I’ll Write LGBTQ Characters Forever
by Francesca Lia Block
I’m often asked about my LGBTQ characters but it’s kind of like asking me about women and men, or teenagers and adults, in my books. They just happen to be who they are and they’re usually based on people I know and love. I don’t think about it consciously, though I do want to include a diverse array of characters and I believe it’s important to have more books about all under-represented people, including the LGBTQ community.
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (Henry Holt and Co., 2013)
I guess I’m naive, or sheltered in my Los Angeles liberal world, but it always shocks me when controversy arises over my gay characters. For example, in 2009 when Baby Be Bop, a little coming out, coming-of-age fairy tale, fell under attack in West Bend, Wisconsin. A group of protestors wanted to stage a public burning. The librarians came to the book’s defense. Librarians rock.
When I wrote Love in the Time of Global Warming I wasn’t planning to make all four main characters LGBTQ but they just came out that way (no pun intended). One young reader said it bothered her that all four characters were LGBTQ. She said she thought at least one or two could have been straight. I’d imagine this is how LGBTQ kids feel like when they read books with all straight characters, over and over again.
Luckily my editor was supportive of the exclusively LGBTQ main characters in Love in the Time of Global Warming but other editors have been less so. One of them wanted me to remove a gay subplot. I fought to keep it, not only as a way to represent the gay community, but also as a necessary plot device to deepen the message of the book which was about the need for tolerance.
Recently, Michelle Tea asked me to tour with Sister Spit. I wasn’t able to get away for that long but I did appear with them at the Hammer Museum. As I read my poetry alongside Virgie Tovar, Nikki Darling, Myriam Gurba, Zackary Drucker, Mica Sigourney, Kate Schatz and Thomas Page McBee, I felt more at home in this warm, brilliant, sexy LGBTQ/feminist/outsider/artist community than anywhere.
I will keep writing LGBTQ characters as long as I love the LGBTQ people in my life. Which means: forever.
—
Announcing the GayYA Blogathon!!
GayYA has many goals, but everything we do essentially comes down to one purpose: get more LGBTQIA+ YA published. We are more committed to this than ever!
This May, we’re thrilled to bring you a month long blogathon. Every day, you’ll hear from different authors, librarians, educators, and bloggers. We hope to use this opportunity to spread the love far and wide for LGBTQIA+ YA, and show anyone that might have any doubt that there is huge audience for LGBTQIA+ YA. (If we can accomplish these things, more LGBTQIA+ YA will be published!)
We so look forward to sharing these posts with you. If you’re feeling them, we’d love to have your help in promoting your favorite posts in this blogathon to your own networks! Spreadin’ the love far and wide, y’all. 🙂
Stay tuned for our first post….
Call for Volunteers
Join us in our mission to provide a platform to discuss and promote queer YA! As a GayYA volunteer you can connect with our group of volunteers who are all extremely passionate about queer YA, create unique resources that support authors and enable teens to find queer books, and occasionally read queer YA before it is published.
We are looking for five new volunteers. The general time commitment for volunteers is 5 hr/wk, but it is subject to change as our busyness increases and decreases, and we can be a little flexible around your schedule. Volunteers may be asked to:
- Format posts on GayYA.org and promote them through Twitter and Tumblr
- Build the LGBTQIA+ Masterlist (currently we are working on part 2 of the masterlist– LGBTQIA+ YA broken down by genre)
- Collect contact info
- Find new people/groups for us to connect with (GSAs, book blogs, libraries, etc)
- Interview authors/research authors to help us develop interview questions
- Help us generate new ideas
- Co-write posts or reviews
You DO NOT need to have previous experience with any of the above to apply.
People of color, disabled people, people who live outside of the US, neuroatypical/neurodivergent people, ace/aro people, intersex people, and trans people (particularly trans feminine people) are especially encouraged to apply. Authors, editors, agents, publicists, teachers and librarians are encouraged to apply as well. All ages are welcome.
Please note that at this time we can provide NO MONETARY COMPENSATION. And that this will not change anytime soon. GayYA is run on love. 😀
To apply, please tell us:
- Your name, age, location, occupation, identity/orientation, and a little bit about yourself
- If you have previous experience with anything similar to the things listed
- Why you are interested in being involved
- Anything else you think might be of interest!
If you’d like, include a link to your Twitter, tumblr, blog, and/or website, so we can learn a little more about you.
