Read any good LGBT lit lately?

Kim Fierce · May 21, 2012

Well, I just learned recently about a small GLBT publishing company called JMS Books LLC. They have different genres, including romance to erotica. They also have an imprint called Queerteen Press, and that is who has accepted my own YA novel for publication! But I think it is worth checking out. They are fairly new, started up in 2010, and have books available in both paperback and e-format. So far I've just gotten a couple small free downloads, but I really want to get some of the longer books and see how they are!

Todd Young · May 21, 2012

The best gay writer I've found recently is Alan Hollinghurst. He won the Booker Prize for The Line of Beauty. His books are fairly dense, but definitely worth the effort. Along with The Line of Beauty, I'd recommend The Spell and The Folding Star.

Raventongue · May 21, 2012

Kim Fierce said:
Well, I just learned recently about a small GLBT publishing company called JMS Books LLC. They have different genres, including romance to erotica. They also have an imprint called Queerteen Press, and that is who has accepted my own YA novel for publication! But I think it is worth checking out. They are fairly new, started up in 2010, and have books available in both paperback and e-format. So far I've just gotten a couple small free downloads, but I really want to get some of the longer books and see how they are!

Awesooome. Always nice to find a new source of books.

JohnnyGottaKeyboard · May 21, 2012

Gale Haut said:
You read the piece of trash I wrote, which is saying something for your tolerance levels.

Fish much? :e2poke:

Raventongue said:
No, we're not limiting the conversation to YA. I merely mean that a lot of the recent uptick in available GLBT lit is YA.

I think you're right and while I applaude it as a welcome departure to the old-fashioned default that most LGBT literature is a half-step above porn...I wonder what is fueling it.
My publisher just re-released a series of vintage gay YA which appears to be doing quite well (better than my book anyway

!).

Kim Fierce said:
Well, I just learned recently about a small GLBT publishing company called JMS Books LLC. They have different genres, including romance to erotica. They also have an imprint called Queerteen Press, and that is who has accepted my own YA novel for publication!

There are several JMSers on AWWC--including me (actually my novel is also a Queerteen Press).

Filigree · May 23, 2012

In adult fantasy, Lynn Flewelling has CASKET OF SOULS out this month, the next in her 'Nightrunner' series featuring a pair of gay male lovers solving crimes and fighting evil.

Melissa Scott's (and the late Lisa Barnett's) POINT OF HOPES and POINT OF DREAMS remain some of my favorite fantasy novels in the sub-genre. Two bi male main characters in a subtle romance,within a matriarchal late-Renaissance world based on a bizarre astrology. Hopefully, soon back in print with a sequel.

Unimportant · May 25, 2012

And, to give equal time to the ladies: There is quite a lot of lesbian fiction being published now by a handful of small lesfic presses -- Bella, Bold Strokes Books, Regal Crest, Bywater, Intaglio, etc. The vast majority of it is romance, romance-erotica, or romance with a fantasy/mystery/thriller subplot. If you're not into reading romance, then you really need to hunt and pick carefully.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, the Bold Strokes books are heavy on the gratuitous sex and quite predictable cookie-cutter romance; Bella books are largely romance and often have a lot of typos in them; Regal Crest books don't seem to get any structural edits so the books are often rambling or very overwritten. The Bywater books I've read have been quite good.

But overall I think I tend to go by author rather than publisher. Georgia Beers is probably (IMO) the best romance writer. I'm a fantasy/SF fan and I like strong characters and well-researched/designed settings with internal consistence, so the authors I look for are L-J Baker and Jane Fletcher. For comedy, I like Joan Opyr.

With major presses, it's harder to find lesbian fantasy. Manda Scott's Boudica (sp?) trilogy (or maybe tetrology? can't remember) has gay, lesbian, and bi characters, and is excellent. Mary Gentle's "The Golden Witchbreed" is also very good and features lesbian characters. Joanna Russ's "The Female Man" is SF that has about a zillion layers to it, so while it's not a 'fun, easy' read it's very thought provoking, and was about a century ahead of its time. Jay Lake's "Green" features a lesbian/bi protagonist and a really well-drawn setting. Nicola Griffith's older SF novels are all lesbian-focused and very good, and her more recent thrillers (the series featuring the lesbian character Aud) are superb. Well, actually anything Griffith writes is superb. I'd happily read her laundry list.

