Join Giselle for a Rainbow Jigsaw Puzzle Video

Hiya.

I was feeling mighty lonesome, so I made this video to spend a little time with you. Actually, it's 23 minutes long, so that's a fair amount of time. Good visit.

Join me while I sort puzzle pieces and chat.

https://youtu.be/ONXvQS3MIJg?si=DYh6Hmj6_P62T12c

Bold Strokes brings us Girls Next Door #Lesbian #Romance

Sometimes the most intriguing girls are right next door—BFFs, ex-girlfriends, new girls in town, party girls, study mates, teammates, and sexy strangers. All it takes is a night out, the right moment, or an accidental kiss to discover what's been there all along—the perfect girl for a love that lasts a lifetime. Best-selling romance authors tell it from the heart—sexy, romantic stories of falling for the girls next door.

If you're looking for an anthology of lesbian romance stories to read on the beach, by the pool, at the campground, sunbathing at the park, on horseback, during your coffee break, hiding beside the air conditioner, or whatever else you've got planned for the summer, guess what?  I've found it!

On June 20th, Bold Strokes Books is coming out with a collection called Girls Next Door. I've got my copy, and if you pre-order now you'll be seeing yours soon.

My contribution to Girls Next Door is a story called GOLD.

I got the idea while walking around a posh neighbourhood.  Mansions all around, and what goes with mansions?  You got it: gardeners.  I spotted a big butch landscaper working alongside a skinny femme and right away I started making up stories about them. When I got home, I started writing.

My butch character came on strong, larger than life.  In fact, when I submitted this story to Bold Strokes Books I thought there was no way they'd accept it.  My main character was too brash, too full of herself for romance.

But here's the thing about a character, like this one, who's convinced love is beneath her: when she actually falls for someone (the girl who's been working by her side all this time) it really makes your heart go fluttery.  It's a wonderful thing.

Girls Next Door will be available next week, but you can preorder the ebook today from Amazon.  You can preorder the print book too, and spend your summer with Girls Next Door!

Books In My Box + Hairy Armpits + Blasphemy

Maybe that should read "books in my slot" since I have a mail slot and not a mailbox, but it sounds dirty either way, so I'm happy.

Not much to say. Just showing off my beautiful contributor's copies of two new erotic anthologies which are apparently both FOR WOMEN according to their subtitles. (Sorry everybody else. Not for you.)

If you're Hungry for More and you Can't Get Enough, look for my work in these two collections next time you're buying books.

Also, as an outward expression of my increasingly undeniable genderqueerness, here's some armpit hair:

Ooh... I like the one on the right!

Finally, as a side note, I found another Hungry for More at Amazon... Hungry for More OF JESUS. Mmm... tastes like the Son of Man!

Because this guy's got his head up his ass...

...I'm going to re-post my National Aboriginal Day blog entry.

Wait, who's got what in whose ass?

Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.

To make a long story short, I just heard on the radio that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is once again dismissing calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

According to Herr Harper, "We should not view this as a sociological phenomenon. We should view it as crime." source: CBC

WHAT? Uhhh... you know acts can multitask, right? They can be crimes AND sociological phenomena. Yes, at the same time! Imagine that!

Harper's adamant denial that there are systemic roots to violence against Aboriginal women in this country is just... I can't even... I have no words. It's just... no. No, I'm not going into it again. I already did in the post below, which is a lot less ranty than whatever I might spew if I let myself right now.

Here's my National Aboriginal Day post:

June 21st is National Aboriginal Day here in Canada. That's why I've chosen today to release my collection of explicit lesbian romance stories featuring Aboriginal characters.

"Don't You Savage Me" is now available for purchase and, best of all, I will be donating 100% of the royalties I earn to charitable organizations working for and with Aboriginal women in Canada.

What sparked the idea to put together a collection that exists solely for the purpose of raising money for Aboriginal women?

Well, if you live in Canada you might have heard about an RCMP report on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. It's a big-fucking-deal.

