Hello! Welcome to Day 17. Since we're almost at the end of our journey, let's take a moment to talk about the elephant in the room.
Some of you may have noticed that I generally tell tales with a specific perspective. Mostly women. Mostly fluffy. Many who have walked the miles I've walked or learned the lessons I have learned.
Sometimes, if I get lucky, I get to learn lessons when I get to know the characters who entrust me with their story.
I feel these stories are important because for the most part, fluffy women have to fight for the spotlight. The idea that these women can be the leading ladies of their own stories, particularly romance, still feels like fantasy fulfillment to some.
To those detractors I say don't discount the value of fantasy fulfillment. I wrote about a fluffy chick being in a music video with a sexy rock star three years before you actually saw one on Youtube.
It's a lane I find as comfortable as it is wide, with plenty of stories left to tell. I'm currently on my 23rd one, with five more still in the chamber.
They're not ALL fluffy chicks, and I've been able to tell the stories of countless other people in subplots. But for the person in the driver's seat, it's usually a skin I know very well. The relationship between me and my main protagonist is just that intimate.
This might suggest that I don't feel as comfortable writing more diverse characters in leading roles, but the simple truth is these aren't usually my stories to tell. Why take up space when an author who actually has lived that perspective can lead the charge? And just like I side-eye any skinny woman who decides to write a fat story (looking at you Danielle,) I don't want to tread on any toes getting it wrong. That's why my diverse cast of characters are usually costars and subplots. These are the rich and colorful stories fill in the world as a bigger picture, because a white-washed world full of heteros who only have one single-minded perspective is boring and lackluster, whether in reality or within the pages of a book.
However, when it comes to writing the books where those characters star, I want a writer who has lived in that skin to tell the tale.
It just feels richer and more authentic to me.
This is why I was really reluctant to write MASKED IN THE MUSIC, which happens to star a hot gay man.
In case it's not clear, I'm none of those things.
I know straight women write M/M romance and consume M/M romance, but to me... it just didn't feel like my story to tell. "You write it," I told the bestie over and over again when he'd encourage me to flex my muscle and live within another skin.
(Personally I think he was tired of reading all the straight sex in my books.)
So, I came about it quite reluctantly, despite having gay characters in every single one of my novels.
I don't do this for the sake of a trope, by the way. I was criticized once for writing a story with a straight woman/gay man best friend, told it was "cliche" thanks to stories like Will and Grace and My Best Friend's Wedding, etc.
But to me, the LGBTQ+ community isn't a cliche that's one and done just because a handful of stories happened to include these characters. Their inclusion isn't a some plot point or a gimmick or a gimme. It's a beautiful reality. They color in our world. At least they always have for me since my best friend came out as a gay man when we were 18 years old.
I've been lucky enough to know many LGBTQ+ folk, many of whom gave me the love and acceptance I didn't always have growing up. I was a weird overweight outcast who never fit into any norms. Gay folks accepted me whereas the straights always wanted to change me to fit into a more acceptable mold.
This was truest of those who were supposed to show unconditional love. Needless to say, there were conditions all over the place.
Sometimes going to gay bars felt more like going to church than going to actual church did. There was no judgment. I wasn't expected to "conform" in order to be accepted. If a lesbian asked me to dance, and they did, I never felt pressured to acclimate. I could still say no and be accepted and embraced anyway. (NOT always my experience with straight men.)
The only rule? Be chill to each other. Be good to each other.
The world is cruel enough.
It adds a little color and love to every story I know to tell. They are friends and family who were often there for me when nobody else was. I want them in my world, both in RL and on the page.
I just wasn't sure I could actually write their story.
In fact, I was terrified. That's a big ask.
Enter: Rudy Renfo.
I've talked before about the wonderful phenomenon where characters wedge their way into my stories, taking the wheel and going wherever they damn well want to go. And I give them that leeway because I truly enjoy watching them take shape.
I have an idea of who they are when I sit down to write. I know how it'll start and end. I have a good idea of what I'm going to put them through. But it's a flat, one-dimensional doodle of what they eventually become. As we walk together through the narrative, they flesh out and become more real to me. Eventually, I fall deeply in love with each and every one, and for a variety of different reasons.
Rudy was my inner gay man, and he had a specific story to tell. He was so brave that it inspired me to be a little braver, too. He, like the bestie, trusted me to tell this story as he comes to terms with who he is and what kind of man he wants to be. And so I did. I pulled no punches. I jumped into every situation that terrified me, letting Rudy (mostly) lead the way.
And I like to think I got more right than I got wrong.
Either way, it's a deeply personal story... an homage, if you will... a love letter to all the wonderful friends I've been so blessed to know for the past few decades.
I hope I did you proud. If not, I hope you'll forgive me while I learn from any mistakes.
Today enjoy MASKED IN THE MUSIC. It may not be a book for everyone, but it definitely earned its place on this Mevember giveaway.
When a young musician takes his first gig with a hard-partying band in Los Angeles, forbidden sparks fly with the sexy lead singer. It is an attraction they must both fight, especially since their band also includes a violent homophobe just itching for a reason to snap.
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