fbpx

Cherry Pickin’ Blog

Mpreg and Transmisogyny

M

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...

Who Even Is an “Author” Anymore?

W

The robots are coming! (Kindel Media / Pexels.com) The Verge released a pretty ugly article recently, detailing the rise of artificial intelligence and content generators. In it, they interviewed at least one author who was using a content generator, as they sought reasons people either supported or didn’t support these new “tools.” The article sparked a lot of debate, especially in light of the...

Saved by the Selkie and The Three Musketeers

S

If any of you have read Saved by the Selkie, then you know one of the leads is Aramis. And Aramis is joined, at various points in the book, by Athos and Porthos. Now, if you know anything about literature (or pop culture), then you know those are also the names of the three musketeers. So … what gives? Why pick these three particular names? Saved by the Selkie and the Historical Setting Saved by...

Toxic Love: The Problematic Messaging in So Much Mainstream Romance

T

Quick, what’s the difference between Edward Cullen and a stalker?Bella loves one but not the other. This isn’t even really a joke. It’s kind of a hard-and-fast truth we have to acknowledge when we start talking about the romance genre. So many romances feature guys who are lovingly referred to as “alpha males.” Yet, all too often, these men veer into the realm of what would be better termed...

Platonic vs Romantic Love

P

These candy hearts, oddly enough, include both “romantic” messages and platonic ones (Jill Wellington / Pexels.com) It’s February once more, which means the subject of love and romance is on everyone’s minds. One big topic that’s come up in more recent years is the debate about platonic vs romantic relationships. What’s the difference between them? Can you actually tell them apart...

Omegaverse Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2024

O

Omegaverse has taken off in the last five to ten years or so. With it, we’ve seen plenty of batshit crazy moments—like someone claiming to have “invented” it. We’ve also seen it cross over into the realm of M/F books, even if the trope was represented there early on. A lot of m/m and queer omegaverse is also mpreg, so I wanted to focus this post on books that were less firmly in that category...

Mpreg Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2024

M

There are a ton of people writing mpreg out there these days, and I’d say we’re somewhat spoiled with how many new titles appear from month to month now. What can be difficult, though, is keeping track of all the new releases. I know I often don’t know about a book until it’s been out for months and months. Often, I just happen to be scrolling social media and someone posts about the book. It...

Why Do People Like “Predictable” Romance Novels?

W

A friend and I were discussing this topic a little while ago. I’d seen a recent social media exchange about it. Some folks expressed disdain. They couldn’t understand why people would want to read “predictable” romance novels. Stop me if you’ve heard this one … (Summer Stock / Pexels.com) And that’s a fairly understandable stance. I mean, I roll my eyes at a lot of Harlequin-type...

The Male Omega: How Does That Even Work?

T

One of the staples in omegaverse worldbuilding is the use of the alpha-beta-omega system. Generally speaking, this is used to explain “gender” or “secondary sex.” (Manfred Neumair / Pexels.com) What that means is people are still men or women—or occasionally nonbinary. Yet they are also alpha or beta or omega. “Male” and “female” are often still in play as well. The alpha/beta/omega designations...

Cherry’s 2024 Goals!

C

It’s the start of a new year once again, and that means it’s time to lay out some 2024 goals. Last year was a big year for me. I got married in the spring, went on a honeymoon, switched jobs, and published five stories in five months. I’m almost always ambitious at the start of a new year. This year, I need to be careful not to make my 2024 goals too lofty. There are some big life changes heading...

Recent Posts

Archives

OUT NOW! Get ready for high seas adventure with SAVED BY THE SELKIE!

Read Now

 

Want to get all the latest delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Ficsation newsletter!