The Queer Romance Blog Hop Visits Giselle!

Welcome to the Queer Romance Blog Hop, where queer writers and readers of queer romance share their thoughts on the genre, as well as a few recommendations for books to read! Everyone participating in this blog hop identifies as queer and also reads and/or writes (or edits, or reviews!) queer romance. For our purposes, queer romance refers to books with:

1. LGBTQ+ main characters

2. In romantic relationships

3. That have a happy ending. (No Brokeback Mountain here, folks!)

1. Let’s start off with the getting-to-know-you stuff: How do you identify, and what does that mean to you? Whatever level of detail you’re comfortable with, of course!

Giselle Renarde: I'm queer, kind of genderfucked--at least internally (every male stereotype applies to me).  My primary attraction is to women, but I'm a never-say-never type.

2. What’s your preferred “flavour” of queer romance (e.g. trans*, f/f, m/m, menage with queer characters, etc.) Why?

Giselle Renarde: Trans lesbian romance particularly appeals to me, since I happen to be in a relationship with a trans woman, but I have this funny way of assuming that every book I pick up is going to have queer content. Specifically, I assume there will be lesbians in everything I read.  That's probably an offshoot of my queer-brained thinking that every person I meet is LGBT. 

3. Do you write/read/review? Do you think being queer affects your participation or platform in romancelandia?

Giselle Renarde: I know I'm never supposed to admit this (considering I write the stuff), but I've never read a romance novel in my entire life.  The only reason I started tacking happy endings onto my erotic manuscripts was that editors told me I had to.  I have this Egoyanesque love of all things fucked up. I'd rather see everybody die in misery at the end of the book, but I can write for readers whose tastes differ from my own.

4. What drew you to queer romance?

Giselle Renarde: I arrived at romance via erotica, but the queer aspect... well, I couldn't NOT write queer fiction if I tried. And I did, because another thing those early-days editors told me was to stop writing all these quirky stories about lesbians and bisexual women. "Nobody buys that stuff. There's no point writing it."

Well, I wrote it anyway.  Some of my best work is "that stuff" people told me not to write.

5. What do you love about queer romance in general, and/or your specific subgenre?

Giselle Renarde: When I was a kid, I always felt left out watching Disney movies.  Even at four years old I knew that kind of romance wasn't inclusive.  I knew it wasn't MY story.  Realistically, I'm not a romantic, but I always wanted to see representations of queer love.

6. What’s your pet peeve?

Giselle Renarde: I don't know if I'd call it a pet peeve, but selling lesbian romance is ridiculously hard--especially if one or more of those women is trans. In the romance field, it seems like only a very slim variety sells (meaning M/M--actually there's a pet peeve: I feel like the terms f/f and m/m place gay and lesbian identity under erasure or at least co-opt those identities. But anyway...).  I can almost understand why editors told me not to "bother" writing lesbian fiction.  Just the other day I got an email from an LGBT review site letting me know that their reviewers weren't interested in reading Friday Night Lipstick, which happens to be the most romantic story I've ever written (I cry every time I read it).  It's also a lesbian romance in which both women are transgender and 50+ in age.  Try getting anyone to buy that. Please! 

7. What growth would you like to see in the genre, going forward? Any ideas on how to accomplish that?

Giselle Renarde: I'm not sure how to answer that, since I write queer romance but I don't actually read it.  I just don't know what's out there.  But I guess editors telling authors not to bother writing queer women doesn't help.

8. Do you seek out other queer authors when you read?

Giselle Renarde: I probably am more inclined to read more of an author's books if I know the writer is queer, but it's not something I've ever really thought about.

9. How do you feel, in general, about straight peoples’ participation in reading, writing, and reviewing queer romance?

Giselle Renarde: If straight people bought my books, then I'd be all, "Yay, somebody bought my books! Now I don't have to eat porridge for every meal."  So... yeah. Buy my books, whoever you are.

10. Rec us 3 titles in your chosen subgenre and tell us why you love them.

Giselle Renarde: I won't be a dick and recommend my own books (though, honestly, I'm tempted) but because I don't read romance my recs will have to be in the genre I do read, which is lit fic.  The Canadian-er, the better:

1. The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Queer Canadian author/lesbian MC as far as I recall)

2. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (called the first lesbian novel--a must-read)

...and because my brain isn't retrieving any more fiction right now, #3 is non-fiction:

3. Opening Up by Tristan Taormino (A guide to creating and sustaining opening relationships)

And because I had the self-restraint to not recommend my own books, my reward is allowing myself to tell you my award-winning trans lesbian Christmas novel The Red Satin Collection is back on the market, as an ebook and now in print!

Thanks for reading and for following the tour! Be sure to use the links below to check out more great posts from our participants!

A Guest Post with A.M. Hartnett

I'm beyond busy right now, so A.M. Hartnett has kindly offered up a guest post to entertain you.  Thanks, Annemarie!

A Guest Post with A.M. Hartnett

I admit it: the reason this story exists is because I wanted to write a story about two people having sex in a boat house.

No, really.