• The RCMP say they worked with Statistics Canada and almost 300 policing agencies to produce the report, which found that aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the overall Canadian female population yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women.
• Since 1980 the rate of women who are victims of homicide has trended down, except the rate for aboriginal women, which has increased, the report states.
• Officials said there have been 1,181 police-recorded incidents of aboriginal homicides and unresolved missing women investigations over the past three decades — a much higher number than previously thought.
• Source: CBC 

For those reading from outside Canada (and I realize a lot of my readers are not Canadian), your impression of this country might be shiny and bright.  We're all so NICE here in Canada, right? But this country, man, it's got its problems.  The United Nations has urged Canada to hold a national inquiry into missing and murdered women.  In fact, the UN has offered a lot of criticisms that have been largely ignored by the Canadian government.

Human rights concerns documented in UN Special Rapporteur's report on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:

• "distressing socio-economic conditions" and inadequate funding of health care, housing, education, welfare, and social services for Indigenous communities;
• over-representation of Indigenous women and men in the prison system;
• high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls;
• exclusion of Indigenous peoples from effective participation in decisions that affect their rights, particularly in respect to resource development;
• and a federal discourse about taxes and the economy that places Indigenous peoples "outside, and in opposition to, 'Canadian' interests, rather than understanding indigenous people to be an integral aspect of those interests."

The Special Rapporteur also acknowledges historical patterns of "devastating human rights violations" including the residential school policy, which the Report notes "continues to cast a long shadow of despair on indigenous communities."
Source: Amnesty International Canada

That was a bit of a long preamble, wasn't it?  I didn't really plan that. Thanks for sticking around to find out about the anthology itself:

In “Don’t You Savage Me,” bestselling author of the Rainbow Award-winning novel The Red Satin Collection has bundled together six lesbian love stories featuring Indigenous characters.

There’s a little something for every taste, from the sticky-sweet romance between a cop and the girl next door in “Cuff Divers” to the intense heat of “Sugar Bush.” Rusidan learns about her girlfriend’s heritage in “Traditional Inuit Throat Singing” while Emma encounters a legend come to life in the historical romance “To Dream of Her True Love’s face.” A group of girls leave Jansey utterly exhausted in the charming bondage story “Knowing the Ropes.” Charm or no charm, Dina can’t resist rodeo rider Leslie Goosemoon in “Leslie Goosemoon Rides Again.”

All royalties earned by the author on sales of “Don’t You Savage Me” will be donated to charitable organizations allied with Indigenous women in Canada.

I have no preference where you purchase from. It's available from lots of retailers. I'm glad for every copy sold.  Every little bit helps. And if you're not in the position to purchase, tell your friends--especially those who enjoy lesbian erotic romance (it's not always the biggest seller, unfortunately):

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L5XLDZ2
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/450362

Me again. Just wanted to add that I've been overwhelmed by the number of copies of "Don't You Savage Me" you wonderful people have purchased. I've noticed a ton of readers from England buying this book, which is not at all what I expected when I released it, but what a happy surprise. Thank you for your support!
Hugs,
Giselle

#OutWriters and My Queer Little Box

This month, Cleis Press (a company that's published thirty bajillion short stories I've written) is putting the call out for out writers to use the hashtag #OutWriters on Twitter to talk about why it's important to be out and a writer, and write out-of-the-closet stories and think outside the box and... well, like any hashtag, it is what you make it.

Why is LGBTQ fiction important?  You tell me. (I already know the answer--I just want to see if you get it right. Kidding. I said I'm kidding! Stop throwing things!)

Raise your queer voice, if you have one.  Find it, if you don't.  Observe, if nothing else. Read all about it at http://www.cleispress.com/features/OutWriters

And I promised you my queer little box, so here's a pic:

(I made it by cutting up marketing documents from Cleis and gluing them onto the box that contained an "I Love New York" paperweight my mom gave me as a souvenir. What a crappy souvenir, Mom. Honestly.)

and another, from the back

New Anthology! Baby Got Back: Anal Erotica

Every time I type the title of Rachel Kramer Bussel's new anal sex anthology, I end up writing "Bach" instead of "Back."  That's because I recently wrote a music-nerd story for a Ryan Field anthology and called it "Baby Got Bach."

