Racheline Maltese's Blog, page 24
May 9, 2015
45% off at Torquere through May 11!
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Torquere Press is offering a great coupon: MOM2015 will get you 45% off both Torquere Press & Prizm (their YA imprint) now through now through May 11th.
That means that you can get a lot of our titles at a great discount, and because we’re compulsive like that, we’ve already done the math for you:
Starling is just $3.29 – http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=4269
Doves is just $3.84 – http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4344
Evergreen is just $1.64 – http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4328
Room 1024 is just $1.64 – http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4373
Lake Effect is just $1.37 – http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_93&products_id=4208
May 5, 2015
Guest Post: Stacy Osteen (Young Love, Old Hearts)
Today we’re pleased to welcome Stacy Osteen, author of “New York Minute,” here to talk about her first experience writing M/M romance:
“New York Minute” is my first time writing gay fiction and I loved writing it. Colton is a little indecisive in the beginning but once he makes a decision it’s full steam ahead, upcoming cliff or not. His counterpart Seth is the younger factor in the equation and where Colton is hesitant and thoughtful before a decision, Seth is leaping off cliffs. He’s not afraid of falling and thinks he can tightrope walk without a net. The interactions between them, Seth baiting Colton even though Colton should have the wisdom to know better amuses me to no end.
Writing from a male perspective was great because it was much more about the five senses. What Colton could see, hear and touch. Here is a little excerpt to show you what I mean:
They both got into the music, and Colton felt it course through him once more. He barely noticed when it was Seth dancing with him instead of a stranger. He let the beat dictate his moves. They were incredibly close when their eyes met. Colton felt nervous excitement shoot through him. He remembered what Seth had said at dinner about his crush on Colton, but with the look Seth was giving him, he somehow couldn’t believe it was all in the past.
Website: www.stacyosteen.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stacyosteenbooks
Twitter: @Torn_Treasure
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/StacyOSteen
Endless Days of Summer to be released July 1st
Young Love, Old Hearts
A Supposed Crimes Anthology
Editor: C. E. Case
Stories by: A. M. Leibowitz, Adrian J. Smith, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese, Geonn Cannon, Helena Maeve, Kassandra Lea, Lela E. Buis, Ralph Greco Jr., & Stacy O’Steen
Everyone hears “He’s too young for you.” “She’s too old for you.” Not between these pages. This anthology crosses the age gap with nine enchanting stories of cross-generational relationships. Some are sweet, some are sexy, some are heartbreaking. One is downright murderous. The protagonists are gay men or women searching for true love or trying out what’s right in front of them.
Lesbian
“Verso and Recto” by Geonn Cannon
Discovering their mutual love of reading leads a literature student and her professor to take a step neither of them expected.
“A Blizzard’s Blow” by Adrian J. Smith
Lollie dashes from the house in the middle of a blizzard in search of something she’s not sure she’ll find, but she hopes to never again see the same cold, blank stare Kimberley gave her.
“Slice” by Ralph Greco Jr.
When Germane relinquishes her more-than-slight kinky relationship with Lila to begin a new one with younger A.J., she finds a flirty, fun and wholly different “Slice” of life opening up for her.
“That December” by Lela E. Buis
Celia finds that older women and the politics of genetic engineering aren’t what they seem.
Gay
“The Arrangement” by Helena Maeve
When he is summoned into his Dom’s study after a mutually satisfying scene, Cyril knows he’s in for something worse than the play they normally get up to.
“New York Minute” by Stacy O’Steen
Stuck in his depressing hometown for far too long, Colton jumps at the chance to return to his beloved New York City. But when some odd coincidences click into place, he needs to find the truth hidden in the lies.
“The Artist as an Old Man” by A. M. Leibowitz
1985 is a big year for Kenny Anderson. Sent to interview artist Aaron Rubenstein, making a grand reappearance after a three-year absence, Kenny digs beneath the surface to understand Aaron’s life—and maybe his own.
“Adjunct Hell” by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese
Phil may be in his 50s, but he’s still a student, and the fact that Carl—who’s barely 30—is dating him would bad enough even if Carl wasn’t waiting for good news from the tenure committee.
“Say You Do” by Kassandra Lea
Keegan Bancroft is hoping to avoid a complete meltdown before his date. But there’s something he really wants to ask Richard.
Buy Links:
|| Amazon USA || Amazon CA || Amazon UK || Kobo || Smashwords || B & N ||
About the Publisher
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.
“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.
|| Website || Facebook || Twitter ||
May 4, 2015
Guest Post: Helena Maeve (Young Love, Old Hearts)
Today our guest is Helena Maeve, author of the M/M short story The Arrangement, here to talk about puzzling out the short story:
Before I attempted The Arrangement I would have laughed at the suggestion that I could write a complete story in less than five thousand words. Brevity and I are not mates. I like my sentences long, my characters hard to grasp in the first, oh, let’s say ten or so chapters. Regardless of genre, the novels I best enjoy reading involve sequels. But then it’s also true that I enjoy a challenge.
My initial idea for The Arrangement involved a lengthy character arc, multiple parts—none of which were in any way suited to the short story format. Without the luxury of pages and pages of context with which to buy a reader’s goodwill, a short story has only a few lines’ worth to grab the attention. Yet there’s no point in hooking the reader if the characters aren’t sketched out fast enough to reward that indulgence.
