Kate Genet's Blog, page 3

Every couple needs a pet.

‘Can we take him home, sweetheart?’
‘Of course, my love. We can’t just leave the poor thing out here all alone!’

The floof of duck.

Small and webbed, stirring the silt,
scurrying across the lily pads
to keep up with mother.

There is only you now.

There was no one who could capture my interest, until I saw you…

It’s in their sap.

Trees, I think,
might just make the best historians.

In Our Best Clothes

Wearing our best ruffled skirts,
we kick up our heels in the glory of the morning.

Just Between Friends

There's always time for conversation
between friends.

(Going for a walk one day, a white duck came bursting out of the bushes in front of us, quacking furiously and quite agitated. He went bustling up the track, paying us no mind at all – until finally he found what he was looking for. Or rather, who he was looking for).

Violet release – and life as a new romance writer…

I used to write supernatural stories, did you know that? I loved writing them too, Loved it so much, in fact, that I

thought Aha! I’ll go mainstream and write horror stories and maybe some crime novels while I’m at it!

So that’s what I did – because I had a powerful lot of ideas, and a fascination with everything that goes bump in the night, whether human…or not so much. (Don’t ask me why – it’s been that way since I was a kid.)

I wrote a bunch of those books, and a bunch of them I published, and some I didn’t. Then one day, just last year, I was having trouble getting the flow going on the book I was supposed to be writing, and I said to Valerie I want to write something different. I don’t think she was surprised. Until I told her what it was I wanted to write.

A romance. A lesbian romance, with awesome women who fall in love with each other!

I didn’t write romances. But what I’d been discovering about myself was that I missed writing about women who fall in love with other women. Maybe I’d changed some. Maybe finding my own love had changed me. But I looked around at what I liked to read and watch, and it was the domestic stuff, the stories about women living their lives, and finding each other.

And because Valerie is wonderful to me, she gave me the nod I needed. I started writing Alice & Jean the very next day. The book I tossed aside to work on it is still unfinished. But Alice & Jean – that flowed fast and fun and I loved every minute I spent writing it.

So much so, that when it was done, and we realised that not only had it been a delight to write, it was also apparently a delight for you all to read, I decided to write another…and now this one is ready for you to read as well.

Violet

Fran is a successful single woman with friends, a social life, and a bookshop. If there is anything she feels is lacking – well there is always time for that later. She’s content, even if she hasn’t found the right woman yet.

That’s what she thinks, until she’s knocked unconscious.

Fran wakes up in a life straight out of the past; it’s early in the 20th century – a completely different world for her to navigate. With no bearings set, she’s whisked off to the coast as companion to a troubled cousin Violet, not knowing if she can trust this artistic and passionate woman, whose love for life is breaking.

Stranded in this old world, Fran must come to terms with being the same person in a different time, and build a life she can accept.

But it’s 1916, there’s Violet, and there’s one big question – could love be what life’s all about?

Violet is out now! If you liked Alice & Jean, you’ll like this one too. If you like romantic stories about amazing women who fall in love with other women, I think you’ll like it. It’s available right now on Amazon

US

UK

AU

(and all the others)

As for me, I’m about to start writing another book. A contemporary one this time, and maybe with a little more angst in it…but definitely with a couple amazing women who need each other more than they know…

Happy reading, everyone. We’ll talk again soon!

Kate

 

Lesfic Facebook Party!

Valerie and I are super excited to invite you all along to this, along with a whole bunch of other very cool authors!

It’s happening on Sunday, January 8, from 1pm – 11pm EST.

Here’s the link — click and RSVP.  Tell all your friends – you wouldn’t believe how many goodies are going to be up for grabs while you’re having a good time.

So, who can you hang out with?

PARTICIPATING AUTHORS:

Isabella will be kicking the party off from 1pm – 2pm.

Award winning author, Isabella, lives in California with her wife and three sons on the central coast of California. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling to the Sierra foothills and working on a little cabin in the woods.

Isabella’s first novel, Always Faithful, won a GCLS award in the Traditional Contemporary Romance category in 2010. She was also a finalist in the International Book Awards, and an Honorable Mention in the 2010 and 2012 Rainbow Awards.

She is a member of the Rainbow Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America and the Gold Crown Literary Society. She has written several short stories and just finished her next novel, Forever Faithful, out now. You can also find Isabella’s book at Itunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashword, Kobo, Sony , All Romance Ebooks, and the Sapphire Books website!

Join her on Facebook here.