Email vee@gayya.org with your application.
Please apply by the 25th of April.
New Releases: April 2015
April 2nd (USA)
Weathering the Storm (Harmony Ink Press, 2015)
Weathering the Storm by Caitlin Ricci — (GAY)
Goodreads Summary: “Robbie’s dad has always been hard on Robbie and his brothers, but when their mom dies on Robbie’s sixteenth birthday, he becomes downright abusive. Robbie doesn’t understand why his dad is so mean to him or why his brothers resent him for their mom’s accident, but he desperately tries to hide the bruises. On top of that, after his dad’s horse training jobs run out, he moves them to Colorado to their uncle’s ranch in the mountains.
At Uncle Caleb’s cabin, Robbie meets Sam, a boy whose family also lives on the property. Finally he has a real friend who shares his love of horses, but Sam is black and openly gay. Both traits incur Robbie’s father’s rage. When his dad attacks Robbie in front of Uncle Caleb for standing up for Sam and himself, all of their secrets are thrown out into the open, and Robbie’s life is changed forever.”
April 6th (USA)
The Good Girls by Teresa Mummert (NEW ADULT – L,B)
Goodreads Summary: “My life was meticulously planned and I refused to deviate from that path.
The Good Girls 9 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015)
While my peers were partying, I prepared for the future. Then a tragic event destroyed everything and I learned that while I was looking ahead, I forgot to live in the moment.
Starting over seemed impossible until I met Cara McCarthy, who lived every day like it was her last. She opened my eyes to a world of chaos and disorder. I loved every minute of it. She was also dating Tristan Adams, one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever seen.
The three of us became inseparable. Our parents were oblivious and soon lines became blurred, feelings began to grow, and someone’s heart was going to get broken. I hoped it wasn’t mine.”
April 7th (USA)
GAY YA’S PICK FOR APRIL’S BOOK CLUB
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Balzer + Bray, 2015)
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Goodreads Summary: “Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
April 7th (USA)
None of the Above by I.W Gregorio
None of the Above (Balzer + Bray, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.
What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?
When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She’s a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she’s madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she’s decided that she’s ready to take things to the next level with him.
But Kristin’s first time isn’t the perfect moment she’s planned–something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy “parts.”
Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin’s entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
April 7th (USA)
Lumberjanes, Vol.1 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooken Allen (GRAPHIC NOVEL – Q)
Lumberjanes Vol. 1 (BOOM! Studios, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp… defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons… what’s not to love?! Friendship to the max! Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! Not only is it the second title launching in our new BOOM! Box imprint but LUMBERJANES is one of those punk rock, love-everything-about-it stories that appeals to fans of basically all excellent things. It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls and features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake. And with the talent of acclaimed cartoonist Noelle Stevenson, talented newcomer Grace Ellis writing, and Brooke Allen on art, this is going to be a spectacular series that you won’t want to miss. Tradepaperback, collects Lumberjanes #1-#4.”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / BOOM! Studios
April 9th (USA)
Slaying Isidore’s Dragons by C. Kennedy — (GAY)
Goodreads Summary: “5 Best friends, 4 Vicious brothers, 3 STD tests, 2 Guys in love, 1 Car
Slaying Isidore’s Dragons (Harmony Ink Press, 2015)
bombing & nowhere to run. Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing.
5 Weeks of hell, 4 Attempts on their lives, 3 Law enforcement agencies, 2 Dead high school seniors, 1 Jealous friend & a love that won’t be denied
Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.
5 New family members, 4 BFF’s, 3 Countries, 2 Extraordinary Psychologists, 1 Courageous Mother & a new beginning for two young men in love”
April 16th (USA)
The Glass House by Suki Fleet — (G)
The Glass House (Harmony Ink Press, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “At seventeen, Sasha is a little lost and a lot lonely. He craves friendship and love, but although he’s outwardly confident, his self-destructive tendencies cause problems, and he pushes people away. Making sculptures out of the broken glass he collects is the only thing that brings him any peace, but it’s not enough and everyday he feels himself dying a little more inside. Until he meets Thomas.
Thomas is shy but sure of himself in a way Sasha can’t understand. He makes it his mission to prove to Sasha that he is worthy of love, and doesn’t give up even when Sasha hurts him. Little by little Sasha begins to trust Thomas. And when Sasha is forced to confront his past he realises accepting the love Thomas gives him is the only way to push back the darkness.”
