De-blog

This probably isn't going to be the kind of post you're expecting, and, in fact, it has relatively little to do with M/M Romance per se. Had I reached a particular point in my writing life ten years earlier, this blog post may well have been titled 'My love-hate relationship with YA Fantasy'. I can write in both genres incidentally, although perhaps not as well as other authors. I am (or I was) most comfortable writing contemporary realist fiction, so even when I'm attempting to write within other genres, the outcome is somewhat of a crossover. Contemporary fiction is broad and not that descriptive as genre titles go. Indeed, it is not really a genre at all—it doesn't even have an entry in Wikipedia! :o It is, in effect, a catchall for any fictional story set in our time and space, and which doesn't fit neatly in any other genre. Anyway, that's what I write. Wrote? I don't know. I'm still hopeful for a present participle... that...

Every Monday, iCal nags me. De-Blog...De-Blog...De-Blog...every half an hour until I either dismiss it (which defeats the purpose of me having set it to nag me in the first place), or I write a blog post. Today. I have so much to say, and I don't know how to make the words. So. I'm going with factual, probably a little bit rambling, and heavily edited to leave out the ranting. Last Monday evening saw the 28th Lambda Literary Awards ceremony take place in NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Seeing as it was in NY and I am in the UK, for me, it was the early hours of Tuesday morning when the awards were announced. I watched them via the @LambdaLiterary Twitter feed. I actually shook Nige awake to tell him. I won! My historical romance, When Skies Have Fallen , won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance, which IS exciting. I'm still in a daze, but it's sinking in. I think. I added the medal to my cover, and my lovely author friends pestered me to ...

Rainbow Book Award Runner Up: When Skies Have Fallen When Skies Have Fallen - my historic romance - was fourth runner-up in the Rainbow Book Awards, which is a wonderful thing. It made me take stock and reflect on why I wrote the story. There is a history hidden behind the glamour and excitement of the swashbuckling heroes and flying aces whose exploits litter fictional accounts of the Second World War. To reach it took hour upon hour of research, reading first-person accounts of what it was like on the home front. This was the story I set out to tell. For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He's a thinker and a dreamer; however, it's not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms - his best friend Jean - who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance. Their love is forbidden, by both the armed forces and the law, but w...

When Skies Have Fallen received an honourable mention in the 2015 Rainbow Awards! What the judges said: "Exceptional historical accuracy and sense of setting: the novel rings with authenticity. The characters are strong and the plot tension comes not just from the war but their own desires and the demand for secrecy. Pacing is sometimes a bit slow. Extremely strong historical romance overall." (http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4656033.html) When Skies Have Fallen is available as a free ebook - also available as a paperback (not free): beatentrackpublishing.com/whenskieshavefallen For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He's a thinker and a dreamer; however, it's not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms-his best friend Jean-who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance. Their love is forb...

Welcome to Part Two of our Roundtable discussion on sex in gay fiction, with authors, Larry Benjamin , WS Long , Andrew Q. Gordon and Hans Hirschi , all of whom write gay fiction. Deb McGowan , author, editor and publisher is the discussion's moderator. Miss Part 1? Don't worry, you can read it here. http://authorlarrybenjamin.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/lets-talk-about-sex-roundtable.html Don't forget we are also running a giveaway of eBooks and a $30 gift card. Just click the Rafflecopter link on this page to enter the drawing. You have until 12:00 a.m. April 8, 2014, to enter and winners will be drawn on April 9, 2014. Winners will be notified by email. DM: Welcome back gentlemen. Let's just dive in and pick up where we left off, shall we? What's your approach to writing sex? WSL: The sex scenes should propel the story, involve the characters at that moment. That's the only reason to include it. If the sex doesn't add to the plot then don...

Here's something a little different, AND you get to enter a giveaway! Awesome! I recently moderated a discussion between four authors - Larry Benjamin , Andrew Q. Gordon , Hans M. Hirschi and WS Long - all of whom write gay fiction. If you're not familiar with the genre, the fact that these guys are, well, guys, makes them quite rare, as much of the work published as "M/M" (male/male) fiction is written by women, and is more often than not romance. Not that I'm suggesting this is a bad thing (I've been known to write gay romances in my time), but it does mean that, for whatever reason, on-page sex is a common feature in gay fiction. Thus, sex in gay fiction is the topic for this roundtable discussion, posted in two parts. The first part can be found on Larry Benjamin's blog: http://authorlarrybenjamin.blogspot.com/2014/03/lets-talk-about-sex-roundtable.html The second part will be posted here on my blog on Thursday April 3. In addition, ...