2019 had been a lot of things for me. But mostly, it was BUSY. Work. Graduate School. Friends. Family. Author Events. One book published (*coughs* sorry *coughs*) in February 2019. Life had been all consuming, especially after my 104 year-old grandpa, whom I helped care for, took a turn for the worse over the summer. 

(I'll miss the old grumpy-gramp. We were a lot alike. We fought for sure. But he was also one of my biggest supporters.) 

One of my outlets when I couldn't form two sentences together was all the queer visual media coming out of Thailand, Taiwan and a couple other places. It was nice see positive queer representation in TV/Movies with a Happy Ending. Something we don't often get in the visual media here because there is still a mentality of "Kill Your Queers"/"Bury Your Gays" in TV and movies in the States—or make the story depressing as hell, then KILL YOUR QUEERS.

Where there issues that rubbed me the wrong way in terms of representation in the media I was watching? Yes. But there are also cultural differences to consider. 

Are those same issues here in the States? Also yes. *looks at American culture, our conversations, and sighs* 

Did I stop watching? Fuck no. 

I needed happy because life was so darn complicated. The one-two combo of work and graduate school wore me and my health way down. I needed something not complicated. 

So, Thai and Taiwanese Queer TV series with Happy Endings it was. Problematic natures and all.

After a particularly disappointing Fall/Winter Season last year, and a particularly horrific ending to one series, I had FEELINGS. LOTS OF FEELINGS. And things to say. I normally avoid saying anything in public about any of these series because... well, the fans. People do not like having others "judge" - I am critiquing, though honestly, yeah, judging, too - what they like. Some groups of fans can be more energetic than others, so... I keep to myself. Normally. This post is coming weeks after those FEELINGS blubbered over and thumped my friends because I was so fucking mad. I have cooled off and finally decided to get it all of my chest. *waits for firestorm* But I was furious.

Fucking furious.

​I quickly identified why I was so mad. The trope used was something I was so used to seeing and I hated it. Absolutely hated SEEING it.

Before I get to the main entree, though, I have a few quibbles to work through that I might as well get off my chest. Go broke or go home, na? No matter what, I know my post is going to upset some people regardless of my intent. While this is about my feelings of what's happening, I can see it being taken personally. Try not to, but no worries if you do.

A lot of Boy's Love visual content has been coming out of certain Asian countries over the last few years, especially Thailand (home away from home) and Taiwan. There is other queer stuff showing up, but mostly, it's BL so that's what I am concentrating on for this post.

Woot! Live Action BL! Yay, right?

I noticed because a queer like me, well, would. Japan had put out some BL anime, even a few movies of their BL way back when, but the live action stuff had a certain ... quality to it. The last few years, Thailand and Taiwan started putting their own stuff out as BL has become more popular there. You have a younger generation influenced, mostly, by what they saw from Japan and a crop of fan fic turned pro writers blossomed. Not unlike what we saw here in the States 20-25 years ago. 

Whole new stories were consumed online. Authors had offers to publish and then offers to make those stories into TV series because they were popular. Squadrons of boys/young men got paired off and marketed (a whole other post and feelings). More visual media with gay (*sighs over the bi-erasure and GFY*) protagonists were made.

At first, it was the Asian markets getting the visual content, then it started coming through Netflix to the States and YouTube (some legal, some not so legal channels) and very few of the books getting translated (legally anyway - different issue, again). More people noticed the TV content. A larger world audience started paying attention.

You might be asking WHERE is ALL of this content? Some of the series are on Netflix. Some are on official YouTube Channels (some subtitled, some not). Some are on VIKI (an app), and some have been tweeted with international links via LINE TV. I will only ever supply legal options because illegal sharing of content kills genre. As a queer, I have a vested interest to see that not happen. (I have a whole post about Yaoi and how it almost died in the States fifteen years ago, so yes, I take it seriously.)

The market? Mostly younger women, but it was not necessarily just them watching.

The clamoring brought better budgets to certain companies producing the visual content. The production quality steadily improved. Some of the actors and choices made in the stories improved.

But most especially, we queers were getting Happy Endings.

Awesome, yeah?

With the good, also came the same issues story-wise we struggle with in the States in terms of gay/queer romance:

Bi-erasure
Trans representation
Strict "Roles"
Gay For You
Racism
Ablism
Magic Dick Trope (Not Joking)
Abusive/Toxic Relationships Romanticized
Rape the Love Interest (*coughs* where ppl like to call it dubious consent, sighs)
Lack of Intimacy (Intimacy does not equal sex ppl!)
Obsession/Possession Issues
Where are the lesbians? 
and more...

The TV series we got coming out? Had various combos of these issues.

Now, you can say, "BUT IT'S FICTION, let me have my escape." 

*siiiiiiggghhhhsssss*

I know it's fiction. Trust me. I do.

I have absolutely no qualms over complex, imperfect characters who try to make good choices but make bad ones too. In fact, I love those characters because they make the story more interesting. The perfect character that does everything right, always makes the right choice, and has had ten years of therapy to properly communicate with everyone is not only boring, but fucking annoying, too. It's an issue I have with YA and NA storytelling - that everyone must always "do the right thing" even the morally dubious or anti-hero type  characters.

*squints* 

I made a lot of dumb choices growing up. Mistakes are part of us. Learning from those, growing, improving when you know better, is good fucking story.

However, marginalized populations that are getting written and produced for profit - because that's what's happening here in BL TV mania - influence how people think about the characters they see and the characters' choices. It also influences, whether the intent is there or not, how people think about certain norms involving those vulnerable populations. Having conversations around those norms is not only important to the people consuming the content but it is also important to the marginalized people actually living their lives and directly affected by the assumptions made.

Books have been having these conversations. Enough of them where there are queer characters all over the spectrum because we are not necessarily the default bad guy anymore. *looks over at coded visual media and sighs* We don't automatically have Sad Endings in books anymore. Our lives are not Tragic. Our sexuality and gender aren't what MAKES the story. We are more than the labels. We are complex, rich characters who happen to be queer and this story is about us. Books, and the authors creating them, are having those conversations. Do you know how good that feels?

That's not to say we don't have problematic shit come up. It does no matter the genre. *dutifully ignores all the trash fires burning sky high right now*

Some of these problematic elements appear that appear in our books also then end up in the BL dramas being made. Conversations about how these elements are indeed influenced by the culture creating the story happen, not a lot in the West because we can be self-centered like that, but they are. That does not give a free dismal to elements portrayed in the media that's coming out. Yes, different cultures are at different points in the conversations, and you have to understand the values and cultural  roots will affect how change happens in that culture. 

Each culture has to address their concerns the best way they know how. *looks at America's dumpster fire* We're not the best at knowing what to do or how to handle every issue. I'm not even sure we know what do for ourselves right now. It's all kinda on fire. Saying a problematic element must be solved X way because that's how we do it is not always translatable culturally.

At the same time, certain problematic stuff is problematic regardless of culture:

Rape
Abusive/Toxic Relationships
Fetishizing Minorities
Abuse of Power
and so on...

So let's look at some of the series that have come out. I can't cover them all, but the highlights are good, na? Plus, this is how a queer who has been schooled and educated in the States perceives them:

Love Sick (Netflix) - high school, fake relationship trope, ensemble cast

This was one of the first big Thai shows that helped kick off the rest in terms of queer representation. The first season is on Netflix and it's actually an ensemble cast where the main characters end up in a same-sex relationship. The second season and the Special are not on Netflix, however.

Problematic Elements:
Femmes are the butt of jokes, though you have some people stick up for them
Gay For You, the "only for him" idea
Bi-erasure, see above
Potty humor related to being gay, how someone farts & goes to the bathroom
The "it's not cheating if he's a guy and I'm a guy" idea
Evil Girlfriend or Bitchy Girls, see above for why it's tiring 
Lack of intimacy (remember, intimacy does not equal sex), you could tell they weren't comfortable touching

What it did well:
The struggle of self-acceptance
Teens making bad choices 
Did not kill off it's queers
Acting was from newbies so they did okay, just okay
Did have a plot other than the romance 
Production quality (better than some)
Normal kids
Season Two gave a Happy Ending

None of the problematic aren't any different than what Yaoi or gay romance has been through. There have been other articles about why these concepts still exist ad nauseam, so I don't feel like getting into here.  The main point is that it wasn't a perfect series. It had a lot of young kids playing roles, which means touching people you don't know could be highly uncomfortable for the kids. Thai culture is such that touching random people you don't know is uncomfortable even if you are affectionate with your friends/family. Touching means a certain amount of familiarity.