But that's not what Rachel's anthology is called.  It's called "Baby Got Back."  Not Bach.  Back. Just got my contributor's copies in the mail yesterday and they're lovely, just like all Cleis books.

For years, my girlfriend's been telling me I should write a romance story about a trans woman falling in love with a trans guy, so I finally did, and it's in this book.  "Everybody Knows" follows a girl who made a mistake and a guy who's been hurt before.  It's a reluctant love story, the kind where you really root for these crazy kids.  Just stop being so proud!  Stop being so scared!  LOVE EACH OTHER!

And obviously my story's not the only one.  There are 22 others in this book.

Here's the blurb:

Baby Got Back is a stimulating set of page-turning stories of anal fun. Rachel Kramer Bussel has edited some of the bestselling erotica books in the business and this is her first book devoted to all manner of backdoor pleasures. These daring and, dare we say, cheeky sex stories have a lot of variety. plenty of excitement and offer much erotic inspiration.

Whether you love anal sex or have never tried it, Baby Got Back, edited by award-winning author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, offers a peek at what happens when men and women check their inhibitions at the door. You'll find bend over boyfriends, butt plugs, "A Taste of Jamaica" and "Body Heat." In "Rectified," when Lela gets bored with every sex position out there, Brad arrives to teach her about one she learns is everything she'd hoped for and more. In "Delivery," Lynn takes a break from a Vegas bachelorette party so Wesley can show her a very good time. Whether exploring a new side of backdoor pleasure or affirming their passion for this sometimes taboo activity, the characters in this book savor every moment.

Baby Got Back is published by Cleis Press: http://www.cleispress.com/book_page.php?book_id=547

Am I A Bad Queer?

I'm wondering if I'll even go to Pride this year.  Depression seems to be turning my rainbow a little grey these days.  Also, I tend to hyperventilate in crowds and I don't feel comfortable around drunk people.  So a world-class parade is a little tricky for me.

In recent years, I've attended Toronto Pride more to buck the powers-that-be than to celebrate my queerness.  The day our homophobic (and now notorious) mayor Rob Ford was elected, I felt like I was living in a different city.  Who voted for this guy?  I thought this was such a queer-friendly place to live.

That year (two years ago, I think?), the unflushable Mayor Tweedledum upset us queers by refusing to attend Pride.  He didn't even go to the goddamn rainbow flag-raising ceremony at City Hall.  Doood, it's right outside your fucking office!  Are you kidding me?

So I made sure to attend the Pride Parade that year, as a show of solidarity.  I hadn't gone in probably ten years, but I wanted to stand up and be counted.  Political action.  I'm here, I'm queer, I hate Rob Ford.  That sort of thing.

Last week I tweeted about how I sometimes feel like I'm NOT QUEER ENOUGH.  Like I'm a BAD QUEER.  And a big part of that feeling comes from not being a party person.  I don't drink or do drugs.  I don't go to bars or clubs.  There are so many aspects of (what's generally understood to be) queer culture I'm just not a part of.  Hell, I'm not even a big fan of parades!  If I don't get my shit together, I'm gonna be kicked out of the club.

But I yams what I yams: a quiet queer.

This Pride, maybe I'll just go to the street festival.  I like the supporting queer vendors.  I like being around other queer people.  Everyone's so cheerful all weekend.  Total strangers wish you Happy Pride just for walking by. It's nice.

So, am I a bad queer if I don't go to the Parade? I feel like I am.  But the route gets packed and I'm so short I usually can't see much anyway. Last year I slathered on SPF 85 and still got sunburnt.

On the other hand, I love the parade's inclusiveness and diversity--the very qualities our mayor would probably like to wipe from the face of our city.

Families come to Pride.  All kinds of people do.  Last year, I stood next to two middle-aged men in turbans and an elderly Asian woman.  Man oh man, you should have seen that lady jump for joy when the Trojan guys started tossing out condoms!