I vacillate between writing lengthy backstories for my characters and plunging in with only a vague idea of what they’re about. For The Arrangement, I couldn’t afford the latter. It seems counter-intuitive, but the shorter the story, the more necessary I feel it is to have a clear picture of who does what to whom and why. There’s no time to figure it out in the text, much less to hint at events later on in the story. By the time ‘later’ arrives, we’re already wrapping up.
Setting is equally constrained. A novel can span decades or the breadth of Middle Earth. A short story doesn’t have the luxury of sprawling. I imagine a short story as a theatre play, with one or two changes of décor at the most and with the understanding that whatever happens on stage, it’s conceivably contained within a few days at most. Everything is immediate and of the utmost importance, and reflection is in short supply—conveniently, this lends itself well to characters stumbling into misunderstandings that further the plot.
Yet just as a full-length novel, a short story without a climax and resolution won’t be very satisfying. In The Arrangement, conflict comes to a head almost unilaterally, as Cyril refuses to go away quietly after a breakup with his much older partner. The crisis that sparks said conflict is the breakup itself, but without a character willing to claw his way back into a relationship, the mix-up that sparks the separation might never be resolved.
Short stories are like puzzles. They’re a pain to untangle and they dissuade us from letting our thoughts roam, but as I’m sure my fellow Young Love, Old Hearts authors will agree, it’s so rewarding to figure them out.
Website: helenamaeve.com
Twitter: @HelenaMaeve
Excerpt from The Arrangement:
August was at his desk, dress shirt open at the collar, tie and suit jacket absent. Ruthlessly beautiful. His idea of casual somehow still left him looking powerful and business-like. He plucked his rimless reading glasses off with a smooth gesture, but tension lingered in his expression.
After six months, Cyril could tell when something was wrong.
“Have a seat,” August suggested with strained formality.
Less than an hour ago, he’d been edging Cyril to the brink of climax and back again, relishing his cries like a true sadist.
Their bedroom dynamic was too overwhelming to set aside at a moment’s notice. Cyril complied, annoyed with himself for the meek show of obedience.
“Thought we already debriefed…”
“It’s not about that.” August folded his hands. “It’s about our arrangement.”
Cyril’s heart slid lower into his knees. The wide stretch of a sturdy wooden desk divided them. It was an effective visual barrier; Cyril could pretend he’d been summoned to a supervisor’s office rather than his lover’s. The similarities were striking.
“I’ve enjoyed these past months… I’d like to think that you have, as well.”
“Yes,” Cyril blurted out.
Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.
August pressed his lips into a thin line. “I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to count this week’s fee—”
“You want to end it.”
Young Love, Old Hearts
A Supposed Crimes Anthology
Editor: C. E. Case
Stories by: A. M. Leibowitz, Adrian J. Smith, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese, Geonn Cannon, Helena Maeve, Kassandra Lea, Lela E. Buis, Ralph Greco Jr., & Stacy O’Steen
Everyone hears “He’s too young for you.” “She’s too old for you.” Not between these pages. This anthology crosses the age gap with nine enchanting stories of cross-generational relationships. Some are sweet, some are sexy, some are heartbreaking. One is downright murderous. The protagonists are gay men or women searching for true love or trying out what’s right in front of them.
Lesbian
“Verso and Recto” by Geonn Cannon
Discovering their mutual love of reading leads a literature student and her professor to take a step neither of them expected.
“A Blizzard’s Blow” by Adrian J. Smith
Lollie dashes from the house in the middle of a blizzard in search of something she’s not sure she’ll find, but she hopes to never again see the same cold, blank stare Kimberley gave her.
“Slice” by Ralph Greco Jr.
When Germane relinquishes her more-than-slight kinky relationship with Lila to begin a new one with younger A.J., she finds a flirty, fun and wholly different “Slice” of life opening up for her.
“That December” by Lela E. Buis
Celia finds that older women and the politics of genetic engineering aren’t what they seem.
Gay
“The Arrangement” by Helena Maeve
When he is summoned into his Dom’s study after a mutually satisfying scene, Cyril knows he’s in for something worse than the play they normally get up to.
“New York Minute” by Stacy O’Steen
Stuck in his depressing hometown for far too long, Colton jumps at the chance to return to his beloved New York City. But when some odd coincidences click into place, he needs to find the truth hidden in the lies.
“The Artist as an Old Man” by A. M. Leibowitz
1985 is a big year for Kenny Anderson. Sent to interview artist Aaron Rubenstein, making a grand reappearance after a three-year absence, Kenny digs beneath the surface to understand Aaron’s life—and maybe his own.
“Adjunct Hell” by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese
Phil may be in his 50s, but he’s still a student, and the fact that Carl—who’s barely 30—is dating him would bad enough even if Carl wasn’t waiting for good news from the tenure committee.
“Say You Do” by Kassandra Lea
Keegan Bancroft is hoping to avoid a complete meltdown before his date. But there’s something he really wants to ask Richard.
Buy Links:
|| Amazon USA || Amazon CA || Amazon UK || Kobo || Smashwords || B & N ||
About the Publisher
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.
