Jae's Blog, page 29

Interview with fellow lesbian romance author Chris Zett & a giveaway

Today, I’m interviewing fellow Ylva Publishing author Chris Zett. Chris lives in Berlin, works as a physician, and writes authentic lesbian medical romances. 

Chris is giving away an ebook copy of her lesbian romance novel Irregular Heartbeat, so don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post! 

Chris also offers a free short story for her newsletter subscribers, which she’ll send out in time for Christmas, so if you want to receive it, make sure you sign up to her newsletter. 

 

Welcome, Chris. Please tell us a little about your debut novel, Irregular Heartbeat, which was a finalist for a GCLS Award this year.

Irregular Heartbeat is, as the name suggests, a lesbian medical romance. After nearly a decade as a professional drummer, Diana leaves her rock-star life behind to continue her residency in emergency medicine. Emily is an attending physician in the ER and takes her job very seriously. When a new resident shows up with a secret past, she isn’t happy to babysit the intriguing newcomer. They’re not only forced to work together but soon their personal lives intersect as well, and the once-clear lines between attending and resident begin to blur.

 

Most readers love medical romances. What do you think makes novels about doctors and detectives so irresistible? Is it just the women-in-scrubs-or-a-white-coat phenomena?  

I think some professions are well known and mysterious at the same time. Everyone grows up knowing of doctors, nurses, cops, and firemen. You meet a few of them on a regular basis (hopefully not cops), but not everyone knows someone in these jobs privately. So there is enough room to imagine all kinds of exciting backstories and fascinating personalities hiding behind their uniforms. Plus, these careers all have in common that you suspect the people who choose to pursue them have some intention of “doing good” or “saving the world.” It’s easy to glorify a doctor for working 24 hours, sacrificing sleep for the lives of others.

While some medical professionals buy into this narrative and think of themselves as “demi-gods in white,” most of us know that we’re humans, just like everyone else, not better or worse. We all have our own mixed personalities and motives.

Medical romances—at least the good ones—allow the reader do sneak behind the stage and get to know the person behind the professional role they’re playing.

 

As a medical professional, do you read medical romance novels, or do you tend to stay away from them? If you do read them, what are the things that make you flinch?

I love medical romances! I’m not different than anyone else and want to catch a glimpse behind the facade. I think I read most of what the lesbian fiction market has to offer. I love it when the setting genuinely fits the character and isn’t just an easy means to dress up a character in a white coat.

Medical inaccuracies that are easy to research make me flinch. And groan. And fling my e-reader away.

I’m not talking about super complicated details, but small things that add up, like talking through breathing tubes, shocking a flatline, or getting up and immediately walking away after a few months of coma.

Watching TV shouldn’t be the only form of research for a writer. But I think this problem stems from the same phenomenon as the interest in medical romances—medicine is well known and mysterious at the same time. Everyone knows someone who has been in a hospital or has been sick and therefore thinks they are an expert on medical procedures they have seen maybe once. But even though I’ve been in school for thirteen years and encountered far too many teachers, I don’t know enough to write about one without proper research.

If anyone is interested in writing a medical romance or writing medical scenes in any other novel, please don’t hesitate to contact a medical professional. I’m always willing to help and have done it before. It always has been fun to figure out with the writer what they need for their scene and how to achieve it best while still staying realistic.

 

Which of your characters do you feel you relate to the most and why?

This is a great question. None? All of them? Help!

Diana’s character is very relaxed, confident, someone you can rely on. She knows who she is and where she wants to be and just does everything that needs to be done. I believe I have some of these qualities, but we’re still very different.

In Emily, I wanted to portray a typical career-focused doctor whose self-imposed high standard stands in the way of her own happiness—that’s not me. At all. But her struggle with her emotional detachment, especially concerning her mother, has some familiar aspects I can relate too very well.

Jess, a cardiologist from my upcoming medical romance Heart Failure, loves planning and is very stubborn. Again, some of that is me, but most of the time, while writing the novel, I wanted to kick her and tell her to get over herself. (Spoiler alarm: she did, eventually.)

Finally, Lena (from Heart Failure) has massive problems believing she is worthy to be loved. Teenage-me would have related to her so much. But I’m very happy that I’m in a different place now.

 

Many authors suffer from “second book syndrome,” meaning they struggle with their second book, maybe because there’s more pressure to deliver a book that is even better than the first one. While working on your second novel, Heart Failure, did you experience that, and if you did, how did you deal with it?

In medicine, we have this terrible (but sometimes true) saying: See one, do one, teach one. But just as in medicine, I had to discover the hard way that just because you have tons of theoretical knowledge and did it once, you’re not an expert. I expected that all I had learned during the countless revisions and edits on my first book to translate automatically in a perfect second novel. Um, no. I got frustrated because I couldn’t do those characters and ideas justice that lived vividly in my imagination.

After I got over my disappointment that I hadn’t changed into a perfect bestseller author overnight, I clung to the thought that I had already successfully finished and published a novel, so I knew it wasn’t impossible. And unlike writing my first book, I didn’t suffer from writer’s block. The most important lesson I learned from my first novel was that you can really, really transform a novel by editing. But to get to this stage, you need to write something first.

 

You are a fellow German writing in English. Why do you prefer to write your novels in English, and what’s your biggest struggle?

Since I was about 15, I preferred reading in English, and after 18 I barely touched a German book. I was into fantasy novels, and the German translations were often awful. What I did read in German were my mother’s cheap historical romance novels, and whenever I tried to write something in German, it sounded like a juvenile, overly dramatic version of these books. In my early twenties, I dabbled in roleplaying on Yahoo! Groups (what would now be called fan-fiction writing) and like most good things on the Internet in the nineties, it was only possible in English. I used these fantasy short stories to explore my sexuality, but never really finished one. Later, med school and my residency happened, and I quit writing for fun.

Until I discovered lesbian fiction, especially romance. It was as if a switch in my brain had been set from reading to writing, and now I can’t stop. The fun thing is, I never even considered writing in German. Translating my own books into German without using purple prose is extremely difficult, and I would consider this as my biggest struggle. Apart from commas—they are my nemesis.

 

I know you love to travel and recently even bought a camper van. What’s your favorite place that you have visited so far, and would you ever set a book there?

This is a very easy question. I have visited a lot of beautiful places but I have a clear favorite: Scotland, especially Glencoe. I’ve been in the area more than ten times, on very different kinds of vacations: from group travel to backpacking to couple’s retreat with my wife. I always swear that I’ve seen enough and it’ll be my last time. But after a few years (or months), I get the calling to return.

Actually, the next book I’ll write will be partially set there. My protagonist will go on a hiking trip on the West Highland Way and meet someone she could fall in love with. Lucky for her, it’s a medical romance, and she’ll meet her love interest again as they unexpectedly start working in the same hospital, thousands of miles away, in the US.

 

Is there a secret book project that you’d love to write at some point in the future but don’t feel quite ready for right now?

I want to write a novel about a female pianist who plays live at the screenings of silent movies. The novel will be set in 1920s Berlin; a time of political, socio-economical, and cultural change, freedom to explore sexual orientations, and endless parties. Just before the rising nationalism tore apart the country and destroyed everything the fledgling democracy stood for.

Apart from the unbelievable amount of research I need to do, I want to become a better writer to do this book justice, especially in German.

 

I know you’re an avid reader of lesbian and f/f fiction. Can you tell us your five all-time favorites?

No. Seriously, this question is impossible. Five per author? Five per sub-genre? The best five of last month? Are you trying to kill me?

I decided to cheat a little and looked at my labels in Calibre, the best ebook management software I know: I rated 222 books with 5 stars, 65 of them are in my re-read folder (that is books I intend to re-read). Of those, I picked the five that spoke to me the most today. If you ask me again tomorrow, I might name five completely different books.

The oldest of them is No Strings by Gerri Hill. I love the characters, the setting, the bickering. I can’t count how often I read this book.

The newest is Changing the Script by Lee Winter. I only read it once, but in one complete sitting, without getting up to drink, eat, or use the bathroom. I thought I could just read a chapter while I waited for my water to boil for my morning tea. I never even made myself that tea. Not many books have done this to me: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Damage Control are on this entirely different list.

If we’re talking about Jae books, I need to mention Backwards to Oregon. Luke is just so irresistible.

The most surprising book this year was Alone by E. J. Noyes. I knew I loved her writing, but this book really got under my skin.

And last, I’ll cheat some more and mention a series of three books: The Dark Peaks Series by Cari Hunter (No Good Reason, Cold to the Touch and A Quiet Death). A doctor, a detective, a fantastic setting, an unusual romance spanning three books, excellent writing—what more could you want? I especially recommend the audiobooks, the narrative performance by Nicola Victoria Vincent is incredible.