Damn... I think I just talked myself back into going.

http://www.pridetoronto.com/

Meet Me At Beth's Place

Just a quickie post to let you know I'll be chatting with Elizabeth Black at Beth Wylde's Yahoo group on June 4th 2013 between noon and 6pm.  It's Pride Month and there's lots going on at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/ so do stop by her group throughout the month... especially on Tuesday June 4th when I'll be there to chat with you!

An Excellent, Approachable Guide to Non-Monogamy

I already wrote a great deal about Tristan Taormino's book Opening Up at Oh Get A Grip! (read my post here: http://ohgetagrip.blogspot.ca/2013/03/opening-up.html) but now that I've actually finished the book, I figured I'd share my Amazon-length review with Donuts & Desires readers.  Here it is:

An excellent, approachable guide to non-monogamy, incorporating a variety of models. Includes interviews with diverse individuals in open relationships, so the reader gets to hear about the joys and challenges of non-monogamy straight from those who are living the life.

Whenever I mention Opening Up to friends, they assume it's sleazy.  It's not.  This book is written in an entertaining and straightforward fashion, but it's not a "how to get a bunch of people into bed" book.  It's about creating a sustainable style of open relationship through negotiation, transparency, and understanding. 

Opening Up speaks across a broad spectrum. Whether you're into BDSM or you're an asexual romantic (or both), your needs are addressed in this book.

I recommend Opening Up highly to anyone. Even if you never have any intention of living non-monogamously, do read Opening Up.  There's something in this book for everyone.

You Don't Need to be Trans to Get Discriminated Against (but it helps)

This post is brought to you by the letters LGBT and the numbers April 1-6, 2013.

What that means is there's an LGBT blog hop going on, and Donuts & Desires is taking part. Right here.  Right now.  Do you get a prize?  Of course you do!  More on that later.

As you know if you know me, I write a lot of romance and erotic fiction featuring transgender characters.  If you know me well, you know I have a very personal connection to my trans fiction.  I've had trans and genderqueer friends since high school.

Five years ago, my heart hooked up with an incredible woman. She's a certified geek who owns not one but two Star Trek collector's plates, she looks great in green, she's called "quirky" as

often as I am, and she gets my random references to Pinky and the Brain.  To me, Sweet is the most gorgeous girl in the world.  She makes my heart flutter, even five years in.  And she's trans.

On waaaaaay too many occasions, I've encountered the common and callous misconception that trans women are all the same--they're ugly, they're jokes, they're sub-human, they're drag queens, they're perverts, they're mentally ill, they're men.  The sad thing is, it's often lesbian, gay, and bisexual people spouting this bullshit.  The LGBT "community" is hardly a cohesive unit.  It's sad.  I mean, it's really sad.

We're lucky, here in Canada.  Just recently, legislation was passed ensuring the rights of trans people under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  In Ontario, a lot of progress has been made over the past, oh, year or two?  Most notably, it's no longer necessary for trans people to go through "bottom surgery"/Sex Reassignment Surgery/Gender Reassignment Surgery/Gender Affirmation Surgery (there are sooo many names, and everybody has their favourite) before the government will change the gender marker on their ID.

And all that is great.  It is.  But what's even MORE important to me is how my trans friends, my trans partner, and all trans people are treated in real life, not just in legislation.  That's where the whole world lags behind, I'd say.  Trans people (and trans women in particular) are really the last portion of the population that can be openly picked on ANYWHERE with absolutely no reprecussions.  Start a tally of how many times the word "tranny" is used in sitcoms, and you'll understand what I mean.  It's okay to poke fun at those ugly, stupid, misguided perverts.  They're not real people anyway.  Who really cares?

Well... I do.  I care.  I'm sick of seeing trans people denigrated all around me, and when I witness it, I speak out.

That doesn't always go so well.

I've blogged before about losing friends when I started dating a trans woman.  In fact, I lost my BEST friend, the guy I talked to on the phone 4 times a day.  We used to watch TV together, eat meals together, do pretty much everything together.  I couldn't believe what a dickface he turned into when I fell in love with a girl who happened to be trans.  Her trans-ness was ALL he would talk about.  He said the meanest things, constantly.  I couldn't take it.  I told him how much he was hurting me, but he basically said TOO BAD.  He chose transphobia over our friendship.