Harmony Ink Press / Amazon
April 21th (USA)
Taking the Stand (Bold Strokes Books, 2015)
Taking the Stand (Crossfire #3) by Juliann Rich — (GAY)
Goodreads Summary: “There’s a time for justice. Then there’s a time for action. And Jonathan Cooper knows exactly what time it is.
It is time to lie. To his parents, who think he’s on a ski trip with Pete Mitchell when he’s really gone to Madison to search for one person willing to testify for his boyfriend, Ian McGuire, who is facing the charge of assault and battery. To Ian’s parents, who have erased him from their lives. Even to himself. Because admitting his feelings for Mason Kellerman isn’t an option.
It is also time to face the truth. That Jonathan may have lied for nothing. That he may be powerless to save Ian from a guilty verdict. That whether he likes it or not, it is time for taking the stand.”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Bold Strokes Books
April 23th (USA)
The Book of Ethan (Harmony Ink Press, 2015)
The Book of Ethan by Russell J. Sanders– (GAY)
Goodreads Summary: “Ethan Harker is the son of The Prophet, the stern, demanding leader of a small Southwestern polygamous community. Ethan has been groomed to one day take his place as the leader of this isolated cult.
But things happen that compel Ethan to flee his stifling community and find his way in the world beyond it. Totally out of his depth, he is sheltered by a remarkable group of people from a loving and accepting church. From them, he learns what family truly means and begins to construct a life free from the restrictions he’s grown up with. Little by little he dismisses the assumptions he was taught about the “evil” people in the outside world.
Amid all this, Ethan realizes something about himself when he meets rapper Kyan, a boy his age. Although he’s been brought up to fear and hate members of Kyan’s race, he can’t help falling in love with Kyan. Fueled by a new understanding and new friends, Ethan gains the strength and courage to conquer the confusing world he has been thrust into.”
—
Previous Months
March 7th (USA)
The Red Sun Rises by Victoria Kinnaird — (GAY)
The Red Sun Rises (Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly Publishing, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “Eren Anderson is a freak among freaks. At 17 years old, he doesn’t fit in with his peers in the tiny town of All Hallows and despite being born into it, he most certainly doesn’t fit in among The Order of Our Mother, the secret nature worshipping society that has harnessed the ability cast spells and believes vampires are not only real, but their deadliest enemies. Eren is turned into a vampire after an attack by the local coven master, but that is the least of his worries…
In a post-Twilight world, “The Red Sun Rises” is a YA novel intended to give vampires their bite back but it should not be read as simply another vampire novel. “The Red Sun Rises” is a story about growing up, responsibility, falling in love, facing your fears and taking fate into your own hands.”
March 8th(USA)
Bad Idea (Queerteen Press, 2015)
Bad Idea by Erica Yang — (LESBIAN, BISEXUAL)
Goodreads Summary: “Riva Corley needs a girlfriend. Not because she wants one, but because her boyfriend, Benton, is pushing her to kiss a girl in front of him. Afraid of losing Benton, Riva agrees to try, but she never expects to find a girl she actually likes and wants to kiss for her own reasons.
Daisy Mejia has stayed closeted for all of high school so far — it seems pointless to come out for a kiss that’s destined to go nowhere. Daisy also has no desire to put on a show for Riva’s boyfriend. But she’s had a crush on Riva Corley forever, and Daisy can’t pass up this chance.
Before long, what starts out as a bad idea begins to look more like a relationship. Soon, Daisy must decide how much trouble she’ll put up with, and Riva has to figure out what it means when she’s falling for another girl.”
March 10th (USA)
Summer Confessions by Lynn Vroman — (LESBIAN, BISEXUAL)
Summer Confessions (Untold Press, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “Macy Diaz has managed childhood friend Jeb Porter’s crush for years. However, his infatuation turns to obsession, even putting a kid in the hospital just for hitting on her. In the past, Macy brushed it off, explained his bizarre acts away. But now she harbors a secret. She’s in love…with Jeb’s sister, Rachel.
By some miracle, Rachel loves Macy back, and despite the small minds polluting their sleepy southern town, they’re sticking together. Unfortunately, making sure Jeb never grows suspicious proves harder every day—until everything falls apart.
