(paul otero garcia / Pexels.com) All right, here’s a topic I’ve wanted to look at before: the self-styled monsterfuckers and the fiction they love. The terms have recently come to prominence, entering not-quite-mainstream parlance, and there is a host of media catering to them. What’s with the sudden popularity? What’s with the appeal? Let’s take a look at what’s driving this trend in romance...
I recently saw someone shorten “omegaverse” to “OV,” which I think means the trope has made it. Also known as alpha/beta/omega dynamics or a/b/o, omegaverse has become an incredibly popular and ever-more mainstream worldbuilding trope in romance. (Anne-Marie Gionet-Lavoie / Pexels.com) What is omegaverse fiction, and why bother writing it? I can’t give you insights for anyone else, but I can tell...
Some recent discussions got me thinking about something I’ve known to be true for quite some time. A lot of the m/m romance readers out there are … pretty problematic people, when it comes down to it. Don’t mind me, just reading this m/m fic and posting homophobic takes on social media, like you do. (Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels.com) That got me to thinking: how is it that there is so much...
Romance novels get a lot of flak. Sometimes, there are good reasons—a lot of them are run-of-the-mill or even bad smut. I’ve seen books with cardboard characters and even flimsier plots. Does a rose by any other name truly smell as sweet? (Dario Fernandez Ruz / Pexels.com) Some of the criticisms levied against romance novels stem from other, less magnanimous areas. Romance novels as a whole are...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Coming January 28! Get set for more intergalactic hijinks when a monk inherits a HOST CLUB ON THE PLEASURE PLANET!