Fans of the show have been clamoring for a third season. And it has been announced and backtracked many times. *shrugs*

Side Note: There are a lot of other high school aged BL TV series out there, I am not a big consumer of them because, well, they're in high school. But also, not a ton of them are acquired legally here in the States at the moment.

Sotus (Netflix) - college, enemies to lovers trope, ensemble cast

The first season is on Netflix. Season two and the special is not. This is another Thai show that helped spurn the current production of BL series. Plus this had the first really big couple pairing that got built up by fan bases. This series revolves around an incoming freshman who is not particularly happy with the school's hazing system (note, I said school). Yes, Thailand has hazing. It is still legal there. Yes, it is a problem in some universities. Yes, there has been a call to address the issue. Yes, it has gotten somewhat better. Mainly from public pressure. 

Problematic Elements:
Femmes are the butt of jokes
Gay For You, the "only for him" idea
Bi-erasure, see above
Lack of intimacy (remember, intimacy does not equal sex), you could tell they weren't comfortable touching in the first season, they got better (especially by the Special)
Not the best plot/pacing
Bullying via Hazing (As seen by someone who grew up where hazing is illegal and went through schools that had massive anti-bullying campaigns)

What it did well:
The struggle of self-acceptance, kinda
Did not kill off it's queers
Blink and you'll miss her lesbian
Acting was from newbies so they did okay and they improved over the seasons
Production quality
Normal people
Good Female Characters
Season One gave a Happy For Now, Season Two and the Special gave us a Happy Ending

Now something to understand here is that Thais will try to talk their problems out and see the issue from another person's POV. Violence and lying are two big no-nos based on their culture. Fighting, and a person quick to temper, is  frowned upon. Someone will almost always intervene anyone trying to fight if they are friends. It is also why people who use violence are portrayed the way they are in these series. That can lead people *cough* the States *coughs* where white lies/lies are an every day thing and fists come out more often than not, to be confused as to why certain behaviors are a big deal while others are not, or to be confused as to why Thais have the reactions they do to the lying. 

Lying is a HUGE no. It is a much bigger deal in Thailand than it is seen here in the States, which is why it often gets the reaction it does. The default is that people are being honest with you, not the other way round.

Side note: It would be awesome to see a college series where engineering majors aren't the default. *looks at all the ones that are now, siiiiggghhhsss*

Bad Romance/Together With Me Series (LINE TV) - college, Friends to Lovers, ensemble cast

This is a three season series that can be watched via LINE TV if you have access. It started with Bad Romance where the supporting same-sex couple was already together in the first season. Now, this has happened with multiple series in Thailand where the first a het romance first season, then the queers had a large enough fan base they got another series but the chronological order is off.

Chronologically:

Together With Me (2nd season)
Bad Romance (1st season)
Together With Me: The Next Chapter (3rd season) - most everyone has graduated and are working

Problematic Elements:
Femmes are the butt of jokes (Seeing a theme here?)
Gay For You, the "only for him" idea
Bi-erasure, TV series (see above) - in the book one of the characters was bi, the other straight and in the TV series the may the straight book character gay and the bi character straight ... I have no answers for those choices.
Not the best plot
Strict "Roles"
Rape/Assault, sighs - in the TV series it's a supporting couple where the much younger boyfriend is gang raped in Together With Me, but in the Together With Me: The Next Chapter, they have him get back together with the man who set it up. It's a long fucking conversation because what happened was rape.  The book is a whole other story.
The "it's not cheating if he's a guy and I'm a guy" idea - Together With Me Season
Evil Girlfriend or Bitchy Girls, see above for why it's tiring 
Continuity between seasons (sometimes you can't help it)
Abusive/Toxic Relationship Romanticized
Fetishizing darker skin
BR did have the crazy/obsessive queer character that tried to kill people

What it did well:
Multiple characters were actually gay and not "Gay For You." It was nice to see some of the characters already self-assured in their sexuality.
Did not kill off it's queers
Acting improved over the seasons, had good cast chemistry from the get-go
Production quality
Normal people
​Supportive Friends 
Strong Female Characters
Conflict with unaccepting family
Cheating - the MF couple in Together With Me: The Next Chapter
Season One and Two gave a Happy For Now, Season Three gave us a Happy Ending

Now, I have no issue with problematic elements. People are people and do dumb shit. Sometimes you can have an awesome conversation around those dumb choices and talk about why they are a problem, why they cause harm, etc. Showing negative choices is also something that can be as beneficial as showing positive choices. The issue here is that is NOT what is happening most of the time, especially in these TV productions of the stories. *looks at the rape involving Farm and how that whole storyline went* Sighs. 

The Kiss Series (Netflix/GMMTV Official YouTube Channel) - college/working professionals, enemies/friends to lovers, ensemble cast

Similar to the BR/TWM series, this is a three season series and a Special that started in the middle with the het couples but then went back. They are, once again, mostly engineering majors. There are some working stiffs (*throws confetti*) The second season mixed it up a bit, though. That was nice. Season one is on Netflix. Seasons one through three are on GMMTV's Official YouTube with English (and others) subtitles. There are mostly het couples here. Now, this series produced one of the most favorite/shipped same-sex couples, and honestly, it influenced stuff. 

Kiss Me Again happened before Together With Me and upped certain levels in terms of intimacy (Not Sex) shown on TV. The same-sex couple actually kissed, and it felt intimate, creating waves. Then Together With Me upped the ante with intimacy and sex. It's been interesting watching what has happened since. :/ Yes, sarcasm is involved. 

Chronologically:

Kiss Me Again (2nd Season, same-sex couple main cast)
The Kiss (1st Season, supporting same-sex couple)
Special - Our Skyy, Episode Four (I think)
Dark Blue Kiss (3rd Season, two same-sex couples, one supporting het couple, and a maybe lesbian/bisexual woman) - also, when to place this chronologically confused a lot of people, so there might be some actual overlap with season two but who the fuck knows.

Problematic Elements:
Gay For You, the "only for him" idea
Bi-erasure, see above
Strict "Roles" (Season 1 and 2)
Not the best plot (Season 3, I'm looking at you, JFK what was that?)
The "it's not cheating if he's a guy and I'm a guy" idea - Season 2
Evil Girlfriend or Bitchy Girls, see above for why it's tiring 
Continuity between seasons (sometimes you can't help it, certain actors were not available)
Obsessive/Possessive - Abusive/Toxic Relationship Romanticized
Intimacy (not a problem for season 1 or 2 - and again, intimacy does not equal sex)

What it did well:
Multiple characters were actually gay and not "Gay For You." It was nice to see some of the characters already self-assured in their sexuality.
Did not kill off it's queers
Not Strict "roles" for one couple (Season 3)
Acting improved over the seasons, had good cast chemistry from the get-go
Production quality, hell of a lot better than most
Normal people
​Supportive Friends 
Strong Female Characters
Pete's Dad - Love him
​Intimacy (Looking at you Season 3 - and no, I'm not talking sex, I'm talking intimacy)
Season One and Two gave a Happy For Now, Season Three gave us a Happy Ending

Lying also becomes a big issue in this series and I saw a lot of Western viewers just not get how bad it is to lie. They couldn't wrap their heads around the reaction and why it was so bad. This is a cultural issue. I'm not saying Thailand needs to stop doing what they're doing. It's part of who they are. It's up to the people joining the culture to work to understand it. Though it is something people might want to be aware of. Western viewers thought Kao's rejection of money and lying to cover everything up was actually reasonable - he should be his own man and make his money. What they didn't see is how much the rejection of Pete's offer of money (in a Buddhist culture, those with more help those with less - it's more complicated but that's the basics) was sincere and not offensive and why the Kao lie was worse. It would not have been looked down upon for Kao to take Pete up on his offer, at least not viewed the way Westerners saw it. Was it ideal? No. But Pete was in a position to offer help. 