As a sick, unstable Jeb starts to threaten all Macy values, she is reminded of what has always been perfectly clear. Macy belongs to him, only him, and he won’t let her go. Ever.
If only Macy could’ve loved Jeb, she wouldn’t have to worry about surviving him now.”
March 25th (USA)
Taking Flight by Siera Maley
Taking Flight by Siera Maley — (LESBIAN)
Goodreads Summary: “Seventeen-year-old Lauren Lennox is a city girl at heart. Being born and raised in Los Angeles, California by her movie star mom and ex-child-star father sounds like an ideal childhood, but with a mother who’s always busy and a father who suffers from alcoholism, Lauren’s already parentless childhood and her resulting rebellious streak are made worse when her mother passes away and she’s left alone with her father, who doesn’t care how little school she attends, how much alcohol she drinks, or how many girls she sleeps with.
When she puts too many toes out of line and a judge deems her father unfit to be her guardian, she’s shipped across the country to the rural mountains of northern Georgia, where a personal friend of the judge lives with his wife and two kids on a farm. David Marshall is a professional counselor known for “reforming unruly youth”, and as part of David’s program, Lauren will be required to work with farm animals, go to church once a week, attend counseling sessions with David, and go to a new school, all for seven months until her graduation. So naturally, her plan is simple: to have her best friend come pick her up two months early on the day she turns eighteen, and to be as difficult as possible in the meantime.
Her plan doesn’t account for David Marshall’s daughter.”
March 25th (USA)
Elves and Escapades (Scholars and Sorcery #2) by Eleanor Beresford — (LESBIAN)
Elves and Escapades (KoR Cubed, 2015)
Goodreads Summary: “In some disgrace after the events of the preceding term, Charley is determined to redeem herself, and resolve her complicated love life. The Christmas holidays change her life forever, but before she finds her feet again, she and her friends are drawn into dark, old magic.
A magical YA school story with a sapphic twist, the second in the Scholars and Sorcery series.”
February 19th (USA)
In Concert by Karin Bishop (2015)
In Concert by Karin Bishop — (TRANS, INTERSEX)
Goodreads Summary: “Christopher Davis tries to be invisible in middle school, but being small and smart, he’s still a target for bullies. Chris just goes through life until Mandy, his one friend, points out that his life would be better as a girl. In fact, Mandy believes that Chris’s true self is female. Chris has never thought he was transgender but medical tests prove that Chris is actually intersex, a genetic variation.
With the support of his mother and Mandy, Chris begins the transition to living as Lauren. This includes going to school as a girl, dealing with classmates and teachers, making new friends, and discovering her truest self.”
Feb 24th (USA)
Powerball by Karin Bishop — (TRANS)
Powerball by Karin Bishop (2015)
Goodreads Summary: “You win some, you lose some, as the saying goes. The trouble is, when is a win truly a win—and when is a win the worst thing that could happen to you?
Jimmy Brewer is a middle school boy. Everyone knows he is small and bullied, but nobody knows he is transgender. Then, with the help of a loving mother, friend, and doctor, Jimmy begins exploring life as the girl she should have been all along.
And then Mrs. Brewer wins the lottery, and everything changes. People who were strangers want to be friends. People who were friends, aren’t. What was impossible is now possible, but it’s also possible that a criminal from the past will destroy the new mother and daughter’s future.”
January 10th (USA)
Pegasi and Prefects (Kor Cubed, 2015)
Pegasi and Prefects (Scholars and Sorcery #1) by Eleanor Beresford — (LESBIAN)
Goodreads Summary: “Charley’s final year at Fernleigh Manor is complicated by a runaway pegasus, unwanted Games Captainship, a dangerous new rival and, most of all, falling head over heels in love with another girl. What is a reluctant Senior Prefect to do?
A magical YA school story with a sapphic twist, the first in the Scholars and Sorcery series of lesbian YA fantasies.”
It’s GayYA’s Fourth Birthday!
For our Fourth anniversary, we are taking a trip back through the best of GayYA’s archives, and celebrating 4 years of excellence from authors, readers, educators, and more by featuring a post a day for the month of April.
In May, we’ll host a month long blogathon, which we are SO EXCITED ABOUT!! 😀
To keep up with which posts we’re featuring as the #BestofGayYA, follow this post!
-
Speaking Into the Frost by Jessica Albrecht
One of my characters recently – and completely unexpectedly – came out to me. I smiled when it happened. I looked up into the trees. It was as though, after all these years, my words were floating back down to me.
