EDITOR

 

for novelist Marshall Thornton

 

I discovered theater in college during the late 1970s. My first acting gig was portraying Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, as well as serving behind-the-scenes gathering props with my new acquaintance soon-to-be cohort: the assistant director. You may have guessed I’m referring to Marshall Thornton. It was the beginning of a friendship that continues through today. 

Marshall was writing plays during that time, and asked me to

have a look and comment on a piece he was working through.

You might say that was the beginning of my editing career —

or at least an introduction to what would blossom into that. I

wasn’t looking for it, but seemed to have a knack as I found

myself enlisted in the practice no matter what job I happened

to be working. Ultimately, it indeed became my livelihood.

Marshall moved from plays to television specs to movie scripts, as he 
leapfrogged from the East Coast to the Midwest to the West Coast, where 
he eventually decided to change his focus. Thus becoming the writer of 
novels we have come to admire and enjoy.

It was in the early days of his new venture he once again asked me to look at some writing he’d done. It started with short stories and soon became full-fledged novels with the Boystown series.

Whatever medium or genre, Marshall’s work always resonates with wit and depth, with multidimensional characters and plotlines pairing humor with substance. He paints environments with specificity without overwhelming the story, letting the reader navigate its landscape with ease and familiarity—even follow the roads and many places described to their real-life destinations with immaculate precision.

Always at the forefront is his desire to illustrate the humanity, with its triumphs and imperfections, of a culture too oft misunderstood, progressively creating a series of time capsules with its history and ongoing relevance to society.

Some 40-plus stories later, I’ve worked on most of the book series and stand-alones written by Marshall since 2009.

​

• Marshall Thornton, award-winning author, screen writer and playwright
   A novelist of gay mysterie and romantic comedies set in various historical periods, Thornton is a multiple Lambda Award winner and finalist in the categories of Gay Mystery and Gay Romantic Comedy. His work also has been short-listed at the Rainbow Awards several times. 

    S E R I A L I Z E D   S T O R I E S
Available through Kindle Vella, a serialized reading platform where readers can access stories released in short episodic installments.
   The Girl in the Little Black Dress (2023)
    In this police procedural, Detective Brenda Wellesley, brushed aside after a troubled past, attempts to redeem herself by discovering the killer of the girl in the little black dress.

    M Y S T E R Y  G E N R E
Half Double Murder (2026) 

    When a troubled teen named Brown and a senior citizen named Chester meet at an LGBTQ fiber arts group, they both want to crochet sweaters. But yarn, hooks and needles are set aside when the director of The Center is accused of murdering the owner of a neighboring hair salon who posted transphobic attacks on social media. Brown, Chester and the rest of the fiber arts group set out to prove their friend’s innocence. He is innocent — right?

    Set in the familiar universe of Wyandot County, Northern Lower Michigan, but jumps ahead to the year 2016 with a mix of new and old characters.

​

The Pink (2026): 
    It’s 1913. Lewis Wait loves with his mother and hides behind scholarly texts, until his middle-class lide is thrust aside due to financial woes. Without his consent, his mother arranges an interview with his dead father’s former employer: the
unscrupulous Pinkerton Dtective Agency. 

   Dom Reilly Mystery Series
    Set in Long Beach, California, 1996. Despite having little obvious experience, bartender Dom Reilly is hired as an investigator for the Freedom Agenda, a not-for-profit justice project. It seems he has a secretive set of skills.
   A Week Away (Dom Reilly #4, 2025)
   The Happy Month (Dom Reilly #3, 2024)
   A Mean Season (Dom Reilly #2, 2022)
   The Year of the Rat (Dom Reilly #1, 2021) 2021 Rainbow Award honorable mention; Love Bytes reviewers’ Best of 2021

   Pinx Video Mystery Series 
    Noah Valentine is the owner of Pinx Video store in early 1990s Silver Lake, California — and a reticent amateur murder investigator, through no fault of his own. This series strikes a lighter tone than Thornton’s Boystown, but still manages to tackle some serious subjects with the author’s familiar humor, heart and wit.
  Kapowie! (Pinx #7, 2024)
  Help Wanted (Pinx #6, 2023)
  Cash Out (Pinx #5, 2020)
  Rewind (Pinx #4, 2019) LAMBDA Literary award finalist, Best Gay Mystery
  Late Fees (Pinx #3, 2018) LAMBDA Literary award winner, Best Gay Mystery
  Hidden Treasures (Pinx #2, 2018)
  Night Drop (Pinx #1, 2017) LAMBDA Literary award winner, Best Gay Mystery