I'm not even going to get into giving a high school antagonist instead of an older successful businessmen antagonist to create a misunderstanding and a love triangle was such a bad idea. Sighs. I just... won't. And the "You can't hang out with other guys?" FMR.

*Looks at the fighting* Yeah. It was there. Normalized because boys. *Sighs* Abusive relationships are not just between het couples people. *Sighs Again*

And for the last one, because damn this has gotten long, the 

Love By Chance Series (Studio Wabi Sabi Official YouTube Channel/LINE TV) - College, mostly engineering students (not all), friends/enemies to lovers and all sorts, ensemble casts

This series got a lot of attention. One, the acting. Two, the production quality (especially from an indie studio - they anted up production quality - thanks). Three, the story. It also got a lot of attention because of fighting behind the scenes and the not so professional behavior by certain people (not the actors). A third/second season (it's complicated) almost didn't happen then an announcement came out of nowhere in December 2019 that no one was expecting.

Chronologically:

TharnType: The Series (Season 2 but not done by Studio Wabi Sabi) (LINE TV international direct links)
Love By Chance (Season 1) (Studio Wabi Sabi Official YouTube)
2 Wish: Love By Chance Season 2 (Season 3 - like I said, it's complicated) - coming 2020 (I think)

Problematic Elements:
Gay For You, the "only for him" idea
Bi-erasure, see above
Strict "Roles"
Rape/Assault - the handling of it in TharnType - was there effort, did they change editing, yes? Was it still there - yes. Was the handling realistic... sighs. Depends on the couple. They did try to have a conversation of how rape could happen to men and affect them? Yes.
Magic Dick Trope (TharnType - I loathe this trope with a vehemence only known to mole rats and it feds into the issue below)
Sexually abused Victim Representation - inconsistent handling between characters, the representation with Type and how he would react was so far off base
The "it's not cheating if he's a guy and I'm a guy" idea 
Continuity between seasons (sometimes you can't help it, certain actors are not available, it's REALLY complicated in this case)
Assault - between a couple (TharnType), Type punched Tharn many times. *sighs* Tharn raped Type - also a long conversation about the kiss scene in episode one, the holding down in the bed scene, shower scene and how Tharn continued to touch Type when he was told to back off so... issues. Though Tharn was presented in such a way after that kiss scene in episode one where stuff happened consensually - again, issues. 
Obsessive/Possessive - Abusive/Toxic Relationship Romanticized - TharnType season, the step-brothers in ALL the seasons
Pacing/Plot issues (TharnType) - a lot of this had a lot to do with the editing choices. TharnType was the first attempt for the producer (also author of the books), but there were pacing issues that caused confusion and so a YouTuber started explaining what happened in each of the episodes to people because so much was not explained/shown. If you have to rely on your book readers to explain it to an audience who hadn't read the book, then there are problems in the story-telling of your visual content. I know the author can produce quality pacing because she worked on season one (Love by Chance) with Studio Wabi Sabi. And something I noted is that the independent work of her suffered pacing/toxic stuff while the independent work Studio Wabi Sabi (Until We Meet Again) suffered cast chemistry/depth/plot. Together, the two made a kick ass series (season one). Their strengths must've complimented each other's weaknesses.

What it did well:
​Femmes were not the butt of all jokes
Trans representation - TharnType
Multiple characters were actually gay and not "Gay For You." It was nice to see some of the characters already self-assured in their sexuality.
Did not kill off it's queers
Bisexuality was brought up as an option (yay?)
Both seasons thus far had good cast chemistry from the get-go
Production quality, hell of a lot better than most
Normal people
​Supportive Friends - Ae's Wingman, awesomeness 
Supportive Family 
Strong Female Characters/Good Female Characters 
Season One gave a Happy For Now for the Main Couple, Season Two has not ended as of this posting (and once again it gets complicated because Studio Wabi Sabi is now doing Season Three/Two and for other reasons, ugh.)

Now, this is where stuff starts to get complicated for this series. Season Three/Two is going back to the original cast of Season One and not using the cast from TharnType (Season Two) that does have overlapping characters. People loved certain characters from certain seasons. How it's all going to shake out is yet to be seen. What I do think is the TharnType cast are SOL. The author/producer has promised the TharnType characters other work (who knows).

They missed the boat on introducing a demisexual in Season One - though whether that identity has made it's way to Thailand - it hasn't, not that I know of, not with people outside my friends and family. Ae certainly clocked as demisexual to international (western) viewers because of how his attraction worked. They didn't go for bisexual, which could've worked to, but they didn't quite pull a Gay For You with his character. He just hadn't figured it out yet? Sorta. *shrugs*

The idea of consent in TharnType is a very, very long conversation. Some of it was done well (Tar), some was not (Type). It also has to do with the conversation around rape and assault in Thailand. Most people don't understand that assault victims do not, in fact, fight back but can undergo what's called Tonic Immobility. Yes, that's a link you see. But basically, it's temporary paralysis due to the situation. So all those times in BL where "because they didn't fight back was proof enough they wanted it", is a no-go. Rape victims can't always fight back, especially in Type's case, which makes it all the more brain numbing. Another issue rape victims have (and can cause sexual dysfunction and PTSD) is some can and do experience an orgasm - that doesn't mean they wanted the orgasm, or that they liked what happened.  But how? A decent link explains it here. But basically, the neural pathways that cause orgasm are also the same neural pathways that are firing when undergoing stressful and fearful situations - like rape. Sooooooooo many people don't understand this and see orgasming as consent or that the person being assaulted really wanted it. 

That's just not true. 

What is true, is that if it happens during a rape, it can cause a hell of a lot of confusion to the victim because this is not something explained in sex ed all that often. A lot of shame can get involved as well as cause forms of post-traumatic stress disorder. But what I want people to understand is this: Rape Victims cannot always fight back because Tonic Paralysis is a thing, and Rape Victims can experience orgasm, but that sure as hell does not mean they wanted what happened to them. 

So yeah, chest unloaded. There are more series and more issues, but I think the ideas and basic overview of what is out there has been cultivated with what we have.

Also, there is one more thing I want people to understand. You can like stories with problematic elements. There is some fantastic story out there with all sorts problems - racism, bigotry, sexism - all sorts of problems. The key is: are you acknowledging those issues and having conversations around them? Are you talking about the whys and hows and what kind of damage/pain these things can cause? If you can, more power to ya. The problem becomes when people don't differentiate and set these ideals - toxic or otherwise - as standards and "the norm."

Now for the main course - there are major spoilers here, just saying - You Think You Can Kill Us:

One particular series - HIStory3: Make Our Days Count (all the HIStory series are found on VIKI) - killed off one of their main protagonists in the last episode. The reasoning? Because the writer wanted to explore this theme and the idea of moving on after the death of a loved one, and she didn't want to do something cliche like amnesia or a person who looks exactly the same to show for the love interest to also fall in love with. Killing off one of the guys was something new and unexplored.

Me, a queer person: ....... Excuse me, what? Fuck right off there.

How about we list a few of the recent visual media (yes, I know some of these are based off books) that already used this TROPE:

Umbrella Academy 
IT, Chapter Two
Bird Box
Game of Thrones
Supernatural
Voltron: Legendary Defender
The 100
Orange is the New Black
American Horror Story (Lots of them)
The Walking Dead
Brokeback Mountain
Rent
Bridegroom
Boys Don't Cry
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Magicians
The Dragon Prince
The Handmaid's Tale 
Pretty Little Liars 
My Hero Academia 
Jennifer's Body
​This Is Us
A Single Man

That's 24 TV/movies right there. I could go on, on and on, really. These are just the ones I can think of at the moment, but main the point being is that the "Kill Your Queers" aka "Bury Your Gays" trope - and if it's a trope that means it's totally a thing that has been done and explored - is alive and well, thank you very fucking much.

Now, the reason people did not expect this to happen in MODC, though there had been foreshadowing, was because the makers of this particular web series had promised viewers happy endings since the first season series aired. This cast had chemistry and the pacing was good. HIStory season 3 - Trapped and MODC had thus far hit all three things you want in a series more or less - cast chemistry, story, pacing. Are there quibbles? Of course, but I'm not getting into those now. What I am addressing is the end of MODC. Happing Endings for all of these series was something the producers talked about. Making sure there were Happy Endings for the gay/bi characters.

