Essays
This page is a catch-all for reviews and rants related to gay romance fiction and LGBT genre writing in general. I'm especially interested in the ways the homoerotic romance is evolving and its impact on the readers and writers. Not sure if these will be of interest to anyone, but articulating this stuff sometimes stirs my mental chili.
RANTS & RAMBLING:
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Know Hope: on marriage equality, the Supreme Court, and slow grind of History. (guest post for the Amazon Iowan)
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Inclusivity in YA romance (Sweet Spot on Julian Winters' Running with Lions for USA Today/HEA)
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Rich worlds & Flat-out genius (Sweet Spot on Jordan Hawk's Hexmaker for USA Today/HEA)
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High Notes & Grand Gestures (Sweet Spot on Sonali Dev's Change of Heart for USA Today/HEA)
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Wishing Well: the sky's the limit (guest post for Read-A-Romance)
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Wild Heirs & Prickly Pairs (Sweet Spot on Sarah MacLean's A Scot in the Dark for USA Today/HEA)
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Safe Spaces (Sweet Spot on Beverly Jenkins' Steppin to a New Day for USA Today/HEA)
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Spies, Lies, & Disguises (Sweet Spot on HelenKay Dimon's Mr. & Mr. Smith for USA Today/HEA)
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Passion Play: finding the right emotional ride (for readers and writers)
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Romance Pride: Roaring for romance (guest post for Read-A-Romance)
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Tough Guys: the homoerotics of Noir (guest post for the Novel Approach)
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Pop Tops: Out-for-You as romantic carbonation (guest post for Sinfully Sexy)
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Keeping Secrets: strong enough for a man but made for a romance...on the importance of hidden truths in LGBT romance. (guest post for Joyfully Jay)
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Match Strike: ...on the true story that inspired Hot Head and turned me into a romance writer.
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Ghetto Blasting: Gay romance activism and the importance of our RWA chapter (guest post for Chicks & Dicks)
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Romantic Nature: the mad science of subgenres and the evolution of Romance ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Sexiness and the Sears Catalog: the boundary between porn and romance
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An Ode to Gordon Merrick: the godfather of gay romance
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Worse than a Girl, Better than a Woman: apparent misogyny in gay romance
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Gay for you or Out for you?: a discussion of one of the most popular tropes in gay romance
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Rocks Off: "On the wet spot in romance and the romance in the wet spot" (guest blog for Chicks & Dicks)
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Numb Shots: don't get him off to get it in (Op Ed for Jessewave)
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Hello, I love you: reality TV and the sociological roots of insta-love
ADVICE FOR WRITERS:
Since I'm an opinionated cuss and have been writing for a lot of years in a lot of genres, I've written a few articles for writers about work-specific topics related to craft, promotion, and career development. Many of these appeared at Romance University or in Rainbow Romance Writers' Pot of Gold blog/magazine but found extended life in the RWA chapter magazines which subsequently republished them. Folks keep asking where they can find copies... so now that time has passed, I include them here. Other sites and magazines have requested professional pieces, so in the months to come, I'll be adding more to this how-to collection.
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Review Crew: building a dedicated team that shares their opinions (Article for RWA's Romance Writer's Report)
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Verbal Contract: harnessing the words that push reader’s buttons (Article for RWA's Romance Writer's Report)
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Con Choice: on picking events and building great genre experiences (Guest post for Fiction University)
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Event Goals: getting the most out of conference networking (Guest post for Fiction University)
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Wham Bam: the power of eventful thinking ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Wrong Mountain: goals we’re given and the prizes nobody wants ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Characters: more than just imaginary people (Guest post for Jami Gold)
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Character Alignment: how authors keep from losing their minds (Guest post for Fiction University)
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Moving Target: using thematic MacGuffins to focus a story ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Saving Grace: on Xenia, Hospitality Laws, and the Cats that Need Saving ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Staking Acclaim: the hidden punch of pull quotes ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- on meeting characters and making impressions ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Imperfect Words: the unfathomable power of placeholders ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- on the Power of Set Pieces and Whammos ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- on the Power of Improv for all Creative Professionals ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- every book deserves a dedicated release kit ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- baiting your book to attract its audience ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- competing with your colleagues is for sharks and jellyfish ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- Making Room for a Successful Career (Guest post with Heidi Cullinan for the Rainbow Romance Writers Pot of Gold chapter blog)
- why a whole book can’t be a happy ending. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- watching Romancing the Stone with a mindful eye. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- the legendary underpinnings of genre tropes. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- creating characters that pop off the page ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- cultivating creative cruelty in romance fiction ("Lecture" for Romance University)
- on the promise of erotic romance (guest blog for Sinfully Tasty)
- on writing forward and kicking your own ass. (guest blog for Well Read)
- writing realistic sex (guest blog for Babes in Boyland)
- making your website work harder
- where's the rub?
- promo goodies that don't suck
- inspiration at the outset of any project
- girding your loins for author events
REVIEWS:
These are pretty random... in most cases, the books that elicited these comments just happen to be romances I read and enjoyed when I had time to articulate an opinion. Or books that had problems that raised interesting questions.
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Julian Winters' Running with Lions (Sweet Spot for USA Today/HEA)
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Jordan L. Hawk's Hexmaker (Sweet Spot for USA Today/HEA)
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Sonali Dev's Change of Heart (Sweet Spot for USA Today/HEA)
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Sarah MacLean's
Beverly Jenkins'
HelenKay Dimon's
Outcast Mine (review for Jessewave)
Jake's Alchemy (review for Jessewave)
I Love You Asshole! (review for Jessewave)
Come Unto These Yellow Sands (review for Jessewave)
Dance With Me (review for Jessewave)