A book shop often fulfills similar functions, including author events (Iryna Varanovich / Pexels.com) A recent trend I’ve noticed is the sudden abundance of “author” or “reader retreats”—events designed to put authors and readers in close contact. Many of these are cropping up in the romance space, where readers might be fanatical about an author’s work. Authors, certainly, are always looking for...
Or, Why Respectability Won’t Save You I think we can all agree we’ve entered a rather conservative era. It’s been a while coming, the first rumblings of it emerging fifteen years ago now. It gained momentum after the 2016 US election and snowballed from there. The pandemic threw fuel on the fire, and, well, here we are. Neo-fascists and alt-right parties are gaining support across the globe. We...
Scary … or sexy? (Lisa from Pexels / Pexels.com) Monsters—or otherworldly beings—have almost always been popular subjects for fiction. We can trace vampire romances back at least to the nineteenth century, when we see Carmilla and Dracula both emerge. Neither is truly a romance, but both of them feature some relatively seductive monsters. Horror and romance have always walked a fine line...
Omegaverse fiction, also known as a/b/o dynamics or a/b/o fiction, is having a moment. The trope really got its start in fanfic circles over a decade ago now. It’s only been in recent years that it’s made waves in the realm of indie publishing. Now, it seems, omegaverse is everywhere you look. At first blush, omegaverse is confusing. I’ve written a primer on this worldbuilding trope and how it...
(Caio / Pexels.com) It’s a truth, universally acknowledged, that an author with a new book coming out must be in want of some ARC readers. Except this author. Fuck that noise. Over the last year or so, I came to the conclusion that I’m not going to do ARCs anymore. Here’s why. What Are ARCs? First off, what is an ARC? It stands for “advance reading copy.” It’s a super traditional thing in...
(paul otero garcia / Pexels.com) All right, here’s a topic I’ve wanted to look at before: the self-styled monsterfuckers and the fiction they love. The terms have recently come to prominence, entering not-quite-mainstream parlance, and there is a host of media catering to them. What’s with the sudden popularity? What’s with the appeal? Let’s take a look at what’s driving this trend in romance...
I recently saw someone shorten “omegaverse” to “OV,” which I think means the trope has made it. Also known as alpha/beta/omega dynamics or a/b/o, omegaverse has become an incredibly popular and ever-more mainstream worldbuilding trope in romance. (Anne-Marie Gionet-Lavoie / Pexels.com) What is omegaverse fiction, and why bother writing it? I can’t give you insights for anyone else, but I can tell...
Some recent discussions got me thinking about something I’ve known to be true for quite some time. A lot of the m/m romance readers out there are … pretty problematic people, when it comes down to it. Don’t mind me, just reading this m/m fic and posting homophobic takes on social media, like you do. (Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels.com) That got me to thinking: how is it that there is so much...
Romance novels get a lot of flak. Sometimes, there are good reasons—a lot of them are run-of-the-mill or even bad smut. I’ve seen books with cardboard characters and even flimsier plots. Does a rose by any other name truly smell as sweet? (Dario Fernandez Ruz / Pexels.com) Some of the criticisms levied against romance novels stem from other, less magnanimous areas. Romance novels as a whole are...
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...
Coming January 28! Get set for more intergalactic hijinks when a monk inherits a HOST CLUB ON THE PLEASURE PLANET!