Arts

At the very least bisexual

Yesterday, I brought something up with other bisexual writers that I’d noticed a few times and wasn’t sure what to make of it. There wasn’t a consensus on whether it’s really an issue, but I wanted to get my thoughts out anyway.

There is a phrase I’ve seen popping up in books lately. It’s become overused, like “her smile didn’t reach her eyes” or “he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.” It’s okay the first couple of times, and then you start seeing it everywhere. I’m sure some of my resistance is to how nauseatingly often it appears.

The phrase is:

He’s gay or at least bi. [emphasis mine]

This bothers me on another level. The “at least” has the feel of bisexuality being some kind of lesser or half queer, like we haven’t quite made it yet. It’s dismissive, as though the writer wanted to be sure to include bisexuality but only as an afterthought. Like they’d almost forgotten we exist (or didn’t quite believe we do). This is particularly upsetting for people who have spent the majority of their time in different-gender/hetero-appearing relationships.

The context for the phrase is usually when a character has entered a same-(cis)gender relationship or when a secondary character is guessing at their sexuality for some other reason. The “some other reason” relies on stereotypes and things that are presumed to be “tells.”

I could probably write an entire post on that last subject, but I’ll leave it at saying you cannot tell someone is gay or bi through observing how they look at people of their same gender. Nor can you tell based on whether their behavior or even their voice are outside of expected gender norms. You can’t. Trying to do so has literally led to people’s deaths, and it contributes to a culture of toxic gender roles. Cut it out.

Anyway, back to “at least bi.” Here’s a bit of writerly advice: Leave out the “at least.” I get it that in some sense, there’s a reluctance to pin a label on someone who hasn’t used one for themselves. But we have no problem using the word gay. The hesitance is regarding the word bisexual.

Most people who are only interested in one gender have some difficulty wrapping their heads around anything outside the binary. Even our allies struggle with it at times. That’s okay! I don’t really understand monosexuality either, so we’re even. (Why do you think I almost exclusively write about bisexual characters?)

There’s an easy fix for this phrase that won’t make you label a character and also might reduce some of the awkwardness. Here are some alternatives:

He’s gay or bi
She’s interested in women
He’s dating a man now
They’re into in people of more than one gender
She told me she was attracted to that woman

This week, I’ve run across the phrase “or at least bi” three times in three separate books. I also read an article in which bisexual people were described as “essentially straight.” There’s a distinct lack of understanding that bisexuality is not, at its core, merely about sexual experimentation or still having a foot in the closet or about wanting the perks of being queer without all the overt bigotry. It’s not “gay lite” or a lesser form of queer. Bisexual people have our own unique history, culture, icons, and ways of living as who we are.

It would be awesome for all of that to be recognized rather than shoehorning us into the roles of gay, lesbian, and straight depending on what the story calls for. Throwing out that someone is “at least bi” or passing off a gay-for-you story just by using the word bisexual somewhere in a 300-page novel shows lack of understanding and creativity. A simple rephrasing goes a long way to being sensitive to who might be reading your work.

WIPpet Wednesday: A little racy

Books, Writing

Happy Wednesday! We’re deep into tech week for BIG FISH. Everything is looking fantastic so far. Just two days until opening night!

Other than that, it’s life as usual. I’m plugging away at the copyedits for Drumbeat. I’ve also been able to get more than expected written in Minuet. It’s been a perfect storm of a regular writing sprints group and now beta reading, which always inspires me to write more for some reason. The story is shaping up nicely, which is a pleasant change from struggling through writing Drumbeat.

On to the WIPpet. This snippet follows more or less from last week’s. I’ve edited it a bit for length and clarity. It’s just a shade racy, but nothing graphic.

WIPmath:2/21/2018 = 2 x (2 + 1) = 6 paragraphs.

Mack collapsed onto his back. His limbs were still quivering. Once he’d recovered, he would take pleasure in bringing Amelia to the same heights. For the moment, he needed to breathe. As she always did on these occasions, she draped herself over him and ran her hands along his sweaty skin, following them with her lips.

Mack loved that she never hesitated to show him what she liked. He’d met women who enjoyed sex as much as he did, but none besides Amelia who took such delight and fascination in the glorious mess of it all.