“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.
|| Website || Facebook || Twitter ||
May 3, 2015
Guest Post: A.M. Leibowitz (Young Love, Old Hearts)
Day Three of our Young Love, Old Hearts posts. Today’s guyest is A.M. Leibowitz, author of “The Artist as an Old Man.”
I always say that I don’t read or write historical fiction. That’s not strictly true, of course. I’ve read some I like very much. Until now, I’d never tried to write any.
My original story for Young Love, Old Hearts was a contemporary guy-meets-guy story. I was almost done with it when a different idea struck me, and I went with it. But what does one do after an opening about two men dealing with aging and long-term care? I mean, that’s hardly romantic, even though there’s great love in caring for a partner of many years.
I chose to write the middle—the interlude—as the memory of their meeting. It honestly made me laugh when I realized that the 1980s are officially a historical time period—just not one with covered wagons or corsets.
Having grown up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I’m reluctant to admit just how “historical” that era is until I meet people who weren’t even born when hair band power anthems were a Thing. I was only just coming of age in the late 1980s, but even I remember a lot of pop culture from that time. Most vividly, I recall my mother telling me I couldn’t have jelly shoes because they would ruin my feet. I also remember wearing lace gloves and an arm full of jelly band bracelets, collecting Garbage Pail Kids cards, getting my zombie groove on with “Thriller,” and learning all the words to Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” (I can still sing them for you, if you like).
None of that appears in my story.
Sad but true—I was working with adult men, so I was fairly sure they wouldn’t be sneaking the forbidden Bonne Belle lip gloss home from the corner drug store or teasing their hair into a hot mess with AquaNet. I did manage to squeeze in a few decent references to the decade, though. I’m only partly ashamed to admit I had to look up what kind of camera my character might own—I wanted to be specific. Turns out I actually owned that exact model. There are some other nice tidbits in there for readers who care to spot them.
I’m a stickler for things making sense to the period and age of the characters, so for such a short story, it required intense research and more math calculations than I typically do in an average week to get their ages and dates correct. I had to know if it made sense for my character Aaron to have come to the U. S. as a child, whether he could then have served in the military, and precisely how old he would have been at every stage. I had to know similar details about the much younger character, Kenny, as well.
In the course of researching, I learned a lot of things I hadn’t previously known, such as what it would have been like for a German-Jewish immigrant in the 1930s. I spent more time figuring out what their life experiences would have meant for the characters than I did actually writing the story. In the process, I discovered that it’s incredibly rewarding to write something historical.
“The Artist as an Old Man” isn’t anywhere near a fun trip down memory lane to the era of big hair and bigger shoulder pads. It’s a memorial to the people who lived through the decade with a lot less campy fun than some of us were having and a tribute to people in my own family who led complicated lives during the preceding decades.
I won’t say that I’ll do it again soon, but I’m no longer averse to crafting a story that isn’t set in our modern world, and it certainly opened me to the possibility that not all historical fiction must take place pre-twentieth century or even pre-1950s. Writing it gave me a taste of what it’s like to take a trip to Sometime Else for a while, and I’m glad I did it.
Excerpt:
The negotiation had been scheduled for three p.m. on Wednesday. Mr. Rubenstein’s neighborhood was a bit challenging to navigate, and Kenny arrived at two minutes past the hour. He knocked on Mr. Rubenstein’s door, his stomach in knots at meeting the artist himself.
When the door opened, Kenny was met by a short, muscular man with dark hair, graying at the temples. He looked far younger than his fifty-three years. He had a long, sloping nose and John Lennon-style glasses. His face dissolved into a deep scowl, and Kenny sucked in his breath, stepping back a few paces.
“You’re late,” Mr. Rubenstein snarled. “Come back tomorrow, and if you show up on time, I’ll consider letting you in.”
He slammed the door, leaving Kenny standing on the stoop, staring. Malcolm was going to kill him, and then he was going to fire him. He might bring him back from the dead just to do it all over again. Kenny gripped his hair in his hands. Nothing for it but to go home and call Malcolm. At least Mr. Rubenstein had left room for him to try again.
Which ended up being exactly what Malcolm told Kenny to do, right after he threatened to not only fire him but put him on the three a.m. trucker shift. Malcolm didn’t explain how Kenny could do that if he were fired. Not in the mood for either outcome, Kenny promised to be on time the next afternoon.
Author bio:
M. Leibowitz is a spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. Ze keeps warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing romantic plot twists and happy-for-now endings. Hir published fiction includes hir first novel, Lower Education, as well as a number of short works, and hir stories have been included in several anthologies. In between noveling and editing, ze blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, and hir family at amleibowitz.com.
Find me on the Internet:
Web site: http://amleibowitz.com
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OIC158W (A. M. Leibowitz)
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AMLeibowitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amymitchell29 (personal profile); https://www.facebook.com/UnchainedFaith (author page)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amyunchained (@amyunchained)
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amyunchained/
Young Love, Old Hearts
A Supposed Crimes Anthology
Editor: C. E. Case
Stories by: A. M. Leibowitz, Adrian J. Smith, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese, Geonn Cannon, Helena Maeve, Kassandra Lea, Lela E. Buis, Ralph Greco Jr., & Stacy O’Steen
Everyone hears “He’s too young for you.” “She’s too old for you.” Not between these pages. This anthology crosses the age gap with nine enchanting stories of cross-generational relationships. Some are sweet, some are sexy, some are heartbreaking. One is downright murderous. The protagonists are gay men or women searching for true love or trying out what’s right in front of them.
