Plus, there aren't tons and tons of trans authors out there, just with being such a small percentage of the population, so in order to get representation I'm gonna need some non-trans authors to step up and use their imaginations.
You don't need tons and tons of trans authors. You just need to give opportunities to the ones that are out there now. And they are out there. Cis people are more than willing to step up and tell our stories for us, when what they really need to do is step aside and let us do it.
Cis people using their imaginations to write trans stories is what's created most of the stereotypes and other misinformation we have to fight on a daily basis.
Do you know anyone who is actively publishing highbrow* genre** fiction novels who is trans other than Yoon Ha Lee (who I adore and who is the only person I've ever read who has written a perspective character with my demographics)? Who can I, as an individual, 'give opportunities' to (by buying their novels). I'm not a publisher, agent, marketer, or in any way involved with the book industry, so I cannot be the one to actively scout promising writers. I am not on social media outside of here so I cannot signal boost writers I read. I also don't e-read and like my books with editorial vetting, so I don't read self-published works. Therefore, what's available to me is what has been commercially published and what will be commercially published, and my ability to influence the situation is limited to my personal consumption and word of mouth recommendations.
I knew someone would say 'well just read trans authors' and first of all--sure, I'd love to, if anyone would publish them and they write the sort of fiction that I like, and second of all--I'd like to keep reading my books by cis authors I follow or authors I will follow in the future and see trans characters in them. I just seriously don't think it's too hard to imagine how a trans character you invent might feel; it's not like they have to represent some universal narrative, because /there is not one/. Probably easier in a fantasy/scifi setting because then you can decide how that society thinks about trans people and not feel super worried about nailing the nuances of particular interactions with different establishments in our society.
*super high quality writing; highbrow is a weird word to use here but I'm not sure what else to use. I'm picky, is what I mean.
**by which I mean sci fi and fantasy although obviously the term genre is weird to use and not always quite descriptive
We need way more LGBTQ, POC, and non cis-male characters in fictional works. Not just main characters, but secondary ones, tertiary ones, people just described in the background, even. It normalizes us. And I don't think that this representation should be confined to only certain works because people who are LGBTQ, people of colour, and/or women or otherwise (!!) are everywhere
I admittedly approach works by white cis-male authors (and others) with a very skeptical eye, especially if they write about characters/experiences not their own... but only because so much of the time it is so sloppily done. Authors who spend copious hours researching things like the standard distance between carriage wheels or what a fashionable calling card in the 1870s looks like really should be expected to spend the same if not more time researching these subjects.
...And personal gripe, alien/fantasy people really should be a lot more different from white Anglo-Saxon / North American straight people THEY CAN BE ANYTHING
mainstream fantasy is the literary equivalent of a stagnant pond, these days
in two thousand fucking eighteen if you're making brand new Tolkien-styled fantasy worlds, then you're probably a hack
no requirements for anything remotely approaching science and folk still can't do anything that isn't human with maybe green skin or something, and still have a hard fucking time swallowing a wide variety of genders and sexualities
sorry, gotta let that rant leak out a bit
I straight up don't read fantasy anymore as a result
Miss me? Find me on:
Twitch (I stream most days of the week) Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
Yeah, a lot of gay/lesbian/trans authors I imagine being published aren't really filling the fantasy/sci-fi shelves. You're more likely to find their work in LGBT Fiction, Documentary, or Autobiographical. And Erotica.
I really never dug deep into LGBT authors who made content about gay characters, but that might be because I thought a lot of the stories were too trite, childish or just straight up became porn. The earliest, and admittedly only, books I read that prominently featured gay characters mostly belonged to Mercedes Lackey, and she's in a cishet relationship. I also haven't read those books in over 15 years, so I know I'm definitely out of the loop, and not part of any normal demographic.
