We here at The Novel Approach are so proud and pleased to be sharing in the Queer Romance Month Celebration. Read on to see what QRM is all about–besides love, that is–and then be sure to click on the Rafflecopter widget to enter for the change to win a great big pack of e-books from Ginn Hale, Keira Andrews, Megan Erickson, Kirby Crow, Alexis Hall, LC Chase, Cecilia Tan, J Scott Coatsworth, and Santino Hassell.
Good luck!
We started Queer Romance Month in 2014 as a celebration of love and love stories across the whole LGBTQ+ spectrum. Throughout October, there’ll be essays, flash fiction, think pieces, and personal musings from a wide variety of queer-identifying and queer-supporting writers and readers from across the romance community. You’ll also find us popping up across the blogosphere, bringing you exclusive interviews and actual legit multi-media content from our amazing contributors.
We’re really excited QRM is back for its second year. Last time around, we were overjoyed by the support and enthusiasm we received. It was great to get so many people together reading and writing about LGBTQ+ romance in such an intense and joyful way. We hope you’ll join us on Queer Romance Month, chat to us over Twitter @QueerRomance and get involved in the conversation.
To give you an idea of what you can look forward, here are just a few of the fabulous posts that were part of last year’s Queer Romance Month.
Not Just a Nice Idea, in which Jenny Haddon talks about the importance of Mary Renault’s queer masterpiece, The Charioteer:
“All right, I’m in love with Ralph. It is he sets the whole tone of the book when, as a disgraced, expelled schoolboy, he accepts his lot philosophically, forbids Laurie to raise the school in protest, and gives him his own copy of Plato’s Phaedrus, with the light words, ‘It doesn’t exist anywhere. Don’t let it give you illusions. It’s just a nice idea.’ The nice idea, if I interpret it aright, is that the lover will put the good of the loved one above his own […]. His fortitude, his forbearance are heroic. And they give rise to one of the most heart-stopping love scenes I have ever read.”
“There’s not that much interest in f/f.” Wait … what?, in which Andi Marquette challenges the tired old market stereotype that nobody is interested in f/f.
“In other words, yes, there is a market for F/F, and I don’t accept that it’s just ciswomen who identify as lesbian or bi. I have readers who are cisgender heterosexually-identified women and they let me know that they enjoy it and love my characters. I assume I have queer and trans readers, as well, whose sexual identities are across the straight/queer spectrum.”
Why We Need Trans Romance, in which EE Ottoman discusses both the personal value and political necessity of trans romance:
I do think I am deserving of love. Not despite that fact that I am trans, not because I’m someone’s fetish but because I am me, and that’s going to have to be good enough.
Moreover, I deserve to be respected by my partners. Not despite the fact that my gender is sometimes messy and sometimes complicated. Not because my life fits into some sort of education/redemption narrative that they are the hero of. But because I have decided that in order to love me they must love and respect all of me – including my gender.
And because it is MY body and MY gender I am the one who gets to decide what pronouns I use, how I dress and how I want to be touched, or loved.
Life After Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, where Jessica Scott shares the stories of her friends and family after the repeal of DADT:
When my friends can post on Facebook that their partner is meeting them at the airport to pick them up. Or post anniversary pictures of them with their partners. Or weddings or babies or any other celebrations – just like straight couples have always been able to. Seeing my friends be able to openly love and share who they love and not have to hide it – knowing my friends can truly, truly be happy with the person they love.
It makes me smile every single time.
Rose, a gorgeous short story from Mary Ann Rivers and Ruthie Knox
It was terrible. And also, she knew, she knew, it was everything. The whole morning. That was the thing about this job — it was the same. Every day, the same, but Rose would be different, even when it got so she knew every item of clothing in Rose’s wardrobe. Even when she knew that peppermint-coffee-Rose smell so well that she would wake up to it, full and aching, there would be some little thing she’d never noticed before, and that would be the shape of her day.
The day Rose crossed her legs and she saw the shiny strap of a garter.
Voices Carry by Amy Lane, in which she thinks about how to gently and meaningfully affect social change both online and off:
But if we’re not preaching to a choir, where else do we preach? If we’re living in hostile communities (and I’m very aware that some of us are) how do you make your stand in real life without opening your home, your children up to criticism, bullying, or even danger? I mean, it’s not like I can run up to gay and lesbian couples and say, “Hi! I’m an ally! I know I’ve got the hub and fam and all, but I’m here for you!”
And these are just are taste of the diversity, the passion and the general awesomeness of Queer Month Romance. And we’re sure it’ll be just as wonderful this year.
See you there!
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Queer Romance & Weren’t Particularly Afraid to Ask
What it is
Queer Romance Month is a month long celebration of romance across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Every day in October, we publish three to four posts from a variety of readers, writers, bloggers and other brilliant people. Our contributors come from all corners of Romancelandia, united by our belief that love is love, romance is romance, and sexuality is not a sub-genre.
On the website, we’ll be showcasing essays, think pieces, flash fiction, and other good things inspired by this year’s theme: We All Need Stories.
You’ll also find us around the blogosphere all month long, bringing you exclusive interviews, audio clips and video readings from our wonderful contributors.
Why it’s awesome
Because everyone involved in Queer Romance Month is terribly brilliant and sexy.
More seriously, it’s a chance to talk about books you love or discover books you’re going to love in an exciting, diverse and enthusiastic community.
There’ll be actual, legit, brand new content from a wide range of writers who we hope you’ll already think are fabulous or will decide are fabulous after you read them.
We hope you’ll laugh and cry and think and find something that speaks to you.
Also we give away free stuff.
How to get involved
You can visit us daily at www.queerromancemonth.com. Subscribe by email or add our RSS to your feed-reader of choice. Err, assuming people still do that. You can also follow us on Twitter at @QueerRomance, which will alert you when new posts go up.
You can also snag one of our gorgeous badges to display on your own site or use temporarily as a Facebook or Twitter icon to show your support of Queer Romance Month.
Tweet to us, leave us comments, enter our giveaways – we’re here to share our stories and we love hearing from people.
Books, more books! For me, please?!
Sounds like an interesting month!
Thank you for the look at the various posts from this event. I’m getting the emails with each post already.