When I got my itinerary for Ireland, I panicked when I saw that I’d have to pick up a rental car from Hertz at the Shannon Airport that I had to use to make my way across the country to Dublin.

I spent a year in New Zealand and never drove once because it was on the opposite side of the road, and it freaked me out. Being on a sponsored press trip through Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland didn’t leave me much of a choice in the matter, especially if I wanted to see all the places I wanted to, like Galway and Trim.

It didn’t end well.

I never thought I’d wind up with an opportunity to visit Ireland, especially not on a solo press trip sponsored by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. A younger version of myself who was also afraid to come out of the closet would have also been shocked that the main point of the trip was to visit a queer matchmaking festival called The Outing Festival.

The Outing Festival, now hosted at The Inn at Dromoland, began twelve years ago at a now-closed place called The Matchmaker Bar in Lisdoonvarna. What started in a bar has turned into a full-on hotel takeover in County Clare, which has a storied history with matchmaking that influences the weekend’s events and activities.

As soon as I had the lineup for the 47th season of San Diego Broadway, I had the dates circled for the entire month we would have the fortune of hosting Wicked. At the time, I had never seen any iteration of it or read the book, and when the announcement for the show came, the movie hadn’t yet been released, either.

Like many, I fell under the Wicked spell when the movie came out in November 2024 but I also joined the many flocks who hadn’t seen the live show and got left hanging after Cynthia Erivo’s epic rendition of “Defying Gravity.”

I’ve never seen Some Like It Hot in any iteration, and I have to admit, I’m a little surprised at how poignant the storyline is for the current conditions of the world.

The musical production — which just came to San Diego during its first-ever national tour — gave me a mix of Mrs. Doubtfire meets Mama Mia with undertones of Chicago, and I’m here for it.

I went into Back to the Future: The Musical with an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised by Mrs. Doubtfire and figured spending three hours in a musical about time travel and a main character who spends the arc of his story being pursued by a younger version of his mom would be a hoot.

While I went in with an open mind, I left with a couple of mixed opinions, particularly with this being a musical. From the off, I thought BTTF on stage would be awesome, and that aspect was executed well. With the help of screens, special effects, and awesome lighting, we also got to experience the “time travel” on the stage in a very crafty and unique way.

The most mixed of my mixed emotions, again, comes down to the music.

If you’ve ever even attempted to write anything in story format, you’ve more than likely found yourself caught in the middle of the debate over dialogue tags and whether “said” is the only one you should use. It’s long been a source of controversy in the writing community, especially those who prefer more descriptive alternatives. Some argue that "said" is invisible to readers and should be used exclusively, while others believe that more varied tags add flavor and depth to dialogue.

Debate aside, the actual truth is that dialogue tools are a tool, and like any tool, they should be used strategically.

We all like to laugh, and humor can be a powerful tool in even the most serious stories. It lightens the mood, deepens character relationships, and offers readers a moment of relief before diving back into the intensity of the main plot.

However, it can be tricky to find the balance. Too much, and it can feel out of place or break the emotional tension; too little, and the story may become overly heavy. The key is learning how to weave humor into your story naturally without disrupting the tone. Let’s get write on in to some techniques

It’s not uncommon for the terms “villain” and “antagonist” to get thrown around interchangeably, but they’re not actually the same thing.

Yes, all villains are antagonists, but on the flip side, not all antagonists are actually villains. Believe it or not, the distinction is important, as it can significantly impact the dynamics of your story, particularly how conflict and opposition are framed.

Even though they’re usually set up to be the bad guy, a great villain can be just as important—if not more so—than the hero who leads the story.

Yes, heroes inspire and guide us, and the purpose of the villains are usually to challenge the hero’s journey, create conflict, and force the protagonist to rise to new levels of greatness. Without them, stories would be bland and boring, and a well-crafted villain is the cornerstone of a compelling narrative, raising the stakes, driving the plot, and elevating the entire story.

Whether you ever have or ever intend to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo) in November, you shouldn’t hold yourself to only writing a book within those 30 days. If you’re like me, you might find out about NaNo right before it starts and have no idea what to do.

Never fear, even if it feels like you totally should.

I’ve never written a single thing that details anything about my work-in-progress (WIP) called Marked, even though, plot-wise, it’s my most popular story.

Mind you, as of this writing, the novel has not been published, so by “most popular story,” I just mean it gets the most reaction when I tell people about it.

We’ll go over the details of the book and its status in a minute, but here’s a brief elevator pitch in case you’re unfamiliar with the story:

I love seeing live renditions of Disney movies, like Aladdin when it rolled through San Diego a few months ago. I was equally excited to see Peter Pan as it came to town to close out this season of San Diego Broadway.

While the show takes on the same plot of Peter Pan flying into Wendy Darling’s room and taking her and her brothers, Michael and John, off to Neverland, the show’s approach is much more modern, much more racially inclusive, and fortunately much more gay.

When Visit San Antonio first sent me the invite by way of Out Traveler to join them for their third annual River Pride Parade hosted by Bud Light, I had a number of reservations.

That said, however, I found that none of that actually applied. Don’t get me wrong, Texas is still full of anti-LGBTQ+ people. San Antonio, however, is full of queer representation and is a welcoming space cloaked in a hip, upbeat, and very clean city.

Keep reading to hear a little more about my experience.

“Proprioception,” in essence, is just your body’s natural awareness of itself. How it moves, how it takes up space, and how your physical mass exists in the world around you. If you close your eyes and raise your hand, you’ll likely be able to visualize where in the air your hand is, even if you can’t see it. Your proprioception will inform you where in space your hand has landed.

Keep reading to learn more.

“The first time you hear Mrs. Doubtfire’s voice, the very first hello on the phone is the moment I can feel the audience signing the permission slip for me to borrow the character for the evening,” says Rob McClure, who plays Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire on the national run of the Mrs. Doubtfire musical.

I used to hate drag queens, which seems ironic given the fact there’s very little chance you’re currently here without knowing that I recently did drag for the first time. This experience was made all the better by the fact it was with the iconic Trinity the Tuck, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 who’s had a few tremendous runs throughout her time on the show.

When I went to Puerto Vallarta a few years ago, I knew there was a lot more to Mexico than what I experienced there. I loved Puerto Vallarta, especially with its LGBTQ+ focus, but I had a long list of other places I wanted to visit that I hoped I got to one day.

Among those was the country’s capital, Mexico City. In Spanish, it’s called Ciudad de Mexico and is often abbreviated as CDMX.

As a kid, my two favorite Disney movies were Aladdin and The Lion King. With Aladdin especially, I was just as much a fan of the sequels as I was the original, and “A Whole New World” has always been one of my favorite Disney jams.

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to catch the National Tour of Aladdin on Broadway here in San Diego, and was even fortunate enough to chat with one of the stars, Aaron Choi as Iago, prior to the show.

Join me for a sweaty vinyasa flow designed to increase your strength, focus, and endurance. invigorating Power Yoga Flow designed to enhance your balance, strength, and flexibility!

When you have to put on a show that lives up to the legend that is Michael Jackson, the pressure for perfection is on from jump. MJ: The Musical recently embarked on its first national tour in August 2023 after making its Broadway debut in December 2021, and everyone involved knows exactly how much expectation everyone has to nail it.

Fortunately, they understood the assignment and delivered exactly what they needed to and more.