I'm sure there are a number of fantasy/sci-fi queer writers and books published, but how many of them are "good"? I think I'm kind of picky as well. Don't just throw two gay characters together (and of course, one of them is an elf...) and then have them make out, please.
speaking of queer writing i've been reading Her Body and Other Parties, a short story collection by Carmen Maria Machado. it's quite good! if you can find it in your local library (or i mean, buy it, but let's be honest with ourselves here) i'd recommend it.
mainstream fantasy is the literary equivalent of a stagnant pond, these days
in two thousand fucking eighteen if you're making brand new Tolkien-styled fantasy worlds, then you're probably a hack
no requirements for anything remotely approaching science and folk still can't do anything that isn't human with maybe green skin or something, and still have a hard fucking time swallowing a wide variety of genders and sexualities
sorry, gotta let that rant leak out a bit
I straight up don't read fantasy anymore as a result
See I’m sorta like this but the result is that I’m just very picky and tend to only read stuff by authors I’ve akready come to trust or who come highly recommended by people I trust
Gone are the days I’d walk into a book store and just browse the sci-fi fantasy section for new authors
As someone who has for most of my life wanted to be at very least an amateur writer (very rarely have the spoons to actually sit and hammer out drafts of anything) I have always struggled with that whole write what you know advice you always get. I think it's good advice but it's also like, who am I potentially serving with my writing then that isn't already getting what they want from some other bland white guy? I know I should read more to try to get outside my own experience more often anyway since it might serve as inspiration, but for the aforementioned struggle with my brain always getting me to ignore my own drive to so much as use my imagination rather than try to write it down.
It feels like writing what I know would be a blank page some days. Ya know?
As someone who has for most of my life wanted to be at very least an amateur writer (very rarely have the spoons to actually sit and hammer out drafts of anything) I have always struggled with that whole write what you know advice you always get. I think it's good advice but it's also like, who am I potentially serving with my writing then that isn't already getting what they want from some other bland white guy? I know I should read more to try to get outside my own experience more often anyway since it might serve as inspiration, but for the aforementioned struggle with my brain always getting me to ignore my own drive to so much as use my imagination rather than try to write it down.
It feels like writing what I know would be a blank page some days. Ya know?
I think an important corollary to the "write what you know" advice that doesn't get the attention it should is "seek knowledge". Like the advice is less meant as "limit yourself to things you already know" and more "be informed about what you write". If you wanna write a political thriller, learn a bunch about politics. If you wanna write an alternate history, learn about the real deal. If you want to be a good writer, read a lot.
mainstream fantasy is the literary equivalent of a stagnant pond, these days
in two thousand fucking eighteen if you're making brand new Tolkien-styled fantasy worlds, then you're probably a hack
no requirements for anything remotely approaching science and folk still can't do anything that isn't human with maybe green skin or something, and still have a hard fucking time swallowing a wide variety of genders and sexualities
sorry, gotta let that rant leak out a bit
I straight up don't read fantasy anymore as a result
I filter really, really hard, because you're right: there is a lot of junk out there. But there are definitely a couple standouts:
NK Jemisin (who also wins for not being scared to have a trans character in her main cast in the stone books)
and um hm
man a lot of the other current authors I'm thinking of are more scifi than fantasy (although there's a lot of blur there), huh...
poking around my bookshelf to jar my memory: other current fantasy that I think is really high quality includes The Goblin Emperor (Katherine Addison), The Magicians (Lev Grossman)(this is one of my favorite books in the universe), ummmmmm China Mieville books, Deathless (Cathrynne Valente; I bet her other books are good too)
and uh...ok I swear there's more. Certainly there's much more if you read short stories, which I don't, really. But of course, nobody is obligated to read a genre they don't like; I certainly don't.
speaking of queer writing i've been reading Her Body and Other Parties, a short story collection by Carmen Maria Machado. it's quite good! if you can find it in your local library (or i mean, buy it, but let's be honest with ourselves here) i'd recommend it.
It Will Be Hard is an interactive graphic novel telling the story of Arthur and Harold - two men, with two polar opposite sexualities, working together toward one mutually fulfilling relationship.
With queer people of colour at its center, the gentle, optimistic, and optionally erotic story touches upon grey asexuality, polyamory, and the importance of communication between partners.
It Will Be Hard is presented as a digital comic with light choose-your-own adventure mechanics the player can use to create their own reading canon. The story stays linear, but the branching moments and memories explored go deeper into the two protagonists’ pasts and characters.
The game also features an optional sexually explicit section, which requires the player’s consent before moving forward, and can be skipped in its entirety.
