De-blog

Well, my writing is not going well even though I’m on a writing holiday (at home). So far, there’s nothing in Alumni that is a) right for Bi Awareness Week, and b) suitable for a blog that can be accessed by people of all ages. Brief Story Info: For WIPpet Wednesday, I’m posting from one of my longest-standing works in progress (I wrote it in 2011) in the hopes it might inspire me to do some more work on it. The story is titled Meredith’s Dagger , and it’s contemporary fiction with historical interludes (based on real local history), a bit of romance thrown in and some feminist commentary on mental health, witch hunts and modern psychiatry. (Yes, I’m that  good at sticking to a genre). The setting is a university town house shared by Julian and Richie, both students, Anneka (she and Richie are long-term buddies) and Tamara (Tam), who is Julian’s older sister and bisexual. There’s a long history between Richie and Tam— much  longer than either is aware of. This novel...

So…I had a different post planned for Bi Visibility Day , but you know what? There’s been a distinct shortage of bi women (or just ‘not men’, really) in most of the stuff I’ve seen, including my own posts—I’ll hold my hands up to that. Therefore, I’m rounding off the week with Charlie (aka Charlotte Davenport) from the Hiding Behind The Couch series . But first… A.M. Leibowitz  (author/reviewer/blogger/BiCast presenter and more) has compiled an excellent (and ongoing) list of bi authors, bloggers, books and resources, which you can find here:  amleibowitz.com/2017/09/22/the-big-bilist-awesome-bi-writers-books-and-resources/ . They also wrote some awesome #BiWeek flash fiction (and it includes non-male characters, yay!). You can (and definitely should) read it on their blog (five stories in all), plus there's a giveaway. And you can still buy my bi books at half-price/enter a giveaway here:  beatentrackpublishing.com/bivisibility  (last day today). Link bac...

When my dearest husband read the very first draft of Hiding Behind The Couch (Season One), he must’ve misread ‘Kris’ as ‘Kenny’, because in the ten years since—during which he’s read the first draft of every single story—he’s come up with at least a hundred ways to kill Kris. My favourites include the morning Kris woke up and found all the bodies of his friends downstairs and realised he was completely and utterly alone (not sure how he died that time, to be honest, probably not murder), the multiple occasions he’s been run over by buses, and when he fell off a cliff for no reason whatsoever…there are times I wonder if I should just open a document and let Nige write the next instalment. I permit this indulgence, of course. Nige is my alpha reader (sometimes he pushes it and asks, “Don’t you mean alpha male?” Ha. ) He tells me he’s joking (about killing Kris, not the alpha male thing) and he’d have nothing left to do if I did follow through and send Kris off to Valhalla or wher...

Let's talk labels. What are they? Why do we need them? I know there will be those - even amongst my friends - with steam coming out their ears right about now, because I'm calling bullshit on the 'we don't need labels' argument. You think you don't need them? Good for you. But here's a thing that happened to me that might serve as a helpful example: A few years ago, when I was teaching in a high school, I called the National Union of Teachers for legal advice about a change to my employment contract. Receptionist: Are you a member? Me: No, I— Receptionist: I'm afraid we can't offer you any advice or support. The ATL might, though. Good luck. So I called the ATL (The Association of Teachers and Lecturers) and got the same response (I believe they've since changed their policy) other than they suggested I call the NASUWT (National Association of Schoolmasters [and] Union of Women Teachers - archaic, I know). I called the NASUWT, an...

WIPpet numbers for 20th September, 2017: (20 + 9) / 17 = 2 (rounded to whole numbers, yeah, yeah, I know…) paragraphs from Tabula Rasa It’s  #BiWeek ! Awesomely, Will is bisexual, so no need for a change of story to snip from, which is one cool thing. Another cool thing is that my books with bi main characters (including  The WAG and The Scoundrel ) are half price this week. For this and other bi books, and a giveaway, visit  beatentrackpublishing.com/bivisibility . So, here’s another snippet from Tabula Rasa  (Gray Fisher #2). WIPpet Context: This novel follows on from The WAG and The Scoundrel , featuring two former undercover police officers, Gray Fisher and Rob Simpson-Stone. Their investigations relate to white-collar crimes (fraud, embezzlement, etc.), and there are also romantic relationship story arcs (however, not between Gray—who is gay, and Rob—who is straight). This snippet follows  last week’s (last two lines included ...

"I've got no problem with people being gay, or lesbian." "No, of course not." "But bisexual? It's just greedy, isn't it? They want to have everything. They should choose and be done with it." And I cannot turn a single one of the hundreds of thoughts and questions swirling around my head into an utterance... Are you talking about open relationships? Do you mean cheating? Bisexual people can be monogamous too. Or Are you saying you choose to be attracted only to one gender? Are you saying you ignore any other feelings you have? Do you choose whom to love? Whom not to love? Or do you fall like the rest of us, and land where you land, unexpectedly delighted when your affections are returned or mooning for weeks while to your crush non-existent? But, you know, if you had to 'make a choice', if you had to deny your feelings then maybe you're the one who's confused? Instead, I'm almost grinding my te...

It's Bisexual Awareness Week , so what better time to give you all a bit more info on the bisexual characters in my books? Before I go any further, I'll warn you this is an obscenely long post. At the end, I've listed the books that can be bought this week at discount price (50% – two of them are free) as part of Beaten Track Publishing's #biweek celebration . On we go... In case clarification is needed, the definition of 'bisexual' at work here is this: an identity marker that refers to the capacity to be attracted to people of more than one gender. It doesn't require someone to have had relationships with more than one gender, and if someone identifies as bisexual, it is not up for question or discussion. On a day-to-day basis, this causes lots of difficulties for bisexual people because their current relationship status is used as snapshot evidence to argue that they're really gay (if it's a same-gender relationship) or really straigh...

Today, I was accused of 'author preaching' about bisexuality in one of my books, and the best part of it was, on this occasion, I wasn't actually preaching! This, alas, is what comes from writing visible bisexual characters, and I'm going to keep doing it. Without apology. That's not to say I don't get preachy from time to time. At the end of this post is an excerpt of full-on preachy-ness, all of it based on real reactions to bisexual people. Readers of Hiding Behind The Couch will have met Kris Johansson. He's one of The Circle - the nine characters at the centre of the series - and he is the most visible bisexual character in my writing. He's one of the two main characters in the stand-alone bi/gay romance, Crying in the Rain , which is FREE on All Romance eBooks until Sunday 25th September (to celebrate Bisexual Awareness Week). There are other bisexual characters in HBTC, but not in The Circle. Here's a breakdown of the gender/sexu...