I first met Natalie Perry at a monthly meeting for the Boise Chapter of the Nonfiction Authors Association. She’s outgoing, outspoken, and a fun person to be around. As she shared bit of her life and writing goals with the group, it quickly became evident she had quite the life story to tell. A couple of years later, I found myself copyediting her memoir, which was published by the partner-publisher Red Cricket Press. Natalie is continually making strides with her advocacy work, and there’s no question her work will be of great value to queerspawn the world over.
Official Bio: Natalie is an Idaho native who believes in a future where gay families are equal and no longer have to hide in the closet out of fear. She aspires to reduce discrimination against LGBTQ families through the power of education and sharing her own family story.
Natalie is an advocate for LGBTQ families. She participates in Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day, is active with COLAGE, and represents Idaho on the Western Region Advisory Council through Family Equality Council. She is the founder of Treasure Valley Queerspawn, a Boise-area group for teens and adults who have at least one LGBTQ parent or guardian. Dad #1, Dad #2: A Queerspawn View from the Closet is her first book.
Natalie Perry
Dad #1, Dad #2: A Queerspawn View from the Closet
1. Please provide a brief synopsis of your most-recently released book.
My book, Dad #1, Dad #2: A Queerspawn View from the Closet, was published in June. It chronicles the highs and lows of growing up with gay dads in one of the most conservative states in the country. My book begins 20 years ago when my dad came out to my immediate family. He is a former Chief Judge of the Idaho State Court of Appeals so he couldn’t come out publicly without fear of losing his job.
This is the first memoir written by a child growing up in a closeted LGBTQ family. While my family kept our secret for two decades, they have now all agreed to share our story. We hope to start conversations and build acceptance for LGBTQ families.
Click cover to purchase via Amazon.
2. Tell us a little bit about what motivates or inspires your writing.
I write for many reasons. My family has experienced a lot of discrimination. When I was younger I wrote to process and to heal. Now I have loftier goals; I want to inspire others to change the world. So, mostly I write to make people feel. I want my writing to affect and impact people and the best way to do that is through the heart.
3. As an Idaho resident, what do you most enjoy about living here?
To be honest, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Idaho. My family was closeted because of the conservative nature and level of intolerance that existed here 20 years ago. I had several negative experiences when I was younger that really kept me from seeing much of the beauty here.
On the other hand, I think it’s a great state for a writer. There’s lots of nature, which I find inspirational and peaceful. I love to find a quiet nook in the park to write. So in that regard I can also feel surrounded by beauty. And being back in Idaho now, after leaving for 10 years, I’m happy to see that people are changing and becoming more open.
4. Describe some highlights of Idaho’s literary community.
We have a strong community here! I was surprised when I started joining professional writing groups. There are many talented people here. The best part is that they truly believe in sharing knowledge and helping each other. I’m constantly learning from others’ successes and I feel blessed to have this opportunity to grow.
5. What is the name of your blog and what can readers expect to find there?
I have two websites. My main site in my author and advocacy platform: natalieperryauthor.com. My blog focuses on education and social justice issues specific to the LGBTQ community. My goal is to start discussions on difficult topics and answer questions about my experiences and our community.
I also have a travel blog: gadabouttheglobe.com, which is less active at this point as my main focus for the last year has been my book. I would like to get it back up and an running in the coming months.
6. What does your drafting and/or editing process entail?
I tend to be disciplined in my writing. My day job is in Project Management and those skills definitely help keep me on track with my writing goals. I self edit but also ask for input when I feel stuck. For my book, my family read each draft and gave feedback. I also had a group of beta readers review my first draft and later worked with a professional editor when I felt it was more polished. All of these steps were helpful for me, but I think the most important was working with a professional editor. I will continue to do so, especially for my large projects as they have a way of helping take my work to the next level.
7. Are you traditionally published or self-published?
I published through Red Cricket Press, a small partner-publisher. I’d always known that I didn’t want to publish this book traditionally. It’s too personal and I couldn’t give up being part of the major decisions. At the same time, I didn’t want to do everything myself. I still work full time and knew I didn’t have the time or effort to do it alone. Partner-publishing was a nice middle ground. The publisher has a team that does the copy/line edit, book cover, book layout, etc. But I was also still involved in the major decision making so that I was part of the overall process.
8. Can you offer one or two helpful tips for fellow writers when it comes to marketing and publicity?
My number one tip for fellow writers is: know your audience. Marketing and publicity is a lot of work and everyone has ideas and suggestions about what’s best. While I do some common marketing, such as social media, blogging, etc., most of my time is spent on networking. Much of my successful marketing comes from my associations through my advocacy work. I participate in many LGBTQ groups so that I’m always connecting with new people that might have an interest in my book. You have to go where your audience is and know how they absorb information.
9. What future projects can we look forward to?
I’m currently working on two other books, and I have a couple other ideas as well. The next year will mainly be focused on marking Dad #1, Dad #2 and getting more involved with public speaking. I’m still writing and working on my other ideas, but I don’t know yet which book will actually come next. I do know that I want to take more time to write the next one. I felt a sense of urgency with this my memoir, largely because of where our country is currently at. But I plan to move a little slower in the future so that I don’t burn out. I also want to write more poetry.
10. Is there anything else you want your potential readers to know? What passions drive your life?
My favorite quote from my book: “When we live in a country where we say everyone is treated equal, we don’t get to cherry pick who that applies to.”
And while not mine, I also strongly believe: “Love Makes a Family.”
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Is there anything else you’d like to know about Natalie Perry?
You can connect with Natalie Perry and her social media sites via her author website. Her memoir, Dad #1, Dad #2: A Queerspawn View from the Closet, can be purchased via Amazon.
Images courtesy of Natalie Perry, 2017. Please share responsibly.
Although I grew up in a traditional setting with a mother and father, I have two cousins who are gay. It was hard for them to come out of the closet and did not do so until they were mothers in the respective families. Fortunately, we all live in Colorado, which is a lot more liberal than Idaho.
Natalie, I believe writing your memoir is going to open so many doors for so many people. Openness is going to bring true knowledge.
Best of luck with your book and influencing people to open their minds. It’s a long tough road to overcome prejudice of every kind.
Natalie, I think it is really important you’re telling your story. Best of luck with the marketing. I worked in Project Management before I retired and those skills also help me stay on track when writing. There are other times when I have to learn to let go of the plan and change course.
Thank you Jeri for introducing us to Natalie and her book. My heart goes out to her for gathering so much courage to write the story of her family. It must have been an emotional struggle to understand and come to terms with the realities around her. It is amazing that she emerged to be such a positive person. I would like to read this book.
Wishing you all the best Natalie, for the success of this book. Love those pictures that you have shared.
Sounds like an interesting book. Maybe more so coming out of Idaho, not a place known (at least to me) for LGBTQ activism.
It’s important that you are telling your story Natalie. Not least since your country’s current president is against equal rights for the lgbtq community. Have personally had friends since the 80’s who are gay and even my late father had a close friend who was gay. People should open up their minds and conclude that what counts is if a person is a good and interesting person and not if they are heterosexual or gay.
So nice to learn about Natalie and her writing. What a fantastic memoir this looks to be and timely. The world needs to learn more about LGBTQ. It’s starts by educating people. 🙂
So glad that Natalie is advocating for the LGBTQ community. I have two nephews who are gay. Several years ago I took one of them to dinner to celebrate his new job and innocently asked how his social life was going. He looked down and in a frightened whisper told me he was dating a man. I said that I was thrilled for him. He sat there and cried he was so relieved to come out and we shared a big hug. He now is in a loving relationship and they are two wonderful people who are fully accepted by our family. If only society would accept that love comes in many shapes, forms and flavors.
What a wonderful story, Jeannette. Thx for sharing it with us here.
And thanks to Jeri for introducing us to Natalie and her family. I love the quote Natalie included from her book, “When we live in a country where we say everyone is treated equal, we don’t get to cherry pick who that applies to.” LOVE that.
I am assuming the last photo included in the profile is Natalie and her sister, mother, and 2 Dads?
This sounds like a book that’s much needed. Your writing will certainly help people struggling with this very situation. It will also help us to have compassion and understanding for same sex couples, families and their children. Nice work,Natalie! Thanks for this interview and share, Jeri.
I am glad Natalie is sharing her experiences, which no doubt will help others. The definition of family is expanding! I’m glad to see that it all can lead to acceptance, as in your situation, over time and with support. Great interview, Jeri.
LOVE this, Jeri and Natalie! This book is a gift to all of those readers who grew up in an LGBTQ household in an era when it wasn’t openly discussed. I’ve always felt that someday in the future, we will tell our children that there was a time when men couldn’t marry men or women couldn’t marry women. And they will be like: “REALLY?? Why not??” (Just like now it seems inconceivable that at one time, women couldn’t vote).
My cousin (my mom’s generation) was in the closet until he was 50 years old. He was a journalist, and when he finally came out, he became a strong advocate for LGBT. He even wrote a book, which was the telling of a true story about a Christian family that discovered their son was gay, that was eventually turned into a Lifetime movie.
I currently work a couple days a week in the largest sperm bank in the U.S. and a lot of our clients are families with two moms. I know there are lots of same-sex parents all over the U.S. raising families. I wish Natalie the best of luck with the book. With the right marketing, I’m sure she’ll find a lot of people who relate to this in one way or another.
It was great seeing Natalie on your blog! I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet her before. She’s a strong voice in the community, and we are lucky to have her.