And that was that.

One thing I haven't mentioned publicly is that I've encountered professional problems, too, for refusing to sit idly by while someone spouted hatred about trans people.  I had a client who sent me a constant stream of work for years.  And then that person made a few comments negatively stereotyping trans women.  I was gentle, I swear!  I didn't go off the deep end.  I tried to educate this client about trans and genderqueer people in the most casual, non-patronizing way possible.

I haven't seen a scrap of work from that client since.  Nothing.

So, I've lost friends and I've lost work for my adament alliance with the trans population, and...

Okay, obviously I'm still a little peeved, but it's not going to keep me from standing tall beside my girlfriend.  The personal and professional reprecussions haven't stopped me yet, and they won't any time soon.  A lot of people are reluctant to admit to their privileges, but being cisgender (meaning not trans) is a huge privilege.  I don't get the same shit thrown at me that my girlfriend does.  Yeah, I get some splatter, standing beside her, but I'm not going anywhere.  I'm here, and I'm holding her hand.

Whoo... that grew into a pretty long blog post, didn't it?  It's an important topic to me, in case you hadn't noticed.

UPDATE: The hop is now closed

Now on to the fun stuff: EVERYBODY WINS! 

That's right, kids.  I'm really glad you've stopped by and I want to give you a free copy of one of my ebooks that happens to star a trans woman.  It's a sweet little reunion story from my Wedding Heat series called "If the Shoes Fit."  To get your free copy, just hop on over to ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-weddingheatiftheshoesfit-862328-172.html

And once you've hopped over there, hop on with the hop:






But wait... there's more!  Enter to win a $25 gift card to an ebook retailer of your choice, here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Am SO TOTALLY QUEER

It's National Coming Out Day, which, according to Wikipedia, IS observed here in Canada, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to say I'm here, I'm queer, you're probably used to it.  I guess I'm not COMING out, since I've never been shy about telling you all the dirty details of my sexual and romantic life, but why not take the opportunity to celebrate my sexual identity?

I'm not sure if I've blogged about the concept of "coming out" before, but I firmly believe that coming out is something we do every day, not just once and then it's over and we can live our lives as happy queers.  Coming out happens every time we walk down the street holding hands with our sweethearts.  Coming out happens every time we make small talk at a function and mention in passing our girlfriends or boyfriends or husbands or wives.  Coming out happens in linguistic selection, in not veiling our awesome selves.  

If our sexual and/or gender identifies evolve within our lifetimes, coming out can happen multiple times with the same set of people--family, friends, coworkers.  Those of us who identify as queer, bi, or even gay or lesbian, can express true solidarity by expressing our queerness verbally and vocally when/if we happen to be partnered with people of the "opposite sex" (I don't like that term, but can't think of a better one off-hand).  That's when the outside world will be most inclined to view us as straight.  I'm talking, for instance, when I was in my twenties and had a long-term partner who was a man.  People look at that and say "straight folks" and it takes a lot of effort to drive the queer point home.  We've got to be extra-loud when our visible out-in-the-world actions don't tell the whole story of our identities.  

We are constantly making choices, oftentimes not even aware we are doing so, that will determine whether we make our sexual identities known to strangers and acquaintances or not.

It's not a one-time dealy, just do it and you're done.  Every day is coming out day.

But especially today.

If you're coming out for the very first time today, or in an especially big way (like, if there's a pinata and cake involved), then all the power to you.  And I would like a piece of cake, please.

Hugs,

Giselle

Out With The In: Loving A Girl In The Closet

Last week, I posted this little memoir at Torquere Press' Romance for the Rest of Us blog.  Today, I'm sharing it with my readers here at Donuts and Desires.

