What I Love About Writing LGBT Romance by CJane Eliiott

Thank you for having me on the blog today to talk about LGBT romance. I’m often asked why I write LGBT romance and usually answer with something glib like, “Because I like to.” But in thinking about what I wanted to say to this blog of readers and writers across the spectrum of romance genres, I took a deeper cut at what has me love writing LGBT romance.

First, why romance?

I’ve always gravitated to relationship stories. When I’m introduced to a couple in real life, I plague them with questions. How did you meet? What had you fall in love? Were there any obstacles in the way of you being together? How did your families and friends feel about you becoming a couple? I find it all endlessly fascinating. So when I began to write fiction, relationship stories flowed out of my pen.

A quotation by psychologist C.G. Jung appears at the beginning of my first published romance novella:  “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”

In romance, the meeting of the two MCs acts as a catalyst: a bad boy reforms, a shy guy steps outside his comfort zone. Neither character reaches the end of the story being the same person they were when the story began. I’m a big believer in love as a force for growth and redemption. To me, the best romance stories are those in which people find the courage to go beyond their fears or grow in self-knowledge through falling in love.

Why LGBT romance?

I’ve always been committed to social justice: civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights. Although I’m straight, I’ve long been a stand for the right of LGBT people to live their lives as themselves and to love (and marry—thank you, Supreme Court!) who they choose. My bio states I’m particularly fond of “coming out” stories. It takes courage to come out as who you are in a world that says you’re wrong to be that way.

As Anne Tenino said in her post, it’s this extra layer of having to defy societal norms simply to be yourself, much less be in love, that adds the zing—and also the poignancy—to LGBT romance. At the Gay Romance Northwest conference in Seattle last September, the attendees wrote down what they loved about the genre. One of the main reasons for reading and writing LGBT romance was that people wanted to read stories with hope—stories in which love prevailed over hate and bigotry.

I love giving my LGBT characters their happy endings!

My latest release, Sand-Man’s Family, is available for preorder from Dreamspinner Press. Due out on May 4, Sand-Man’s Family is the third novella in the Wild and Precious series.

Blurb:

When Sandy Nixon's conservative Catholic parents discover he's had sex before marriage, they are furious. But when he blurts out he's bisexual, they go ballistic. After they threaten him with conversion therapy, Sandy does what many queer kids long to do—leaves his homophobic parents in the dust. He moves in with his Uncle Phineas and Phineas’s partner Cody in Portland, Oregon, and is finally safe to be himself. Sandy misses his siblings, though, and decides to visit his former home in Rockford for Thanksgiving. On the train, he runs into Jade Byrne.

As the only out gay kid in their Catholic high school, Jade had stared down homophobes while being fabulous in the school musicals. He’s crushed on Sandy for years. But he’s made sure never to show it, even after they had a one-time hookup, because Sandy’s the good Catholic kid, the altar boy, and the apparently straight athlete—all the things Jade isn’t. Traveling back to Rockford together sees the start of a month of adventures, a blossoming attraction, and a chance for Sandy to learn what it means to have a family that hurts and to choose a family that heals.

C. JANE ELLIOTT

To order any of my stories, go to my Dreamspinner AuthorPage or to my Amazon Author Page.

AUTHOR BIO: After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.

CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.

In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.

E-mail: cjaneelliott@gmail.com

Website: http://www.cjaneelliott.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJaneElliott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjane.elliott

Maligned Comfort Food & Fond Memories

By Linda Lovely

I’m not sure why April is our chosen month to blog about comfort foods. Maybe it’s the need to seek comfort after completing our tax returns, because we’re either (a) weeping over how much we owed the government, or (b) sighing that we didn’t earn enough to owe a penny. Authors often fall into that second category unless they have a day job, rich parents, well-paid spouses, or some combination of the above. But I digress.

I consider almost all foods a comfort. I LOVE food—including items from every section of the food pyramid. Broccoli and Brussel sprouts. Turkey and gravy.  Potatoes au gratin. Chocolate chip cookies. Any flavor of ice cream.

But as comfort foods, I’m obliged to list two of the most maligned entrees that grace American (well, at least, Midwest) dinner tables—tuna noodle casserole and meatloaf. Both made frequent appearances on our plates when I was growing up.  They top my comfort food list because of the fond memories each provides. (Okay, I liked how they tasted, too. I don’t have a sophisticated palate.)