   The Wyandot County Mystery Series (British television series pending, title TBD.)
    Twenty-something druggie-in-denial Henry “Mooch” Milch finds himself whisked from a life he loved in West Hollywood to the insular Wyandot County, just south of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He is sent to live with his conservative grandmother — herself in denial over her grandson’s sexuality — and work for the local land conservanc. It was that or rehab. On his first day, he stumbles across a dead body in the snow.
   A Winter of Discontent (Milch #4, 2025)
   The Fall and Rise of Henry Milch (Milch #3, 2024)
   A Fabulously Unfabulous Summer for Henry Milch (Milch #2, 2022)
  The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch (Milch #1, 2020)

   The Boystown Series
    Cases of former police officer-turned-private investigator Nick Nowak. Set in 1980s Chicago, the series also follows the 
AIDS crisis from its discovery, consequences and progress throughout the decade. An intense, noir-feeling series with wit, heart and enlightenment along for the ride.
   Boystown Omnibus (15th anniversary special edition set, four hardcovers comprise the entire series) (pending)
   Fade Out (Boystown #13, end of series) (2020)
   Broken Cord (Boystown #12) (2019)
   Heart’s Desire (Boystown #11) (2018) LAMBDA Literary finalist, Gay Mystery
   Gifts Given (Boystown #10) (2017) LAMBDA Literary finalist, Gay Mystery
   Lucky Days (Boystown #9) (2017) 
   The Lies That Bind (Boystown #8) (2016)
   Bloodlines (Boystown #7) (2015) LAMBDA Literary award winner, Best Gay Mystery
   From the Ashes (Boystown #6) (2014) LAMBDA Literary finalist, Gay Mystery
   Murder Book (Boystown #5) (2013) LAMBDA Literary finalist, Gay Mystery
   A Time For Secrets (Boystown #4) (2012)
   Two Nick Nowak Novellas (Boystown #3) (2011)
   Three More Nick Nowak Mysteries (Boystown #2) (2010)
   Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries (Boystown #1)(2009) LAMBDA Literary finalist, Gay Mystery

   The Femme Duo
   Femme (book 1 of 2, 2016) LAMBDA Literary award finalist, Best Gay Romance
      The tagline for Femme is "Be yourself, everyone else is taken." What happens when a queeny cocktail waiter finds himself in a romance with a straight-acting softball player? A journey that requires coming out of the closet, going into the closet, a pair of red high heels, many pairs of red high heels — but mostly, learning what it means to be a man.
   Masc (book 2 of 2, 2018)
      “...another great story about this sweet couple with issues that lead to heartbreak, love and a lot of humorous chaos.”           — The Novel Approach       

   S T A N D - A L O N E  N O V E L S
   Sentenced to Christmas (2023) rom/com 
      When gay activist Gage Hammond is accused of burning down a patriotic Christmas tree that stands in front of a conservative radio station, the judge sentences him to learn the true meaning of Christmas: Hammond must join buttoned-up prosecutor Cal Cutler and his family for the holiday.

   Fathers of the Bride (2021) rom/com Honorable Mention Rainbow Awards (author scrreenplay pending)
      “Thornton's madcap slapstick sensibilities and wacky cast balance nicely with the genuine sweetness of the men's second chance romance. The result is a frothy delight.” Publisher's Weekly 

   Code Name: Liberty (2019) spy thriller/romance LAMBDA Literary award finalist, Best Gay Romance
      In the summer of 1980, the news is full of the upcoming election and the hostage crisis in Iran but Patrick Henry Burke is not paying any attention. He’s met a Persian prince and his head is full of romance. 

   Aunt Belle’s Time Travel & Collectibles (2017) rom/com
      Where would you go if you could travel to any part of your past? ThatÕs the question Terrance faces on his 45th birthdayÑand right away, he knows. He wants to go back to 1992 and not meet Mr. Wrong. But what begins as a journey to change the past becomes a trip to find the future. 

   The Ghost Slept Over (2015) rom/com
      When failed actor Cal Parsons travels to rural New York to claim the estate of his famous and estranged ex-partner he discovers something he wasn’t expecting — the ghost of his ex!