A while back, I read a post at Davy Wavey's blog (do we all know Davy Wavey?) addressing "viewer mail."  The letter had something do to with dating a guy who wasn't out.  To be honest, it's the comments I remember better than the post itself.  A lot of guys chimed in to say they would never, ever, ever date a man who was still in the closet, or that they'd done it in the past and would never, ever, ever do it again.

These things get me thinking, you know?

I always find it kind of messy when people talk about being in OR being out, because there are so many levels of in and out.  More than that, to me, being out is a constant process that plays out every day as we make our ways through the world.

But those comments from guys who would NEVER date someone who wasn't out hit me especially hard because I'm in a long-term relationship with a woman who isn't out.  Sort of.  Because, with some people, she is out.  It's complicated.

If you hang out at my blog, you probably know that my Sweet identifies as transgender and lesbian.  She lived a lot of her life as a boy, and now she identifies as a woman.  But that doesn't mean she's out with the whole world.  Sweet has never come out to her family.  Whenever she sees them, she wears boy clothes and pretends to be something she's not.  There's a common misconception that once trans people realize who they are, they make a change and that's that, full speed ahead.  Not the case for many, especially trans men and women of the older generations.

My girlfriend is in and out of different closets in different ways with different people.  Her family thinks of her as a straight man.  She has friends from a transgender social group who know the real her, though.  Those are the only people who know me as her girlfriend.

She isn't out as trans with most of her friends and acquaintances.  She also lets all those people think she's straight.

It doesn't bother me in the least that Sweet wants to stay stealth about her gender identity.  It's nobody's business but her own, and there's still a great deal of misunderstand and aggression toward the trans population.  The thing that kind of sucks for me is that my girl is convinced that if anyone found out she loved another woman, they'd immediately rip off her wig and say, "Ah-ha!  You're really a man!"

Maybe that's another "generational" mindset.  Sweet's a few years older than I am, and you didn't see lesbians walking down the street holding hands when she was growing up.  I would never out my girl or break up with her because she wasn't out enough, or set some kind of ultimatum to force her hand.  People have to come out in their own time.

That said, there have been times when Sweet's closetedness has led to big-time arguments between us.  The major event that comes to mind happened a few years ago when I took the train to meet her in Niagara Falls, where she was doing some volunteer work.  We'd planned to drive back to Toronto together and, because she'd been working so much and our relationship is a long-distance one to begin with, that was about all the time we had together.  It was supposed to be a pleasant mini-road-trip, maybe with a detour or two for dinner and entertainment.  At least, that's what I had in mind.

When I got to Niagara, she told me that another volunteer needed a ride back to the city, so we were driving her too.  I was floored.  It was supposed to be OUR TIME, and she'd invited some random person along?  Well, I guess Sweet didn't realize this little road trip thingy was a date, a romancy-pants thing, because when I explained why I was so shocked and angry, she tried to find this random woman another ride home.  There was another volunteer who said, "Oh, sorry, I can't drive her.  My boyfriend and I are driving back together and we'll probably want to grab dinner."

I can't begin to tell you how badly I wanted my woman to say the same thing.  "Sorry, but I can't drive you after all.  My girlfriend and I made plans."  GIRLFRIEND.  Not FRIEND.  Usually I can stand the charade, but that day in particular I was so angry and disappointed that hearing myself described as "friend" seemed to put me and our relationship under erasure.  I wanted acknowledgement.  I wanted time alone with my woman.  The whole stupid misunderstanding could have been cleared up if she'd just admitted we were a couple.

So, okay, I do understand why some people wouldn't want to enter into a relationship with someone who is still in the closet.  It's not easy.  It causes arguments.  But you know what?  A lot of things cause arguments in a relationship.  A strong enough bond can overcome any controversy.

Come to think of it, I believe I left a comment on that Davy Wavey post.  I remember telling his readers a little bit about my relationship with Sweet, and going on to say that even though she's not out with her own family, she IS out with mine.  My mother loves her.  My sisters adore her.  They love spending time with the lesbian couple that is Sweet and I, and my girl gets to spend family time as the woman she is instead of pretending to be somebody she's not.