Make Our Days Count most definitely did not have a Happy Ending.

In giving a Sad Ending, they betrayed the bond and trust they built with their audience about Happy Endings. It was betrayed because they said they wouldn't Bury Their Gays.

Now, I can 100% say my feelings had a lot to do with the media form. And yes, it's important that I identified that particular issue.

You see, if it had been a book, I would've gone along with the ending. I would've been okay with that ending in a book. Just not on TV or in a movie.

Why?

Because I see all kinds of queer representation in books. Are there corners of "Kill Your Queers"/"Bury Your Gays"? Sure. Is it as prevalent as it used to be? Not at all. There is representation across genres of all kinds. Fantasy. Sci Fi. Romance. Paranormal. Historical. And LOTS AND LOTS of Happy Endings. 

When I read a book I don't need queers to get a happy ending or to not be the villain any more because there is enough out there for it to not bother me when I see/read it. 

The same cannot be said for TV/Movies. KILL YOUR QUEERS/BURY YOUR GAYS happen ALL THE TIME. ALL THE FUCKING TIME. 

So, yeah, I was pissed. Still am. Not as much, though. A little less, anyway.

Because getting the characters to a happy place, to have them touch happiness, and then rip it away, is all too familiar. It is also where a lot of queers are currently standing with the way the current government in the States is going. 

We were allowed marriage, but there were so many other fights for us still. And that ruling for same sex marriage, the normalization that had started after decades of advocation? Could be ripped away. Those Happy Endings we got are tenuous at best. Not everyone can understand it, but most everyone can feel it. There is an erosion of our rights as queers, of people of color, as disabled, as women, happening in the courts right now. And it hurts. That the Happy we got could be ripped under our feet and be just out of reach — again. The threat of loss is very, very real. It's terrifying. Being given reassurance where we can SEE it is almost required so we know that the are others who will continue to stand up against the injustices of the world with us.  

That's why the ending of MODC stung so fucking hard. 

Between the fact the trust the audience had was utterly betrayed, the fact the trope of KILL YOUR QUEERS/BURY YOUR GAYS is alive and well in visual media, and that recent political agendas have been threatening the happiness of queers, it was the last thing people wanted to SEE, especially when they had been told they wouldn't have to.

For me, it was the final slap that just wrecked me.

You want to do this in a book - hell, I have killed off characters - fine and dandy. 

TV? Movies? Where so many more people are reached and influenced because it's so easily consumable? Where what people SEE does influence what they think and feel about queers like me?

Fuck right off. 

I am not here the the KILL YOUR QUEERS trope in visual media. Not even a little. There hasn't been nearly enough Happy Endings to make up for all the hundreds,  thousands, of sad ones. Some plot choices/devices have yet to be used enough for them to be cliche for us queers.

So you think you can kill us? 

People do. Every day. Every fucking day. Just for who we are. It's an ending that has been explored for millennias, all throughout literature and visual media. The Sad Ending IS the predictable ending. The one us queers have seen most of our lives. The Happy ones had only just begun.

Let us be happy somewhere more visible.

Let us see it can happen.

Because we often don't.

Because we need, want, deserve, a Happy Ending.

It's not cliche. Not in the movies. Not on TV.

Not by a long shot.


_______________________________________

PS. I wrote this coming off jet-lag from Japan and really fucking late. I should b asleep if I ever want to adjust back to the right time zone. Typos, misspellings, tense issues (Sorry, Angel), etc., most likely happened, and will most likely be addressed as I go back and read my post when I am more cognizant. 

Hi, um, everyone. It's nice to see you. I'm surprised you're still hanging around, but it's nice you are. The last couple years have not been easy. They've been even harder on my writing because time. 

Between working full-time, graduate school part-time, and family and friends, there hasn't been a lot of me left to give. I have been working on stories. I think I'd curl up into a little ball and cry if I never wrote again. It's getting the stories done to a level I am satisfied with. It's looking back on the ones I needed to step away from because of all the black feelings left inside from a bad partnership with a publisher. It's knowing my writing has changed a lot and unsure of which direction to go. I have scenes rolling around in my head for David, for Namid, a finished story for Tadashi, but nothing was settling.

These are all choices. Ones that needed to be thought about. Talked over. Why I wasn't happy with what I wrote. What I felt was wrong. How far was I spreading myself. Because I needed to find the energy to be focused and write.

I have some of the answers. I'm still working on others.

With Angel Martinez's help, I have gotten a little back on track (training wheels). Our LIJUN series is exciting for me. Having her to cheer me on, to help me write something personal has meant the world to me. She has also kept me going when I sometimes faltered. Knowing she was in my corner, wanting me to finish the next scene gave me the motivation and kick in the butt I think I needed. The publishing schedule has helped too. Knowing I have due dates to meet, that I don't want Angel to look bad if I don't meet them, has also helped. 

While we get through the LIJUN trilogy I am taking a solid look at what I want to do next. David has been waiting a long time, patiently as he does. The third book for the Finding Peace series was a stumbling block for me because so many things need to happen, and it was tied up in all that previous publisher business. When bad things happen to the stuff I love I have trouble separating the bad from the good. I'm working on it. David would like me to finish his story. I did start with an ending after all. I knew where his journey went. Now it's getting there.

I also have the Finding Home boys. I have already figured out it gets one more book. A trilogy. I love my Geeves. Seeing how he faired after the snowstorm is important to me. 

There is Tadashi's (Spirit Threads #2) story, Enhearten. I've been sitting on the finished manuscript for 15 months. *looks at calendar* okay, probably longer at this point. Angel took a look at it and we talked over why I was unhappy (she didn't see much wrong with it). Once we figured out why I was so "meh" over the book I had a bit of cathartic release. I know how to "fix it" now. It means some major rewrites but I'm okay with that, especially since it means I'll be happier with what I wrote. 

Then I have the Tall Tales of Hooper's Town. My little ode to Tall Tales. Namid and Dusty have been staring at each other, then me in turn. I have figured out that is a trilogy. What needs to happen for them. 

Then there are a few other things on my plate. The expansion and publication of the blog story over at MCB, the Marduk Expanse, and the Sheltered Universe. The blog story I had over on Prism. Lots of things. So many things. It was hard to breathe there for a while. 

Learning to put them in smaller packages, to make decisions on what I can handle next, has been important. 

I will get to the stories. I feel that now more than before. Will it take time? Yes. Lots of time. But I have that. Comparing my turtle speed to people who can produce book upon book isn't any good. I will never be knocking out books left and right. But I will always be writing. Slowly, as I go, hopefully producing the stories I can be proud of. 

Paranormal Stories Should Be Serious

Paranormal Stories Should Be Serious, Right?

Yeah, well, often they are. A lot of paranormal stories take themselves too seriously. I’ve written some pretty deadly serious paranormal stuff, too, though I can’t write serious all the time. A lot for the absurd always creeps back in. And boy is there a lot of stuff to make light of in the paranormal genre.

While I’ve run into quite a few paranormal stories in gay romance/fiction that have funny moments (even Whyborne and Griffin have endearingly hilarious moments) there isn’t much in the way of gay paranormal stories that are set up as humorous rather than as a serious stories. We have werewolves and vampires galore and their dark and trauma-laden pasts. We have ghost hunters and fae, zombies and psychics. But not a lot of comedy. Even mainstream het romance is a bit light on the comedic paranormal except for vampire rom coms. Absolutely buckets full of those. One of the few I can recall offhand in gay romance is Geoff Knight and Ethan Day’s zombie romance, Guess Who’s Coming At Dinner, which was hilarious. I can’t even find a list on Goodreads for gay paranormal humor. That might be operator error, though…

When Amber Allure gave us authors the 77th Precinct prompt, the idea was for each author to write about a paranormal police squad in a chosen city. The idea itself seemed humorous to me, but I knew my cohorts would most likely write serious paranormal with Character Trauma and Big Bad Things and stuff. I have to be different. Funny…but what?