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

My next book will be out in January 2020. Heart Failure is a stand-alone medical romance but set in the same universe as Irregular Heartbeat.

The blurb: Dr. Jess Riley’s perfect life as a top cardiologist and new mom shatters when she has a heart failure. Forced to move home, she’s shocked to find her mother has taken in Lena, a struggling artist with a broken heart. They slowly form a friendship which turns physical. But is it too soon? Should two barely mended souls risk more? An enemies-to-lovers lesbian romance about daring to open your heart.

Right now, I’m working on the German translation until the end of December. (If anyone German is reading this and has a suggestion for a good German title, please email me (chris-zett(at)web.de). I’ll be forever grateful and offer you a signed copy if I use your suggestion.

In January, I’ll plan to start writing my next novel. I’ve been plotting this one for a while and can’t wait to get the first words on the page.

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

My website (chris-zett.com) is a good start. I’m all over social media too. I have a Facebook page (facebook.com/ChrisZettAuthor), a Twitter account (twitter.com/ChrisZettAuthor), and Instagram (Instagram.com/ChrisZettAuthor).

 

Free short story

Chris also has a reader newsletter. If you subscribe now, you’ll get a free short story for Christmas.

Book giveaway

Chris is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her lesbian medical romance Irregular Heartbeat.

Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, scroll down to the very end of this page and leave a comment on this blog post.

Entries close on Thursday, December 19, 2019, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify the winner via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.

 

The post Interview with fellow lesbian romance author Chris Zett & a giveaway appeared first on Jae.

Interview with lesbian romance author Clare Lydon & a giveaway

 

It’s time for another interview with a fellow author of lesbian romance. Today’s guest is Clare Lydon, who is best known for her London Romance series. 

Clare is giving away an ebook copy of the latest book in that series, Made in London, so don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post. 

 

Welcome, Clare. Please tell us a little about your latest release, Made in London.

Made In London is the sixth book in my London Romance Series, which has been described by readers as “the L Word, but set in London.” I’m not going to argue with that! It’s the story of Eden, a cat owner who’s allergic to kids; and Heidi, a single mother who’s allergic to cats. Here’s the blurb:

Photographer Heidi Hughes has been single since her daughter was born. But now Maya’s walking and talking, she’s ready to meet someone who’s happy with her cute-but-chaotic extra.

Eden Price’s world is all about order and precision: in her job, her home, her friendships. A PR guru, she’s designed her life to run like clockwork.

At least she had, until the universe decided she needed to meet Heidi. Now, Eden’s not sure of much, because Heidi is everything she didn’t want, but now categorically does. Can the family-phobic singleton really be falling for the single mum?

Book six in the London Romance series features cats, kids and calamity, along with chocolate spread exactly where you want it. Strap in for the latest feel-good, laugh-out-loud London adventure!

 

Made in London is the sixth book in your London Romance series. What makes London the perfect setting for a romance series?

Who doesn’t love London? “Tired of London, tired of life,” goes the saying. London is a melting pot of a city, and the place I call home. It’s also where my heart will always be, so when I thought about writing my first book, it was a natural fit. My London Romance Series takes place in a few different areas of the city, and readers tell me they can taste the atmosphere and really imagine themselves in the space, which I love.

London has such varied cultures, landscapes, food and drinks, so it makes a rich canvas to base a series in. The characters from all six books flit in and out of the other books in the series. Each novel is a standalone romance, but I love including familiar faces and dropping in Easter eggs for series’ fans, which they love.

 

In all of your books—and if I counted correctly, there are 18 by now—what character did you struggle with the most while writing her and why?

That’s a really good question. The character that springs to mind is Tanya’s homophobic mother in A Girl Called London. Tanya is a bitch in This London Love (although she comes around in the end). In the next book, you get to understand her reasons why. Her mum is a piece of work, and writing those scenes was a little too close to the bone.

I think most of us (unless we’re really lucky) have had those kind of conversations with our parents early on in the coming out process, when emotions run high. However, Tanya’s mum never lets go of her hatred. I love Tanya, so that was hard to write. My books are known for their humour, but there wasn’t much comedy in those scenes. All my books have a HEA, but some of the characters struggle that bit more to get there.

 

What are your favorite romance tropes as a writer and as a reader?

I do love a second-chance romance. I love a high school reunion where their eyes meet across a crowded room and all those feelings are suddenly reignited, and the person is back to being 17 again. Perfect! Twice In A Lifetime and You’re My Kind are both second-chance romances. I also adore Gerri Hill’s Love Waits.

I had a lot of fun writing my royal romance, Once Upon A Princess, so maybe I should do that again. I also love a small-town romance. And anything Christmassy. I could read Christmas books all year round. This is my favourite time of year, and I’m obsessively watching the Hallmark Christmas channel. I watch a Christmas movie a day right now. I’m in my element!

 

You co-wrote Once Upon a Princess with Harper Bliss, and you wrote the Village Romance series with Harper and T.B. Markinson. Did the co-writing process teach you anything new about writing—or about yourself?

Writing with other people was a great experience. It taught me to trust myself and my writing more, for sure. It also made me outline a book in a way I never had before, which changed my writing process for the better going forward, too. When you write with someone else, your outline has to be watertight.

I also loved working with other writers who I consider friends. I got to have a laugh, share writerly woes and issues. Working as part of a team was a welcome change to what is normally a pretty solitary occupation. I still chat regularly with Harper and TB, which proves our collaboration worked well. I’m planning more co-writing in 2020.

 

I listen to your & T.B. Markinson’s podcast Lesbians Who Write every week since it manages to be hilarious and informative at the same time. Can you tell us a little about the process of putting a podcast episode together? And what do you enjoy most about podcasting?

TB and I met when she lived in London and we got on well from the start. We joked one night that we should record our conversations, and that’s when the idea of the podcast dawned on me. I host The Lesbian Book Club podcast on another platform, but I’d wanted to do something myself. Collaborating on writing convinced me that collaborating on a podcast would be great, too. Plus, it means we share the work. It’s now a highlight of every week for both myself and TB – we absolutely love doing the show, and I think that comes across.

I keep the list of topics for the show. We record on Skype every Thursday. I edit the show and get it over to TB by Sunday. She uploads it every Monday. TB runs the website, and compiles the comments, too. It’s an easy partnership that works well. Podcasting is a great way to reach an audience, and I know that our listenership is a spread of readers and writers. We make each show personal, talk about our writing and our lives, and listeners seem to like what we do. Being a voice in someone’s ear (literally) is a great way of putting yourself out there, and a great marketing tool, too.

 

Your romance A Taste of Love is right up my alley since it features a woman who’s running an ice cream shop! If you were an ice cream, what flavor would you be and why?

There are some great flavours featured in the book (I did my research!) My favourite is coconut & honeycomb with chocolate sprinkles. A bit of sweetness, some pop, a little different and it doesn’t follow the crowd. Just like me. Probably.

 

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Email. Also, my never-ending to-do list. As soon as I tick something off, something else replaces it. The curse of being an independent publisher. But then, I shouldn’t moan because I do love having all that control. With great power comes great responsibility, as someone wise once said.

 

Do you have time to read, and do you read lesbian and f/f romances? If you do, what are your all-time favorites?

I read most days – you can find a list of my all-time favourites and current reads on my website under Book Recs. And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE Lane is my top lesfic – full of Hollywood glamour, incredible chemistry and off-the-scale drama. Also up there are In At The Deep End by Kate Davies; All The Little Moments by G Benson (still sobbing); and I really enjoyed XX by Angela Chadwick, which just won the Polari Prize. Refreshingly different.

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

I’m currently working on a book about a woman who falls in love with her bridesmaid. It’ll be out in Q1 next year. In 2020, I plan on writing three more books, the most I’ve done in a year. Will I manage it? Fingers and toes crossed.

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

They can go to my website, which I’ve just redone and I’m very proud of! www.clarelydon.co.uk

Most of my books are available on all platforms, so just go to wherever you normally buy your books and you should find me there. I’m also on Twitter (@clarelydon), Facebook (clare.lydon) and Instagram (@clarefic).

 

Book giveaway

Clare is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her newest release, Made in London.

Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, scroll down and leave a comment at the end of this page.

Entries close on Thursday, December 5, 2019, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.

The post Interview with lesbian romance author Clare Lydon & a giveaway appeared first on Jae.

10 WLW & Lesbian Roommate Romance Novels

 

When I first set out to write my latest romance, The Roommate Arrangement, I started to wonder: Are there other WLW or lesbian roommate romance novels out there? At first, I couldn’t think of any, then one or two came to mind. Definitely not enough for such a fun romance trope! Sharing living space with a hot stranger or someone you thought was just a friend, cuddling on the couch, or accidentally walking in on each other naked…that just screams romance, right?