Lesbian
“Verso and Recto” by Geonn Cannon
Discovering their mutual love of reading leads a literature student and her professor to take a step neither of them expected.
“A Blizzard’s Blow” by Adrian J. Smith
Lollie dashes from the house in the middle of a blizzard in search of something she’s not sure she’ll find, but she hopes to never again see the same cold, blank stare Kimberley gave her.
“Slice” by Ralph Greco Jr.
When Germane relinquishes her more-than-slight kinky relationship with Lila to begin a new one with younger A.J., she finds a flirty, fun and wholly different “Slice” of life opening up for her.
“That December” by Lela E. Buis
Celia finds that older women and the politics of genetic engineering aren’t what they seem.
Gay
“The Arrangement” by Helena Maeve
When he is summoned into his Dom’s study after a mutually satisfying scene, Cyril knows he’s in for something worse than the play they normally get up to.
“New York Minute” by Stacy O’Steen
Stuck in his depressing hometown for far too long, Colton jumps at the chance to return to his beloved New York City. But when some odd coincidences click into place, he needs to find the truth hidden in the lies.
“The Artist as an Old Man” by A. M. Leibowitz
1985 is a big year for Kenny Anderson. Sent to interview artist Aaron Rubenstein, making a grand reappearance after a three-year absence, Kenny digs beneath the surface to understand Aaron’s life—and maybe his own.
“Adjunct Hell” by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese
Phil may be in his 50s, but he’s still a student, and the fact that Carl—who’s barely 30—is dating him would bad enough even if Carl wasn’t waiting for good news from the tenure committee.
“Say You Do” by Kassandra Lea
Keegan Bancroft is hoping to avoid a complete meltdown before his date. But there’s something he really wants to ask Richard.
Buy Links:
|| Amazon USA || Amazon CA || Amazon UK || Kobo || Smashwords || B & N ||
About the Publisher
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.
“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.
|| Website || Facebook || Twitter ||
May 2, 2015
Guest Post: Lela Buis (Young Love, Old Hearts)
Day Two of our guest posts for the Young Love, Old Hearts anthology by Supposed Crimes Press. Today we have Lela Buis, author of the F/F story “That December.”
Endings
The problem with endings is that they need to leave the reader satisfied in some way. This is what separates a real story from something like a vignette, for example. It also helps if the ending wraps up the conflict and presents something meaningful for the reader to think about. So what makes a meaningful ending for a story? Something that sticks with the reader, obviously, but how is a writer to identify what will stick?
It turns out there are a few tried and true techniques. One possibility is to create a strong image at the end of your story. An example might be a bird flying away. Another possibility is a circular ending, where the writer goes back to consider ideas he or she presented in the beginning of the story. Another might be presenting a summary or a powerful thought at the end. Still another might be matching vs. non-matching images; for example, an image of youth at the beginning and old age at the end of the story. Last is “musing” about endings, dying, etc., which is a fairly literary approach. One last observation is that strong endings should result from the characters’ actions. The characters are what the story is about, after all.
Website: http://lelaebuis.wordpress.com/
Blog: http://lelaebuis.wordpress.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lela.buis
Twitter: @LelaEBuis
Other work: http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Fauna-Collection-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B00OKILOJO
Young Love, Old Hearts
A Supposed Crimes Anthology
Editor: C. E. Case
Stories by: A. M. Leibowitz, Adrian J. Smith, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese, Geonn Cannon, Helena Maeve, Kassandra Lea, Lela E. Buis, Ralph Greco Jr., & Stacy O’Steen
Everyone hears “He’s too young for you.” “She’s too old for you.” Not between these pages. This anthology crosses the age gap with nine enchanting stories of cross-generational relationships. Some are sweet, some are sexy, some are heartbreaking. One is downright murderous. The protagonists are gay men or women searching for true love or trying out what’s right in front of them.
Lesbian
“Verso and Recto” by Geonn Cannon
Discovering their mutual love of reading leads a literature student and her professor to take a step neither of them expected.
“A Blizzard’s Blow” by Adrian J. Smith
Lollie dashes from the house in the middle of a blizzard in search of something she’s not sure she’ll find, but she hopes to never again see the same cold, blank stare Kimberley gave her.
“Slice” by Ralph Greco Jr.
When Germane relinquishes her more-than-slight kinky relationship with Lila to begin a new one with younger A.J., she finds a flirty, fun and wholly different “Slice” of life opening up for her.
“That December” by Lela E. Buis
Celia finds that older women and the politics of genetic engineering aren’t what they seem.
Gay
“The Arrangement” by Helena Maeve
When he is summoned into his Dom’s study after a mutually satisfying scene, Cyril knows he’s in for something worse than the play they normally get up to.
“New York Minute” by Stacy O’Steen
Stuck in his depressing hometown for far too long, Colton jumps at the chance to return to his beloved New York City. But when some odd coincidences click into place, he needs to find the truth hidden in the lies.
“The Artist as an Old Man” by A. M. Leibowitz
1985 is a big year for Kenny Anderson. Sent to interview artist Aaron Rubenstein, making a grand reappearance after a three-year absence, Kenny digs beneath the surface to understand Aaron’s life—and maybe his own.