Let’s begin with tuna noodle casserole. Cost, simplicity, and the ability to reheat leftovers made this a go-to favorite of my working mother. The fond memories come from all the different recipes and ingredients we tried to add variety. As I recall the starter version had canned tuna, egg noodles, frozen peas, mushroom soup, and breadcrumbs. Later iterations featured potato chips, corn flakes, fried onions, green peppers, corn, carrots, onions, pimentos, and cheese.   The winner? A casserole we baked in a bread pan so it resembled a meatloaf (more on that later) and could slice when cold. Cold was my favorite!

I can’t share an actual recipe as I’m not sure we ever wrote one down. But, if I were to make it today (and I might, despite my husband’s avowed aversion to any form of tuna-noodle casserole), I’d cook and drain a package of elbow macaroni, chop and sauté a an onion and a (sweet) red pepper, drain a couple cans of tuna, and stir all the ingredients together in a big bowl. Then I’d make a thick cheese sauce with milk, flour and a combo of Velveeta and shredded cheddar. Mix and pour into a couple of bread pans, top with buttered bread crumbs and bake.  Yum.

Now it’s time to put meatloaf in the spotlight. When I think of meatloaf, I always recall our annual family vacations. Each summer Mom drove us from Keokuk, Iowa, to Spirit Lake, Iowa, where we visited her brother (my uncle) and his family. Mom liked to start out at five a.m. to avoid some of the heat of the day. She always packed meatloaf sandwiches for our “lunch.” I’m not sure if we ever made it past the Keokuk city limits before my sister and I started asking for meatloaf sandwiches—slathered with ketchup, of course.

Mom was convinced that tomato juice and eggs made meatloaf “tough.” So her version was held together with milk and cracker crumbs, kneaded together by hand. She also used a combo of ground beef, pork and veal (it wasn’t that expensive then). I still make meatloaf three or four times a year, though these days the meat tends to be ground turkey, and I use breadcrumbs and tomato juice/sauce, an egg, chopped green peppers, celery, mushrooms & onions, basil and oregano. No recipe. My cooking is like my plotting. Seat of the pants.

What comfort foods bring back good memories for you? Do you still cook/eat them?

Time to quit writing, I’m suddenly hungry.

Comfort Food for the Heart

Vivienne Lorret

Hello! I know that we are talking about Comfort Food this month at Romancing the Genres, but I wanted to share a little comfort food... for the heart.

Last week I released a new book, complete with happily ever after. I'm so excited about THE DEBUTANTE IS MINE! And, of course, this Regency romance is best served with tea.



Here's what the story is about:

From the Season Standard: “A true Season’s Original embodies the class, grace, and style of the ton. Such an honor ensures the recipient her pick of eligible suitors…”

Lilah Appleton’s prospects are looking dim. With one last chance to find a titled husband before she’s forced to wed her wretched cousin, she must make this Season count. Plain, forgettable Lilah must become the Season’s Original. Desperate, she seeks help from the devilishly charming, untitled, and thoroughly unsuitable Jack Marlowe. All she must do now is resist the tempting rogue…

Bastard son and self-made man, Jack Marlowe loathes the aristocracy. When he meets Lilah, he expects her to be like all the other greedy husband-hunters. But she’s far more dangerous. Her alluring smiles and sharp tongue intrigue him. Before he knows it, he agrees to help her find a husband, revealing tricks to ensnare any man. The only problem is, his plan works too well—on him.

When Lilah becomes the belle of the ball, Jack realizes he may lose her forever—unless he can take a chance on love and claim his debutante...



Excerpt:

“Since I cannot move forward, the gentlemanly thing for you to do is to step back.”

“Why can’t you move forward?” His breath skimmed across her nape, teasing the tendrils that must have come loose earlier, when their carriage had hit the rut.

She shivered, closing her eyes. “I know very well that you do not care about my answer. All you are doing is delaying the removal of your hand from my . . .”

She’d said the word a moment ago. So why couldn’t she say it now? Likely, because that part of her body had suddenly become the center of her world. It was now a place of intimacy and forbidden touches.

