Why do we adore our favorite novels? When a story grips us enough to be a favorite, some type of bonding has occurred. We connected to something as we read. This experience can go deep—for readers and for writers—and leave a lasting impression. What fascinates me is the crossover between fiction and real life, when stories or characters influence us to […]
Read MoreI wonder if I’m alone in having the experience of reading gay romance and, in the process, rethinking my marriage. Before I started reading gay romance, I read het romance for long time and didn’t rethink my marriage. Why was reading gay romance so different? Following that question’s trail of clues continues to take me to places where I feel more at home. […]
Read MoreThe enormous romance genre encompasses a wide variety of subgenres, so there’s plenty to choose from, and we readers of romance tend to be voracious. This doesn’t surprise me. One of my definitions of romance is a story focused on main characters who catalyze self-healing for each other and thus reach true intimacy and a mutual happy ending. Romance stories show us how to love and be loved as our real selves. Of course we want stories (and then more stories) about […]
Read MoreWe have some catching up to do in the realm of inclusion. In a quest to learn and level up over the years, I’ve developed a collection of resources about reading and writing inclusive romance. Listed below are my favorites from that collection. This is a place to […]
Read MoreRecommending a book includes elements of exposure and risk: “Here. I offer you something I love. Therefore, as you read, you will find out more about me.”
A few years ago I sent my dad one of my favorite non-fiction books, curious to see if he would read it and, if he did, what he would think of it. To my surprise, he read it, we talked about it, and he asked for another book.
At the time of that first book recommendation, Dad was […]
Read MoreIf you’re like me, your fiction preferences tend toward stories that take you deep and release you with reluctance. When I remember the books I loved most, I feel the joy again. I’ll bet you do too.
Literary gay romance—a niche within a niche within a niche—offers a unique opportunity for the discerning reader. The qualities listed below, when found together in a novel, add up to a reading experience worth […]
Read MoreYou’re reading a novel. You’re into it. Great story. As you fully inhabit another world, the worries of the day recede. Your body’s reactions synchronize with events and character experiences in the story. Emotions, chemical signals in your brain, and sympathetic physical reactions occur—a gasp, a jolt, a gulp or smile.
But what happens when an error rears up in the text? […]
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