continuing with LGBT Young Adult books, my paperback, “The Night Elvis Kissed James Dean.” Yes, a provocative title. I can only imagine the visuals that people get. I wrote the short story in 1998. I have always been a fan of the music, fashion, and cars of the 1950s. The story magically came to me one day, and I fell in love with the characters. It’s 1958, and two high school teen boys meet. One resembles Elvis, and the other resembles James Dean. They fall in innocent love, and the story takes on life. Again, I stress that if our irresponsible governors, mayors, and senators are going to abuse Gay children, then it’s the writer’s responsibility to get involved. Let me also mention and credit… if you prefer audiobooks, then both “They Crawl On Walls” and “The Night Elvis Kissed James Dean” are available and narrated by the amazing voice artist Faris Monshi.
Pricing:
- 8.00
- 6.00
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.amazon.com/author/waideriddle
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waideriddle/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waide-riddle-63b594227/
Image Credits
John Skalicky
Jorge Velasquez
