We’re clearly in a hyper-conservative backlash against what has been billed progressive politics. In the US, we’ve seen attacks against trans people and queer people more broadly, against mixed-race couples, against women’s rights—and it’s getting worse. We’re seeing people pushing to get rid of not only abortion but access to birth control. We’re seeing the curtailing of internet access to not...
Target: Romance Novels
A lot has happened since this blog was last regularly active. I had a baby. My father passed away. The United States of America voted in the Republican candidate for a second term. Plenty of people are legitimately concerned for a wide variety of reasons. (Kaboompics .com / Pexels.com) As a queer person, a queer writer, and a romance novelist, I can see there’s a lot to be worried about. Even...
Is a Slave Romance Ever Ethical?
I have a new book out today: Host Club on the Pleasure Planet! It’s part of a shared world with a bunch of other awesome authors. The series is set in a dystopian sci-fi world, where Kateria, the pleasure planet, operates outside the bounds of the law. The planet offers all kinds of pleasures, but in doing so, it has also become a haven for criminality. Humans are rare and incredibly sought...
Writing Mpreg after Having a Baby
Last year, I had a baby. It was full of ups and downs. Parenting is one of the more challenging roles I have taken on in my life. As an mpreg reader and writer, though, going through pregnancy, birth, and now parenting, has had an interesting impact on what I prefer to read and write. What my writing looked like for months after I had my baby. (Jessica Lewis 🦋 thepaintedsquare / Pexels.com) I...
Is M/M Romance Fetishizing?
Pride often brings up plenty of arguments about who “counts” as queer. Every year, we debate whether kink communities “belong” at Pride. People argue that folks in heterosexual-presenting relationships don’t belong in queer spaces. (Ronê Ferreira / Pexels.com) Another argument often emerges alongside discussions about who “belongs” or “doesn’t” belong in the queer community. Every so often—and...
Mpreg and Transmisogyny
For International Women’s Day in the past, I’ve looked at topics like “what makes a woman” and other such topics. This year, I wanted to return to a topic I’ve written about before: mpreg and transphobia. Specifically, though, I wanted to look at how transmisogyny plays out in our mpreg stories. What Is Transmisogyny? Transmisogyny is the intersection between transphobia and misogyny. Transphobia...
Who Even Is an “Author” Anymore?
The robots are coming! (Kindel Media / Pexels.com) The Verge released a pretty ugly article recently, detailing the rise of artificial intelligence and content generators. In it, they interviewed at least one author who was using a content generator, as they sought reasons people either supported or didn’t support these new “tools.” The article sparked a lot of debate, especially in light of the...
Omegaverse Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2024
Omegaverse has taken off in the last five to ten years or so. With it, we’ve seen plenty of batshit crazy moments—like someone claiming to have “invented” it. We’ve also seen it cross over into the realm of M/F books, even if the trope was represented there early on. A lot of m/m and queer omegaverse is also mpreg, so I wanted to focus this post on books that were less firmly in that category...
Why Do People Like “Predictable” Romance Novels?
A friend and I were discussing this topic a little while ago. I’d seen a recent social media exchange about it. Some folks expressed disdain. They couldn’t understand why people would want to read “predictable” romance novels. Stop me if you’ve heard this one … (Summer Stock / Pexels.com) And that’s a fairly understandable stance. I mean, I roll my eyes at a lot of Harlequin-type...
Omegaverse Explained
You have questions. I have answers. Welcome to the omegaverse: explained. Your resource for werewolf kink tropes. (Shelby Waltz / Pexels.com) Omegaverse Explained: What Is It Anyway? Omegaverse is essentially a worldbuilding trope used in fiction. Within it, characters have so-called secondary genders (or sexes). People may be designated as alpha, beta, or omega. Omegaverse originated in fandom...