So I did more research and asked the avid readers in my Facebook Reader Group and finally came up with this list of 10 WLW & lesbian roommate romance novels.

Here are our top 10 picks:

 

All I Want for Christmas by Clare Lydon

This Christmas, Tori Hammond is on a mission to find love. Her ideal present under the tree would be a shiny new girlfriend, so Tori gives herself one month to find that special lady by December 25th. Christmas spells romance and she’s going to grab some.

Available at:

Amazon

Apple iBooks

 

All That Matters by Susan X. Meagher

Dr. Kylie Mackenzie’s happily gay, Blair Spencer’s happily straight. Their friendship is so intense friends and family start to question whether they’re setting themselves up for heartache. The question is whether each woman can change her view of both herself and her needs. The answer is All That Matters.

Available at:

Amazon

Brisk Press

 

Just Three Words (SoHo Loft Series) by Melissa Brayden

Sometimes the one you want is the one you least suspect… Accountant Samantha Ennis craves order and structure. As the bookkeeper at the boutique advertising agency she owns with her three best friends, it’s her job to apply logic to the chaos. When one of those best friends, laid back Hunter Blair, moves in to share her loft apartment, Sam’s carefully organized world is thrown wildly askew.

Available at:

Amazon

Bold Strokes Books

Apple iBooks

 

Crystal’s Heart by BL Miller & Verda Foster

Crystal Sheridan is a professional stripper, an alcoholic, a drug user, and homeless. Laura Taylor is a lesbian, professional writer, obsessive tidier, and control freak. Fate brings them together as improbably housemates. Can Laura and Crystal break through their carefully constructed walls against the past and learn to get along and start to embrace life again?

Available at:

Amazon

 

The Roommate Arrangement by Jae

Comedian Steph hopes to finally get her big break in LA. But to afford the rent, she needs a roommate. Enter Rae, a former cop guarding her wounded soul behind a tough exterior. At first, they clash horribly, but bit by bit, Steph breaks through the walls Rae has built around her. Falling in love is no laughing matter in this opposites-attract lesbian romance with a bit of fake relationship.

Available at:

Amazon

Ylva Publishing

Apple iBooks

 

Sunsets and Shades by Erica Lee

Grace Harper is a hopeless romantic hanging on every word of the lesbian romance novels she reads.  When Grace’s childhood best friend, Leah, suggests that she comes to Philly to get space from her ex, it seems like the perfect opportunity to start over, especially since Leah’s roommate is none other than Laurel Lake, Grace’s favorite romance author. Grace quickly learns that people aren’t always how they appear online and is disappointed to find that the real Laurel Lake (Kinsley Scott) is actually rude and vulgar and, unfortunately, irresistibly sexy. There is also much more to her than meets the eye, and as the two grow closer, her tough exterior is quickly stripped away, revealing much more than Grace ever bargained for.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Sweat Equity by Monica McCallan

Avery Simmons’ life is in a rut. As the co-founder and creator of a lesbian dating app meant to help people find love, or at least a fun fling, the irony isn’t lost on her.

Personal trainer Charlie Grant wants nothing more than a clean slate and a fresh start from her old life in New York City. One of her oldest friends offers an extra room in her San Francisco duplex, but Charlie quickly finds out that it comes at an unforeseen cost.

Available at:

Amazon

 

Tricky Wisdom by Camryn Eyde

Darcy Wright is a closeted lesbian who has been infatuated with her best friend, Taylor, since junior high. Leaving her small Minnesota town for Boston in a quest to become a doctor, she moves in with fellow med-student Olivia Boyd, a neurotic, anal, gigantic thorn in the side. The first year of medical school is a nerve-wracking encounter in medicine, learning lessons the hard way, and romance.

Available at:

Amazon

Apple iTunes

 

Up on the Roof by A.L. Brooks

When a storm wreaks havoc on bookish Lena’s well-ordered world, her laid-back new neighbor, Megan, offers her a room. The trouble is they’ve been clashing since the day they met. How can they now live under the same roof? Making it worse is the inexplicable pull between them that seems hard to resist. A fun, awkward, and sweet British romance about the power of opposites attracting.

Available at:

Amazon

Ylva Publishing

Apple iBooks

 

“Rule 4” by Cheyenne Blue

Sam is a chef by trade and couch potato by nature. Joanna is a lawyer by trade and athlete by nature. But in one of those random friend-of-a-friend moments, they’ve ended up as roommates. Opposites can and do attract. There’s just one problem: Sam is determined to stick to rule 4: never seduce a roommate.

Available at:

You can get this cute short story (along with three others) for free when you sign up to Cheyenne’s reader newsletter. Go to cheyenneblue.com and scroll down to the “want a free book?” box at the bottom of the page. You’ll get “Rule 4” and three other short stories emailed to you.

 

Roommate Romance Chat

 

I invited several of these authors to a Roommate Romance Chat in my Facebook Group for readers. We will be talking about roommate romances and lesbian fiction in general.

If you’d like to chat with authors such as Melissa Brayden, Susan Meagher, Clare Lydon, A.L. Brooks, Camryn Eyde, Erica Lee, and Monica McCallan, join us for the Q&A on Sunday, November 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. EST. You can ask questions and win an ebook or two!

Here’s the link to the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JaeReaderGroup/

Here’s the starting time for different time zones:

Los Angeles (PST): Sunday, November 17, 11 a.m.
New York (EST): Sunday, November 17, 2 p.m.
London: Sunday, November 17, 7 p.m.
Germany (Central European Time): Sunday, November 17, 8 p.m.
Melbourne: Monday, 6 a.m.

I’m looking forward to a fun chat!

The post 10 WLW & Lesbian Roommate Romance Novels appeared first on Jae.

Interview with lesbian mystery author Andrea Bramhall & a giveaway!

 

Today, I’m interviewing fellow Ylva Publishing author Andrea Bramhall, who manages to write both lesbian mystery novels and lesbian romance—and who does both equally well.

Andrea is giving away an ebook copy of Collide-O-Scope, the first book in her Norfolk Coast Investigation series and a Lambda Literary Award finalist, so don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post.

 

Welcome, Andrea. Please tell us a little about your Norfolk Coast Investigation series.

The Norfolk Coast Investigation Series is intended to be a set of four stories featuring the same characters, but separate crimes are investigated in each book so that each novel can effectively stand alone to a greater or lesser extent. I do feel they work better taken as a whole, but they can stand alone.

 

You have written both mysteries and romance novels. Would you say one is harder to write than the other? And what’s your preferred genre?

Each have their idiosyncrasies, but I do find I have to be much more organized and methodical when I’m writing the mysteries or crime focused stories if for no other reason than I have to know who my bad guy is before I start to lead the police and therefor the clues in that direction, without being too obvious. Hopefully. I don’t have as much freedom to go off-piste as I do in the romances where if I feel like adding a new scene that I’ve just come up with, I can without too much thought. In the mysteries, there can be all kind of ramifications to those simple things. I could be giving the killer and alibi I hadn’t intended!

Which do I prefer…Depends which day you ask me, to be honest. If I’m in a friendly mood, I’ll likely tell you I love to write romcom’s or romance. If someone’s pissed me off…or it’s the end of the summer tourist season…I NEED to write crime stories. I NEED to start killing folks off—in books—because jail is a real thing and I don’t want to become intimately acquainted with it.

 

Y our romance novel Clean Slate, for which you won a prestigious Lambda Literary Award,  features a woman who wakes up after an attack with a big gap in her memory. How did you come up with that idea, and how did you keep that amnesia plot from becoming a cliché?

I came up with this idea just after my Grandad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and we, as a family, were trying to come to terms with what this meant for all of us.

But it also came  out of a period of depression I had where I still have a gap in my memory. There is a ten day period where I literally have no idea what I did. I left my home, intent on taking my own life. But for some reason the police found me later, going by a different name, living in rented accommodation, working a job I had no idea how I’d gotten, essentially building a whole new life for myself as someone else. My depression led me to a kind of fugue state where I built a barrier between the me I was in that moment and my normal self in order to survive—and I had no idea who I was before. Until the police said my name and it all came back. But between the two incidents the idea of Clean Slate was an idea I was always going to come to eventually in some way or another. As a way of exorcising my demons, I suppose.

 

Which of your characters would you have the biggest crush on if you met them in real life (and were single, of course)?

Hmm, interesting question. I think I fall a little bit in love with one of my leading ladies while I’m writing each WIP. But the one that has stayed with me the longest…I think Charlie, from Nightingale. Both the story and those characters refused to let go of me for so long. In fact they still have a grip on me to a large extent.

