The habits of Lesbian Readers: A Scientific Study

When I first tried to get published with a mainstream publisher, I was told “lesbians don’t read.” I had a brief moment of confusion, thinking, well what the hell have I been doing all these years? before realizing they were just plain wrong. There’s no way to gauge what lesbians read. I, for one, do [...]

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Claiming Genre

First off, the winner for the Free Book Drawing is (drum roll please) Catherine Wilson, an author in her own right. Congrats, Catherine! And thanks to all who entered. Now, onto a subject that has been captivating me. If you’re like me, you covet well-written novels with lesbian characters. Make it a lesbian protagonist and [...]

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F is for…

FLASH FICTION Wooo! I got two Fs out of this one! So, what is flash fiction? This is a fictional story that has a very low word count. How many words depends on who you’re writing for. Some people say flash fiction is 1,000 words or fewer. Some say it’s 500 words or fewer. I’ve [...]

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Bold Strokes Books Victory Editions: More than Romance

Let me preface what is to follow by saying some of my best friends are romance writers. So, I get it. Lesbians like to read love stories. Hell, if you look at book sales across the board you’ll find a lot of people like to read love stories. Especially women. Whether you like the ones [...]

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Bars, World War II, and LGBT Literature

A reader comes up to a writer in a bar. She gives her the once over, likes what she sees and wants to buy her a drink, but first has to find out if they’re compatible. She steps in close, parts her lips, and utters in a sexy voice, “What’s your genre?” If the writer [...]

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Whole Lot of Blending Going On

Are you a genre reader? Do you love your romances, mysteries, fantasies, etc? I’ve always considered myself a “genre gal.”  I do enjoy many a good literary read, but those are breaks I indulge myself in between my genre reads. So, do you like your genres straight up or shaken and blended? I’ve been busily [...]

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Oh, the Horror of It All!

So, what is horror? No, not horror films. They aren’t connected at all. Horror fiction is what we’re interested in.  What makes a book a candidate for the label and genre of  “Horror?” I get asked the question often at conferences and by other readers and authors. And my answer, mind you, not drawing from [...]

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Fat or Skinny? Does It Matter?

Books. I’m talking about books. Readers, are you fans of the mega-opus book stuffed with over 300 pages or do you like the slimmer books packed with a quick punch storyline? Authors, do you find that your manuscript can’t even fit into a regular size shipping box by the time you’re done or do you [...]

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Know Yourself

I was told very early in my writing career that I needed to figure out who I am as a writer. More importantly, who I want readers to think I am as a writer. What answer do I want to hear when a reader is asked “What do you think of Jove?” Beyond the generic [...]

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Cross-genre Fiction by Sandra Barret

Cross-genre Fiction – Can it satisfy? So, if you’re like me, you read more than one genre. I enjoy science fiction, fantasy, the occasional mystery or horror story, and, yep, romance. So if I like more than one genre, it almost seems logical that I’d like cross-genre fiction. But is that true? Well, yes and [...]

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