As someone who has for most of my life wanted to be at very least an amateur writer (very rarely have the spoons to actually sit and hammer out drafts of anything) I have always struggled with that whole write what you know advice you always get. I think it's good advice but it's also like, who am I potentially serving with my writing then that isn't already getting what they want from some other bland white guy? I know I should read more to try to get outside my own experience more often anyway since it might serve as inspiration, but for the aforementioned struggle with my brain always getting me to ignore my own drive to so much as use my imagination rather than try to write it down.
It feels like writing what I know would be a blank page some days. Ya know?
I think an important corollary to the "write what you know" advice that doesn't get the attention it should is "seek knowledge". Like the advice is less meant as "limit yourself to things you already know" and more "be informed about what you write". If you wanna write a political thriller, learn a bunch about politics. If you wanna write an alternate history, learn about the real deal. If you want to be a good writer, read a lot.
Yeah that's a good point and thank you.
I super wish I could make myself do so more often these days, I have always enjoyed reading it's just so hard anymore. I still spend way too much time wasted on the internet and I guess I feel like most passive activities like that are somehow not enough anymore at this late point in my life. It's also a lot of that "gifted kid" baggage too I think, in that things you are talented at and are told repeatedly at a young age that you are special for no longer seem nearly as rewarding to me.
mainstream fantasy is the literary equivalent of a stagnant pond, these days
in two thousand fucking eighteen if you're making brand new Tolkien-styled fantasy worlds, then you're probably a hack
no requirements for anything remotely approaching science and folk still can't do anything that isn't human with maybe green skin or something, and still have a hard fucking time swallowing a wide variety of genders and sexualities
sorry, gotta let that rant leak out a bit
I straight up don't read fantasy anymore as a result
It's more modern fantasy (something like 1920s Chicago mixed with fantasy elements), but Moonshine by Jasmine Gower came out this year and might be worth looking at. I picked it up about a month ago but haven't had a chance to start reading it yet, so I can't really say anything about the writing quality.
About the Author
Jasmine Gower studied English literature at Portland State University. Since then, she has balanced writing with various office jobs which served as inspiration for Daisy’s story in Moonshine. Jasmine was drawn toward writing years before amidst a childhood of fantasy novels and 90s video games and has a passion for exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and disability through the conventions of speculative fiction and fantasy worldbuilding.
“Gower’s effortless depictions of queer characters is refreshing, the world is intriguing, and the climactic brawl is gloriously wild.”
– Publishers Weekly
“Moonshine manages to centre non-romantic bonds throughout the story while still representing queer lovers in a positive light – a difficult but much-appreciated balance. ”
– Queer Books for Teens
“Moonshine is set in a fantasy version of 1920s Chicago & it is full of magic, diversity & action – I absolutely loved it! If you love diverse, queer, action-packed fantasy books, that are full of strong women then this is definitely a book for you.”
– Writing Wolves
speaking of queer writing i've been reading Her Body and Other Parties, a short story collection by Carmen Maria Machado. it's quite good! if you can find it in your local library (or i mean, buy it, but let's be honest with ourselves here) i'd recommend it.
Starfall by Jacqueline Carey is a very cool fantasy novel with a queer non-white NB protagonist and a very inclusive world. The prose is maybe too purple, but it's a rad book.
Starfall by Jacqueline Carey is a very cool fantasy novel with a queer non-white NB protagonist and a very inclusive world. The prose is maybe too purple, but it's a rad book.
QUESTION:
did you read the Kushiel books by Carey and how does this compare/relate to them?
She's one of those authors where the genre categorization is so weird, because she's marketed and shelved as fantasy but at least the Kushiel books are straightup porn. To be clear: I really like them. But I also wouldn't bring them up e.g. to my coworkers when discussing books :P
Starfall by Jacqueline Carey is a very cool fantasy novel with a queer non-white NB protagonist and a very inclusive world. The prose is maybe too purple, but it's a rad book.
QUESTION:
did you read the Kushiel books by Carey and how does this compare/relate to them?