 

I know you have a very interesting writing process—you plot out your novels over the course of months and then write the first draft over just a few weeks. Can you tell us more about that process?

Ah, yes. My whiteboards have become somewhat infamous now. Lol. I tend to get a lot of my ideas for plots and characters during the summer when the campsite is extremely busy and I don’t have any time to sit down and write, nor the brain concentration if I’m truly honest, so instead I do research and plot during any free minutes I have. By doing this, by the time I get to the winter season, the stories are screaming to get out of my head and I can simply sit down and write them incredibly quickly. A first draft usually takes me between 10 days and three weeks. Then I leave it for a week and plot the next one with sticky notes all over my story arc, organise my notes and research, and get ready for the next project, before I go back and start redrafting it. This way story number two sets to pickling in the background while I finish number one of the season.

 

Your fake-relationship romance Rock and a Hard Place is set in Patagonia, against the backdrop of a rock climbing reality TV show. That’s a pretty adventurous mix! What kind of research did you do for the novel? Have you ever visited Patagonia or been rock climbing?

God, I love rock climbing and hiking. It’s part of the reason I fell in love with the Lake District—where I now live—and why my wife and I have moved up here. I wish I had been climbing in Patagonia, but alas, it is still but a box on my bucket list. As for the research…I watched hours and hours of documentaries about the place and climbing the mountains in the area. I even found YouTube videos of climbers climbing some of the particular ascents mentioned in Rock and a Hard Place. I read many books, about the routes and grades of the climbs, about rescue climbing, knot tying, best practice on the mountains and S&R techniques, self-rescue techniques and so much more. My knowledge of climbing to begin with was recreational, now…I rival mountain leaders and those in the mountain rescue service in terms of knowledge base and theory of these things. Though not in practice!

 

Since you are a mystery writer: How would you dispose of a dead body if you only had an hour to get rid of it?

If I told you, I’d have to kill you.

 

What’s your favorite place on earth?

I’m very lucky to have been to many beautiful places, but I think I’ve got to say one of my favorite is probably The Maldives. The diving, snorkeling, and watersports there are incredible but the truly amazing aspect of the chain of islands, beyond the geography of them, is the wildlife. The biodiversity of the marine life surrounding the tiny islands and coral reefs are the most incredible sites I have had the pleasure of witnessing in my life.

 

Do you have time to read, and do you read lesbian and f/f romances? If you do, what are your all-time favorites?

I do. I must admit to listening to more audiobooks these days than actually reading. I can listen while driving or walking the dogs, so it gives me the flexibility to multitask in a way that reading doesn’t, but I’ve also had some issue’s with migraine’s recently and reading’s been out. Listening however has been fine so the audiobooks have been an absolute lifesaver for me.

All time favs? Rad’s Honor series is way up there. Ali Vali’s Cain Casey series, Backwards to Oregon and Conflict of Interest by Jae, The Red Files by Lee Winter, Payback by Catherine Mills, Sarah Waters, Jeanette Winterson, and Val McDermid are pretty high up my must read list too. The usual mystery and crime writers diet, I guess you could call it. I do enjoy a good romance when the mood strikes but I’m pretty much always tempted by the call of a good mystery.

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

Right now I’m working on the fourth and final Norfolk Coast book, but I don’t yet have a publication date for it.

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

My website is https://andreabramhall.wordpress.com/ or you can find me on facebook AndreaBramhall or on Twitter @Andreabramhall and Insta @Andreabramhall

 

Book giveaway

Andrea is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her lesbian mystery novel Collide-O-Scope.

Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, scroll down to the very end of this page and leave a comment on this blog post.

Entries close on Thursday, November 21, 2019, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.

 

The post Interview with lesbian mystery author Andrea Bramhall & a giveaway! appeared first on Jae.

Interview with lesbian romance author Erin Dutton & a book giveaway

 

It’s time for another interview with a fellow author of lesbian romance. Today’s guest is Erin Dutton, who has published 14 novels with Bold Strokes Books so far.

Erin is giving away an ebook copy of her latest release, Wavering Convictions. Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post!   

 

Welcome, Erin. Please tell us a little about your latest release, Wavering Convictions.

In Wavering Convictions, Maggie is robbed at gun point. She meets a woman in the courthouse cafe that she connects with, only to later find out that the woman, Ally, is the sister of the man who robbed her. So, yeah, built in conflict, right?

 

Several of your books, including Landing Zone, have main characters that are police officers, other first responders, or in the military. How do you make sure you portray their professional lives in a realistic way?

My day job is in the 9-1-1 system, so the first responders world is one I’m familiar with. The ideas for many of my first responders books germinated during my work day, but especially Landing Zone. I was listening to the radio transmissions of a police pursuit and heard the pursuing officers ask for the helicopter. When the female pilot came over the radio, I knew I had to write a book about a helicopter pilot. I reached out and got the chance to spend several hours with her, seeing their equipment and asking her questions. I also have a good friend who’s retired from the police department. She’s a go-to for police procedure questions. Whether it’s getting info in real-life or research on the internet, I always to make sure I’m thorough enough to strike that balance between realistic and entertaining.

 

You have published 14 lesbian novels by now. Which one are you most proud of and why?

Oh my god, how can you ask that? I don’t think I can answer that.  If I have to pick one, I’d say, Capturing Forever – because those characters have stayed with me always, even after I finished writing it. It’s a sweet, second-chance romance and I’m in love with their story. But, I’m still protesting this question.

 

What’s the most gratifying or most surprising feedback you’ve ever had from a reader?

I think maybe when you told me that Reluctant Hope had one of the most memorable—and courageous—endings… Seriously, though, it’s gratifying when I get feedback from first responders, police, fire, and dispatchers, letting me know I “got it right.” I have so much respect for the difficult decisions they make in just the span of an instant, all with the goal of keeping the public safe, so hearing that they think I did a good job of capturing what they do is awesome.

 

If I’m not mistaken, several of your books are enemies-to-lovers romances. What draws you to that trope?

Hm, I guess you’re right. I have written a few versions of the trope, with varying degrees of the enemy quotient. I like writing two women who begin on very different sides of an issue or situation. The ready-made external conflict enhances whatever internal battles the characters are navigating. I find their journey to understanding each other is often interesting and full of the kind of contemplation and compromise that lets the reader see that they’ve grown enough to fall in love—that they’ve earned their happily-ever-after.

 

Your novel Reluctant Hope has one of the most memorable—and most courageous—endings I have ever found in an f/f romance novel. Without giving too much away to the people who might not have read it yet, did you hesitate to let the book end the way you did? Was there any discussion about it with your editor or beta readers?

First, thank you so much for saying that. My editor and I did discuss it in depth, but I didn’t use beta readers for that book. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t. As you can imagine, when it came out, the readers fell on both sides of the fence on that ending. And I wouldn’t have wanted that to influence where I already knew this story was headed. I wouldn’t say I hesitated to end it the way I did, but I did deliberate on it. Without giving it away, in the end, I feel (or hope) the reader was left with what matters regarding the characters, and that is, that they were ready to face whatever life gave them.

 

What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?

What an interesting question. I didn’t know how to answer this one so I enlisted the help of my wife. She says it would be the semi-colon, because I never just one independent sentence—or thought—or comment. She said this with more than a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

 

You have the cutest dog, and he’s called Booze. Dare I ask how you came up with that name?

He is adorable, isn’t he? And also, one of my favorite topics to talk about. His full name is Bamboozle, because my wife says we got “tricked” into getting him. We went to the rescue thinking we wanted a small to medium dog at the most. I wanted a dog that liked the water, because we like to camp and hang out on the lake. This dog is neither of those things. He HATES water! Doesn’t even like to go outside if the grass is wet. The woman at the rescue stopped short of telling us he liked the water, she just said she’d had him at the creek behind their house and he didn’t seem to dislike it. Also, she had him in a pen with the really big dogs, Pitt-bull mixes and Catahoula Leopard dogs, so he looked smaller than he was. We got him home and, at about six months, he was already as tall as our Shepard mix. He’s now full-grown and pushing 60 lbs, the high side of medium, at best. Hence the trickery. Bamboozle is a mouthful, so he just became Booze. What he lacks in what we expected, he more than makes up for in who he really is, though. He is this laid-back, chill kind of dog, who loves to cuddle and is so sweet.

 

Do you have time to read, and do you read lesbian and f/f romances? If you do, what are your all-time favorites?

I love to read, always have. There are times when I don’t read, at a certain point in writing a first draft. But that just means the to-be-read stack gets bigger during that time. I do read lesbian fiction, primarily romance. An early book that really stuck with me was Love’s Masquerade, by Radclyffe. In fact, that book is probably what ultimately led to me seeking to be published by Bold Strokes Books. It’s amazing to think about the growth of lesbian fiction since I first discovered it. What seemed like just a handful of authors back then has evolved into more titles per year than I can keep up with. So many talented authors and great stories to immerse myself in.