I’ll confess, my first thought was a vampire detective, kind of the easy way out, using a defective vampire. But the more I thought about it, the more he needed cohorts, other officers with broken paranormal abilities, until I had a whole squad full of them. Poor vampire (who can only drink “skim blood”) was pushed to the sidelines and another character got to play hero, one who can only absorb other people’s abilities. This sometimes gets messy, dangerous, and occasionally embarrassing. And we needed monsters! Ridiculous ones! So, yes, I have a whole notebook page of the most absurd monsters I could think of, some of which morphed over time.

There’s still mayhem and destruction, cause I like mayhem and destruction, and a budding relationship that’s not treated as an absurdity, but I do hope the structure of the story and the adventures of my broken paranormal cops will strike some funny bones.

Welcome one and all! It's wonderful to participate in this years Hop Against Homopobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia this year as we all celebrate International Day Against Homophobia, Biophobia and Transpobia this May 17th, 2015.

I sat for a while trying my darnedest to figure out what I should write about. I have lots to say, but when it came to this post I was stumped. I've written about bisexuality, homophobia, and all sorts of related topics so this should've been easy. I have talked about my bisexuality, should I talk about identifying as gender fluid? What would I say? I have talked about who I live in a conservative area so it makes it hard to met people like myself. To identify with anyone. Did I really want to discuss it again?

Nope. I write about those things in my books. I wanted something different for my blog post.

I sat staring at the screen and couldn't think of a thing. Frustrated I got up several times and came back, going 'round and 'round trying to decide what to say. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I had to do something.

So what did I do? I took a walk. I didn't think forcing myself to watch a cursor blink, and not have something to say, would be productive.

The walk cleared my head, let my mind wander. It gave me space from the problem and made me feel better (instead of being absolutely frustrated and no outlet for my energy). And while out on my walk I took my "usual route." A route I have taken since I was in high school, needing an escape. (Yes, I have lived in the area for a long ass time.)

Best decision ever.

It's a nice time of year in Chicagoland. The air is fresh, alive. Everything is in bloom. The weather is just cool enough to not be cold, but not so warm you're sweating buckets. You can appreciate the smells and sights around you.

I have several houses I enjoy seeing aka stalking (and their yards—what can I say? I'm a garden voyeur. A construction voyeur. A, well, a "I like to watch change" voyeur.) We have some perpetual home improvement tinkerers in the area. Something new is always popping up in their yard, around their house, etc.. You can't help watching and taking note of what's going on if you've lived in the area a long time.

One of those house is a little carpenter-style stucco house. It sits on a corner so you can see 3/4ths of the house and yard. The owners take good care of it. Over the years it has changed colors. White. Off-white. Green. And with those color changes came other improvements as well.

First was the the front porch. Earlier on they went with a cinderblock design that went surprising well. Not something you expected but it worked. Then they added a back patio. Nice pavers with garden boxes around it.

For years the guys in the house focused on the inside. There were two doors that entered the side of the house, which seemed a little odd until I figured out door was meant for down (the basement level) and the other for up (the ground level). Slowly the floors were replaced with wood. A state of the art kitchen went in. The entry with the doors? Well, that always seemed unfitted because there was no divide between them.

But hey, it wasn't my house. If they wanted to share the entry and have two doors, go for it. Odd design, but I've seen weirder. (Including one that added a pirate ship in their yard - no joke.)

After they renovated inside to their satisfaction (I assume), the guys focused back outside. A tall fence went up in the backyard—maybe to keep us voyeurs from looking in. But you could still see the yard, so *shrugs*.

A tiny garage was added. Their regular cars never go in it, but it holds the lawnmower and other fun stuff. Their porch table and chairs go in over the winter. Their fire pit too.

Yes, I notice a lot happening in and around the house, but I walk by it nearly every days for years and years. When I went away to college I missed stuff. That sucked because then I had to figure out what changed because stuff had changed there. Little improvements happened.

Decades (yes, decades) passed. Twenty years makes it plural.

The two guys that lived there obviously held a great deal of pride in their work. They had one of the nicest houses because it was loved. Their cars went from being beaters to the expensive kind. They had a dog. It grew up, barked when I walked by. Eventually he was gone, though. The stone steps to the front of the house have been replaced by wooden steps. So, yes, changes happened. Big and small.

Oh,  a few years ago the guys added one minor detail. One little thing that had changed in the twenty years I've walked by their house in the right-wing, conservation, catholic neighborhood they lived in.

On the outside of the fence, the one that went around their backyard, they added a flag holder.

The first flag they flew? A Pride flag. A beautiful rainbow flag. Four blocks from the catholic church. Three from the high school. 

You know what happened?

Nothing.

Not a damn thing.

You could say "No big deal, I see pride flags all the time." But the thing is, here? In my neighborhood? You don't. Their pride flag is the only one I have ever seen out and proud as soon as the weather permits.

Could that have happened twenty years ago? No. Not one bit. Do we have other LGBTQ families in the area. For sure. I mean, I live here. But it's not like we go around advertising it. Not like what these guys did.

What that flag represents, the fact that no one has complained or damaged their property in any way, means so much to me. The fact that these guys can hang their flag, and no one bats an eye, shows how far we've come as a people. It gives me hope. It fills me with pride. It shows the amount of change that has occurred in our area over the last twenty years.

The other thing that changed? The two doors to make the house look like separate living spaces? French doors now.

The couple went from pretending to share a house to feeling safe enough to live there as a couple. One of their cars even has an marriage equality bumper sticker on it.

That is huge. So huge. It speaks volumes more than I could ever say here.

It shows how even conservative areas like mine are changing, can change, to be a place where all people are comfortable being who they are and not fear the consequences.

I will take that small pride flag over any declaration people could make to me in town any day because it shows progress. It shows hope. And it proves acceptance can happen anywhere. 

Below are the other authors, artists, reviewers, and publishers participating in HAHABT. Just clink on the links below to experience many more fantastic stories (and the chance for more prizes).

It's hard to believe I have another release coming up already. Between life, work and everything else, my schedule for stories is pretty slow. BUT, as you can see, another story for you guys to enjoy. The Nut Job is a novella-length SF story in the Foolish Encounters anthology. As you may have noted, I am in good company with Tali Spencer, Tinnean, Elin Gregory, JC Wallace, Angel Martinez and Amy Lane also taking part in our quirky romp. 

I thought it would be fun to introduce everyone to Spencer, my space captain with a Napoleon complex. The unsuspecting world may not be ready for him, but Spencer and the rest of his crew hits shelves April 1st. Enjoy!

The Chair & Fork Excerpt

“It’s still there, Spence.”

He bit down on his lip, giving Krapor side eyes.

The tall, lanky Tu’Varian glowered back. “Rcrred is gone and can’t take your damn chair.”

“Fine, but if it’s gone, I’m taking your new sonic screwdriver.”

Krapor paused in his gathering. His slender green fingers went to his work belt, cupping the screwdriver protectively. “You wouldn’t.”

Spencer crossed his arms, straightening up to his whole four and a half feet. It was shiny. He liked shiny.

“That’s just mean, Spence. I’d never find it again.”

He sniffed, looking away.

“No one can find anything in your hoard. Not even you.”

“I know exactly where everything is.”

Krapor tossed the handful of walnut hulls into the bin. “Oh yeah? Where’s that ornate metal fork you picked up on Irasol?”

“Left cubby, on the third row of the sixth rack on my north wall, in the orange plastic cup.”

The birds tweeted, several crickets made themselves known, the breeze rustled the leaves on the trees. Spencer continued checking his square of the forest floor, chucking half the yellowish-green walnuts hulls in the bins while pocketing the rest in his pouch he kept on hand for such occasions.

Only when Spencer looked up did he acknowledge Krapor, who was staring at him, slack-jawed.

Incredulous bastard. “What?”

“I can’t believe you can just spout off bullshit like that. You little sqoltal.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your quarters are the definition of complete chaos. They have a picture of it in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. Do not enter—danger zone. Dozens of safety regulations are broken in it, with a pukey rainbow as its permanent guest on your ceiling. There is no way you can know where that fork is.”

A while back, on one of the Facebook groups I belong to, the question was raised about translating LGBTQ fiction into other languages. A hot topic for many. Once my response got to be over 1000 words, I knew I had a blog post on my hands, so here it is.

Would I love my books translated into other languages so readers could enjoy more stories in their own native tongue? Yes. It would be great to spread LGBTQ fiction (and SF & F LGBTQ) further.