Join her fan page and keep up the latest musing at her blog, too!

Author website

Annette Mori takes over from Isabella for the 2pm – 3pm time slot.

Annette is an award winning author who lives in the beautiful Northwest with her wife and five furry kids. With six published novels and two set for release in early 2017, she finally considers herself a real author. As an avid reader as well, she is delighted there are so many lesfic books to choose from and loves being a part of the lesfic community.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

Anne Hagan’s up next for 3pm – 4pm.

Anne Hagan is an East Central Ohio based government employee by day and author by night. She and her wife live in a tiny town that’s even smaller than the Morelville of her fiction novels and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Anne’s wife grew up there and has always considered it home. Though it’s an ultra-conservative rural community, they’re surrounded there by family, longtime friends and many other wonderful people with open hearts and minds. They enjoy spending time with Anne’s son and his wife, with their nieces and nephews and doing many of the things you’ve read about in her books or that will be ‘fictitiously’ incorporated into future books.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

AJ Adaire follows Anne at 4pm – 5pm.

Twenty years ago, AJ Adaire wrote her first lesbian romance novel just to see if she could do it. The novel occupied space on her bookshelf, unread for nearly twenty years until, one day while in a cleaning frenzy, she considered disposing of the neatly stacked but now age-yellowed pages. As she began to read the long forgotten work, she was surprised to discover that the story was enjoyable! Editing and retyping the first book provided a new sense of accomplishment and additional tales followed.

Now retired, there is all the time in the world to write. She lives on the east coast with her partner of thirty-two years. Because they love a challenge, they provide a loving home for two spoiled cats instead of a dog! In addition to writing, any spare time is devoted to reading, mastering new computer programs, and socializing with friends.

AJ’s debut novel, Sunset Island, was published in September 2013. It begins the Friends Series. A novelette, The Interim, (November 2013), continues the story of Ren Madison and her transition towards being able to love again. Awaiting My Assignment, Book 2 of the Friends Series quickly followed in December 2013. It picked up the story of Melanie, Ren’s close friend, and introduced her new partner Amanda. Awaiting My Assignment named one of the Top Twenty Contemporary Lesbian Romances from 2013 by Elaine Lynch writing as E.B. Mulligan, 6/4/2014. Book 3, Anything Your Heart Desires, (March 2014) is the last book in the Friend’s Series for now. It features all the characters from the previous books, and tells Jo’s story. AJ’s first novel not in the Friends series, One Day Longer Than Forever, was released in June 2014. It’s Complicated followed in October 2014. If you enjoy sailing, or reading about sailing, you might enjoy AJ’s next romance, I Love My Life, released in March 2015.

In 2015, AJ switched gears and wrote an Adventure/Romance called Journey To You. It was a finalist in the 2015 Rainbow Awards, and received an Honorable Mention.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

Lily Hammond, who also writes as Kate Genet, will have the 5pm – 6pm time slot.

Hey that’s me – and I’m looking forward to hanging out with you and talking all things historical fiction, lesbian fiction, and wow, anything else that takes your fancy!

Amazon author page

Alison R. Solomon will guide you through your dinner hour (if you’re on the East Coast and eat early, that is) with the 6pm – 7pm time slot.

Alison R Solomon is a psychological suspense writer, author of Along Came the Rain and Devoted (January 2017.) She grew up in England, and lived in Israel and Mexico before settling in the USA. When she’s not writing, Alison can be found chasing dolphins, playing tennis, or planning a road trip. She lives with her wife Carol, and their two rescue dogs. Visit her website at www.AlisonRSolomon.com.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

Eliza Andrews has the 7pm – 8pm time slot.

I wrote my first contemporary lesbian romance / drama between spring and fall 2016.

To Have Loved & Lost has been more popular and wildly more successful than any of my previous books.  And on top of that, it feels like writing it was doing something good for the LGBTQ community.  Given the current political climate, that feels important.  It’s not much to offer, but it’s something.

Amazon author page  ~ Author Website 

Patty G. Henderson  couldn’t make it at the last minute, so I’m filling in, talking about my Kate Genet books, and all the good things Valerie and I have coming up for you this new year – which includes a MORE BOOKS! I’ll be yakking it up from 8pm – 9pm.

 

Vanda is up next from 9pm – 10pm.

Vanda’s novel, Juliana (Vol. 1, 1941-1944), is the first in a series of novels about the same LGBT and straight characters living through forthcoming decades of New York City LGBT history. Volume 2: Coming Home—The Post War Years (1945-1955) is due out soon.

As a playwright Vanda has received numerous honors, among them an Edward Albee Fellowship. Her play, Vile Affections, published by Original Works was a finalist for a National Lambda Award.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

Last but definitely not least is Lynn Galli, who will wrap things up from 10pm – 11pm.

Lynn Galli resides in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys long walks on rocky beaches in the rain and standing in everlasting lines for a complex cup of coffee that will sustain her on a fifty-five minute, ten mile drive to her job writing software programs that allow her to build airplanes, save wildlife, and promote recycling. Her chilly summer evenings are usually spent writing about places that are much warmer and drier but nowhere near as beautiful or bursting with coffee, airplane manufacturing, and software coding.

Visit Lynn’s website for the latest on her upcoming books and answers to reader’s questions: www.lynngalli.com.

Amazon author page ~ Author website

So that’s the sum of it – we’ll see you all there! Here’s the link again, so you can pop along and mark it on your calender: Lesfic Facebook Party!

On the art of NOT BEING BORING

The last two days I’ve been writing, I’ve also been complaining. ‘Something’s wrong with this story,’ I told Valerie, and yet, when she asked what, I wasn’t sure. The closest I could come was ‘It’s boring.’

One of the pet sayings Valerie and I have when it comes to the books we write, as well as read, is that you have to leave out the boring bits. Those bits might be backstory, unnecessary action, or in my case this week – the characters themselves.

‘They’re boring,’ I said, finally. ‘They sit around living boring lives in a boring house.’

Characterisation is perhaps the most important thing to me these days when I’m writing. The people in my books are what brings the stories alive, and are also the movers and shakers during the writing phase. I don’t plot anything, so all the action and events in the book depend entirely on what sort of people I’m writing and the decisions they make.

Yesterday, it came time to make a decision about what I had so far on VIOLET, the new novel. I’d hit the 10 000 word mark, and it’s pretty much the magic number for knowing if a book is going to work or not (Having said that, however, I’ve been known in the past to go stupidly on for a lot longer). I decided it wasn’t working. Valerie agreed. I walked around in a funk, then I walked around in deep thought. Then I looked at Valerie with my most pathetic expression, and she told me what to do, presenting me with a lot of magic words, ideas, and some marvellous back-patting.

For now, I’m keeping the first chapter of VIOLET, but the rest is going. I’ve a new picture in my head, rather than the old one I carried around for this story – an idea I’ve had since 2012; and this one is going to work. I have that excited, shivery feeling about it, and I can see the characters in my mind; they’re moving, talking, and very much so not being boring. 

Which is the way it ought to be, don’t you think?

The Page Cannot Stay Blank

I don’t know how to get back to writing.

In the past I’ve written through all sorts of upheaval – in fact, retreating to a fictional world of my own devising was nothing short of a relief when I was in the midst of a relationship that had turned incredibly sour. Then, it was a way of finding happiness in the midst of terrible things.

With the US election results, Valerie and I certainly feel as though we are in the midst of terrible things. Our overwhelming response is (at this stage) grief, tinged with great uncertainty and fear about the future for the world, and for all our friends and loved ones in America.

But grief spilling over into depression is a stopper for creative expression. It bottlenecks the emotions so the only way they come out is in broken pieces. It wants to drown everything in helplessness. It tells me I am tired, of fighting, of having to get up over and over, of never quitting.

I am desperately tired, but there is still a voice telling me that I do not want to stop doing what I do – writing stories. Humanity heals itself through stories, and even the tales we tell here at Sapphica Books have a small part in that. We write of women like ourselves, living life as best as possible on our our terms. They illustrate the struggles, the triumphs, the needs and desires we face. Is there ever a worse time to stop telling such stories? I know many writers in our community will be confronting these same issues, struggling to maintain creativity when so much has been dealt a blow.

But artists have always taken the role of truth-tellers, even in such small ways as the stories we write. They find threads of commonality, and bring us together, to weep, to celebrate, to find strength.

The blank page has always been an intimidating place, but I think I’m going to pull up my current book file and stare it in the face, then put down some words on it, one at a time. In the end, it’s the most important thing I can do. Keep telling the stories.

Maybe our community, and our world, has never needed them more. Because we are here, as we’ve always been, and we need each other, and we need our voices.

 

(Comments on Sapphica’s Blog are moderated, and we reserve the right for them to be so. Now especially, we need safe spaces for ourselves, places where we can come together without fear. Let’s create a myriad of those spaces.)