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

My next book, Three Alarm Response, comes out in June 2020. It’s a collection of three first-responders romance novellas. They tell the stories of a firefighter, a police officer, and a paramedic as they find the love that’s been missing from their lives amid the chaos that their careers can bring. I’m currently in edits on that one. I’m not exactly sure right now what’s next. I’m mulling over a couple of different ideas.

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

I am on Facebook. And on Twitter, @ErinDuttonAuthr. Readers can also find my books at boldstrokesbooks.com and other major booksellers. And I can be reached by email at erindutton@gmail.com.

 

Book giveaway

Erin is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her newest release, Wavering Convictions.

Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, leave a comment on this blog post.

Entries close on Thursday, November 14, 2019, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.

 

The post Interview with lesbian romance author Erin Dutton & a book giveaway appeared first on Jae.

6 Queer Books with Asexual Characters

 

Asexuality is still an “invisible” and often ignored sexual orientation, and it’s rare to find books with asexual characters. To celebrate Asexual Awareness Week, I put together a list of six books with characters on the asexual spectrum. 

I also invited the authors of these books to an Ace Characters Chat in my Facebook Reader Group on Friday, October 25, 2019. Join us for some interesting book discussions and fun giveaways! We’re starting at 6 p.m. EST. 

 

Learning Curves by Ceillie Simkiss

Genre: Contemporary romance

Character: Cora McLaughlin

Buy the book on Amazon

Elena Mendez has always been career-first; with only two semesters of law school to go, her dream of working as a family lawyer for children is finally within reach. She can’t afford distractions. She doesn’t have time for love.

And she has no idea how much her life will change, the day she lends her notes to Cora McLaughlin.

A freelance writer and MBA student, Cora is just as career-driven as Elena. But over weeks in the library together, they discover that as strong as they are apart, they’re stronger together.

Through snowstorms and stolen moments, through loneliness and companionship, the two learn they can weather anything as long as they have each other–even a surprise visit from Elena’s family.

From solitude to sweetness, there’s nothing like falling in love. College may be strict…but when it comes to love, Cora and Elena are ahead of the learning curve.

Asexual representation: Here’s what Ceillie Simkiss says about the ace representation in her book: In Learning Curves, my main character Cora is at the same place on the spectrum as I am. She is panromantic and asexual. We both describe ourselves as “sex-meh,” which means sex is fine but we’re really not that attracted to anyone.

 

Outcaste by Fletcher DeLancey

Genre: Science fiction

Character: Rahel Sayana

Buy the book on Amazon

Rahel Sayana is desperate to escape the life her parents have planned for her. She runs away to the dangerous port city of Whitesun and becomes an outcaste: a person of no caste and few rights.

From backbreaking labor on the docks to fighting off bullies, Rahel learns the lessons that propel her to the life of her dreams. Happiness does not last. A planetary threat pulls her into the biggest battle in Alsean history, then into a treacherous game of power.

The loss of both her honor and caste sends her reeling, but Rahel has always made her own fate. She gambles everything on one final chance.

Will giving up her hopes lead to the highest honor of all?

Asexual representation: Here’s what Fletcher DeLancey says about where her characters falls on the ace spectrum: Rahel Sayana is a biromantic asexual whose most important relationships have always been with women. She experiences a very high level of sensual attraction, to the point where “comfort giving” (non-sexual touching including hugs, caresses, light massage, but no kissing) becomes a critical part of her life and impacts her destiny.

 

Perfect Rhythm by Jae

Genre: Contemporary romance

Character: Holly Drummond

Buy the book on Amazon or at your favorite online bookstore 

Blurb:

Pop star Leontyne Blake might sing about love, but she stopped believing in it a long time ago. What women want is her image, not the real her. When her father has a stroke, she flees the spotlight and returns to her tiny Missouri hometown.

In her childhood home, she meets small-town nurse Holly Drummond, who isn’t impressed by Leo’s fame at all. That isn’t the only thing that makes Holly different from other women. She’s also asexual. For her, dating is a minefield of expectations that she has decided to avoid.

Can the tentative friendship between a burned-out pop star and a woman not interested in sex develop into something more despite their diverse expectations?

Asexual representation:  Here’s what the author says about where her characters falls on the ace spectrum: Holly identifies as a homoromantic asexual woman, which means she’s romantically attracted to women but doesn’t experience sexual attraction. She loves cuddling and kisses, but sex is a take-it-or-leave-it thing for her.

 

Rising from Ash by Jax Meyer

Genre: Contemporary romance

Character: Ashley Bennett

Buy the book on Amazon 

Blurb:

Phoenix Murray has had enough of her addict father always asking for money. So when her aunt offers her a job as a cook at the South Pole, she jumps at it. Even when she’s asked to avoid casual sex to keep the peace in the tiny community.

Astrophysicist Ashley Bennett can’t wait for her year at the South Pole. Not only will it allow her to focus on her PhD research, it’s a key step in her plan to become a Mars colonist. Avoiding the complications of dating in a society that doesn’t understand asexuality is a bonus.

When Phoenix and Ash meet, they can’t help but push each other’s buttons. Phoenix doesn’t understand that her confident sexuality puts Ash on edge while Ash’s curt formality triggers Phoenix’s insecurities about her upbringing. But living at the bottom of the world means there’s nowhere to run, and as they find common ground, their differences aren’t nearly the hindrance they thought.

Asexual representation: Here’s what Jax Meyer says about where her characters falls on the ace spectrum: Ash identifies as demisexual and on the more asexual end of that sub-spectrum.

 

Thaw by Elyse Springer

Genre: Contemporary romance

Character: Abby

Buy it on Amazon

Blurb:

Abigail is content with her quiet life as a librarian. But when she’s invited to a charity auction, she finds herself dancing with one of the most beautiful women she’s ever met. Abby’s sure she’ll never see her again, but then Gabrielle calls and asks her on a date.

Supermodel Gabrielle Levesque has a reputation as the Ice Queen—cold and untouchable—except she warms up whenever she’s with Abby. Only Abby isn’t interested in the heat between them; she’s asexual, and she’s worried that admitting as much to Gabrielle might spell the end of their blooming romance.

They’re two different women from two very different worlds, but Abby knows she can love Gabrielle. Her passion for books, travel, and theater prove there’s more to the Ice Queen than meets the eye. But they’ll have to overcome Abby’s fears—and Gabrielle’s own threatening secrets—in order to find their way to love.

Asexual representation: Here’s what Elyse Springer says about where her characters falls on the ace spectrum: Abby is a bi-romantic asexual, so she’s attracted to people regardless of their gender. However, while she doesn’t experience sexual attraction, she’s not adverse to sex… and she’s willing to find a middle ground in her relationship with Gabrielle, who is bisexual and does feel sexual attraction.

 

The Mystic Marriage by Heather Rose Jones

Genre: Fantasy

Character: Antuniet Chazillen

Buy the book at the Bella webstore or on Amazon

Blurb:

Antuniet Chazillen lost everything the night her brother was executed. In exile, she swore that treason would not be the final chapter of the Chazillen legacy in Alpennia’s history. A long- hidden book of alchemical secrets provides the first hope of success, but her return to the capital is haunted by an enemy who wants those secrets for himself.

Jeanne, Vicomtesse de Cherdillac is bored. The Rotenek season is flat, her latest lover has grown tediously jealous and her usual crowd of friends fails to amuse. When Antuniet turns up on her doorstep seeking patronage for her alchemy experiments, what begins as amusement turns to interest, then something deeper. But Antuniet’s work draws danger that threatens even the crown of Alpennia.

The alchemy of precious gems throws two women into a crucible of adversity, but it is the alchemy of the human heart that transforms them both in this breathtaking follow-up to the widely acclaimed Daughter of Mystery.

Asexual representation: Here’s what Heather Rose Jones says about where her characters falls on the ace spectrum: I didn’t write Antuniet to be “an ace-spec character” — I wrote her as an individual, complex human being, just like all my other individual complex characters. It wasn’t until after the book came out that it occurred to me that she fit the understanding of asexual. I generally identify her as demisexual, but that’s just an approximation. The line in the book that best illustrates her attitude is, “She’d never expected to understand what it was that drove men and women together in the throes of passion. Men and women—well, perhaps she still didn’t understand that. In this moment, what she felt for Jeanne had nothing to do with male or female; it had only to do with Jeanne.”

 

If you’d like to discuss these books, chat with the authors, and have a chance to win an ebook copy, join us for our Ace Characters Chat on Friday, October 25, 2019, at 6 p.m. EST.