“Waist?” he supplied, moving his fingertips in such a way that it made her stomach quiver—not on the surface but someplace deeper inside.

“Person,” she corrected, yet noticed her thready word lacked censure. She tried again. “You really should not be touching me here.”

“If I were assisting you into a barouche, I would have both my hands on your . . . person.”

Both of his hands on her? She tried not to imagine it. When she felt an enthralling warmth spread through her, she knew she’d failed. “No. I mean here, in the ballroom. If anyone should see, the result would be catastrophic for both of us.”

Her reputation would be ruined. He would be expected to marry her. They both knew, however, that he would not. His conduct indicated that he cared little for the principles of society. He didn’t even like her. And more important, she reminded herself, she despised him.

“Indeed. The rules that govern your actions must be obeyed.” With those hard-edged words, he dropped his hand and stepped back. Lilah immediately missed his warmth and hated herself for it. She turned to face him, a reprimand at the ready. “If we didn’t have rules, then society would be full of men like you who enjoy taking liberties.”

He lifted his tawny brows. “You don’t think society would be full of women taking liberties?”

She blinked, caught off guard by the question and by the very idea. Women taking liberties?

Spinning a web to decide her fate . . .

It was an unexpectedly intriguing proposition for a woman in her circumstances. Now, however, was not the time to ponder it. “I will not imagine such a thing. After all, if I were to have placed my hand on your person, then you would have removed it. Men do not wait upon politeness.”

“I wouldn’t have removed your hand . . . from anywhere on my person.” He grinned, making her regret the example she’d used. Then he spread his arms out in invitation. “Please tell me you require proof.”

Thank you for letting me share!



Warm wishes and happy reading,

Viv

_{~USA TODAY bestselling author Vivienne Lorret loves romance novels, her pink laptop, her husband, and her two sons (not necessarily in that order ... but there are days). Transforming copious amounts of tea into words, she is an Avon Impulse author of works including: Tempting Mr. Weatherstone, The Wallflower Wedding Series, The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series, The Duke's Christmas Wish, and the Season's Original Series. For more on her upcoming novels, visit her at www.vivlorret.net}

Ice Cream: Comfort Food Then & Now

by Kristin Holt

I love ice cream. My #1 Comfort Food. Doesn't matter if it's snowing or 40 below. I never met an ice cream I didn't like (well, perhaps one flavor).

Ice cream may be produced in factories today, but it was originally a back-porch homemade treat.

"In 1843, New England housewife Nancy Johnson invented the hand-cranked ice cream churn. She patented her invention but lacked the resources to make and market it herself. Johnson sold the patent for $200 to a Philadelphia kitchen wholesaler who, by 1847, made enough ice cream makers to satisfy the high demand. From 1847 to 1877, more than 70 improvements to ice cream makers were patented." [source]

This bit of Americana history made it easy to slip cherry ice cream into The Menace Takes a Bride.

Excerpt: (California, 1895)

LUKE STOOD inside the kitchen, watching Garth and Mitzi through the screen door. They sat side by side on the porch swing. Garth moved the swing to and fro with a gentle push of his feet.

Luke couldn’t see Mitzi’s face from his vantage point, but he knew she enjoyed the ice cream immensely. He’d tasted the treat delivered by the creamery. Plump, fresh cherries, frozen in sweet cream with plenty of sugar. Mitzi had been delighted.

Satisfaction swelled in his old heart.

By Jupiter, it felt good to give the dear girl a bit of happiness.

Garth, idiot that he was, may have ordered Luke to cease and desist with the presents. Luke had thought about it, for all of about five minutes.

He’d believed that eventually Garth would do his duty and court his own wife. Until then, somebody had to do it for him.

‘You can’t teach an old man to suck eggs,’ Luke had wanted to say. Who was Garth to question his father’s experience? Did he think he could tell his dad something he didn’t already know?

Luke had lived through two wars and survived a gold rush. More importantly, he’d been a husband for twenty-two glorious years. A pang of loneliness tightened about his heart. He’d been around plenty long enough to understand how a courtship ought to progress.

Garth may have ordered him to stop giving presents, to stop meddling, but Luke knew better. Besides, ice cream didn’t count. It was food, not a bauble and certainly not meddling.