She's one of those authors where the genre categorization is so weird, because she's marketed and shelved as fantasy but at least the Kushiel books are straightup porn. To be clear: I really like them. But I also wouldn't bring them up e.g. to my coworkers when discussing books :P
Starfall by Jacqueline Carey is a very cool fantasy novel with a queer non-white NB protagonist and a very inclusive world. The prose is maybe too purple, but it's a rad book.
QUESTION:
did you read the Kushiel books by Carey and how does this compare/relate to them?
She's one of those authors where the genre categorization is so weird, because she's marketed and shelved as fantasy but at least the Kushiel books are straightup porn. To be clear: I really like them. But I also wouldn't bring them up e.g. to my coworkers when discussing books :P
Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy less sex. Very little sex.
God damn I love the Kushiel books though.
ugh I know; they're so good!
or...ok they are not good, per se, but they are great to read and every scene between Phedre and, hm, Melisande is her name, right? is just like...deadly
Plus, there aren't tons and tons of trans authors out there, just with being such a small percentage of the population, so in order to get representation I'm gonna need some non-trans authors to step up and use their imaginations.
You don't need tons and tons of trans authors. You just need to give opportunities to the ones that are out there now. And they are out there. Cis people are more than willing to step up and tell our stories for us, when what they really need to do is step aside and let us do it.
Cis people using their imaginations to write trans stories is what's created most of the stereotypes and other misinformation we have to fight on a daily basis.
Do you know anyone who is actively publishing highbrow* genre** fiction novels who is trans
Off the top of my head can think of JY Yang, who does amazing silkpunk fantasy/SF set in a Singapore influenced setting with multiple gender diverse characters, and Bogi Takacs who does incredible weird SF with plenty of neurodiverse and gender diverse characters.
Charlie Jane Anders also does really great SF and Fantasy stuff.
I generally find new authors that I like by reading a lot of short fiction anthologies like Lightspeed magazine (which appears to make an effort to include a diverse range of authors). It's a great way to get a sampler of new authors and find out if you are into their work without having to commit to a whole novel. And if one isn't to your liking you can just skip to the next story!
There is also a set of anthologies designed to bring diverse perspectives to genre fiction known as Women Destroy SF/Fantasy/Horror, Queers Destroy and POC Destroy (People with Disabilities is coming out this year as well). I've personally found the quality to be really high, they're definitely worth checking out.
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Hi I'm Vee!Formerly VH; She/Her; Is an E X P E R I E N C ERegistered Userregular
Plus, there aren't tons and tons of trans authors out there, just with being such a small percentage of the population, so in order to get representation I'm gonna need some non-trans authors to step up and use their imaginations.
You don't need tons and tons of trans authors. You just need to give opportunities to the ones that are out there now. And they are out there. Cis people are more than willing to step up and tell our stories for us, when what they really need to do is step aside and let us do it.
Cis people using their imaginations to write trans stories is what's created most of the stereotypes and other misinformation we have to fight on a daily basis.
Do you know anyone who is actively publishing highbrow* genre** fiction novels who is trans
Off the top of my head can think of JY Yang, who does amazing silkpunk fantasy/SF set in a Singapore influenced setting with multiple gender diverse characters, and Bogi Takacs who does incredible weird SF with plenty of neurodiverse and gender diverse characters.
Charlie Jane Anders also does really great SF and Fantasy stuff.
I generally find new authors that I like by reading a lot of short fiction anthologies like Lightspeed magazine (which appears to make an effort to include a diverse range of authors). It's a great way to get a sampler of new authors and find out if you are into their work without having to commit to a whole novel. And if one isn't to your liking you can just skip to the next story!
There is also a set of anthologies designed to bring diverse perspectives to genre fiction known as Women Destroy SF/Fantasy/Horror, Queers Destroy and POC Destroy (People with Disabilities is coming out this year as well). I've personally found the quality to be really high, they're definitely worth checking out.
Ok I bought one of the JY Yang books; looks good--thanks for the rec!
And yes, as I mentioned above, I know there's way more diversity in short fiction, but I don't read short stories, usually, and honestly I don't intend to start*. I've seen Bogi Takacs's twitter but e doesn't have a novel out, as far as I can tell, and I'm looking for novel-length work.
Oh hm All The Birds In The Sky I've seen around but I can't tell if I'd like it; didn't realize the author was trans. I need to poke through it in a bookstore I think.