Dani · May 28, 2012

If you want free reading and a lot of recs, I can reccomend the-slash-pile.livejournal.com. You can search by tags which include ratings PG-13 etc. I'd recommend Ritaxis recs if you can find the tag rec'd by Ritaxis. She reads a lot of lit type stories.

On Goodreads there's a YA and Queerreaders forum, both which have tons of recs, esp ones that are suitable (meaning no graphic sex) for younger audiences.

I stopped reading gay lit in the early 2000's because yeah, as mentioned above, the dead homo trope, the AIDS story line, the coming out theme, the loss loss loss and more loss. I've switched to gay romance and at least there they recognize that we can have happy endings. I'M LOOKING AT YOU RUSSEL T DAVIES >>8(

As for more recs, there's a lit thread on afterelton.com where people post what they've been reading.

If you want just an awesome gay character, I can't recommend Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels where the main sidekick (he's not really a sidekick, more of a second protag) is Milo Sturgis --seriously the best gay character I can even think of. A very realistic character with such beautiful depth.

Yeah lol if that's not enough places, lemme know, I have a few others tucked up my sleeve somewhere. I'd have to search them out though.

Kitty Pryde · Jun 3, 2012

I've been reading Wandering Son (Vol. 2), a manga about "a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy". They are about 11 years old, and after school they go out places together dressing and acting like their preferred gender. They have an adult mentor that is identified as transgender, but the kids are not identified that way.

The kids are sweet and cute, but I'm finding reading it really confusing (I have read manga before and I do know that you read it backwards, but it's still super hard to follow). It doesn't help that both protagonists are small, cute, androgenously attired short-haired children that I cannot tell apart. In conclusion, I'm happy that it exists but confused by its nonsensical ways.

I've got four gay YA books from the library to read now! I will report back soon!

Nonny · Jun 11, 2012

Lessee.

GBLT fiction that I have read recently-ish or not seen brought up in the conversation yet:

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer. It's YA but it doesn't really feel like it. It feels more like, hm, Mercedes Lackey whose books are adult but also are read by a lot of teenagers because they have themes that are relevant. Persephone and Hades, where Hades is actually a woman. It's awesome. (Her other stuff is great, too, and she has some more adult work under her other pen name Elora Bishop. She's self-pub, but don't let that put you off; her work is better than a lot of NY titles I've read lately.)

Black Blade Blues and sequels by J.A. Pitts. Lesbian protagonist in a UF setting. I will note that the first book has the heroine dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia, which was somewhat triggering for me, but the second book, she had gotten over most of it.

The Bone Palace (book 2 in the series but it stands alone) by Amanda Downum has a MTF trans secondary character, and is one of the better portrayals I've seen.

Kitty Pryde · Jun 11, 2012

Nonny said:
Black Blade Blues and sequels by J.A. Pitts. Lesbian protagonist in a UF setting. I will note that the first book has the heroine dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia, which was somewhat triggering for me, but the second book, she had gotten over most of it.

I found BBB to be significantly anti-feminist, and an inaccurate/offensive portrayal of lesbians. I wanted to like it but I was unable to.

Ya'll were right about Witch Eyes. Probably if I were 14 I would like it. I just read Tessa Masterson Will Go To Prom, a great YA with a lesbian protag. It's based on that gal in the news who wanted to take her girlfriend to prom, so the school canceled prom and held a secret prom without her. Also it has ersatz Lady Gaga in it. Highly recommend. It could easily have veered into issue book territory but it didn't.

MacAllister · Jun 11, 2012

Yeah, I'm with KittyPryde regarding BBB. I threw it against a wall for being incredibly and profoundly offensive and stereotyping, before getting halfway through. It read to me like a straight guy writing out his lesbian fetish fantasies, but trying to be kinda, sorta PC about it. I'd rate it an F- for anything approaching a reasonable or accurate representation of lesbians, as I found it offensive, exploitative, appropriative, and potentially damaging. I won't touch anything else J.A. Pitts writes, as a result of the nasty taste that book left on my reading palate and I'd cross the lobby to avoid the author at a con.

So I'd second Nonny's warning that it's not going to be for everyone.

Deleted member 42 · Jun 11, 2012

I also do not recommend Black Blade Blues, not only as ringing chimes on all sorts of offensive stereotypes and tropes, but the prose was unbelievably mind-numbingly awful.