And then I freaked out. Because I know that words are powerful – I know it as a writer, I know it as a lesbian. But does that mean I have some sort of obligation to send a message with this character? Do I have to teach a lesson? Do I have to be extra-careful in how I present her, because there’s a risk that she might be read as a stand-in for lesbians everywhere? What added responsibility do I have, if any? What do I owe readers? What do I owe myself? What do I owe my world?
-
All Those Who Default From the Default Will Be Punished (But I Personally Think They Will Be Awesome) by Sarah Rees Brennan
So, let us discuss the most common fake fictional world of all. It doesn’t involve vampires or werewolves. It involves – well, rent a majority of mainstream movies and you can see it. It’s a world where everyone is a certain way – white, straight, able-bodied – and the really important stories are always a guy’s.
There mayyy be people who aren’t white, straight and able-bodied around in this world. I believe they live on the Isles of Issuelandia, and they are very seldom allowed onto the mainland where the adventures are at.
-
“Just Happening to be LGBT” Dismisses a Depth of Character Part 1 & Part 2 by Robin Talley and Lucas J.W. Johnson
Robin:. If a character is LGBT, I as a reader WANT to know about that aspect of the character’s life. I want to know about it now as an adult reader, but I would’ve wanted to know about it a lot more when I was 16.
People don’t just “happen” to be anything. And there’s a certain dismissive tone to the “just happens to be” phrase that I think is generally not intended. Just “happening” to be LGBT is not the same thing as just happening to have green eyes.
Lucas: Exactly. Unlike, as you say, having green eyes, being LGBT hugely affects a person in many many ways.
Becky Albertalli: There’s no question that SIMON is intended to be a feel-good book. I love happy endings, I love makeout scenes, and I’m probably just as much of a hopeless romantic as Simon is. I didn’t want to shy away from the reality of being a gay teenage boy in suburban Atlanta, and the story definitely includes some difficult moments. That being said, I think the joy outweighs the heaviness here. More than anything, I’d love for this book to be another reminder that
gay teens do deserve a happily ever after.
-
Women in Love by Guinevere Zoyana Thomas
our media has taught women to hate women in love. I can’t count how many reviews I’ve read that stated something along the lines of, “The girl was a goody two-shoes/lovesick idiot/no-common-sense wench, and I hated her.” But you flip the review around and you read comments like, “Insert-guy’s-name-here was a complete asshole/stalker/abusive archetype BUT I JUST LOVED HIM.”
Where did I miss the memo that a man is allowed to mistreat you as long as he loves, but a woman who loves is a complete idiot?
Micah Grey of Pantomime is intersex, and he evolved slowly in my mind over a couple of years. I knew I wanted to write about a character that was gender variant. Growing up, many of my favourite reads had aspects of subverting gender roles—such as The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce, which has the protagonist dressing as a boy so she can become a knight, or the Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling, where a baby girl is disguised as a boy to protect her from a mad king—but no one told her, and she’s raised thinking she’s a boy, Tobin. After nine books, the reader doesn’t conclusively know the gender of The Fool in Robin Hobb’s work, and I hope it’s never revealed. So as a result of that interest, and perhaps growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Micah came to life in dribs and drabs. I wrote other things for a while, worried that I wouldn’t be able to do this character justice, but then I decided to try.
-
My Goals as a Trans Writer by Everett Maroon
In my humble opinion, there are enough narratives out there about how awful life as a queer teenager or young adult can be. I’m not espousing a rose-colored lens on the world here, but I don’t feel the need to recreate The Well of Loneliness, either, with all due respect to Radclyffe Hall. I’m interested in young trans women characters who are smart and sassy, young trans men who don’t reinforce macho stereotypes, gender bending characters who won’t be pinned down, and gender nonconforming kids who help illustrate where the boundaries are between expressing one’s gay or lesbian orientation, and one’s gender identity. I don’t need to write the transsexual as serial killer or Ms. Lonelyhearts, especially not for a YA audience.
Diversity is important because it lets us know we’re not alone. So why is LGBTQ fiction lacking diversity? Why should I be expected to relate to white gay men when in reality the issues I struggle with in relation to my queerness also intersects with my gender and race? Why don’t I have a true range of novels to choose from when I want to read about girls like me? Why don’t black trans girls have any?