On the porch, he heard Mitzi’s moans of pleasure. Luke grinned at her little-girl delight. Until tonight, the poor thing hadn’t ever tasted ice cream.

Imagine that. Ice cream. He shook his head, amazed at the simple life she’d lived.

Silhouetted against the setting sun, Luke watched with pleasure as Mitzi rested her head on Garth’s shoulder. From this distance, he couldn’t quite hear what they talked about, but they were talking. That was good enough to ease an old man’s concerns.

Cora stepped up to his side, her tread light on the kitchen floor. She folded her arms and watched the young couple for a minute, perhaps two. “You did a good thing, Luke. A very good thing.”

Yes, he had. The more he saw of Mitzi and Garth together, the more he knew he’d done the right thing.

They looked like a husband and wife, and the image made Luke grin.

A husband. He’d made his boy a husband.

He wanted to jump up and down, hoot and holler with the thrill of victory—but that would interrupt the most domestic, tender thing he’d ever seen going on out on the porch swing.

An idea came to mind, a most exciting thought. It wasn’t a gift, he rationalized. Merely her due. Mitzi was a Wakefield, not a nun. She deserved more than a plain gold wedding band. If Garth had found Mitzi on his own, he would’ve wooed her with a diamond the size of a quail egg.

If Garth knew how to court properly, he would’ve bought Mitzi a diamond already. The boy would appreciate a little help getting the shopping done.

“I need a woman’s opinion,” he said to Cora.

“Oh?”

“Tomorrow morning, you and I are visiting the jeweler.”

 Copyright © 2013 Kristin Holt, LC

OLD FASHIONED ICE CREAM [credit]

1 c. whipping cream 1 c. milk 1/2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 children (or more) 1 lb. coffee can 3 lb. coffee can Ice 3/4 c. salt (rock or kosher works best) Put all ingredients in a 1 pound coffee can with a tight fitting plastic lid. Place this can inside a 3 pound coffee can with a tight-fitting plastic lid. Pack space between cans with crushed ice. Add 3/4 cup of salt over the ice. Place the lid on the 3 pounds can and roll back and forth on the cement or floor (that won't scratch) for about 10 minutes.Open the big can and remove the smaller can; wipe the outside of the can and lid and open to scrape down the sides and stir ice cream. Put the lid back on and put it back into the salt and ice and continue rolling for another 5 to 10 minutes. Open and enjoy. Serves 2 to 4.

 

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Michelle Monkou's Recap of Starz Outlander, Season 2, Episode 2

Outlander Season Two, Episode Two – Not In Scotland Anymore
(See below for links to all recaps)

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

The beginning notes of this episode are a definite reminder of the past -- Jamie's past. And from the post traumatic distress that he suffers on a nightly basis, his past interweaves with his present. 

Black Jack Randall haunts his soul.

If you are popping into the Outlander world for the first time, I invite you to watch Season One in its entirety. It's important to understand how vile and inhumane Jack Randall has been to so many and the deep imprint he's left on Jamie and Claire.

As that nightmare hangs over this couple, we are led into a visual assortment of pre-revolutionary Paris life. Colors and fashion, density of population, massive buildings, the maneuvering of polite society make up the fabric of this vibrant French city. And through Murtagh's eyes and humorous, and almost always insulting commentary, we get a comparative analyses of the French vs. the Scottish. 

Another taste of the French life was the introduction of body waxing with the outrageous Louise de Rohan (Claire Sermonne), a member of the French Court. Sermonne brings her witty charm to this character with such fun and abandon that she would be a great friend to bring to a party. Claire certainly follows along as she takes a few tips to address her "honeypot."

I must say that I'm glad that an audience with the Royal Highness no longer needs to take place as s/he sits on the potty. Jamie, always the diplomat when necessary, comes to the rescue with his prescription of "parritch" for the constipated King Louise XV (Lionel Lingelser). Just hand the silly man a bowl of hot Old Fashion Oats.

