Author Guest Blog – Page 8

I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It but not in a Vapid Katy Perry Way

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:00-05:00May 2nd, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog, Guest Blogs, Readers on Reading|Tags: Bisexual, Queer Girls|

by Justina Ireland The first time I kissed a girl I was fifteen. It was at one of those awkward boy/girl house parties where everyone wants something (beer, weed, sex) but the parents are too near to properly get at it. We played spin the bottle, since this was before the Internet and that’s what we did for fun in the old days, and mine happened to land on a girl I barely knew. For a moment we hesitated, while everyone in the room collectively held their breath. Then I shrugged. “We don’t have to if you don’t [...]

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I’ll Write LGBTQ Characters Forever

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:01-05:00May 1st, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: censorship|

by Francesca Lia Block I'm often asked about my LGBTQ characters but it's kind of like asking me about women and men, or teenagers and adults, in my books. They just happen to be who they are and they're usually based on people I know and love. I don't think about it consciously, though I do want to include a diverse array of characters and I believe it's important to have more books about all under-represented people, including the LGBTQ community. Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (Henry Holt and Co., 2013) [...]

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Writing an Intersex, Agender Character

By Katie|2020-03-28T13:42:03-05:00March 23rd, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog, Guest Blogs|Tags: agender, Intersectionality, Intersex, LGBTQIA, Speculative|

“...before you go on, yes, most likely whatever you’re about to ask is very rude. If you’re wondering about what’s under my clothing, it’s very rude. If you’re wondering about my genetics, my hormones, my biology… there’s a pretty damn short list of people for whom any of that is actually relevant. Having said that, for the sake of simplifying things: you and I would not be able to have children together, for example, unless we were to adopt or employ some extremely invasive medical science...” Ellis’ face showed that ey was unperturbed, perhaps familiar with impolite questions, [...]

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Criticism and Discussion of The Other Me

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:03-05:00March 20th, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: Non Binary, Trans|

by Suzanne Van Rooyen Authors need a thick skin. Putting a book out there for others to read takes enormous amounts of courage. Not only does it feel like you're exposing yourself – if not laying your soul bare for strangers' eyes – but you're also opening yourself up to the possibility of criticism, and not just the constructive kind. All of this I had experienced before with my previous novels, so I knew what was coming when my YA trans novel, The Other Me, made its way into the world. But I wasn't entirely prepared for the [...]

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A Girl Like Me

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:03-05:00March 14th, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: graphic novel, publishing, Trans|

With more publishing options out there than ever before, and many stories of success and failure on every front, how do you know which path is right for you? Traditional, indie, and self-publishing all have their pros and cons. It’s important to know what to expect with each one, but it’s even more important to know yourself and your project. Know your strengths, your limitations, and your relationship to the project. Each project is different. What is an ideal publishing route for one might not be for another. In a feature I wrote on publishing, author Steve Almond [...]

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Author Guest Post: Love, War, and Fairy Tale Endings

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:08-05:00January 27th, 2015|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog, New Releases|Tags: gay, Historical, New Releases, Queer Guys|

by Danny M. Cohen Early on in my debut novel, Train, teenagers Alexander and Marko make their way through the midnight shadows of Berlin to The Fountain of Fairy Tales in Friedrichshain Park. Statues of Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Hansel, Gretel, and other familiar storybook characters surround the fountain and watch the teenage boys share a kiss. But this is no fairy tale. This is 1943 Germany and the Nazi machinery of deportation and mass-murder is ongoing. In writing Train, I wanted to tell the hidden stories of Hitler’s often forgotten victims—the Roma, the disabled, homosexuals, political [...]

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The Question of Queering the Mainstream Novel: A Conversation with authors Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith

By Nadia|2020-03-28T13:42:21-05:00December 5th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog, Author Interview|Tags: Fantasy, gay, publishing, Queer Girls, Queer Guys, Representation, Speculative|

The story behind the story is sometimes, as they say, stranger than fiction. Stranger is the title of a Viking November release by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith and, if you read this book, as I did (when Rachel asked me, in my paranormal YA novelist persona Tate Hallaway, to blurb it,) you might not think much more beyond how awesome and captivating a story of superpowers and survival in a post-apocalyptic future it is. Stranger (Viking Juveline, 2014) This book, however, almost didn’t get published. Sure, okay, you’re thinking, lots of great books don’t get published, what’s [...]

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Are Coming Out Stories Still Relevant in 2014?

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 10th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: Coming Out, lesbian|

by Amy Dunne Are coming out stories still relevant in 2014? It’s a question that can divide opinion. A little while ago, I attended a literary event that was full of people I didn’t know. A little group formed and I was taking part in their discussion. When asked what I do for a living, I experienced the usual moment of panicked hesitation that I’ve come to expect and struggled to decide on my answer. Should I have been honest and upfront, or should I have given the half truth answer that avoids potential awkwardness. The dilemma I’ve [...]

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When Two Dads Are Better Than One

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:38-05:00October 9th, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|Tags: gay, Homophobia, lesbian|

By Jessica Verdi Website: http://jessicaverdi.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessVerdi When I began writing my first novel, My Life After Now (which was published in April of 2013), there were so many factors on my mind and story elements I wanted to be sure to get just right. The book is about sixteen-year-old Lucy Moore, a straight-A student and drama club star who makes a few bad decisions after a super bad week and, as a result, ends up testing positive for HIV. With a story like this, I was extra conscious to do as much research as it took to [...]

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Writing Noir for Teenagers

By Vee|2020-03-28T13:42:39-05:00October 3rd, 2014|Categories: Archive, Author Guest Blog|

by Greg Herren When I was a teenager back in the Pleistocene era, I didn’t read books for teenagers. I learned how to read when I was four, and by the time I was ten my reading comprehension levels were college level. I went directly from the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and other mystery series for kids straight to Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie, Gone with the Wind, and The Godfather. On the rare occasions when a friend or a teacher would recommend I read a book for teenagers, I was almost without fail disappointed. That was the [...]

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