The post 6 Queer Books with Asexual Characters appeared first on Jae.

Interview & giveaway with award-winning lesbian romance author Radclyffe

 

Are you ready for another interview with a fellow lesbian romance author? This week’s guest doesn’t really need an introduction because I think most of you are already familiar with her work. Radclyffe is not only one of the most popular authors of lesbian romance novels, but also one of the most prolific. Radclyffe will publish her 63rd novel, Cost of Honor, next month!

She is giving away an ebook copy of one of her novels—winner’s choice—so don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post!

 

Welcome, Radclyffe. Please tell us a little about your upcoming release, Cost of Honor.

Cost of Honor is the 11th book in the Honor series, which begins with Above All, Honor. The series began as a romance between the first daughter of the United President of the United States, Blair Powell, and the chief of her security detail, Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts. Over the years, each of the ensuing novels has featured a new romance as well as an intrigue arc and appearances from the growing cast of characters. The series arc loosely follows the development of Cam and Blair’s relationship in parallel with the progression of the issues that face the country and the president. Blair and Cam are personally involved in each crisis/conflict/threat because of their central role in the national affairs. Each novel also presents a new romance as well as following the lives of the central characters. In that way, each new novek can be read individually as a standalone romantic intrigue without having read the previous ones. There’s a little backstory at the beginning of each one to help orient readers who have forgotten previous books or have never read them. Cost of Honor is set just prior to Blair’s father’s re-election nominating convention and involves a potential threat to key characters. Anything more than that would be spoilers :-). The major story arcs involve political intrigue, terrorist plots, and a new romance between a Secret Service agent and a member of the president’s inner circle.

 

I heard Cost of Honor includes crossovers with your Justice series and possibly another one of your popular series. With so many different series, how do you keep your characters straight (no pun intended) and keep track of little details such as eye color or backstory facts that have been established in earlier books?

Because much of the story in Cost of Honor is set in Philadelphia where I have also set a number of other ongoing series, particularly the Justice series which features an interesting cast of characters who are law enforcement agents of one type or another, it occurred to me to cross the two series over because in real life, these characters in this situation might actually have been working together. Like most people who write series, I have a big Excel sheet with character names, attributes, and other identifying characteristics to remind me of some of the specifics when I add a new book to the series. I don’t actually have any trouble keeping the character voices or personalities straight in my mind, as they all are individuals to me, but I do sometimes forget hair or eye coloring

My beta readers answer 3 questions about my latest lesbian romance, The Roommate Arrangement

 

It’s Beta Reader Appreciation Day! Not that I don’t appreciate my beta readers the other 364 days of the year. I definitely do. I have an awesome team of “guinea pig” readers who accompany me on the journey through my first draft and provide me with feedback, constructive criticism, and encouragement.

To celebrate Beta Reader Appreciation Day, I interviewed my beta readers and asked them three questions about my latest lesbian romance, The Roommate Arrangement, which will be available everywhere on Wednesday!

Here’s what they had so say about it:

 

What was your favorite thing about The Roommate Arrangement?

Anne-France: I loved how good the main characters were for each other. They both brought a lot to the other, as a good partner should. The humour, too.

Chris Zett: The interaction between Steph and Rae and how they bring lightness/seriousness into each other’s lives.

Claire: That Steph’s character makes me laugh. That we get to revisit with Claire & Lana from Just For Show.

Danielle: I’m a sucker for good smart dialogue that moves the plot along and as usual you do a really good job on that. Close second was that I felt like this could actually happen between two people.

Erin: Overall, the thing that has stayed with me is the way the two characters interacted together in regards to Rae’s physical limitations. Specifically how Steph approached the challenge and when needed asked questions but overall didn’t treat Rae as “special.” Rae would say something, such as which side was more difficult when people approached her, and Steph would just turn the adjustment into a natural, normal thing. It was re-assuring that this is the way to treat someone—anyone, as a person, not as a disability.

Laure: Just one favorite thing?? Gosh, that’s harsh!! LOL. Okay, so, let’s say that my inner romantic loved the slow-burn romance.

Trish: Lots of awws, lots of laugh-out-loud parts, and some where you just want to fight for them. It’s a book you think about after it’s over. The characters stick with you. Lana & Claire from Just for Show say hi.

 

Who was your favorite character in The Roommate Arrangement? What did you love most about her?

Anne-France: I usually love one more than the other, but in this case I liked them both almost equally, because of what they gave to each other. Although if I really have to pick, I’ll say Rae because you wrote her so hot. Rae is really caring. She’s not the comedian but she has a natural dry humour that made me laugh. Plus, she dripping with sexiness.

Chris Zett: Can’t choose, love them both. Maybe Steph because I knew her a little from Just for Show and already liked her? I love the way Steph enjoys her life and how she interacts with people. But I love Rae’s seriousness too and the way she grows out of her pain.

Claire: Rae. That her character grows throughout the story. Rae starts out as vulnerable/down on her luck. However she learns to overcome her physical disability, grows stronger and at the same learns how to open herself up to Steph – learning how to love & laugh again.

Danielle: At the outset Steph had the inside track because I liked her so much in her supporting character role in Just for Show. I have a soft spot for dry sarcastic wit and Steph’s self-deprecating sense of humour and contrasting vulnerability appealed to me. But it ended up being a close race as by the end Rae had made up a lot of ground.

Erin: Rae by far! I really connected with her. Her parents reminded me a lot of what my parents were like when I was younger and Rae’s attraction to order and structure. However, with the right motivation, that doesn’t become as important! That over the course of the story she not only learned how to love someone else, she was learning how to love herself. That, I think, is missing in a lot of our lives but when it happens it makes us stronger and more complete.

Laure: Definitely Rae. Her tenderness/vulnerability hidden under her rough exterior. I also love characters with a disability because, from my POV, they are more realistic than the “perfect-whatever-you-want” women who seem being exited right away from a fantasy. LOL.

Trish: It’s the first time ever (or maybe since Luke and Nora from Backwards to Oregon) that I liked both main characters equally. I love them together.

 

What was your favorite scene(s) in The Roommate Arrangement? What makes it your favorite scene(s)?

Anne-France: Hard to say. I really liked the appointment at the ocularist and New Year’s Eve. They are two scenes that show exactly what I meant when I say they bring a lot to each other.

Chris Zett: When Rae’s parents came to visit. Seeing a lighter sight of Rae, a hint of who she was before her accident, and the love in this family. Plus, her parents are hilarious. I would love to see a road movie with them, preferably filmed by Wes Anderson.

Claire: The scene where Rae takes Steph to see The Forest of Light at the Descanso Gardens. It’s highly romantic and a pivotal scene that builds the chemistry between the two main characters.

Danielle: There were a lot of them but I’d probably vote for when Staph and Rae have it out after the show, as well as the fun meeting in the park the next day. Those scenes let them see different aspects of each other. To me it was a turning point for them.

Erin: When Rae took Steph to the Descanso Gardens for their night presentation. It was such an intimate connection between the two of them and that was reflected in the location as well. For me, this is when the romance started between them. It had a little bit of everything! It had Rae putting aside her “usual” behavior to put Steph first. It had Steph starting to question her belief that she is not supposed to be in relationships. It had a beautiful setting for all of this to come together and for the romancing to begin!

Laure: All the scenes about Steph and Rae after they had become closer to one another, which led them to become a real item. (Beginning by the Descanso Gardens romantic adventure — even if Rae would deny this if she were asked, LOL — I liked a lot the moments at Mr. Kamali’s office). I loved witnessing them becoming more and more themselves … their true selves, I mean.

Trish: The scene at the ocularist and the scene where Rae was talking to her friend Kim. I love these scenes because Rae makes herself so vulnerable. I also loved the In ’N Out scene because it was fun and interesting as they got to know each other.

Thanks so much to my beta readers, not just for patiently answering my questions, but also for endless hours of beta reading and cheerleading!

I really appreciate it!

Jae

The post My beta readers answer 3 questions about my latest lesbian romance, The Roommate Arrangement appeared first on Jae.

Interview & giveaway with Rachel Gold, author of queer young adult novels

 

Today, I’m interviewing Rachel Gold, award-winning author of queer young adult novels such as Being Emily, the first young adult novel written from a trans girl’s point of view. 

Rachel is giving away an ebook copy of In the Silences, a queer young adult novel that is getting great reviews, so don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post!

 

Welcome, Rachel. Before we start talking about your books, could you let our readers know which pronouns you prefer?

Thanks for asking! I use both she/her and they/them pronouns. I have a lot of gender, so really any pronouns work, but I’m only used to answering to they/them and she/her.

 

Please tell us a little about your newest release, In the Silences. What is it about?

It’s about two cute kids who fall in love, deal with questions around gender, and fight the implicit racism in their Minnesota town.