*I'm really not sure why the format doesn't work for me; I've tried to figure this out for a long time; I have guesses but they're irrelevant to the topic at hand.
I don't read short stories, usually, and honestly I don't intend to start.
Ah right fair enough, if I discover or think of any more authors with novels out that suit the criteria I will make sure to post a recommendation to this thread.
Starfall by Jacqueline Carey is a very cool fantasy novel with a queer non-white NB protagonist and a very inclusive world. The prose is maybe too purple, but it's a rad book.
QUESTION:
did you read the Kushiel books by Carey and how does this compare/relate to them?
She's one of those authors where the genre categorization is so weird, because she's marketed and shelved as fantasy but at least the Kushiel books are straightup porn. To be clear: I really like them. But I also wouldn't bring them up e.g. to my coworkers when discussing books :P
Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy less sex. Very little sex.
God damn I love the Kushiel books though.
ugh I know; they're so good!
or...ok they are not good, per se, but they are great to read and every scene between Phedre and, hm, Melisande is her name, right? is just like...deadly
Those books zeroed in on exactly what they wanted to be, and then went for it full-throttle, and I admired that enough to enjoy the hell out of them. But yeah, I definitely see how most readers couldn't get through a chapter of her writing style without feeling exhausted by it, just like I recognize that most eaters couldn't handle like a block of marshmallow fudge the size of their head and still want more.
I've got to stop thinking about those books and ludicrously oversized fudge blocks at the same time, or I'm going to wind up with a new kink that I don't need.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
edited August 2018
On the subject of queer characters being written by straight authors, yeah more queer creators is what's really needed and right now there are not enough, and the ones there are probably don't get enough opportunities. But I feel like the acceptance and promotion of real actual queer people as creators will come about more quickly if there is more representation of queer characters, and by necessity that means (for right now) queer characters written by straight authors. Doesn't mean you can't shit on them for screwing it up, of course.
Like Todd in Bojack Horseman is the only properly decent bit of asexual representation I've ever seen in popular media. Maybe some of the writers on that show are asexual and if so that's great! But if they're not I really don't mind because I get to see an awesome ace character presented well, which means more people will know about asexuality and more aces might feel comfortable talking and writing about their whole deal.
Brovid Hasselsmof on
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Erin The RedThe Name's Erin! Woman, Podcaster, Dungeon Master, IT nerd, Parent, Trans. AMABaton Rouge, LARegistered Userregular
Christine printed pictures out! No longer do I have pictures of beardy me up there! Also she printed out pictures of my other partners so I can see all their cute faces and I have ones of the kiddos and ugh it just makes my heart melt.
I never knew unlikeable characters to be a selling point for a book.
Seemed to work for Girl on a Train
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Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
At least a good half of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire qualify as well. Those books are full of people you love to hate.
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
I have a bunch of sci-fi writing prompts and half-finished ideas in a folder somewhere. I would never have thought to include genderfluid characters before though, since writing (amongst other hobbies) has been about escapism for me my whole life.
I always seem to write female protagonists though.
Maybe someday I could make some up and put them in without it being too painful.
Posts
Do you know anyone who is actively publishing highbrow* genre** fiction novels who is trans other than Yoon Ha Lee (who I adore and who is the only person I've ever read who has written a perspective character with my demographics)? Who can I, as an individual, 'give opportunities' to (by buying their novels). I'm not a publisher, agent, marketer, or in any way involved with the book industry, so I cannot be the one to actively scout promising writers. I am not on social media outside of here so I cannot signal boost writers I read. I also don't e-read and like my books with editorial vetting, so I don't read self-published works. Therefore, what's available to me is what has been commercially published and what will be commercially published, and my ability to influence the situation is limited to my personal consumption and word of mouth recommendations.
I knew someone would say 'well just read trans authors' and first of all--sure, I'd love to, if anyone would publish them and they write the sort of fiction that I like, and second of all--I'd like to keep reading my books by cis authors I follow or authors I will follow in the future and see trans characters in them. I just seriously don't think it's too hard to imagine how a trans character you invent might feel; it's not like they have to represent some universal narrative, because /there is not one/. Probably easier in a fantasy/scifi setting because then you can decide how that society thinks about trans people and not feel super worried about nailing the nuances of particular interactions with different establishments in our society.
