GLBTQ Characters

[Serith]

I have read Tithe and really loved the appearance of a gay character. I even picked up the anthology, So Fey. I guess my question for you is do any of your other series have more GLBTQ themes in them, and if so what one would you recommend I try next? And if not, do you plan to feature more characters like this in the future?

Thank you for your time and for sharing your wonderful talent with all of us! :)

[Holly]

Well, this might sound really obvious if you've already read it, but I hope that you've had a chance to read IRONSIDE, as Corny has a much better time in that book than he has in TITHE. He's grown a lot from his experiences and, in many ways, it's as much his book as Kaye's.

I have two short stories with gay characters in my collection, THE POISON EATERS AND OTHER STORIES (one which you have already read in SO FEY and the other from 21 PROMS, called "In Vodka Veritas"). If there is anyone who is GLBTQ in the Curse Workers, we either haven't met them or we haven't learned that fact about them, but I anticipate featuring more gay characters in a novel that I am currently planning out (which is still a secret).

[Clare K. R.]

Holly, I've noticed that in your books, as in a lot of other YA fantasy (Francesca Lia Block particularly comes to mind), there are plenty of queer characters... but they're all male. Were you aware of this trend, and if so, what do you think of it? Was it a conscious decision to not include any queer female characters, or is that for some other reason? (I know when I write, my characters tend to show up and tell me things like their sexualities in no uncertain terms... which has sometimes been inconvenient for plot purposes!)

Personally, I read Daneca from the Curse Workers as bisexual, but that might just be because I like her so much ;)

[Holly]

Ruth, in VALIANT, is a queer lady. But I agree that I write about more queer boys than girls, probably because my long-time critique partner is a guy.

I agree, thought, that sometimes characters just have sexual orientations and there's not much I as the writer can do about it, although often I have to figure it out from the way they're acting (my short story "In Vodka Veritas" is a good example of that -- I had no idea what was going on in that story until my friend, Delia Sherman, read it and pointed out that the protagonist was clearly in love with his friend).