The biggest problem for independent US pubs is cost, and honestly, that will always be a deciding factor no matter how much someone wants to bring their books to a larger market.

CAN WE AFFORD TO DO THIS?

Will they make money, break even, or have a deficit if they choose to translate it? Depends on how well the author has sold and if large enough population outside the US pushes for it. If the company can't make the money back then that puts their US business in peril.

What kind of market can they take hold of to be able to promote the book? Most of the LGBT indie companies we work with/write for are established here in the US, and don't have a way to market the way we can here. Are there LGBTQ indie pubs overseas? Yes, but that's another topic. The freedom we have to write/publish here versus overseas is a different experience.

Will they be able to find a person who can translate well? I've seen translations from presses who have been ripped apart because the native speakers found faults in the translations.

I could go on, but that won't allow me to stipulate on some of the things I've seen/thought about.

I have seen arguments between English language authors and foreign language readers about pirated translations get horrid pretty fast, and I don't want to spend too much time on that but it does need to be part of the discussion - without the vitriol. Also, geography is important. To put it in perspective I want to use two genres as an example that are not English LGBT fiction: Scandinavian Mysteries & Yaoi (Japanese Boys' Love manga).

Would I love my books translated into other languages so readers could enjoy more stories in their own native tongue? Yes. It would be great to spread LGBTQ fiction (and SF & F LGBTQ) further.

Our societies have been structured differently from the get go. We drive two medium size states over, they're still speaking English. Travel the same distance in Europe and you have the possibility of encountering four, five, or six different languages depending on the direction. The average American will never have that experience. In Europe, being multilingual is a necessity and how business is done. If a book sells really well in one country, the others notice and approach that publishing house, work out a deal and get it translated as a course of business, but those are the best sellers on their lists. Some of the medium sized sellers may too, because they are used to this and have a business model to work with.

In the US, there are thousands of books published in English every week. A tiny fraction of those will only ever see translations in a foreign language. Only the big best sellers are approached — Stephen King is a perfect example — by publishing houses in foreign countries for the rights to translate and publish. It's not automatic and LGBT writers aren't discriminating against non-English speakers. We're writing in our own language and have not been approached by LGBTQ pubs in Europe to work out deals like the traditional model.

What about Scandinavian Mysteries? How does that apply? This applies to my geography issue, and the observations here are qualitative.

Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (aka Men Who Hate Women) got rave reviews and was out long before it ever got a US English translation. My dad ordered the UK version of it a year before it came out here. What does this tell us? It tells us translation is not a given. Mysteries were considered 'dead' in some sense here in the US and here comes this Scandinavian writer that changes everything. If his book hadn't sold as well as it did in Sweden, then it wouldn't have been translated for everyone else. US publishers wouldn't have noticed the sales in the UK and they never would have approached him/his representatives for the rights to publish here. Larsson had this awesome and different book with a strong bisexual female protagonist, and it changed things. He not only reinvigorated the US Mystery market, but he put Scandinavian mystery writers on the map.

The industry 'couldn't' meet fan demand. So, the fans took it into their own hands. They'd get pirated copies of shows or manga, do their own translation, and upload it to share. Who were they hurting? Those companies made a ton of money, right? Besides, they were too slow in getting the really good stuff out there. They had no taste. The fans could do it better than the paid translators anyway. Another problem? The readers were mostly teens and young adults – women — who didn't have the means to buy the translations. Not an uncommon problem LGBTQ youth have in today's market. (It is hard to buy the materials when you're afraid who might find them or have the means - job, credit card - to buy them legally and have to ask mom and dad to buy them when you're still trying to figure it out.)

All sorts of explanations went flying. 

But what was happening is this: American companies invested in the Japanese manga and anime, but they no longer had buyers to give it to. Oh, now don't get me wrong, I have several bookshelves I can show you proving some of us bought, that many did. But with the illegal shares online (and some bad business decisions - no one thing can be blamed, but some shoulder it more), people stopped buying. They traded. So the companies who spent tens of thousands of dollars to put anime and manga out there weren't seeing revenues. Fans would refuse to take stuff down. Litigation happened, draining resources, and a sense of the right to share infused a certain portion of the fan base.

The result?

Less anime, less manga, and as a result less Yaoi. Publishers closed their doors because they couldn't afford to stay open and fight to get the translations down and not make money, as did companies of anime distribution. You want to tell me illegal translations didn't affect the market? 

Another side effect of the illegal translations was the erosion of trust with US businesses. 

Have new companies and relationships been forged? Yes, I won't deny that. But we aren't getting the same number of Yaoi translations we used to. The Japanese companies are tentative with what rights they do give. Some of the Yaoi companies popping up are forming from non-Japanese artists.

One example is SuBLime Manga (they have excellent PDF files by the way, best I've ever seen – love them). They have worked hard on getting Japanese companies to work with them again. To get the rights of Yaoi titles that were hanging in the wind because the other businesses shut down. But they had to work for each and every title, and the rights to print and digital versions were negotiated separately.

In fact, they had a post thanking fans for the responsibility they've shown with the digital works (you can find it here) because it has allowed them to negotiate new rights with other mangaka and their representatives. But it has taken a lot of effort. 

Japanese businesses and writers don't want to sign over rights to have their works published. And why? They weren't making money. This was their livelihood, how they earned the clothes on their backs, and the food on their table, and instead of giving them a more comfortable existence, what they got was a major headache. Lots of titles are now out of print because of the companies going belly up. Those artists can't resell their rights because a creditor has them. And they are wary of doing more business.

SuBLime worked their tail off to get the titles that they have, and they aren't many. It is my hope that readers continue to show them respect by not sharing their translations. Many people watched as the industry fell apart, and many readers mourned the loss, so a lot of those same readers are now protective of the Yaoi that comes over now. We know if we screw it up this time, we get cut off.

And all of this mirrors the debate of translations for English-writing MM authors. If people go around sharing and translating without permission, claiming it’s not hurting anyone, the evidence says otherwise. The sharp decline of Yaoi being brought to the US shows this. If people are saying it's because we're excluding readers, it is not. It's about the resources and ability to be able translate it and the fear of revenue lost to piracy and unpredictable new markets.

Writing takes time. Editing, covers, and marketing all cost the publishers and authors money. If authors can't earn from their writing, then they have to work regular jobs, which means their production goes down, or stops. Just because you can get it on the internet does not equal free. There are a lot of things we can get online that we have to pay for and are willing to do so. If we cannot support the people who create the work that we read, it will go away. I've seen it happen. I don't want to see it happen again. It's not the same when it comes limping back. The selection is smaller and not as diverse or as interesting. Do we really want that to happen here, to us now?

We have an easier way to publish our work in the US, but we are by no means the only ones producing MM Romance. It would be nice to see small pubs overseas reach out to US companies and US companies reach out to foreign companies to work on getting translations, working with each other just like the big pub houses do. But they need the time to allow that to happen. Readers need to give them the time to make those connections because we're new. We're fledglings in this business and haven't had the time to build those connections.

We need to work together, not against each other, if we want to expand our genre farther. Instead of pointing fingers, people finding solutions so we can make the spread of love happen would be more beneficial. Money drives the market, and if that money dries up, so does our market, our chance to have ourselves realized in fiction. It sucks to say something like that, but it doesn't make it less true.

So do I want my books in translation? Hell yeah. And someday, I hope it happens, but first we got to make it so it's possible.

Hello, everyone!

Today is the big day for the 2014 GRL Excerpt Book Cover Reveal! There is actually two books because of the 80ish authors participating. One for Featured Authors and the other for Supporting Authors. These will be handed out for free at GRL by the authors, so just scurry around and pick up your copy.

There are two covers for the two books. As you can see, the Featured Authors have red/black font with a sepia hue while the Supporting Authors have blue/white font with a blue hue. So be sure to take a good look when you're picking up your copy - we want you to enjoy everyone's excerpts.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the event! I will be the one with the squirrel shirt on. ;)

Hi, everyone!

It's been a while. Life is busy. I'm trying to keep up with deadlines (aka writing when I can) as well as keep things moving on.

In other news, I wanted to talk about reviews. Not as in I love reviews - though I do appreciate it when I get them - or as in I hate reviews. It's about reviewing itself. (At the end of my little article I do have resources for people to check out if they desire.)