• JT Moss, novelist

(aka Marshall Thornton; general target audience short stories, novels; mystery genre)

   Death Comes to Happy Acres (2015)
      At sixty-three, former jazz musician Wade Lovett finds himself something of a trailer park Lothario, but when circumstances prompt Carol Smitzky to make a compelling case for a marriage arrangement, he agrees. The next morning he visits girlfriend number two to tell her the news — and finds her lying dead on her kitchen floor. 

   The Development: Three Jan Birch Mysteries (2011)
      Set in the mid-sixties in upstate New York, Jan Birch is a housewife who lives in a planned development of small, cramped homes, sturggling with a difficult marriage and an antisocial son. She finds herself involved in the murder of the neighborhood divorcee — and falling in love with a man who may or may not be a murderer himself.

      This collection includes three separately published related shorts in one volume:
      Coffee Clutch
      Bartoli’s Rest
      Mountain View Terrace  

The Ruggles Road trilogy 
      Stories revolve around Ruggles Road Rescue, a shelter for abandoned animals, exploring the mysteries that surround the inhabitants — both critters and humans.  
   A Bonded Pair (Ruggles #3) (in progress)
  The Problem of Black Cats (Ruggles #2) (2016)
  The Yellow Dog (Ruggles #1) (2016)


  EDITORIAL

  highlights

•  Max’s Buddies, Inc., Greater Glens Falls area, NY (non-profit organization)
   logo, website design and editorial consultation

•   River Rock Physical Therapy & Balance Center, Colchester, CT
   website editorial consultation

•   Ira H. Gallen, author/archivist/collector/video, TV and film producer/director (Baby Boomer nostalgia, toys, TV and film)
   content and line editing

•  CT State: Three Rivers College, Norwich CT 
   copyedits for a variety of college committee assessments and grant proposals

•  EK Office of the Signet (non-profit historical organization)
   Information Administrator
    - database design and maintenance for scribal activity, including assignment records, information on contributing artists, and other archival data; authored handbook for EK College of Scribes; designed layout and copyedited medieval alphabet coloring book.
    - ongoing classes teaching technique-specific workshops to artists of varying skill levels.

•  Regency Publications, Inc.
   Managing Editor and Art Director for regional magazines
   - content design, copywriting, copyediting; layout, specialty graphics, original artwork for illustration; hiring and supervision of free-lance writers and photographers

•  Grich Broadcasting, TV-8
   - host of weekly arts segment Adirondack Art Beat for TV evening news broadcasts

   - devised, scripted and set up shoots 

•  Proctor’s Theatre  (renovated vaudeville theater, a Capital Region destination for touring Broadway shows,  film festivals, concerts and special events)
   - authored press releases, hospitality welcoming performers, and articles for quarterly newsletter; helped coordinate press interviews, mailings and press conferences; supervised intern


  DESIGN

  highlights  
 

•  Max’s  Buddies, Inc.  (nonprofit 501(c)3, with a mission to enhance social experiences, assist with financial needs, and foster community involvement in adults with physical and  intellectual disabilities residing in the greater Glens Falls, NY, area.)
   logo design; website design and editorial content consultation

• Willow  (classical and contemporary female singing ensemble)
  logo design

•  Frigga’s Frivolities (hand-crafted items and instruction)
  logo, business cards, website design

• SCA, East
   award documents in a variety of period styles based on medieval manuscript art

•  BSA District CT Three Rivers Council (Boy Scouts of America chapter)
   brochure design, copywriting, calligraphy for certificates, logo design

•  SCIREX Corporation (pharmaceutical corporation)
   ad layout 

•  The Liederkranz Foundation (NY event organization whose mission is the development and appreciation of music)
   calligraphed specialty marquee poster at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NY

•  Lake George Opera Festival (formed in 1962 to present opera in English and showcase young singers)
   (rebranded ad as Opera Saratoga)
   graphic design for brochures, national ads (including New York Times), posters and program guides

•  Adirondack Philharmonia 
   graphic design for posters and brochures

•  The Sagamore Resort (historic resort situated on the shore of Lake George amid New York’s Adirondack Mountains)
   original artwork and graphic design for theater cards and lobby signs for on-site restaurants and special promotions

•  Eastwood Associates
   original artwork and graphic design for specialty graphics, lobby cards and ads for Equity dinner theater and various restaurants

•  Glens Falls Community Theater
   logo and graphic design for theatrical posters and programs​​