mm romance

Incidental Sexuality in Literature

February 21, 2014 By Brandon 2 Comments

Welcome Spring Horton to the blog. She stopped by with a subject that is getting more and more traction from both within the LGBTQ writing community and from outside of it as well. – B.

I wanted to write this guest post to discuss the future of LGBT characters in literature. I have to admit that we’ve come a long way; much further in books than in film and television. The explosion of new queer characters is amazing, especially in the male/male romance genre. And not only are droves of books being written, they also seem to be selling well, if Amazon sales rank is any indication. Now, there’s definitely nothing wrong with a good male/male romance (I’m currently working on one myself) and there’s nothing wrong with books that center around a character’s sexuality. I just wonder if we aren’t lacking in LGBT characters in mainstream books though. In almost every genre the characters are assumed, by default, to be heterosexual unless deemed otherwise at some point in the story. [Read more…] about Incidental Sexuality in Literature

There’s Something About Albert

February 7, 2014 By Brandon 5 Comments

Julie Bozza on the blog today talking about her novel, The Definitive Albert J Sterne. Enjoy! ~B.

Brandon kindly asked me if I’d care to write something about my novel The Definitive Albert J Sterne, and I was very pleased to accept. But then it took me weeks to decide what to write. Inevitably, though, there was only one answer to that. A (mostly discreet) baring of my heart and soul was called for, because that was what was involved in writing Albert. My bared heart and soul.

Maybe all first novels are like that. Albert isn’t autobiographical in any literal sense. But that’s me, in words on the page, in all my essentials.

The me at the time was 29 years old, a married public servant with a mortgage, living just outside Australia’s capital city Canberra. Well, at least we had that small detail in common, I suppose: Albert lived just outside the United States’ capital city Washington.

He was brilliant at what he did, but had no social graces. At all. I like to think I had one or two – graces, that is. I wasn’t brilliant. He was barely tolerated, while I hope I was at least liked… He would think me rather pathetic for even thinking that. I love him dearly. [Read more…] about There’s Something About Albert

Book Gems come from all sorts of places

January 24, 2014 By Brandon

Welcome Heather Domin to the blog. She’s here to talk to us about another Hidden Book Gem I found while wandering the internet. ~B

Stories come from all sorts of places – this one came from a newsboy cap.

I get most of my ideas from images, usually a random visual that pops up in my head and spins itself first into a character, then into a premise. Back in 2004 (dear lord, I just realized that was 10 years ago) I was watching an interview with an actor I had a crush on; he was wearing a gray newsboy cap, and I said jokingly to my roommate that he looked like an Irish terrorist. It was a throwaway comment (and not even a clever one), but over the next few days the image kept coming back to me, like a montage in a movie trailer: not a terrorist but a hero, running through smoky streets, dodging gunfire, trying to rescue someone he loved. Thus Adam Elliott (and his gray cap) was born. William developed just as quickly – I knew I wanted a cinematic drama with lots of danger and a love story to match, and what could be more dangerous in 1920s Dublin than falling in love with another man who’s secretly working for the Crown? I’m a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope. I wanted Adam and William to be two sides of the same coin, two people who had been through similar traumas but reacted to them in a very different ways. I decided to tell the story from William’s point of view so the reader could experience Adam along with him, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was William’s story I was really telling. The outline came together pretty quickly, and everything took off from there. There was so much to explore: history, culture, religion, class, love, loss, fate…. plus, you know, beautiful men with accents angsting all over the place while wearing (or not wearing) period clothes. Because newsboy cap. [Read more…] about Book Gems come from all sorts of places

How I Accidentally Fell Into Writing

January 17, 2014 By Brandon

Welcome John T. Fuller to the blog. John has the distinction to be the first author we’re bringing to you this year for the Hidden Gems blog series. In a nutshell, this series of posts is about helping you find books that you may not have found, but that others have raved about. They come from all facets of LGBTQ lit, so if you know of a book that you think needs to be spotlighted, let us know. I hope you’ll enjoy the blog series! Now, everyone say welcome to John. ~B

When Brandon approached me and asked if I’d like to take part in his 2014 guest blog theme of ‘Hidden Gems’ I was very honoured and incredibly surprised to be contacted by such a prolific and respected author. Just as surprised, in fact, as I’ve been at how my debut (and currently only!) novella When the Music Stops has been received by readers.

You see, I never really intended it to be published. I’ve written on and off as a hobby for most of my adult life, everything from erotica to horror, historical to sci-fi, but none of it ever saw the light of day – in fact a lot of it never even got finished. It was always just a hobby to me, a nice creative outlet when I came home from the (depressingly factual) desk-job. When I wrote When the Music Stops it was the longest piece I’d written to date and I wasn’t thinking about an audience or what readers might think – possibly this was a good thing, as I’d perhaps not have tackled such an emotive and divisive subject if I’d been worried about how it would be received. [Read more…] about How I Accidentally Fell Into Writing

Exclusive Excerpt from Guardians of the Pattern: Psi Hunter

January 10, 2014 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Welcome Jaye McKenna to the blog with a cover reveal and an excerpt from book one of her new science fiction series: Guardians of the Pattern.

Overview:

In my new sci fi series, Guardians of the Pattern, the line between science and magic blurs. In the Federation, psions are hunted down and murdered because the public fears their psychic talents. But when ancient weapons of mass destruction are unearthed on a planet populated by primitive nomads who still believe in magic, psions may be the Federation’s only hope for survival.

Can the people of these two very different cultures come together to prevent disaster? Or will the Federation’s hunger for power trigger a psionic chain-reaction that has the potential to threaten all of humanity?

Each novel in the five-book series features sci fi action and adventure, and a romance for a different couple. The first novel in the series, Psi Hunter, will be available in March of 2014. [Read more…] about Exclusive Excerpt from Guardians of the Pattern: Psi Hunter

Heteronormativity in MM Romance?

January 2, 2014 By Brandon

Betty Postelwaite couple — Photo Credit: Betty Postelwaite

Watching a conversation unfold on Twitter about a reader searching for ‘who is a top and who is a bottom in MM romance.’ For this particular tweeter it seemed confusing and relevant, especially when writing gay fiction.

I was surprised and delighted with the response that came back to him/her:

I just think that searching for who bottoms is like searching for who is “woman” in the relationship.

I love that, because unfortunately, in MM, all too often I see ‘roles’ which are specifically defined without actually stating them. Granted, there are specific sub-tropes that play into this, but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how heteronormative ideas about gay relationships permeate MM romance.

Have you seen it, and does it matter to you?