The thought amused him, and he chuckled. When he opened his eyes, Amelia was smiling down at him. There was something Mack found poetic about celebrating their reconnection.

“I want to write a new song,” he blurted.

Amelia’s laughter was like water for his soul. “About how much you like being fucked by me?”

Mack touched her hair, her cheek, her neck. “Yeah.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Wrayburn for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Review: Lander by J. Scott Coatsworth

Books, Reviews

About the Book

Title: Lander

Series Title: Oberon Cycle

Date: 13 February 2018

Length: 90k words

Publisher: Dreamspinner

Categories: romance, sci fi, fantasy, wingfic

Goodreads

Synopsis

Sometimes the world needs saving twice. Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of triumph is over. Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged Xander’s kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected ally awaits them. In the midst of it all, Xander’s ex Alix returns, and Xander and Jameson discover that their love for each other may have been drug-induced. Are they truly destined for each other, or is what they feel artificial? And can they face an even greater challenge when their world needs them most?

Purchase Links

Review

Full disclosure: I did not read the first book in the series. It didn’t hurt my enjoyment at all. Despite how this book builds on the previous one, I wasn’t lost. It was easy to pick up from context what had happened, and the glossary at the end was immensely helpful just to keep things sorted out. I appreciate how skillfully things are explained throughout. There’s no info-dumping or long passages rehashing the previous novel’s plot. It works well, and I can say that as a newbie to the series, I wasn’t thrown off at all.

Now to the good stuff, and oh boy, is there a lot of it. I often struggle with complex world-building and plot-heavy books. Yes, there’s character development, but it’s secondary to the action and setting. This book drew me in even without context. Or rather, it threw me off the dock and into the deep part of the pond. Everything is so carefully detailed, and it’s easy to become fully immersed in the story.

I love how the author weaves religion, faith, and spirituality (and the distinctions among the three) into the plot. There’s some really cool stuff in here, and it delights me to see how other societies conceptualize God/gods. Despite some well-placed, and well-deserved, digs at some of the worst of human religions, there’s a lot of empathy for people of faith. The best way I can describe it is as a kind of intellectual appreciation. It makes the characters and situations well-rounded.

Another thing I love is that the men aren’t the only ones in on the action, and the women (and people of other genders, hooray!) don’t require being rescued. A good deal of the time, they are the heroic ones. Not only that, but there’s no division of “men use their muscles, women use their brains” when it comes to saving the day. Women interact with other women besides their partners, and friendships cross gender lines. Even the “drama” over ex-partners is low level and not integral to the plot.

Which brings me to the “love story” portion. It’s barely there. Sure, there’s a misunderstanding and the discovery of something which might tear Jameson and Xander apart. But it’s not the main focus of the story by any means. Besides the fact that this particular thing (which I won’t spoil) is one of my favorite tropes, I felt it was handled well. It didn’t turn into endless and annoying theatrics between the two of them. I don’t know if it’s all resolved, but even if it never comes up again, I felt it was addressed satisfactorily.

All in all, this was a fantastic read. I’m definitely going to pick up the first book before the third one is out so I can have everything sorted about the plot. I can’t wait to see where this goes next time.

For gender equality, excellent world-building, pacing, and plot, and a fantastic sequel that can be read on its own, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.

Excerpt

Jameson savored the kiss, his arms around Xander, the way they fit together just right. They were finally together, and Titania and Oberon were one again.

Erro, Quince had called this new world. Like the skythane god of the sun, the one Errian and the Erriani were named for.

For the moment, everything was right in his life, and he never wanted it to end.

A cold drop of water on his cheek brought him out of his reverie. He glanced up. Storm clouds were piled high, swiftly overtaking them. Rain began to pour out of the sky like a waterfall, and thunder echoed in the clouds as the valley went dark, sunlight smothered by the onrushing clouds. Nearby trees thrashed about in the wind, their purple leaves fluttering in distress.

“What the hell?” Xander said as the winds picked up and ruffled the feathers of his wings. He stared up at the black tempest.

“The Split!” Jameson shouted over the howling of the wind. He mimed the two halves of the world, each with their own atmosphere, suddenly being forced together in the middle. “When the Oberon half shifted, all the atmosphere it brought with it along the Split was forced up here!”

A bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, crisping it to ashes and standing Jameson’s hair on end.

“Run!” Xander shouted.

Jameson’s vision swam, and a memory slipped into his conscious mind from that other part of him—a high-ceilinged cavern that was more like a faery palace than a cave—where he’d stolen away with a lover. More than once.

His stomach heaved at the displacement, and he clenched his hands. That wasn’t me. They were someone else’s memories.

“Follow me!” he shouted at his four companions—Xander, Quince, Kadin, and Venin—and ran toward the cliffs that were rapidly fading to invisibility behind the rain. He pushed down the memory-nausea, tasting bile in the back of his mouth.

Alia was missing. He’d last seen her as they had fled the Mountain, when it had begun to collapse. Jameson looked around wildly, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Alia?” he shouted at Kadin as they ran. Thunder shook the valley.

Kadin shook his head, mouthing, “I don’t know.”

Rain swirled all around them, coming down so fast that it pooled on the ground and ran in rivulets downhill toward the lake that was now half filled with the broken remains of the Mountain.

The mud made the footing treacherous. Jameson clambered up the hill, using roots and rocks that offered a firmer surface than the naked ground. The wind tugged at his wings, threatening to flip him over. He pulled them in tightly and glanced back to be sure the others were following him through the tempest.

Jameson reached the cover of the forest, plunging under the protection of the canopy. The trees here were tall and thin with white bark trunks and broad purple leaves that were being shredded by the storm.

About the Author

Scott was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were. He decided that if there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends. A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality.

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Author Interview: Dani Hermit & Nevi Star

Books

Today I’m pleased to welcome two new-to-me co-authors, Dani Hermit and Nevi Star. After our email exchanges and their interview, I can say I’d love to hang out over tea (or cocoa or coffee or whatever) in person, not just virtually.

Interview

Since you’re both new to me, I’ll start by asking about your work. What do you wish people knew about your books or characters?

One of the main things we wish we could convey is that in the middle of all of the dark, adventurous, crazy things happening in our books, they are love stories at their core. The love stories that are playing out with these imperfect characters are our favorite part of what we write. Since we don’t follow the generally accepted romance genre format of one couple getting a happily ever after (or even just a happy for now) stand alone story, we don’t really fit into that genre.

We have an ensemble cast made up of a wide variety of characters who are falling in and out of love, being chased by monsters, discovering that they are monsters, all on the path to finding their soul mates. But it’s happening at the same time. There are probably ten love stories playing out in the first books of the Parliament of Twilight series, with several more in upcoming episodes. But each couple, each pairing are part of the larger world and their love affects the larger narrative. Whether they are messing it up, getting it right, or still looking for Mr. Right.

That sounds amazing! An ensemble cast sounds like the characters could get a bit unruly (i.e., not listen to their creators!). How do you handle a story that doesn’t go as you planned?

Plans? What are plans? The story cares nothing for your plans!

We have an overall idea of where the Parliament is going and how we are going to get there. We know the ending. We have an idea of who is going to get us there. But the details along the way? The subtle shifts of power and control and loyalties? We’re discovering them as we go along. The characters seem to have a life of their own and, as authors, we do try and challenge and surprise each other. That can throw the narrative off into a whole new direction neither of us had planned. Imagine two Dungeon Masters trying to play without anyone else to torment. There’s no choice but to torment each other.

Ah, that definitely explains it. I’ll bet you really have to immerse yourself in the story. What helps you do that (music, visuals, etc.)?

We are huge on playlists. Music sometimes is the driving force behind the story. A single song heard at the right time can change a story arc. But we also have piles of art Nevi has done of the characters over the years. There are also long car rides that turn into us having discussions as the characters and praying we can remember some of it for later!

Oh, goodness, yes about having to remember your “car plotting” later. Okay, time for word sprints!

Do you have any pets?

Do roommates count? 😉 We have 2 lovely kitties who have overthrown our Instagram feed.

Do the people in your life know about your writing?

More than they ever wanted to.

What was the last thing you read?

Dani is just about to finish Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook and Nevi’s in the last chapters of Hexbreaker by Jordan L. Hawk.

Thank you for taking time out to chat here, and feel free to come back any time to tell us about new releases!