And maybe that's one of the best things about dating someone who is still in some sort of closet: you can give her opportunities to be out in the safe space your life has already created.  And that's pretty wonderful.

Hugs,
Giselle
--

Giselle Renarde is a prolific author of LGBTQ fiction, including Torquere's new Charity Sip Blitz title To Dream of her True Love's Face.

To dream of her true love's face, Emma obeys the well-known folklore and places a bundle of rosemary beneath her pillow. Her family is quite dismayed when she dreams of a beautiful Native woman rather than the young man they intend for her to marry. Their laughter and derision drives Emma to the woods, where she takes a step in the wrong direction and becomes stuck in a marsh. When she calls for help, what should she hear but the steady beat of hooves and the heavy rustle of leather.

Now Available from: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_111&products_id=3674

Tell Me Again Why I'm A Sinner?

I stole this from Boy Culture... and you can steal it too!  Seriously. Do it.  Steal it now.  Put it on your blog for all to see!  Mwahahahaha! (Okay, stealing with permission isn't really stealing, I guess...)

Click the image to make it bigger (dirté!)
From HERE, with permission.

New Anthology! Lover Unexpected: Manlove Edition

I'm not exactly known for my gay fiction, but after the success of Wedding Heat: Skinny Dipping (and, more recently, Wedding Heat: Hole In One), I wanted to write more.  So I wrote up a story called "Gypsy Psychics Can't Be Wrong" and submitted it to this anthology from Evernight Publishing called Lover Unexpected: Manlove Edition.  Lucky me--my story was selected!

This anthology really appealed to me because the concept behind it was friends becoming lovers.  That gets me every time.  I love that sort of plotline, so my story is about a guy, Marty, who can't see what's right in front of him: his coworker Cameron, who is always there... especially when Marty's beloved grandmother dies and he needs a shoulder to cry on.

Marty's more than a little surprised when the gypsy psychic who hangs out between the liquor store and flower shop says that somebody loves him.  Who could it be?  Marty's got no prospects.  Even the girls at work take no interest in him or his coworker buddy Cameron. Still, every time he sees the gypsy, she insists he's more loved than he knows.

When Marty's beloved grandmother dies, Cameron is the only person from work who shows up at the funeral.  Marty tries to be a pillar for his mother and aunt, but all he wants to do is join his friend in the back row and cry in Cameron's arms.  Afterwards, Cameron takes care of him, feeding him homemade soup and being the best friend Marty could ever imagine.  Still, he doesn't see it coming when Cameron kisses him.  After all the time they've been close friends, is it really such a shock?

Here's an excerpt:

“She didn’t tell anyone she was sick.”  Marty set his soup spoon down.  His throat blazed, and he could feel his lower lips trembling.  “Nobody knew.  It didn’t show.  She seemed…”

The tears that had waited all day got their release, and Cameron leapt from his chair to launch himself at Marty.  Finally, someone to cling to!  Finally it was Marty’s turn to cry and be comforted.

When Cameron’s arms encompassed him fully, he latched on, clawing at the wool sweater his friend had changed in to after the funeral.  Marty was still wearing his dress pants and button-down shirt, and he suddenly felt suffocated by them.  He’d have torn them off if he didn’t think that might freak Cameron out.

“Hey, what’s with all the tears?” Cameron said gently, when Marty’s sobs had died down.  “What, are you trying to tell me my soup needs more salt, so you’re crying into it?”

Marty laughed.  He couldn’t help himself.  It was a stupid joke, the kind of thing his dad might say, but right now it was funny.  Cameron was bending awkwardly at his side, leaning one elbow on the table, and Marty arched up to hook his chin over his best friend’s shoulder. 

He was about to say thank you when Cameron’s head turned.  It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Cameron’s face was so close to Marty’s—right there, really close—and then his lips… Cameron’s lips… 

The anthology is now available from Evernight Publishing.  Look for it soon at other e-tailers.

(With 10 M/M erotic love stories between 5,000 and 10,000 words each, it's a really good deal!  Just sayin'...)

