Or Are They? I recently saw a post that commented on trends in the publishing industry. One of them was that readers seem to be shifting away from so-called spicy reads. (Tom Swinnen / Pexels.com) The post gave some good reasons that this shift might be happening—but I think there’s likely more to the story than meets the eye. TikTok Ramped Up and Ruined “Spice” The major reason this post gave...
We’re clearly in a hyper-conservative backlash against what has been billed progressive politics. In the US, we’ve seen attacks against trans people and queer people more broadly, against mixed-race couples, against women’s rights—and it’s getting worse. We’re seeing people pushing to get rid of not only abortion but access to birth control. We’re seeing the curtailing of internet access to not...
A lot has happened since this blog was last regularly active. I had a baby. My father passed away. The United States of America voted in the Republican candidate for a second term. Plenty of people are legitimately concerned for a wide variety of reasons. (Kaboompics .com / Pexels.com) As a queer person, a queer writer, and a romance novelist, I can see there’s a lot to be worried about. Even...
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...
When everyone demands authenticity in fiction, we fall all over ourselves to "prove" our identities. Maybe we're asking the wrong questions.
It’s June again, which means plenty of brands have rolled out their annual rainbow parade. This can range from a whole line of merchandise (a la Target) to simply changing a social media profile picture. (Monstera / Pexels.com) And, as happens every year, it’s also time for a discussion about “rainbow capitalism.” While it’s nice to see support—and, in times such as these, even hopeful—it happens...
Is polyamory really queer? I think we should probably consider it to be queer praxis, at least in some sense.
Nora Roberts is apparently too spicy for people -- and we need to be worried about that. Book bans are coming for romance novels -- even clean ones.
Some say it's censorship. Others want to leave the past in the past. The point stands: there are plenty of reasons not to edit old books.
Western culture likes to depict pregnancy as some blissful experience. For a lot of people, it's a risky--even life-threatening--experience.
Coming January 28! Get set for more intergalactic hijinks when a monk inherits a HOST CLUB ON THE PLEASURE PLANET!