There were things in the story that changed, like the characters being boss/secretary instead of merely co-workers, but the sex in the boathouse was never off the table. It's the scene that started the story, and while I knew I wanted to do it I had no idea how it would pan out. I figured things would end up pretty vanilla. I didn't think there would be ball gags and hog-tieing.

Shows what I know.

Excerpt:

She left her shoes on the floating dock and shimmied out of her dress. Mask in hand, she climbed into what was to be her chariot for the night.

The seat was cool under her bare ass, such a contrast to the liquid heat filling up every other part of her. She eased back and parted her legs. As she waited, she relived Kendrick’s mouth sucking and licking her.

Eyes closed, she tilted her head back and ran her middle finger around and around. She didn’t play with her clit. That was for Kendrick. She just teased herself by stroking the swollen hood.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes and lifted her head.

A queer feeling buzzed around her, as though she wasn’t the only one waiting.

He was watching her.

She didn’t try to seek him out. Instead, her self-indulgence turned into a show.

Alexis propped her foot up on the edge of the seat and reached lower. She crooked her fingers into her pussy and the scene in her head flashed to Kendrick doing the same to her, fingers flexing as she sucked him.

Still, he didn’t appear. She blew out a frustrated breath and craned her neck, checking every window for signs of him.

Then her gaze fell upon the mask on the seat next to her.

Ah.

She perched on the edge of the seat as she affixed the mask. The straps clasped behind her head, letting her pull the mask tight against her eyes. When she had done that, she resumed her pose, fingertips once more teasing herself.

Scarcely a minute later, the sound of the water lapping beneath the boat was broken by the creak of the door opening and then bare feet slapping against the wharf.

Blurb:

When Alexis booked her work retreat at The Deveaux, the most she had to look forward to was a bit of spa time on the company dime, but flashy salesman Chris Kendrick has an even better suggestion. For years they’ve had a hot and cold working relationship with a bit of flirting mixed in, and now is the perfect time to get that spark out of their systems.

Three days hopping in and out of beds (and other convenient places) shows Alexis that Kendrick’s smooth demeanour is more than just talk, and that aromatherapy and soft-tissue massages have nothing on Kendrick’s firm hand.

Links:

Web: www.amhartnett.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/amhartnett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annemarie.hartnett

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Here-Good-Time-Erotic-Novel-ebook/dp/B00GR601EG

Secrets of the Solstice Sacrifice

One of my faves, re-released:

Secrets of the Solstice Sacrifice

by Giselle Renarde

Professor Selyf is a fay magical, a solitary academic who lives in a mythical village on a Welsh hillside. When a knock at the door interrupts him from his manuscript, beautiful Trysta awakens Selyf's heart… and the sleeping serpent within.

Trysta has a "female problem" that only Selyf’s fairy magic can cure: she was born a girl, but a girl with one particular male part. As a guest in the magical man’s home, Trysta’s growing attraction turns into desire. How can she resist temptation?  Particularly when Selyf determines the only way to transform Trysta's body involves a sexual sacrifice on the solstice…

Warnings: This fairy love story contains explicit romance, magical transformation, and MFM menage. Originally published in the anthology “My Mistress’ Thighs.”

Excerpt:

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she ensnared him in a kiss the likes of which he’d never imagined. He felt her veiled passion coursing through his veins as his mouth melded with hers.

Their tongues fought and surged, one against the other. His whole body was so rapt with hers he could hardly breathe. As they kissed, he ran intrepid fingers through her silken hair and down her back. In turn, she held his cheeks and his neck, his back and his sides. When he grasped the firm flesh of her buttocks, Trysta wheezed and broke free.

The look in her eyes was indiscernible but for the temptation it aroused. He almost apologized for being so dreadfully forward before realizing it was she who’d kissed him.

Grabbing her wrists, he pulled her into his arms and carried forth the sweet embrace she’d abandoned. After a moment of brave indecision, she gave in to the kiss and melted in Selyf’s arms. His tongue wrangled hers until she broke away once more.

Pressing her soft lips to his ear, she whispered, “I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Neither have I,” he admitted. “You’ve aroused in me the sleeping serpent.”

At that turn of phrase, her body grew limp in his arms.

“Yes,” she said. “I know only too well what you mean.”

***

Where can you grab a copy?

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377442

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-secretsofthesolsticesacrifice-1344508-341.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GMZLNUS

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/secrets-of-the-solstice-sacrifice

Other titles in the Transgender and Genderqueer Erotic Romance series include:

Friends of Dorothy

Dressing for Dinner

Third Rail

A Wolf in Grandmother’s Clothing

Eclipse the Stars

Licorne

Spring Fever

Everybody Knows

Glitter in the Gutter

…and more!

***

Giselle Renarde is a queer Canadian, avid volunteer, and contributor to more than 100 short story anthologies, including Best Women’s Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bondage Erotica, and Best Lesbian Romance. Ms Renarde has written dozens of juicy books, including Anonymous, Ondine, and Nanny State. Her book The Red Satin Collection won Best Transgender Romance in the 2012 Rainbow Awards. Giselle lives across from a park with two bilingual cats who sleep on her head.