I didn't write it for you.

For the most part, I stay out of discussions of my books here on GR, unless I know the people involved and am fairly sure they wouldn't mind me putting in my two cents. I've had way too many instances in the past of readers getting all huffy about me commenting, because "Goodreads is our space and authors need to keep out!"

Fair enough. But this blog is my space, and I have a thing or two I need to vent about.



When I started writing my trans* romance Flawless, I had a feeling readers would find it polarizing. But at the time I had no idea if this was because there aren't that many trans* romances available, or, by extension, because readers simply didn't want to read them. I got my answer to the latter last week, when Flawless started climbing the GLBT romance best seller lists at both Amazon and All Romance ebooks.

Still, I've stumbled across a few reviews here (and elsewhere) that have made steam come out my ears - including one (from a reader who shall remain nameless) that slammed me for not deconstructing gender.

Uh, whut?

Oh, and Dear Reviewer, saying I only put in the car-racing stuff to show my trans* character Gil Alvarez is "really a guy" has to be the most trans*-ignorant statement I've ever heard.

Bad, bad me for researching this book by talking to actual trans* folk, when I obviously should've been reading a gender studies textbook.

Meet Tyrrell Morris - the inspiration and walking treasure trove of research for this story. If I wrote her actual life story, everyone would laugh. No one would ever believe one person could have earned a doctorate in aeronautical engineering, served as a commander in the US Navy, worked for JPL in Pasadena, run her own auto shop, and owned - and driven! - a string of racing cars.

Oh, and in the midst of all this, she transitioned from male to female.



Tyrrell is my best friend and life partner. I wrote Flawless for her. Because she asked me to. Because there are very few trans* romances available, and even fewer that get that living as a trans* person is not all about being trans*. Sure, it's about living your life in a body that reflects who you are inside, but it's also about that not being a big deal.

Gil Alvarez, like all the real-life trans* people I spoke to, just wants to be accepted for who he is. Liking fast cars isn't what makes him a guy. He was a guy from the day he was born, just like Tyrrell was always a woman.

But being trans* is not what defines either of them.