The main character, Kaz, is white and meets Aisha, who’s black, when they’re both thirteen and Aisha’s family moves in across the alley from Kaz’s family. Both kids are comic book geeks and Kaz develops a crush pretty quickly. (Mild spoiler: the crush is mutual.) Kaz starts to notice how differently people treat Aisha and also, because of the crush, how hard the impact is on her.

Kaz—whose pronouns become they/them over the course of the novel—has to figure out how to deal with their own internal racism and then how to talk to other white people in their family and school. Meanwhile, Aisha and her mom are dealing directly with the school administration.

One of the biggest challenges for me writing this book was to figure out how Kaz thinks about being white and stays empowered while supporting Aisha. Going in to the writing, I felt like liberal white people had been given two moves about race: ignore it or get defensive. Both of those moves suck! I wanted a set of superpowers (which is one reason the main characters are comic book geeks).

Kaz and I both think about racism as a supervillain with mind control powers that tries to put evil thoughts in our brains. That lets me turn up the volume on my own racist thoughts (yes, of course I have them, I grew up in a racist culture, but I don’t believe them) so that I can fight them more effectively.

 

In the Silences features a genderqueer teen as a main character, while your first novel, Being Emily, was told from the perspective of a trans girl. What draws you to the topic of gender and gender diversity?

So much of our world is wrapped up in a gender binary: of believing that there are two kinds of people, and they must be different from each other, and one kind is better. In Western culture, we’re raised to think that’s true, rooted in biology, immutable—but there’s so much evidence to the contrary. Tremendous damage has been done— especially to lesbians, bi, queer and trans women—by  the idea that only men and women exist, the two genders/sexes are very different, and men are stronger.

The more we open up oppressive, binary structures, the more we thrive as humans. I’ve been fascinated by the human diversity of gender since I was fifteen, so I have a lot of background knowledge. That makes it easier for me to write about than books about racism, ableism and other isms, but I’m working on those.

 

Aisha, the second main character in In the Silences, is a black girl who faces racism at school and in her hometown. Do you think writing In the Silences made you more aware of racism and the micro-aggressions people of color face? What do you think makes a good ally?

I got the initial idea for In the Silences from seeing implicit racism happen in a group of white people I liked and respected—and being met with confusion and defensiveness when I brought it up. (Implicit racism is the kind that lurks in people’s subconscious minds and can influence their actions without them realizing it.) That showed me that I had so much to learn about racism in America.

Like most white people in America, I’d learned the post-racism narrative that—except for a few ignorant holdouts in the South—we were all beyond this country’s horrible past. But seeing the implicit racism around me combined with the pre-election news in 2015, I realized I’d bought into a bunch of lies designed to protect racism. So I started reading! I read blogs, social media posts, books. I didn’t want to ask my friends of color to do the emotional labor of dealing with my ignorance.

Definitely the research that went into writing In the Silences made me more aware—not only of that micro-aggressions exist—but also how that feels and why it’s awful. Having to design increasingly harsh levels of racism for Aisha to deal with hammered home what it could feel like to have most of the random white people you deal with on a day-to-day basis treat you poorly and not even know they’re doing it. (And then get defensive when you ask to be treated decently.)

Another big revelation came when I learned about racial anxiety, which is what white people feel when we’re afraid we’re going to be or appear racist. Studies have shown that white people feeling racial anxiety will tense up around people of color and then, of course, the most likely outcome is that the person of color thinks we’re tensing up because we’re racist. That absolutely changed how I interact with people of color who don’t know me; I realized I have to strongly telegraph that I’m an ally. I can’t be quiet and tense and still come across as an ally.

 

You write young adult novels with queer and trans characters. What’s the hardest part about writing YA for you? What’s the most rewarding?

The hardest part used to be how to make plots that worked when everyone had a cell phone and almost no one had a car. Now it’s having each new book feel fresh even though many of them will be set in high schools and houses with parents around.

One of the most rewarding parts is when a reader tells me they saw themselves in a character I wrote. When I was a teen, I didn’t have novels that reflected the adult social roles I was interested in. I only saw nonbinary genders in science fiction (and not very often there). I had very few examples of joyful adult lesbian relationships. I know how hard it is to grow up when you don’t see the best of what you can become. I want to give some of those possibilities to this generation of queer and trans teens (and adults) and to keep getting better about including more kinds of diversity.

 

Your award-winning novel My Year Zero features a character who happens to have bipolar disorder. How did you make sure her mental disorder wasn’t portrayed as the book’s main problem to overcome while still making it realistic?

My own diagnosis is ADHD and anxiety, so I know some things about managing mental health, but I don’t know what it’s like to have bipolar disorder. I read books on bipolar disorder. I interviewed some of my friends who have the disorder. And I hired a beta reader who has bipolar disorder and is bisexual to make sure I did a good job with the character who matches that description.

Also I had the good fortune, when I was sixteen, to be in love with a bi girl with bipolar disorder. She helped me so much with my own understanding of my life and was a very loving influence. She was the inspiration for the character in the novel.

 

You were the special speaker at the GCLS conference last year and gave a fantastic speech on gender and sex and why even the latter is not a binary. Are you planning other presentations or panels on gender diversity at conferences such as the GCLS?

I don’t have that format of presentation scheduled right now (though I’d be happy to do it again if anyone wants to invite me to their conference). I have a variety of school visits, book festivals and conventions scheduled over the next year and I tend to talk about gender a lot. I love that GCLS gave me 50 minutes, but I have been working on being able to explain it in a shorter timeframe. And I have some resources on my website about it and will add more in the next year.

 

What age do you feel right now and why?

I’m three ages at the same time! I’m enjoying midlife, so I’m definitely in my 40s. I suspect a part of me will always be a teenager, usually seventeen. And I try to stay in touch with my future self (in my 70s) so that I make wise choices.

 

You are an avid gamer. If you could be a game character for a day, who would you choose and why?

Shepard after Mass Effect 3 if I can have the ending go any way I want it to (including endings not in the game). Otherwise, Hawke (mage) from Dragon Age 2 if I can spend the day with Isabela. If I don’t get either of those, probably one of the dragon aspects from World of Warcraft (with their Titan powers, obviously)—because how could I resist being a giant dragon that could control life, magic, time or the dreaming?

 

As a writer, you are probably an avid reader too. What was your favorite book growing up? At present, what are your favorite books with LGBTQIA+ or nonbinary characters?

I had a lot of favorite books and comic books! I’m going to cheat a little and bring up non-fiction because I was reminded recently of Judy Grahn’s amazing Another Mother Tongue, which was so important to me in my late teens.

One of my recent favorites is Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (now named Kacen Callender). It’s a middlegrade novel (ages 8-12) about a girl growing up in the U.S. Virgin Islands whose mother is missing. Plus she gets a crush on the new girl at school! It’s beautifully written and structured, deep and lovely.

I feel slightly bad about recommending a book from one of the big New York publishers and not one of the lesbian presses, so I want to add that I was speaking to a college class last week and one of the students got so excited about the fact that lesbian publishers exist. She wanted to know all of them! I named Ylva, Bella, Bold Strokes and Bywater and told her that in general she’ll find a much better diversity of lesbian stories there than from the New York publishers. Lesbian presses are so important!

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

Fall 2020—and it’s going to be funny! The main character is a seventeen-year-old lesbian between her junior and senior years of high school. Her parents are out of the country for the summer while their house gets remodeled, and she’s there with only her older brother. So of course all her friends want to come over and party at her house—and all she wants for her summer is to learn to meditate and find God.

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

My website: rachelgold.com. I’m a fairly inconsistent poster on Twitter, but it’s a good place to send me a note: @RachelGold.

 

Book giveaway

Rachel is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her young adult novel In the Silences.

Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, leave a comment on this blog post.

Entries close on Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 9 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.

The post Interview & giveaway with Rachel Gold, author of queer young adult novels appeared first on Jae.

Interview with queer speculative fiction author Rae D. Magdon

It’s time for another interview with a fellow author of WLW books. Today’s interviewee is Rae D. Magdon, who writes diverse queer romances and speculative fiction.

Rae is offering her science fiction adventure Lucky 7 at a discount this weekend, and she also has another surprise for you, so don’t forget to check out the links at the end of this post!

 

Welcome, Rae. Please tell us a little about your latest release, Lucky 7.

Lucky 7 is a cyberpunk novel about a ragtag group of misfits from the future, fighting back against an oppressive system. Each member of the crew has a specialized skill: the hacker, the muscle, the inventor, the master of disguise. But at its heart, the book is about love and found family.