“Adjunct Hell” by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese
Phil may be in his 50s, but he’s still a student, and the fact that Carl—who’s barely 30—is dating him would bad enough even if Carl wasn’t waiting for good news from the tenure committee.
“Say You Do” by Kassandra Lea
Keegan Bancroft is hoping to avoid a complete meltdown before his date. But there’s something he really wants to ask Richard.
Buy Links:
|| Amazon USA || Amazon CA || Amazon UK || Kobo || Smashwords || B & N ||
About the Publisher
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.
“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.
Website || Facebook || Twitter ||
May 1, 2015
Guest Post – Adrian Smith (Young Love, Old Hearts)
Our story “Adjunct Hell” comes out today as part of the Young Love, Old Hearts anthology featuring both M/M and F/F May/December couples from Supposed Crimes Press. Throughout this week we’ll be welcoming our fellow authors in that anthology to our blog to talk about their characters, processes, and writing romance featuring older heroes and protagonists. We’ll be visiting their blogs as well, and will post those links to Avian30 and on our media page as well!
Today, we’re pleased to welcome Adrian J. Smith, author of the F/F story “A Blizzard’s Blow” in Young Love, Old Hearts, here to talk about why she loves writing age gaps”
I don’t know what it is, but there’s something deep inside of me that absolutely loves older women. So when this anthology opened up, I knew I had to jump at the chance to write a story featuring my favorite type of relationship.
In this short, Lollie is the youngin’ and Andrea is our beautifully aged love interest. They run into each other (almost literally), and they don’t stop there. It’s one of those, what if scenarios. Those moments we all think in the back of our head, or maybe we all should think, but we don’t.
There’s not much discussion on age. There isn’t fear or trepidation. There’s just understanding in that their relationship will be what it is, and that’s that. No need to have deep discussions, especially if they’re only going to be together for the short time of the blizzard itself.
This is what I love about May/December relationships. Usually, age difference isn’t the issue. It’s the inability to understand that a person is a person now matter who or how old they are that causes the issues. Other than that, it’s just a matter of making sure you don’t get mad or make stupid jokes when the other person in the relationship doesn’t get a reference because of their age.
Age isn’t something we talk about unless it seems odd or abnormal. But not everyone falls in love with a clone of themselves, and likewise, not everyone makes very good decisions.
Excerpt:
The sleek black car turned into the driveway she was standing in, the bright lights blinding her. Lollie put her hands up, protecting her eyes. The wheel on the passenger side of the vehicle hit the slush puddle at the edge of the street and splashed it all over Lollie. She swallowed and stumbled backward as the car barreled forward, nearly knocking her down.
Brakes ground as the driver slammed on them, and the car slid on the ice already forming in the below freezing temperature. Lollie shivered and bit her lip to prevent the curse words from slipping and the screaming from beginning. She’d already shouted enough that night; she didn’t need to do it anymore.
She expected the driver to be a man, for him to be wearing a business suit and rushing home for a dinner his stay-at-home wife was making him and he was late for. Instead, when the driver stepped out of the driver’s seat, her dark hair danced around her face, her baby-blue eyes locking on Lollie. Lollie gasped, clutched a hand to her heart and took a step back as the woman raced around her vehicle, sliding on the ice and shouting.
Author Bio:
Adrian J. Smith is a Christian, author, editor, spouse and all around crazy person. She’s constantly doing something at any given time and never learned to practice the word “relax.” AJ loves stories with a dramatic flair, stories that aren’t afraid to take risk and characters that are as real as the person sitting next to her.
Where to find me!
Website: adrianjsmith.wordpress.com
FB page: www.facebook.com/adrianjsmithbooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AdrianAJSmith
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/adrianjsmith
Young Love, Old Hearts
A Supposed Crimes Anthology
Editor: C. E. Case
Stories by: A. M. Leibowitz, Adrian J. Smith, Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese, Geonn Cannon, Helena Maeve, Kassandra Lea, Lela E. Buis, Ralph Greco Jr., & Stacy O’Steen
Everyone hears “He’s too young for you.” “She’s too old for you.” Not between these pages. This anthology crosses the age gap with nine enchanting stories of cross-generational relationships. Some are sweet, some are sexy, some are heartbreaking. One is downright murderous. The protagonists are gay men or women searching for true love or trying out what’s right in front of them.
Lesbian
“Verso and Recto” by Geonn Cannon
Discovering their mutual love of reading leads a literature student and her professor to take a step neither of them expected.
“A Blizzard’s Blow” by Adrian J. Smith
Lollie dashes from the house in the middle of a blizzard in search of something she’s not sure she’ll find, but she hopes to never again see the same cold, blank stare Kimberley gave her.
“Slice” by Ralph Greco Jr.
When Germane relinquishes her more-than-slight kinky relationship with Lila to begin a new one with younger A.J., she finds a flirty, fun and wholly different “Slice” of life opening up for her.
“That December” by Lela E. Buis
Celia finds that older women and the politics of genetic engineering aren’t what they seem.
Gay
“The Arrangement” by Helena Maeve
When he is summoned into his Dom’s study after a mutually satisfying scene, Cyril knows he’s in for something worse than the play they normally get up to.