Review vs Summary
Within the MM community recently, we have seen old review sites shut down and new ones being developed by eager readers. Seeing the old reviewers move on is always sad, but that's the way things go. Meeting the new ones is always fun because they bring fresh-faced eagerness that's hard to compete with.

There will always be someone who loves a book and another who hates it. Reading, what you like to read, is a personal thing. The best thing you can do for an author, and another reader, is to give them a review that is comprehensive. Not a summary, but a review highlighting different areas that would be of interest.

What do I day this? Because there are lots of summaries out there, and they don't do much besides give me or another reader a breakdown of what happened in the book, and for me, the urge to read the book is usually wiped out. Summaries are not the same thing as reviews.

What is a summary? Well, it's basicslly like the book reports you did in elementary school, junior high or high school. In these summaries, the focus is on telling us an account of the plot, letting us know about the characters, and informing us what the work is about. You tell what you liked, what you didn't like, did you enjoy the book's themes, and give some quotes.

Does this sound like a review to you? It could, because they are similar, but in actuality, they aren't the same.

Reviews are critiques of the work the author created. We are not given a point by point retelling of the major plot points like in a summary/book report. Why? So other readers can enjoy the revelations themselves. These are about sneak peeks at the book and whether or not the reviewer enjoyed it. Reviews give a brief description of the plot points with an appraisal of the strength and weaknesses of the story without giving away any of the plot devices, or the end of the book.  This idea is important to understand because a lot of summaries do exactly this-giving away the plot, its devices and the end—causing frustration for the writers and disinterest for the readers.

A prime example I can think of is movie trailers. Have you ever sat in a movie theater, watched a trailer, and then turn to the person next to you and say, "Well, I don't need to see that anymore."

Have you? I know I have, and that's because you've felt like you've seen all of the good parts of the movie already. They didn't hold anything back (baiting you for more). That's what a book summary does, it kills the excitement or the anticipation for the reader.

And this is why reviews are hard to write. I will be the first to say I don't write the best reviews, but when I do, I try hard not to give anything away. You have to give enough information that allows the reader to make a judgement about if they want to give a book a chance without telling them too much and killing their curiousity. Let them know why the book worked for a reviewer, or why it did not. Maybe what you like isn't another person's cup of tea, and that's okay, but don't be afraid to try something outside your comfort zone. When a reviewer does this, they are not only the reader's friend but the author's too.

Read. Love/Hate. Review. ;)

Below I have a couple resources listed if you want to have a more comphrensive explanation on book summaries and book reviews. Please enjoy and share.

If you want to read up more on book reports/summaries, check out Purdue's OWL resource for Book Reports. They give more comprehensive detail and guidelines for people to follow.

If you want to read up on book reviews, check out Purdue's OWL resource for Book Reviews. They give a more comprehensive look at them and guidelines for people to follow.

Please welcome Guest Author C. Zampa today. She is here today to give us a taste of her new novella, Honor C, as well as talk about love with us. In addition, she has a $50 GC giveaway (info at the bottom).

First off, I asked C. Zampa to talk to us about the different kinds of love. Friendship, kinship and lovers.

Je t'aime. Ich liebe dich. Aloha wau ia 'oe. Taim i' ngra leat. Te amo. I love you.

Boy, oh, boy. The word, the concept—love. How easy it seems to describe it! A simple four letter word, right?

Wrong.

More language variations for the little word than I can even count. Why, browsing for quotes on the subject, I found over 32,000 of them! And that, my friend, was only the tip of the gigantic, overwhelming, universal iceberg.

Love.

Finding a way to describe love has become as impossible to me as trying to catch Niagara Falls in a teacup. It’s that big, that complex, that powerful. That beautiful, that majestic.

Love.

Who can have it? Anybody. Where does it come from? That’s the glorious mystery of it. It doesn’t come from anywhere. It just happens and it happens in our souls, our hearts. And, folks, we have absolutely no control over it. Sometimes it’s so beautiful, sometimes it hurts so bad, that we wish we could manipulate it. But we can’t. Sometimes it’s so huge, so bright, we think we’ll die from how good it feels.

Love.

It knows no boundaries. Yeah, yeah, I know they say that. But it’s true. It has no gender, It sees no distinctions. Love has this uncanny, exquisitely wonderful way of just latching itself onto the hearts of anybody it wants. Guys fall in love with guys. Gals with gals. Guys with gals. Parents love their kids. Kids love their pets. Grownups love their pets. Kids love their parents. Buddies love their buddies. Best girlfriends love their best girlfriends. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Anybody, anything that breathes life and has a heart is susceptible to it. The love thing, that is.

I read this quote by musician/singer Bob Marley. I figure he was talking about traditional romance but…well…if you really, really see the words, you know the sentiment really could be applied to anyone, any kind of relationship. But it’s a wonderful portrait of that thing called love.

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

Isn’t that beautiful? What an incredible, priceless gift for one to find this kind of bond.

All that power. Enough combined energy to split atoms, expand universes, turn dark to sunlight, destroy hate.

And only four little tiny letters. LOVE.

Next up, the blurb and an excerpt from Honor C.

Honor C

Contemporary M/M Novella

Dreamspinner Press

Blurb

When Honor Castillo convinces himself he isn’t gay, he begins a new life. He ends his affair with his lover, Jorge Villagomez, and marries Rebecca to establish a life with her as a respected San Antonio businessman. They have a son and he tells himself he is happy.

Eleven years later, Jorge returns to San Antonio, and his path crosses with Honor’s once more. The flame of their passion never died, and neither did Jorge’s love for Honor.

When Jorge approaches Honor to design his studio, Honor believes he can walk the line between friendship and lovers. But when a sudden crisis threatens to take Jorge from him forever, Honor must choose between his duty and his heart. Most of all, he’s forced to decide what he’s willing to lose in order to be true to who he really is.

Buy links:

Dreamspinner Press:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3823

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Honor-C-C-Zampa-ebook/dp/B00D2KE11E/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401713106&sr=1-3&keywords=.+Zampa

All Romance (Are):

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-honorc-1216159-149.html

Excerpt

JORGE stirred beside me, dragging me from my reverie of schoolyards, lunches, and bullies and back to the present.

Tonight was our last chance to make love. I had no words, I just wanted to look at him, memorize him. I reached to paint the line of his full bottom lip with my thumb and shivered at the sigh it evoked from him, the tiny whimper as he wriggled to face me.

He twirled a finger in the curls at my nape. “Remember Shirley Setzer?”

I turned on my side to take in the sight of Jorge’s nude body—skinny, girly, driving-me-out-of-my-mind sexy—stretched out beside me.

The limited light transformed his thin form into smooth, elegant planes with a tantalizing thatch of shadow between his legs.

“How weird. I was just thinking about her.” I lifted onto my elbow.

His hand dropped to his chest. “The day we met.”

I snorted. “We didn’t meet that day. You never even spoke to me.”

“Didn’t I?”

“Hell, no.”

“But—”

“Ah, no. You pranced your stuck-up little ass back to the building, never said two words to me.”

Lifting his hand, he pretended to slap me. “I was not stuck up.”

I said nothing, just lifted an eyebrow that I was sure he couldn’t really see in the dark.

“I didn’t mean to be, Honor. I guess I was afraid to talk to you. None of the other kids had anything to do with me. Figured you wouldn’t either.”

“But you charged into Shirley. You sure weren’t shy then.”

“I just reacted.”

“I’ll never forget. You knocked the shit out of ol’Shirley and never even said anything to me. You just strutted away, all prissy-assed. Do you know what I thought?”

“What?”

“I thought you were irritated at me, that you thought I should have defended myself. That you thought I was weak.”

“Oh, querido,” he murmured and cupped his warm palm to my cheek. “I was the weak one, to give in to her taunts. You were the strong one. And I think I loved you that day. Even that young, I think I loved you.”

“Me? Gordo? Cerdo Castillo?”

With a grunt, Jorge flopped onto his back. “Stop it, damn you.”

“Sorry,” I chuckled. It riled him so for me to put myself down about my size.