One of the main characters, Elena Nevares, isn’t part of the group at first, but when an evil corporation puts a hit on her, she has no choice but to join up with Sasha Young, the leader of the Lucky 7 crew. They don’t get along at first, but eventually, Elena carves out a place for herself on Sasha’s crew, and becomes part of the family. There’s lots of action, adventure, and romance too.

Although there are what I consider to be some really interesting scientific and philosophical ideas in the book, I would honestly and wholeheartedly recommend it, even to people who don’t typically read sci-fi. It’s a very character-driven narrative, which is what I believe most of us look for in a good book.

 

Most of your novels fall into the categories science fiction—like Lucky 7—and fantasy, like Tengoku . How do you approach world-building? Do you do a lot of research and planning before you start writing each book?

Yes! Tengoku especially, because I wanted to portray Japanese culture accurately, even in a fantasy setting. I won’t say I did a perfect job, even though I interviewed Japanese people, read Japanese writers, and employed Japanese beta and sensitivity readers. I am proud of Tengoku, especially for the plot and characters, but I am aware that as a white writer, I can always do better. Tengoku inspired me to be even more respectful next time, and also consider where my voice would be most welcome and useful. Sometimes, things are best left to people of color and #ownvoices.

As for Sci-fi, I do employ some research, although I don’t let it interfere with the story I want to tell. In my space opera series, Dark Horizons, the spaceships in use aren’t aerodynamically designed. There isn’t any atmosphere or air in space, so I researched how gyroscopic spaceship designs might work instead. (Hint: future spaceships might very well look like giant orbs with a gyroscope inside instead of advanced fighter planes.)

 

I love your first name (Side note: The main character in my next book, The Roommate Arrangement, is named Rae). Is Rae D. Magdon a pen name, and if it is, how did you pick it?

That’s a funny story! When I was a teenager, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Although I’m from New York, it was all over the news at the time. I saw a preacher on TV say that New Orleans was being ‘punished’ for promoting a ‘sinful lifestyle’, and further sin would bring about “Armageddon” for America.

I thought that was hilarious, in a very bitter, painful sort of way. So I figured: “If we, The Gays, are bringing about Armageddon, why don’t I help it along with my novels promoting lesbian, bi, trans, and gender-nonconforming women? Screw you.” Rae D. Magdon is an anagram for Armageddon. Very tongue-in-cheek.

 

We met at the GCLS conference and had a couple of great conversations about trying to make our fiction diverse and inclusive. I know your work includes characters who are very diverse when it comes to their ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, and many other aspects of their identity. How do you as a cis white woman approach writing characters who are different from yourself?

With open ears, and a thick skin. I try very hard to write diverse, inclusive characters for my stories, because that’s the kind of world we live in, and the kind I want to see represented more. But there are always pitfalls, and I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes. As I said, even though I am very proud of Tengoku’s characters and story, and it has a special place in my heart, if I were to rewrite it, I might put a little less emphasis on certain portions of Japanese culture, because not all of it is necessarily my story to tell.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing diversely, though! It just means I have to work harder, listen more, and take everything I can from reasonable criticism that doesn’t include slurs or name-calling, even if it bruises my tender feelings.

As for practical tips, I employ sensitivity readers from the race, ethnicity, and/or gender identity of the characters I am writing about. For Lucky 7, this included several Black beta readers, several Mexican beta readers (who helped with the Spanish translations!), and several trans and gender-nonconforming beta readers as well. I paid almost all of them for their time and expertise, unless they refused payment. I should also note that my amazing editor, Cal Faolan, is nonbinary and gender-nonconforming. They worked on Lucky 7, which has several gnc characters, and also Fur & Fangs, which has a nonbinary lead. I don’t think the book would have felt as authentic as it is without their knowledge and skill.

 

If I remember correctly, you started out writing fanfiction. Can you tell us a bit about your journey as a writer, from the first story you wrote to becoming a published author?

It’s been well over 10 years since I started writing fanfiction, and I haven’t stopped since! Fanfiction is a great way to build a fanbase, develop name recognition, and establish your brand. The best way to find new readers is to offer them something for free. That way, if they love it, they’ll come back for more, and feel more confident paying for your work.

I started writing fanfiction seriously in 2007, primarily for Law & Order: SVU. Then, I moved onto Mass Effect, where I really started to build a following. (For those who don’t know, Mass Effect is a sci-fi role playing video game where you get to make impactful story choices.) From there, I went to Legend of Korra and Clexa, and lately I’ve been really into She-Ra and World of Warcraft.

Writing fanfiction really helped me establish who I was as an author. Not only did it develop my writing style, it clarified some key elements that I include in all my novels: diversity and inclusivity, fighting back against injustice, and that all people—especially queer people, who don’t hear this enough—deserve love and respect.

 

You posted a total of 315 fanfics on Archive of Our Own! How on earth do you manage to be so prolific? Do you write full-time, and if yes, how do you structure your workday?

I write full time, which is really good for my mental health. I deal with major depression and a severe generalized anxiety disorder, so really, the reason I’m so prolific is because I give myself the freedom to have “bad” days.

When I have a bad mental health day, I don’t do any work. However, this also gives me time to recuperate and practice self-care. On the days I feel good, I’m capable of writing non-stop for the entire day. This schedule is really helpful, because I never have to work when I’m seriously struggling, and I can work extra hard when I’m feeling well. I’m very fortunate to be able to set my own schedule. I’m not sure I’d be able to cope with a 9-5 job, although I’ve had them in the past.

I also adhere to the philosophy that any writing is good writing. A poor or flawed first draft can still become useable if you wait a day (or longer) and go over it again. 200 words is better than no words, even if my goal for that project was 500 or 1000. The hard part is getting started. Once you do that, you’re golden.

 

What are the best TV shows with female queer characters you have watched in the past two years?

Wynonna Earp is a great TV show with a funny, campy story full of queer people, although it has its flaws (and Emily Andras, the showrunner, likes to put her foot in her mouth on Twitter). I enjoy it because it employs one of my favorite themes: fighting back against nearly impossible odds through the power of love and family.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is my current favorite right now! It’s a remake of the 80s cartoon, and even though it’s technically a children’s TV show, it has very heavy themes. I love it, because it treats the medium seriously, and has enough substance for adults — but the queerness in it isn’t treated as ‘adult’ at all. The show makes it clear that same-gender relationships are perfectly acceptable content for children and teenagers.

This is undoubtedly because the show is written and directed by a lesbian, Noelle Stevenson. Crushes and relationships between female characters and (and gay male characters, too — one of the main characters has two dads) are treated as normal and par for the course. It’s another show about adventure, fighting impossible odds, creating your own family, and trying to improve the world. It also has Catra, one of the best sympathetic villains on television since Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I can’t wait for her inevitable redemption arc!

 

What technology from any science fiction novel or movie do you wish actually existed?

Anyone who’s read my books probably knows that I really like writing sex scenes. They’re great for character growth and development in addition to being sexy and entertaining! Some of the books I’ve written, like Lucky 7 and Dark Horizons, feature gender-nonconforming lesbians using futuristic strap-ons that transmit sensation. I wish they were a real thing for lesbians, gnc and nonbinary folks, and trans men — or heck, even cis straight women who want to try something new!

 

I think it’s safe to say that you are a bit of a geeky person—and I mean that in the most positive sense possible. What are your favorite queer books with geeky female main characters?

Can I recommend a video game instead? Because I have to talk about Mass Effect. Liara T’Soni, one of the main love interests for a female Shepard, is an alien archaeologist, and the biggest nerd in the galaxy. I relate to her so much, it’s crazy.

I also read a really good Young Adult book by Rachel Gold recently, called In The Silences. The two main characters are a white nonbinary person, named Kaz, and their Black bisexual girlfriend, Aisha. They’re both huge nerds. Comics, video games, the works.

 

When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?

I’m currently half-way through Lucky 8, which I’m hoping to have finished by the end of the year. My next book to come out, though, is Eclipsing The Sun, the third in my Dark Horizons series. It follows six characters from the previous two books, human and alien, as they attempt to stop the vast ikthian empire from developing a biological weapon that could destroy entire worlds.

(For those of you who have read the series, and have been waiting almost three years for Taylor to get out of prison, I’m sorry! I promise you’ll get to read all about her escape soon… with her girlfriend’s mom.)

 

Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?

My website: http://raedmagdon.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RaeDMagdon

Blog: http://raedmagdon.tumblr.com

Those are the best ways to reach me. Thank you so much for interviewing me!

 

Free book & discounted book

Rae’s science fiction adventure Lucky 7 is available at a 50% discount this weekend.

It’s available via the Desert Palm Press website and Amazon.

You can also get The Second Sister, the first book in her fantasy series, free on Amazon right now.

 

Happy reading!

Jae

The post Interview with queer speculative fiction author Rae D. Magdon appeared first on Jae.