“New York Minute” by Stacy O’Steen
Stuck in his depressing hometown for far too long, Colton jumps at the chance to return to his beloved New York City. But when some odd coincidences click into place, he needs to find the truth hidden in the lies.
“The Artist as an Old Man” by A. M. Leibowitz
1985 is a big year for Kenny Anderson. Sent to interview artist Aaron Rubenstein, making a grand reappearance after a three-year absence, Kenny digs beneath the surface to understand Aaron’s life—and maybe his own.
“Adjunct Hell” by Erin McRae & Racheline Maltese
Phil may be in his 50s, but he’s still a student, and the fact that Carl—who’s barely 30—is dating him would bad enough even if Carl wasn’t waiting for good news from the tenure committee.
“Say You Do” by Kassandra Lea
Keegan Bancroft is hoping to avoid a complete meltdown before his date. But there’s something he really wants to ask Richard.
Buy Links:
|| Amazon US || Amazon CA || Amazon UK || Kobo || Smashwords || Barnes & Noble ||
About the Publisher
Supposed Crimes, LLC publishes fiction and poetry primarily featuring lesbian characters and themes. The focus is on genre fiction–Westerns, Science Fiction, Horror, Action–rather than just romance. That’s how we set ourselves apart from our competitors. Our characters happen to love women and kick ass.
“Supposed crimes” refers to the idea that homosexuality is outlawed, and that our authors are being subversive by writing. As times change this becomes more tongue-in-cheek, but can still apply broadly to our culture. Christians writing lesbians and men writing lesbians are also subversive ideas in this industry, and we promote people bending the rules.
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April 28, 2015
Tell your stories, but know your history
Sometimes I am old. Often, I am cranky. I’ve been out for a long time, and have had the privilege of living in New York, and during my university years having worked at the now defunct Lambda Rising in Washington DC. I was born in 1972 and I have known gay and trans people my entire life. As a queer person, that’s been helpful to me.
On the Internet I see a lot of, “there are no stories about….” posts. These are legitimate. There are not enough stories about lots of things. The stories that do exist, you may not have encountered or may find inqdequate. And, the existence of said stories should absolutely not stop us from making more stories.
In the random sphere of stuff I dig and that’s personally important to me Ellen Kushner’s Riverside books feature a ton of bisexual characters of multiple genders in leading roles; the first one came out in 1987. Lambda Literary, founded by the owner of Lambda Rising, has been covering queer lit since 1987. The bisexual books tumblr busts its ass talking about bi-representation in books and screen-based media. Clive Barker’s Imajica features a third-gendered character of color and a bisexual protagonist; that came out in 1991. Malinda Lo is doing amazing stuff with lesbian-focused YA.
Which brings us to this. Believe it or not, despite the climate in some parts of America and the world, LGBTQ+ YA is also not new. Because I went and researched to write this instead of just posting about stuff I love, I can tell you that I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, is considered to be the first gay YA novel and was published in 1969. The first lesbian one is usually credited as Rubyfruit Jungle which came out in 1973. Goodreads, meanwhile, has a list of 141 trans YA books, that I am sure is not remotely comprehensive.
Are there not as many books and films and TV shows with queer protagonists as there could be? Yes. Is it harder to find books with protagonists who are not just L or G, but also B or T or Q or Ace or Intersex? Yup. Are too many of these books just about the white queer experience? Absolutely. And are certain tropes (tragedies, villains, and coming out) over-represented in the eyes of some readers? Sure. But, true confession, I love me some queer villains. I want it to be okay for my people to good, but I want it to be okay for us to be evil too.
Our history and our stories exist, whether you have heard them or not, whether they are represented enough or not. They exist whether they are the right stories for you or not. They exist whether they speak to the current LGBTQ+ experience (which is not a monolith) or not. They exist whether or not you think they are responsible.
And when you say they don’t, when you say you are inventing a canon instead of amplifying and adding to and diversifying a canon, you are not just ignoring the history that has helped to build movements, but you are rubbing certain wounds some of us carry — and I do carry them — quite raw. In the 80s and early 90s, when the AIDS crisis was at its worst in America, we said SILENCE = DEATH.
And many are dead, but collectively we are not dead. Our stories are not dead. Their stories are not dead.
None of us laboring in any sub-branch of queer lit is inventing the wheel here. We’re merely expanding its possibilities. And that is everything to be proud of and nothing to be ashamed of. But we’ve got to carry our history along with us. We’ve got to bear it up, because it has made us and our stories possible.
In some ways, every story is the first of its kind to be told. In other ways, no story is.
Please remember that, and please remember.
April 24, 2015
Guest Post: V.L. Locey, Two Man Advantage
Today we’re happy to welcome V.L. Locey back to the blog to talk about her new release, Two Man Advantage, and why she writes gay hockey romance. I have a massive fondness for the sport (I lived in Toronto for several years), and Racheline and I always have a soft spot for heroes with attitude issues and relationships with plenty of snark. We are on board for all of this.
Blurb: Victor Kalinski, all-star forward for the Boston Barracudas, is one of the biggest jerks in professional hockey. Before long his aggressive attitude gets him shipped off to play in the minor leagues.
Furious, he takes to the ice with equal amounts of skill and scathing sarcasm, which doesn’t win him any friends—except for good-natured alternate captain Daniel Arou. He won’t take any of Vic’s crap, and he won’t take no for an answer.