Here's the buy link: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/lover-unexpected-manlove-edition/

Enjoy!
Giselle

Call for VAGINAS

I came across this project via @jizlee on Twitter and it's given me a reason to pick up a paintbrush after maybe 2 years of paintbrush silence.  "The Vagina Project" is a call for artistic renderings of vaginas with a message.

This is coming at you from JRow Art:

I am seeking submissions from artists and non-artists (but isn’t everyone an artist?) to post on this website to create a gallery of vagina art with a message. What does your vagina have to say??! I’m sure there’s tons. The world should know!
Deadline: August 15th, 2012
Cost: FREE
What: painting, sculpture, ceramics, drawing,  music, video/new media, fabric art, finger painted art, doodle art — any kind of art that you can think of. Try not to get too self-conscious about your work if you are not used to making art. This isn’t a competition
Submissions:Email me your submissions at jrowartist@gmail.com. Please include:
1. Quality photo of your image
2. Please be clear about the message and type the caption of the image into the body of the email (re: the theme – What does your vagina have to say?). If there is no caption, please provide a clear and brief statement about the piece.
3. Your name or pseudonym
4. Year the piece was created
5. Medium (for mixed media, please be as detailed as possible)
6. Anything you would like the world to know about you and your piece, including email, website, location, etc.
Please share widely! The more submissions the merrier.

For more informations, go here: http://jrowart.com/2012/07/08/vagina-project/

Pride and Self-Pity

Yesterday was Toronto's big-ass annual Pride Parade.  I was there.  I took some pictures.  They're even worse than last year's because I couldn't see anything that wasn't on a float (I am very short and easily lost in crowds) so I mainly just stuck my camera in the air, stood on my toes, and took pictures.

All in all, it was kind of a crappy day.  Yes the sun was shining, weather was perfect, crowds in good spirits, but I was alone. Boo!  Alone on Gay Christmas.  What a fucking rip-off.

And why was I alone?

Well, my girlfriend is very much in the closet.  Yup, there are still people in there.  A lot of them.  Les invisibles.  Toronto Pride happened to coincide with Canada Day, and family tradition dictates there's got to be a party.  So she couldn't say, "Will you excuse me for the afternoon while I celebrate Pride with my girlfriend?"  Could she?  Nope, she could not.

If I sound angsty and frustrated, it's probably because I feel angsty and frustrated.   I also feel like an asshole because instead of supporting the woman I love, I'm ranting about how her inactions cause me pain.  That's assholery at its finest.

I don't understand the closet because I come from a family where I was never afraid anyone would love me any less for being queer.  It never mattered.  It never made any difference.  I have aunts and uncles with way more gay and lesbian friends than I have!  My family isn't "accepting" or "tolerant"--they embrace diversity in all its forms.

I never had to deal with any subtle "god hates queers" insinuations, or criticisms of "the gay agenda."  I never for a moment thought I might lose my family's love if they knew the real me.  I never had to worry that a huge slice of my existence would be cut off, that I would be rejected.  But my girlfriend has those fears.  And even if none of those extreme measures would actually be taken, she's afraid of losing everything.

But she wouldn't lose me.  I would still be there.

And maybe that's why she's committed to staying in the closet: she knows I will adore her even when she chooses family and fear over girlfriend and Pride.  We had a big argument last night because she claimed I was trying to make her feel guilty (I probably was) and why did I even invite her to Pride when I knew she'd say no?  I was just playing games, trying to make her feel bad, trying to make a point, wasn't I? And on and on...

I invited her because it wasn't a decision I could make on her behalf.  She had to make that choice for herself.  And yeah, her choice hurt me and I probably lashed out a little and I definitely wasn't as supportive or understanding of her predicament as I could have been... but I'll do better next time.

Unless I react exactly the same way, which is what usually happens.  The lessons I learn writing blog posts don't always translate into real world changes.

Just one more thing to beat myself up about.

I always get choked up at Pride.  It's one thing to line the streets, but marching in protest or celebration or both... that takes guts.  Despite the primarily fun and frivolous atmosphere, I always cry on parade day.

Hugs,
Giselle