Unimportant · Jun 11, 2012

Medievalist said:
I also do not recommend Black Blade Blues, not only as ringing chimes on all sorts of offensive stereotypes and tropes, but the prose was unbelievably mind-numbingly awful.

I've not read BBB, but that's pretty much how I feel about Mercedes Lackey's books.

savagelilies · Jun 11, 2012

ASH by Malinda Lo is a lesbian YA fantasy retelling of Cinerella. It's a short book, but it's so lovely; the prose and the story both are beautiful. That book haunted me long after I closed it.

ASH was Lo's debut, and she's since come out with a prequel to it called HUNTRESS, which I still enjoyed, though less so than ASH. It's more of an adventure/quest story to save the world than the sort of quiet coming-of-age story (though not coming out story, since it's not an issue novel) that was ASH.

Nonny · Jun 11, 2012

It's been awhile since I read BBB; I thought the second developed the characters more and was in general less stereotypical. The first book relied a lot more on the external plot than the characters. I didn't really get the lesbian fetish impression myself. I'm curious as to where other people saw that?

crunchyblanket · Jun 23, 2012

Under The Poppy by Kathe Koja...really a bit of a departure for me, since it's more or less a historical novel and I rarely ready those. It's set in a brothel in late 19th century Belgium (I think!) Very good indeed.

Filigree · Jun 23, 2012

Seconding the rec for Amanda Downum's THE BONE PALACE. Great characters and plot, and the transgender character was a stunning and positive portrayal.

Kim Fierce · Jun 28, 2012

Unimportant said:
Bella books are largely romance and often have a lot of typos in them; .

Thanks for the heads-up! Bella rejected one of my books because it was YA but told me to keep them in mind for the future. I haven't seen what their books are like, but that sounds like a good warning sign lol.

Contented Reader · Jun 28, 2012

I really love Kelley Eskridge's Solitaire. It's good science fiction with a good lesbian love story inside of it. Jackal gets sentenced to a new kind of prison sentence- prison time served in virtual reality, so she spends years in isolation inside her brain, then is released after just a few months of real time. The isolation changes her profoundly. Can she rebuild her life? Can she build a new relationship with Snow despite the changes?

Eskridge is a writer who really knows how to put words in a sentence.

Unimportant · Jun 28, 2012

Ooh, yes, I'll second the recco for Solitaire. I like Eskridge's storytelling.

Kim Fierce · Jun 28, 2012

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:
There are several JMSers on AWWC--including me (actually my novel is also a Queerteen Press).

Oh, cool! I didn't see this post earlier!

Yeasayer · Jun 28, 2012

I recently read What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson. It was published in 2008 and somehow I missed it. It's about two teenage brothers - one gay, one straight - coming of age in the contemporary South. I can't recommend it enough. The gay brother reminded me so much of myself at sixteen years old. Highly recommended.

Kitty Pryde · Aug 23, 2012

I just read The Difference Between You and Me, which was an excellent YA. Butchy social justice warrior caught up in a tryst with closeted popularity queen. Antics ensue. I liked this one because the characters all felt so real and not at all stereotypical.

And I am reading The Letter Q, which is really amazing. It's all lgbt authors writing letters to themselves as kids. Loving it so far. It's got most of my favorite queer authors, except Alison Bechdel and Maurice Sendak. Highly recommend! It would make an awesome present for your favorite queer teenager.

Just started Havemercy, which is supposedly about gay guys who ride magical clockwork dragons. So far it's been short on both gays and robot dragons, but I remain optimistic.

mayqueen · Aug 30, 2012

I finally got around to reading Sarah Waters's Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith pretty much back to back. I enjoyed them. I think I enjoyed Fingersmith slightly more because it read more like a love story and less like the Encyclopedia of Victorian-Era Lesbian Sex. I certainly appreciated her commitment to historical details. It's weird to me to find myself being so critical, but I guess I felt like some of the sex scenes in Tipping the Velvet were a little exaggerated. (I do this with every sex scene I read: does this feel like sex people actually have?) In both novels, I really enjoyed the relationships developed and her attention to developing QUILTBAG relationships in an era when we were just starting to scientifically define "heterosexual" and its so-called inverse, "homosexual".

Kim Fierce · Sep 4, 2012

All of these suggestions sound cool!

Read any good LGBT lit lately?

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