He shifted toward me once more, wormed nearer. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’d see you smile at somebody in the halls and I’d nearly cry like a baby, wanting so bad to get one of your killer smiles aimed at me. Holy shit, I had the biggest girly crush on you.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Your smile, Honor.” He pressed a trembling finger to my lips. “Your smile.”

“Once you did speak to me, I don’t think my smile showed itself for anybody but you again.”

“Bullshit.” This time he did slap me. Lightly, but still a slap to my cheek. “She sure as hell sees it.”

“Ay-ay.” I coaxed the head of my cock against his crotch. “We agreed not to bring that up tonight.”

“Please don’t do this.” He whispered the words onto my shoulder. His voice, so husky, a sultry purr—all Lauren Bacall, just put your lips together and blow—hadn’t lost its power to make me grovel at his feet in lust.

“Want me to stop?” I teased and turned him in my arms.

“Make jokes.” Burrowing deeper into my embrace, he growled and circled his palm over the hair on my chest. “Becky,” he spat. “I can’t even say her name without choking on it.”

I held him tighter but said nothing. What more was there to say? We’d been arguing all night, ever since I’d broken the news to him that I’d gotten serious with Rebecca Sanchez, the dazzling woman I’d met a few months back.

We can still fuck, can’t we? Jorge had contended.Why does she have to change anything?

Because once my relationship with Becky seemed to be heading on a serious route, I couldn’t cheat on her. I just couldn’t. The decision hadn’t come easily, but I’d made it, and I knew it was good.

Author links:


Blog: http://authorczampa.blogspot.com


Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/C.-Zampa/e/B004QSDSG0


Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorczampa


Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/carol.zampa.3?fref=ts

Giveaway Information:

C. Zampa is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card at the end of the tour.

Tour Schedule:

Honor C. Tour Stops

May:

29th: Dawn’s Reading Nook

http://dawnsreadingnook.blogspot.com/2014/05/one-year-anniversary-for-honor-c.html

30th: New Release Announcement Blog

http://newreleaseannouncement.blogspot.com/2014/05/honor-c-by-c-zampa.html

31st: Author Raine Delight

http://authorrainedelight.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/discover-honor-c-by-c-zampa/

June:

4th: Will Parkinson (blog post/promo post)

http://parkerwilliamsauthor.com/wordpress/honor-c-book-tour1/

6th: RJ Scott (Promo post)

http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.com/2014/06/honor-c-anniversary-blog-tour-carol.html

11th: Silvia Violet (Promo post)

http://silviaviolet.com/blog/2014/06/11/anniversary-blog-tour-for-honor-c-by-carol-zampa/

12th: Freddy MacKay

http://freddysstereograph.weebly.com/

17th: Three Flynns (Seduce Day/wip teaser)

http://threeflynns.com/

18th: MM Good Books Review (review and promo excerpt/blurb)

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com

18th: Sloane Taylor (Recipe and promo post)

http://sloanetaylor.blogspot.com

18th: Sue Brown (Guest blog post)

http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.co.uk/?zx=711a0a0202d37ef6

20th: Three Flynns Website/blog (Blog Post)

http://threeflynns.com/

22nd: Cynthia Sax (interview-no giveaway on this stop)

http://tasteofcyn.com/author-interviews/

24th: Romance Lives Forever Blog

http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/

Welcome, Vastine.

Vastine is here to visit us, giving us a wonderful look at her story, Glory Lands, as well as hold a little contest for everyone (Rafflecopter link below) for a $100 GC to Victoria Secrets or Amazon (runs through May 10th). First she shares a little bit about the research that went into her story.

Q: Historical books can be difficult to write. The language and culture has changed over time and can only be ascertained through research. What kind of research did you do for Glory Lands? And were there any interesting finds or surprises along the way?

VB: For some reason, this era and everything about it are so close to me, I don't feel like they're historical, just my own personal history---if that makes sense. As far as research, I've always been fascinated with the era...the Great Depression...particularly this location, and have spent so much time reading and absorbing accounts of the period. But, then, I've had the luxury of my roots being deep in this place and to have had relatives (my mother, particularly) alive to share real-life background. And the language and culture are surprisingly intact to this day. But as far as some actual words, it did take a bit of extra study to make sure they were authentic to the period.

The premier interesting find during research was the discovery of the sheriff of the real-life town where the story takes place. The story itself had been tossing around in my mind for so long but---upon stumbling on this man---the story found its heart. His story, the particular incident which begins the story, haunted me.

Blurb

A Texas Piney Woods Story 

Rural East Texas, 1931. Preacher’s son Emory Joe Logan and a fiddler from Shreveport, Glory Lands, meet and form a tender bond. When they are caught and arrested for homosexual acts by Sheriff Elihu Bishop, the lawman’s sanctimonious bigotry threatens to rip the young men from their families. 

Emory Joe’s father, Pastor Charles Logan, is brought to his knees in terror, confusion, and anger. He still regrets not standing up against Bishop when the lawman murdered a youth in cold blood nine years ago. 

Now there’s no longer a choice for the preacher to stand up to the lawman. Cold-blooded justice, bigotry-disguised-as-religion, and hatred take on a whole new meaning when they’re standing on his doorstep, ready to take the son he loves.

Excerpt:

I’D BEEN scared lots of times in my nineteen years, but never as scared as I was as I sat with Daddy in the church.

He’d begged me to go home, to pack, and to head for the bus station while he met with the sheriff alone—how simple he made it sound, as though inviting Bishop to tea and cake.

No, I told him. I wasn’t leaving without some last words to Bishop. So if I insisted on facing the sheriff, Daddy begged me to wait it out with him at the church. He assured me Bishop would show up, as sure as night and day, and somehow he felt safer there in the sanctuary.

Tears threatened to make their way from the well in my belly to my eyes to see Daddy sitting—just sitting, still and silent, with his Bible in his lap—in his usual seat at the side of the pulpit.

He’d never in a million years have showed up at God’s house dressed in trousers, a sleeveless undershirt, and suspenders. Sweaty. Unshaven. I wondered if he even realized how much like a hobo he looked.

Who was to know how this day would end? It didn’t matter any longer.

All I did know was I’d never realized how much I loved my father until sharing that awful but somehow beautiful silence in that empty church while we waited for whatever was going to happen.

Did he know how proud Mama would have been of him? I hoped his heart knew that Mama was right beside him in that seat, holding his hand.

Looking back, I reckon my mother had always seen my true self. She’d always seemed to know there’d been something different about me. Although I knew without a doubt she would have been standing beside us right then, I was glad that she didn’t have to be.

“Daddy.” My own voice startled me when it broke the oddly peaceful tension inside the sanctuary.

Daddy, as though he’d been in a deep trance, glanced to me from whatever world he’d been lost in. “Son?”

“You know why I’m doing this?”

He crossed his legs, shifted in the seat, and shrugged. “I think so, Emory Joe.”

“If it had been just me, I’d have hightailed it out of here, not made a peep, so as to not embarrass you anymore.”

He just nodded.

I continued, “But you know I can’t, after what they’ve done to Glory.”

“I understand.”

“And, Daddy….”

“Yes?”

“I’m not really afraid, if you’re worried about that.”

“I know, son.”

“Daddy?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

With his brow furrowed, he stared at me with some words perched on his lips. He said nothing, though, just smiled and nodded. But his smile had hugged me and held me hard, and I felt his I love you stronger than any spoken words. The affection piercing me through his unsaid sentiment was the sort a fellow would give his life to have.

The purr of a car’s engine and the crunch of tires on gravel outside the open doors of the church shouldn’t have surprised me, but my body jolted anyway. And I didn’t even have to look to see who’d driven up. I knew.

Daddy drew a shaky breath, closed his eyes, and softly chanted a Psalm. “They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me….”

Icy water pulsed through my veins with my spiked heartbeat.

Car doors opened and, after a pause, closed.

This was it.

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4617

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Lands-Vastine-Bondurant-ebook/dp/B00HZL4FE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398627965&sr=1-1&keywords=vastine+bondurant

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-glorylands-1401263-145.html

Readers' Remarks on Glory Lands (Optional in case you want to use a quote or two in the post)

"...This story is beautifully written with charm and a very classy style.  ” cathy- (Amazon)
"..
But every so often a story comes along and absolutely annihilates me. Glory Lands is that story...~ Astrid (Amazon)