Writing

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, part 2 – Soup & a giveaway

Happy Wednesday! First the big news: I just re-released my short story, Pink in the Mirror, which was formerly published with Torquere. If you like the 1950s, drag racing, and women who love women, you might enjoy it. Here’s my blog post about it with the fabulous (and very pink!) cover as well as all the purchase links.

Since today is International Women’s Day, I’m going to give one copy of Pink in the Mirror to a random commenter (comments left here and on other social media are all included). If you don’t want to be entered for that, just say so in your comment. If you do, then make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

On to the WIPpet. I’m currently posting from my anthology-in-progress. These are all stories set in the same world as Cat, Micah, & co. They are not primarily romance, and not all of them are LGBTQIA-themed. I’m sticking with LR again this week. She’s emerged from her nap, but she’s not ready to talk about what’s on her mind yet. First, dinner with her family.

WIPmath: 3/8 = 3 + 8 = 11 paragraphs, mostly dialog.

LR crept out of her room. The headache wasn’t gone, but it was better than it had been. She descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. Cat had a paper in hand, and Dad was looking it over and humming, nodding his approval. Maybe a song Cat had written. Mom was heating something on the stove. All three looked up when LR cleared her throat.

“LR!” Mom exclaimed, leaving the pot on the stove and coming over. “I thought you were going away with friends.”

“I, uh, wasn’t feeling up to it.”

Mom put a hand on her forehead. “You’re awfully pale, but you don’t feel warm.”

LR sniffled for effect. “Maybe just a cold or something. I have a headache,” she added, hoping it would make her story more plausible.

Nodding, Mom said, “Better to get rest, then. It’s not a lot of fun to travel while sick, and you risk sharing germs.”

“Right.”

“You want something to eat? I’m heating up the leftover sausage soup from last night.”

LR’s stomach lurched at the thought of putting anything, especially spicy soup, in it. “No, thanks.”

She wanted to go back to bed. No one would have objected. But Cat was eying her, and not in a way that made her think he merely felt bad for her. His expression clearly said, we’ll talk later. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to keep anything from him.

Sliding into a seat at the table, she said, “I changed my mind. Soup sounds good.”

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, Part 1

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! Sorry I missed last week. It was the kids’ school production of “Barnum.” I’d never seen it, although I’d heard a couple of the songs before. What a fantastic show. The kids did a great job. If we’re friends on FB, you can look at my timeline to see photos.

I finished Keeping the Faith, and it’s been beta-read and edited. It’s officially no longer a WIP, and as soon as I’ve written a blurb, it’ll be off to my publisher. I’m hoping for a November 1 release, same as the previous two books in the series.

This week, I started on a new story, but I don’t have enough written to share yet. In fact, I have several WIPs outlined but not written. I do have quite a bit done on some short stories set in Cat’s world, though. The plan is to wrap those up to self-publish over the summer. That’s what I’m sharing from today.

This story is tentatively called “Blessing Cup.” (For anyone who didn’t know, all the story and chapter titles have religious tone/themes/origins.) In the snippet, we get to see inside LR’s head for a change. In Walking by Faith, I alluded to her having some secrets she hadn’t even shared with Cat. Here, she’s revealing a little of one of them. This takes place roughly eight months after the end of WbF.

WIPmath: No math. New month, new story.

Home at last. A week of nothing outside of a paper to write and a couple of tests to study for. LR breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the front door. Fortunately, no one else seemed to be home, which meant she could temporarily let down her guard.

She dropped her bags by the stairwell and ducked into the bathroom. Inside, she rooted through the medicine cabinet until she located the Tylenol. She eyed a bottle of Cat’s meds, but she had no idea what effect a stronger medication would have on her. He would notice it was missing anyway, even if she thought taking his meds was a good idea in the first place. He counted them religiously.

It was stupid of her to entertain the idea, but her head hurt so much she couldn’t concentrate on a better plan. She took two of the Tylenol and swallowed them with a bit of water from the tap. Then she sat down on the toilet and put her head in her hands, shaking.

Everything was her own fault. If not for a number of things over the past couple of months, she would be on her way to enjoying spring break with her friends. They’d invited her, but not only did she not feel well enough to go, she had something more pressing to take care of. It meant staying home and working out a way to tell either Mom and Dad or Cat, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

She listed her options. Telling Dad by himself was out, but mostly because it was embarrassing. He was probably the one who would be most helpful, but it made LR feel awkward. Telling Mom was possibly safe enough, but she would take over. Not that she wouldn’t let LR make her own decisions—Mom wasn’t like that. In fact, LR wasn’t sure why she hadn’t called Mom already. She’d shown in every way that she would be there for LR no matter what, the same way she’d been there for Cat.

That was a special case, though. No one expected Cat to be ready to take care of things after what had happened to him. If he fell apart and wouldn’t talk to them for months, it was understandable. It wasn’t his fault. LR had no excuse. Everything she’d done had been of her own free will.

She hauled herself up on shaky legs and went upstairs to lie down. A good nap would hopefully cure her headache, and then maybe she could think more clearly about what to do.

Release Day Review: Breaking Anchor by Geonn Cannon

Writing

About the Book

Title: Breaking Anchor

Author: Geonn Cannon

Length: 252 pages

Release Date: March 1, 2017

Language: English

ISBN: 9781944591229

ASIN: B01NBQQLQM

Categories: Lesbian romance, contemporary

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31451955-breaking-anchor

Synopsis

Three years ago, Sofia Kennedy reported the tragic death of her girlfriend live-on air. Still in the closet even with her closest friends, she was forced to suffer her loss in silence. In the years since she’s become isolated and sticks strictly to a routine that prevents her from encountering painful memories of the woman she lost.

Marion Vogt runs a small but well-respected catering service that feeds the elite of Seattle. When Sofia’s consumer reporting segment does a story on Marion’s company, the two women immediately butt heads. An unintended insult results in a scathing report that nearly shuts down the business. Marion’s attempt to defend herself results in a deepening of their conflict until both women are ready to destroy one another.

They quickly find out Seattle can be a very small town when trying to avoid someone. As much as they want to avoid each other, fate keeps forcing Sofia and Marion to cross paths. Before long they realize they’ll have to decide if they’re going to hold on to bad feelings or risk forgiveness to discover just what they have to offer each other.

Review

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so right from the synopsis this had my attention. I was also interested to see how the death of Sofia’s partner was handled because this can often be done in ways that I personally find upsetting. I was pleased to see that both aspects were written well.

I have to admit, it took me a while to warm to Sofia. I understood her reasons for how she made her choices, and I was sympathetic to her. The after-effects of her choices, made in good faith, are far-reaching. She’s not able to be fulfilled because of the tension between doing what she believes is right for her career and doing what she needs in order to heal. I ended up really liking her, but it took setting aside my annoyance with her in favor of developing compassion. I think that’s a sign of the excellent writing in that it made me examine my attitude toward Sofia and adjust.

Marion, on the other hand, I think I was half in love with from minute one. She is an absolute treasure and the kind of woman I admire. She strikes me as someone I would be friends with in real life. All throughout, she’s more than fair to Sofia, despite all the ways in which Sofia undermines her and snubs her. When she finally breaks through Sofia’s crusty exterior, these two are utterly wonderful together. Without giving spoilers, there is a thing Marion does for Sofia at the end which is so perfect and something I wish more people in real life could do when it comes to handling the aftermath of tragedy.

This is a relatively slow-paced, realistic story. There’s no big drama, just two women trying to work through their situation. The resolution is satisfying, and the ending, while still being a happily-for-now, is very much in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book.

For believable characters, sensitive writing about grief, and good, steady pacing, this gets 9/10 fountain pens.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Amazon UK | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the Author

Geonn Cannon was born in a barn and raised to know better than that. He was born and raised in Oklahoma where he’s been enslaved by a series of cats, dogs, two birds and one unexpected turtle. He’s spent his entire life creating stories but only became serious about it when he realized it was a talent that could impress girls. Learning to write well was easier than learning to juggle, so a career was underway. His high school years were spent writing stories among a small group of friends and reading whatever books he could get his hands on.

Geonn was inspired to create the fictional Squire’s Isle after a 2004 trip to San Juan Island in Washington State. His first novel set on the island, On the Air, was written almost as a side project to another story he wanted to tell. Reception to the story was so strong that the original story was put on the back burner to deal with the world created in On the Air. His second novel set in the same universe, Gemini, was also very well received and went on to win the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Best Novel, Dramatic/General Fiction. Geonn was the first male author to receive the honor.

While some of his novels haven’t focused as heavily on Squire’s Isle, the vast majority of Geonn’s works take place in the same universe and have connections back to the island and its cast of characters (the exception being the Riley Parra series). In addition to writing more novels based on the inhabitants of Squire’s Isle, Geonn hopes to one day move to the real-life equivalent to inspire further stories.

Social Media

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Rainbow Snippets: Someone New

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Saturday! This is my last snippet for a while because it’s show time! My kids’ school is putting on Barnum, the circus musical. Opening night is Thursday. Then the following week, I’m out of town chaperoning a youth trip. I guess I’d better make this count!

By the time I’m back, Keeping the Faith won’t be a WIP anymore. So I’ll probably leave it and post bits from other stuff for a while. Not sure what yet…stay tuned.

I’m introducing another character today who is important to the story, but I’m not saying how. Here are 6 sentence about him.

Before they could continue, Chris showed up. He was dressed more casually than the day before, wearing faded jeans and a worn t-shirt. His beard was a little scruffier than it had been the other day, and he’d taken out the earrings. Micah missed the earrings, but he thought Chris looked good this way. When Chris glanced over and smiled, heat rose to Micah’s ears. He was sure he’d been caught staring and enjoying the view, even though there wasn’t anything more to it than appreciation.

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!

WIPpet Wednesday: Wedding Bells

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished playing a fantastic concert. We performed Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony, which was a lot of fun. If you don’t know what the “surprise” is, you should find it on YouTube. Last week, we played it for several hundred third graders, and they all giggled when we got to it. As much as I love it, my favorite piece on the program was Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis:

On to the WIPpet. It’s bittersweet today because by the next time I post, it will no longer be a WIP. So this is my last Wednesday snippet of Keeping the Faith. I’ll have one last bit on Saturday, and then I’m on to the next thing. Funnily enough, that probably does involve more of Cat—I’m working on some short stories about their group of friends, and those are the only ones with enough to snippet from at the moment.

I thought I’d give you all this one, since at least one person asked what Cat would wear if he and Micah got married.

WIPmath: 2/15 = 1 + 5 = 6 paragraphs

They were married in May. The weather cooperated, dawning sunny and mild as the season shifted away from the cold of winter. The air was thick with the blossoms of spring trees floating away on the breeze, and everything smelled warm and green.

Cat had wanted something halfway between traditional and contemporary, so everything had an ethereal fairy tale quality to it. From the flowers to the elegant decorations to the soft beauty of the women’s dresses, it was all floating and dream-like. Even the music they’d chosen reflected the quiet holiness of the moment.

Micah half expected Cat to wear a dress—perhaps something lacy and delicate. Cat had refused to give him any clue, saying it was bad luck for them to know what the other was going to wear. He wouldn’t allow Micah to talk about what he’d chosen either, though Micah was sure he knew. Micah had picked out a soft, white linen suit with a jade green vest to match the greenery of their theme, and he couldn’t wait for Cat to see the tie he’d selected, knowing it would bring his eyes to life.

Right after they’d gotten engaged, Micah had finally gone out and had his ears pierced. For their wedding, he’d chosen jade earrings and bought two pairs, and they both planned to wear them at the wedding. For his part, Cat had chosen the dresses for the women—pale green, calf-length with an empire waist. The skirts and sleeves were some kind of gauzy, soft material. The men—and Pam—had on white shirts and green ties that matched Micah’s. Pam had a tan skirt, and the men had tan trousers.

Micah met Cat to walk down the aisle together. To his surprise, Cat hadn’t worn a dress. Instead, he had a pair of white pants and a silk blouse, both billowy and flowing. The green of his sash matched their colors, and, to Micah’s great delight, so did Cat’s brand-new Converse. Only he would wear them with such a gorgeous outfit.

Just before they proceeded, Cat leaned in and murmured, “There’s one more surprise waiting for you.” The scent of his peppermint lip gloss wafted to Micah’s nostrils.

Further Conversation on Queer Lit

Books, LGBTQ+, Social Justice, Writing

I promised I would keep communication open on this. If you haven’t read the previous post, this is a good time to do it so you can catch up on my initial thoughts and the responses. There’s also been good discussion elsewhere, and I’ve had some dialog via private message from people who didn’t feel ready to take their thoughts public.

Smaller conversations have been happening on and off for as long as I’ve been part of the published book world. My recent post was sparked by a particular thing I read in which there were multiple characters identifying as something other than gay (yay!) but who were drawn so badly it produced anxiety in me just reading it (boo). It felt to me as though the author wanted greater representation but had no idea how to achieve it and was also trying to fit the characters into an “MM” box. A lot of us who don’t write MM romance have had this experience—make the characters fit or expect your work to receive poor reviews because it didn’t.

I’m going to sum up the things I’ve been hearing people say they need in queer lit. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’d love to keep adding to it. I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten or misunderstood or wasn’t aware of. It would be great if in the comments, folks could add to or change items on this list.

More queer lit which isn’t romance or romance is secondary
More overtly queer science fiction and fantasy (again, without romance or romance as secondary to the plot)
Queer romance with a greater variety of pairings across the gender spectrum
More and better representation of transmasculine characters, especially in MM romance (in particular, allowing transmasculine characters to have a full range of sexual expression; also less emphasis on transitioning)
Better and more accurate representation of transfeminine characters, including in FF romance (less fixation on genitals, coming out, and transitioning)
Wider diversity of socioeconomic class, both in characters and in readership
More asexual and aromantic characters, with a full range of self-expression within that
#OwnVoices, particularly within LGBTQIA books written by LGBTQIA authors (i.e., trans people writing books with trans characters rather than exclusively cisgender people writing them)
Uplifting of books by, about, and for people of color (as opposed to white people writing stories about people of color)
More diversity in books written by white people
Sub-communities for topical interests, genre interests, and individual letters within LGBTQIA, as well as specific to communities of color
A place to discuss issues that come up within queer lit, preferably with other LGBTQIA people
The examination and avoidance of certain tropes which are overtly harmful
Both books which include spiritual and religious content and books which have none at all
Books about bisexual characters in which they are allowed a full range of romantic and sexual expression, including romantic pairings with people who are not their same/similar gender (e.g., a bisexual man in a romantic relationship with a woman, a woman in a polyamorous relationship which isn’t a threesome, a bisexual woman in a relationship with a transfeminine non-binary person, two bisexual non-binary people on different parts of the spectrum in a relationship)
Both gay romance and gay fiction which are not MM romance (this seems to me to be somewhere in between the books of yore which ended tragically and contemporary MM, and they are definitely different from either category)

Again, I realize that’s not a full list, but we can add to it as we go.

So, how do we match readers with books? How do we help authors find readers who are interested in what they’re offering?

The current problem is that a lot of “lgbt” review sites (which is where a lot of people get their recommendations) focus heavily on MM romance. There’s a lot of MM romance out there, to be sure, but this makes it difficult to connect authors and readers. It becomes a problem when an author requests a review of a book with gay or bisexual men in it and the reviewer pans it because it isn’t a romance—even if the author specified that it wasn’t. This is a repeated pattern, and it’s not just one or two authors complaining about it.

This is also a problem for people specifically writing about other letters and genders besides gay and bi cisgender men. It’s become a problem in some discussion groups too, when readers make comments about finding trans people “uncomfortable” or when asexual folks are excluded because they’re “not queer enough.” And not that our allies experience the same things we do, but I’ve seen genuine allies trashed for standing up for us when things get heated (and I wholeheartedly thank you for it!). Some allies understand queerness better than people who identify as “family.”

What I would like to be able to do, rather than creating a “queers-only” community is to be able to connect readers with books that might interest them. But I’m only one person! I can’t read every book every written, no matter how much I want to. I also need this to be something we can do for free. I know there are paid listings where people can share their books, but we need something we don’t have to shell out more money on. Not all of us have the advantage of financial security.

So there you have it. Some of what people are looking for, and the beginnings of what we might need to do about it. I am open to suggestions, but again, I’m only one person. This is going to take team effort to make it happen.

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, part 2 – Soup & a giveaway

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, Part 1