But Vic’s troublemaking is pulling his career one way while Dan’s talent is pushing his in the other. However much they scorch the sheets, they might soon be separated by more than Vic’s fear of being hurt.
Inside Scoop: This book contains scorching gay sex and a heaping helping of no-holds-barred snark between hot hockey heroes who don’t pull their punches.
A Romantica® gay erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Over the years I have had tons of people ask me why I write hockey romance, and more specifically, why gay hockey romance. I’ll address with two responses:
One is that I don`t choose my genres, my genres choose me. When a story idea blossoms, it comes to me with my couple predetermined either M/F or M/M, but always the couple comes first. The plot comes afterward. There is no arguing with my muse because she knows what she wants and will become quite bitter if I try to change the leads in any way.
My second reply is why not write gay hockey romance? Who says love can only find straight couples who play the game? It’s time for professional gay athletes to stop having to hide who they are. As they say in ads for one of my favorite organizations “If you can play, you can play.” The folks at You Can Play Foundation are so right. Who cares who you sleep with as long as you can play the game? It`s time to start eradicating homophobia in sports. As an ally and an author, I feel that one way to start whittling at the hatred is to spread love via my books.
So that`s why I write both M/F and M/M hockey romances. I love to spread love. And hip checks. ;)
Excerpt:
I was soaping up my head when I heard the bathroom door squeak. I froze, hands on my head, shampoo foam sneaking down my temples.
“Hey, Kalinski? I’m sorry if I touched a sore spot, okay?”
There I stood, like a carving of the Roman shampoo god Dandrufficus, silent and stony. I was aching for something but didn’t know what.
No. That’s a miserable-ass lie. I ached to see Arou pull back the thin shower curtain, step over the side of the tub and kiss me into forgetting my tenth birthday…and my eleventh…and my fourteenth as well. I cleared my throat.
“Yeah, whatever,” I said loudly enough to be heard over the rushing water. The plastic curtain rustled when he closed the door. My fingers slipped from my head to hang by my thighs. Eyes closed, I stepped forward. The stream beat down on my head, filling my ears with water and bubbles. I could still hear Dan just on the other side of the shower curtain. My shoulder muscles tensed.
“I tend to let my mouth run away with me sometimes, you know?”
“Yeah, I know how that goes.”
Taking a step back, I glanced at the dark form outside the curtain. He must be lounging on the small sink. There wasn’t room for two men in here, especially me and Daniel Arou. I turned to let the water beat the tension from my upper back.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” Dan said. I placed my hands on the tiles, not even seeing the mildew on the grout. Why the fuck was this man apologizing? “I’m sorry if your childhood was rough.”
Yep, that was the clincher. I threw the curtain to the right so hard the old, brittle plastic tore off several of the rusty metallic shower rings. Dan lifted his head quickly from his study of his feet.
“You don’t know shit about me or my childhood. For your information, asscrack, what I said was a joke!” I snarled, pointing a finger at him.
He stared at me. Water was dripping from my finger to the floor. His eyes betrayed him. I saw the long, hungry look. My accusatory digit fluttered downward. My cock began to rise to take my pointy-finger’s place. Dan grew slightly pale, mumbled something, then tripped over his large feet out the bathroom door.
I exited the shower. Just stepped out. Left the water running, wetting the floor, and followed the stupid shit. Dan was facing the front door, his back as stiff as my prick.
“I was not checking you out,” he said through clenched teeth.
I stood about a foot behind him, my dick at attention.
“Yeah, you were,” I said. A horn blew outside in the parking lot. A round of male guffaws followed. My wet skin was starting to get chilly. The heater in the room was locked at fifty-five. “I told you I’m not gay.”
“Neither am I,” he said rapidly. Too rapidly.
Yeah, I knew how this was going to go. I had been hiding my bisexuality since I was old enough to like looking at other guys’ packages in the high school locker room. While things were changing for LGBT players, a ton of us were still pretending.
“That’s too bad,” I said, taking a step closer to him. The floor creaked. He sucked in a short breath. His gasp made me smile. “Seems a gay dude and a bi guy in the same room could be honest with each other at the very least.”
That announcement brought the sexy little shit around in a hurry. One dark eyebrow was climbing up his forehead. Those startlingly blue eyes dropped downward. He licked his bottom lip. My cock began to weep.
“You’re bi?”
“Yeah, and right now I would like nothing better than to jack you up against that dresser and kiss you into a state of delirium.”
Dan wet his lips again. Either he was trying to turn me on, which was a wasted effort given how hard my dick was for the man, or it was a nervous tic. Whatever, it was making me crazy. I rolled my hands into fists to keep them from reaching for him.
“Look, stubby, I need a reply here,” I groaned a minute later. Maybe I had misread his signals. Fuck knows I do it often enough with chicks. Guys are usually less confusing, but not always. “If you’re not up for getting laid, speak up now and I’ll go back into the shower, take care of this boner, then pretend this little conversation never took place.”
Another horn blew in the parking lot. Raucous laughter erupted outside our window. The Cougars were bored. Dan reached behind his back to lock the door. Well. Fuck. Me. I suddenly felt lightheaded.
Buy Links: Ellora’s Cave | Amazon | B&N | Kobo
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, belly laughs, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted goofy domestic fowl, and two steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.