And yes, I must mention the "nipple" dress. The unique fashion couture that Diana Gabaldon researched and included in the book. In all its splendor, the series conveyed the dress to the small screen, as worn by King Louis XV's mistress. Her grand entrance was noteworthy on, as well as off-camera, based on the costume designer's interviews. I wonder how many takes were needed to get the entrance just right without everyone else losing it.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end when the surprise appearance of the Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) causes a stir with Claire. As if that wasn't enough, his introduction of Jack Randall's nephew--Alex--is another gut check. And the encore of surprises is that Jack Randall is alive!

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

Claire faces the dilemma to tell Jamie or not, knowing he will do anything to find and finish the job of killing Randall, even if it means delaying the plan to dislodge the Jacobite Rebellion.

Share with me what you thought of Season 2, episode two. While you’re compiling your thoughts, I asked Eden Butler, author of the Serenity series to share her thoughts of Outlander and her latest release, Catching Serenity.

This episode had quite a bit of humor with the backdrop of the Jacobite rebellion hanging over this stint in Paris. What were a couple of your LOL moments?

Eden: “Honeypot” caused a lot of giggling. Sam’s reaction when he “investigated” what was amiss of his bride was perfect. That scene made me laugh while reading it in the books and the on screen version did it justice.

Murtagh’s reaction as he stared at the King’s mistress in THAT dress (I think they’re referring to it as the nipple dress), was also very LOL-worthy. The cast in this show is just wonderful and that scene is one small example of that.

2) The research for historical detail and accuracy has to be tremendous for Outlander book/TV series. What were some of the "setting" details that you had to know for your book or series? 

Eden: Since my book is contemporary, there wasn’t any research to do for the period. There was, however, lots to do with the setting. The Serenity series is set in the fictional town of Cavanagh, Tennessee, which, in my mind, is located somewhere around Maryville and Gatlinburg.

Several years ago my family and I took a vacation to meet up with my friends in Gatlinburg and we all instantly fell in love with it. That trip included quite a bit of picture taking and trail walking in the mountains, but that wasn’t where my research ended. I’m fortunate that some very good friends of mine live in that area and were a fount of information for me while I created Cavanagh.

The town is an amalgam of Gatlinburg and the small college town where I attended university here in Louisiana. Cavanagh is comfortable and homey, a place where you can relax or have a pint and just enjoy the day people watching in the park. You can’t recreate the feel of a place like that, one that really transports you, unless you’ve experienced them for yourself. And, as Diana Gabaldon has frequently advised (and I’m doing a poor job of paraphrasing here): research isn’t an excuse not to write. So, I did both at the same time.

3) A tortured hero and heroine have to draw strength from each other for a successful story. How have your character(s) drawn strength during times of hardship (feel free to share the hardship, unless you feel its a spoiler)?

Eden: The readers that have been with the Serenity series from the beginning, know what happens in Catching Serenity. But for those who are new to the struggles Sayo and Quinn endure, I’ll just say that drawing strength from one another is central to the book. The couple, initially, aren’t remotely interested in each other. There is contention, preconceived notions, assumptions and outright disinterest between them when they first meet.

And then, Quinn and Sayo are drawn together by a little girl they both love and it’s her situation specifically that keeps them returning to each other until, eventually, they can’t pretend there isn’t real love between them.

Catching Serenity is about them getting to that point. It’s told in Sayo’s point of view and because it’s a first person narrative, we only see Quinn’s thoughts, his feelings, through the sketches he creates which Sayo finds. This enhances that point of view and gives us a glimpse into Quinn’s emotions and how he’s dealt with all the suffering leveled at him in the book.

It really is a heartbreaking story because there is loss, because there is a need to demonstrate the many facets of love and how it can wound. But you also see how love heals. That heartbreak becomes something, I think, that is ultimately very beautiful, very touching and very, very real. Catching Serenity is my eleventh novel and, I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of anything I’ve written.  

CATCHING SERENITY BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble 

iTunes/iBooks 

Kobo 

To stay updated with Eden Butler's activities, connect on Goodreads \ Twitter \ Facebook \ Tumblr \ Pinterest \ Blog

Eden Butler is an editor and writer of Mystery, Suspense and Contemporary Romance novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. 

When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.

Please send help.

My Weekly Recaps
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Michelle Monkou writes for Harlequin Kimani, Evernight Publishing, and her indie pursuits with Stella Maris Publishing. Michelle’s website is michellemonkou.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook.