Neil S. Plakcy is an American writer and professor whose works range from
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
anthologies
In book publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...
and collections of
gay erotica
Gay pornography is the representation of Human sexual activity, sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore pornography, Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the porno ...
Plakcy studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania with
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer.
Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...
and Carlos Fuentes. He went on to graduate from Columbia University's graduate school of business with an MBA in real estate and operations management.
While working as a producer for a computer game company in South Florida, Plakcy studied for his MFA degree in creative writing at
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
. He graduated in 1992, as a member of the university's first class to receive that degree. His instructors were
Lynne Barrett
Lynne Barrett is an American writer and editor, best known for her short stories.
Background
Born and raised in New Jersey, she received a B.A. in English Composition from Mount Holyoke College and her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina ...
,
James W. Hall
James W. Hall (born 1947) is an American author and professor from Florida. He has written eighteen novels, four books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a collection of essays.Les Standiford
Les Standiford is an author and, since 1985, the Founding Director of the Florida International University Creative Writing Program in Miami, Florida. He also holds the Peter Meinke Chair in Creative Writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl ...
, and his classmates included
Vicki Hendricks
Vicki Due Hendricks is an American author of crime fiction, erotica, and a variety of short stories.
Background
Hendricks was born in Covington, Kentucky, raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Florida in 1973. She earned a B.S. in English educ ...
, Christine Kling, Dennis Lehane and Barbara Parker. His thesis was a comic novel about Jewish family relationships and shopping mall construction, ''Invasion of the Blatnicks''.
Publishing career
Plakcy began his professional publishing career with the first of his Hawaiian mysteries, ''Mahu'', acquired and edited for Haworth Press by mystery author
Greg Herren
Greg Herren is an American writer and editor, who publishes work in a variety of genres, including mystery novels, young adult literature and erotica.Alyson Books, which continued the series with ''Mahu Fire'' and ''Mahu Vice'', and published their own edition of ''Mahu'' in 2009. After the close of Alyson, MLR Books picked up the series, publishing new editions of the first three and then continuing the series.
Plakcy and long-time friend Sharon Sakson co-edited a collection of stories by gay men about their experiences with their dogs, entitled ''Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog''. A frequent contributor to gay anthologies, Plakcy has also edited numerous collections of gay erotica.
With the publication of ''GayLife.com'' in 2009, Plakcy entered the M/M romance genre, basing the book on his own experiences in software and web development and his familiarity with Miami Beach.
Plakcy has been a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award three times: twice in gay mystery, and once in gay romance. He won the "Hawaii Five-O" award given by attendees at the Left Coast Crime fan conference and his work has been enthusiastically reviewed by mainstream and specialty publications as well as by many fans. He has twice been a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men's Mystery Novel.
*'' In Dog We Trust'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2010)
*'' The Kingdom of Dog'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2011)
*'' Dog Helps Those'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2012)
*'' Dog Bless You'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2013)
*'' Whom Dog Hath Joined'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2014)
*'' Dog Have Mercy'' (Amazon KDP & Create Space, 2015)
*'' Honest to Dog'' (Amazon KDP & CreateSpace, 2016)
*'' Dog is in the Details'' (Amazon KDP & CreateSpace, 2017)
The Golden Retriever Mysteries are also available as audio books.
Have Body, Will Guard Adventure/Romance Series
* ''Three Wrong Turns in the Desert'' (Loose Id, 2009)
* ''Dancing with the Tide'' (Loose Id, 2010)
* ''Teach Me Tonight'' (Loose Id, 2012)
* ''Olives for the Stranger'' (Loose Id, 2012)
* ''Under the Waterfall'' (Loose Id, 2013)
* ''The Noblest Vengeance'' (Loose Id, 2015)
* ''Finding Freddie Venus'' (Loose Id, 2015)
* ''A Cold Wind'' (Loose Id, 2016)
Love On Romance Series
* ''Love on Site'' (Loose Id, 2013)
* ''Love on Stage'' (Loose Id, 2014)
* ''Love on the Web'' (Loose Id, 2015)
* ''Love on the Pitch'' (Loose Id, 2015)
Other M/M Romances
* ''GayLife.com'' (MLR Press, 2009)
* ''The Guardian Angel of South Beach'' (Loose Id, 2011)
* ''The Russian Boy'' (Amazon, 2011)
* ''Mi Amor'' (Loose Id, 2011)
* ''The Sea Between us'' (Loose Id, 2015) (a continuation of ''Mi Amor''
* ''The Buchanan Letters'' (MLR Press, 2012)
* ''Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog'' (Alyson Books 2007 hardcover, 2008 trade paper) Amazon KDP 2012
* ''Hard Hats'' (
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to S ...
* ''The Next One Will Kill You: An Angus Green Novel'' (
Diversion Books
Diversion Books, originally founded as a digital publisher in 2010, is an American publishing company based in New York City. It publishes titles in physical, digital, audio, and other formats. The company specializes in non-fiction (history, pop ...