I love to meet new friends and fans! You can find me at:
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Blog | tsú
Secret Cravings Backlist Books and Upcoming Releases
Pink Pucks & Power Plays (Book One of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
A Most Unlikely Countess (Book Two of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
O Captain! My Captain! (Book Three of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
Reality Check (Book Four of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
Language of Love (Book Five of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
Final Shifts (Book Six of the To Love a Wildcat Series)
Tumble Dry
Coming in August 2015 – Clean Sweep (Book One of the Venom Series)
Torquere Press Backlist and Upcoming Releases
Two Guys Walk Into an Apocalypse (Part of the He Loves Me For My Brainssss anthology)
Two Guys Walk Into an Apocalypse 2: It Came From Birmingham
Two Guys Walk Into an Apocalypse 3: He’s a Lumberjack and He`s Undead
Love of the Hunter
Goaltender`s Penalty
All I Want for Christmas – A Toms & Tabbies Tale
Early to Rise – A Toms & Tabbies Tale
Every Sunday at One (Part of the 2013 Charity Sip Anthology)
Night of the Jackal
An Erie Halloween
An Erie Operetta
Back to the Garden (Also part of the Mythologically Torqued Anthology)
Ellora`s Cave Backlist and Upcoming Releases
Bound, Boarded and Bagged
Coming soon . . . Long Change and Shutdown Pair
April 20, 2015
10 things I wish someone had told me (as a queer person) before I started writing LGBTQ+ romance
1. If you want to understand the genre you need to read and socialize in M/F romance spaces too.
2. There are fine, and hotly debated, distinctions between M/M romance, gay romance, and gay lit. These discussions are interesting, relevant, involve constantly shifting borders, probably matter less than you think, and are a huge time suck.
3. Some readers will care that you are queer — both in positive and negative ways. Most, however, won’t care at all. Your queerness brings you a certain sort of expertise, yes, but we’re not writing non-fiction here, and the degree to which your audience cares will vary pretty widely.
4. You can’t make assumptions about the identities of other writers in the genre. People are complicated. They have narrative, not labels.
5. The same generational divides that exist in LGBTQ+ social and activist spaces exist in LGBTQ+ writing spaces.
6. People will offend you. Whether that’s “I’m a gay man trapped in a woman’s body” uttered by cis-gendered straight women; people who say “family-friendly” to mean M/F romance only; people who assume you can’t be gay and a person of faith; people who insist all LGBTQ+ romance is erotica; or people who use “coming out” to talk about their reading habits versus their identities — there will be days when you feel bruised and damaged. None of this stuff is in the majority; some of this stuff has reasonable contexts you can’t quite see (i.e., people still working on coming out to themselves); all of it is probably a little more prevalent than you suspect.
7. People’s hearts are mostly in the right place. Everyone is just trying to get by, keep their audience happy, and figure out how to navigate this world we live in. True hate, versus conversations people just haven’t had yet, is pretty rare.
8. Conventional wisdom says people don’t buy paperbacks, both because they’re more expensive and because “people don’t want to be seen reading gay lit!” My experience is the opposite. Some people want paperbacks. They want a visible queer library on their bookshelves. The number one question I get about every release I have is “when will it be in paperback?”
9. Being queer is more than being an urban sophisticate (whatever that is). In fact, as a queer person from NYC who has been out since she was a teen, the LGBTQ+ romance space has done more to expose me to queer people outside of the coasts than anything else in my life.
10. Your readers are diverse. No, they are not just gay men. No, they are not just straight women. And yes, Virginia, bisexuality is real! The T isn’t just there for decoration. Lesbians do read romance! And the + means things — I meet ace readers all the time who are desperate for their stories. Whatever/whoever people tell you your readers are, they are probably leaving someone out.
April 19, 2015
Rainbow Book Fair recap — Thank you!
Yesterday was my and Erin’s first book fair — the Rainbow Book Fair in NYC. For me, who once worked at Lambda Rising in Washington DC and enjoys the occasional foray into retail work, it was fantastic to be in a queer book space. While LGBTQ+ bookstores are increasingly a thing of the past, LGBTQ+ book fairs have actually been growing, both in number and size.
Not only did the book fair bring us a decent number of sales and a sense of personal achievement (from “hey, we’re written a lot of stuff” to “Erin survived driving in NYC”) it also meant that we got to say hi to an incredible range of people we know, including online friends, author and publisher peers, and a woman I was in a sorority with I haven’t seen in 20 years. We talked to LGBTQ+ people of my generation and older about the evolution of labels and identities and how that challenges us and what we can do to support queer people in rural communities. Erin knit in public (apparently stamping her lesbian card in the process) and we got to meet the organizer of the OUT WRITE LGBTQ+ book fair we’ll be at in DC this summer.
Basically, it was a huge giant win. And if you were a part of it — in person or online — we just want to say thank you. And if you weren’t, we’d like to encourage you to check out similar events that may be happening near you. They do a tremendous amount to provide historical continuity that has often been tremendously (and tragically) difficult for our communities to maintain.
At one point, after I’d been chatting with someone who had visited our table for a while, Erin turned to me and said, “Now I know where Victor comes from.”
I smiled, and couldn’t resist wagging my finger at her just a bit. “No. Now you know where I come from.”