*super high quality writing; highbrow is a weird word to use here but I'm not sure what else to use. I'm picky, is what I mean.
**by which I mean sci fi and fantasy although obviously the term genre is weird to use and not always quite descriptive
I admittedly approach works by white cis-male authors (and others) with a very skeptical eye, especially if they write about characters/experiences not their own... but only because so much of the time it is so sloppily done. Authors who spend copious hours researching things like the standard distance between carriage wheels or what a fashionable calling card in the 1870s looks like really should be expected to spend the same if not more time researching these subjects.
...And personal gripe, alien/fantasy people really should be a lot more different from white Anglo-Saxon / North American straight people THEY CAN BE ANYTHING
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
in two thousand fucking eighteen if you're making brand new Tolkien-styled fantasy worlds, then you're probably a hack
no requirements for anything remotely approaching science and folk still can't do anything that isn't human with maybe green skin or something, and still have a hard fucking time swallowing a wide variety of genders and sexualities
sorry, gotta let that rant leak out a bit
I straight up don't read fantasy anymore as a result
Twitch (I stream most days of the week)
Twitter (mean leftist discourse)
I really never dug deep into LGBT authors who made content about gay characters, but that might be because I thought a lot of the stories were too trite, childish or just straight up became porn. The earliest, and admittedly only, books I read that prominently featured gay characters mostly belonged to Mercedes Lackey, and she's in a cishet relationship. I also haven't read those books in over 15 years, so I know I'm definitely out of the loop, and not part of any normal demographic.
I'm sure there are a number of fantasy/sci-fi queer writers and books published, but how many of them are "good"? I think I'm kind of picky as well. Don't just throw two gay characters together (and of course, one of them is an elf...) and then have them make out, please.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Steam: TheArcadeBear
https://granta.com/The-Husband-Stitch/ is the first story in the collection, and quite the tone setter
https://carmenmariamachado.com/fiction/
See I’m sorta like this but the result is that I’m just very picky and tend to only read stuff by authors I’ve akready come to trust or who come highly recommended by people I trust
Gone are the days I’d walk into a book store and just browse the sci-fi fantasy section for new authors
It feels like writing what I know would be a blank page some days. Ya know?
I think an important corollary to the "write what you know" advice that doesn't get the attention it should is "seek knowledge". Like the advice is less meant as "limit yourself to things you already know" and more "be informed about what you write". If you wanna write a political thriller, learn a bunch about politics. If you wanna write an alternate history, learn about the real deal. If you want to be a good writer, read a lot.
I filter really, really hard, because you're right: there is a lot of junk out there. But there are definitely a couple standouts:
NK Jemisin (who also wins for not being scared to have a trans character in her main cast in the stone books)
and um hm
man a lot of the other current authors I'm thinking of are more scifi than fantasy (although there's a lot of blur there), huh...
poking around my bookshelf to jar my memory: other current fantasy that I think is really high quality includes The Goblin Emperor (Katherine Addison), The Magicians (Lev Grossman)(this is one of my favorite books in the universe), ummmmmm China Mieville books, Deathless (Cathrynne Valente; I bet her other books are good too)
and uh...ok I swear there's more. Certainly there's much more if you read short stories, which I don't, really. But of course, nobody is obligated to read a genre they don't like; I certainly don't.
Friend of mine just published his semi-interactive graphic novel about two queer POC and I absolutely adore it. https://wavingpeople.itch.io/it-will-be-hard
I super wish I could make myself do so more often these days, I have always enjoyed reading it's just so hard anymore. I still spend way too much time wasted on the internet and I guess I feel like most passive activities like that are somehow not enough anymore at this late point in my life. It's also a lot of that "gifted kid" baggage too I think, in that things you are talented at and are told repeatedly at a young age that you are special for no longer seem nearly as rewarding to me.
You are about the 22346446th person to point that our, yes
i commiserate!!!
I personally have made about 20 jokes to him about it and he loves/hates them all
It's more modern fantasy (something like 1920s Chicago mixed with fantasy elements), but Moonshine by Jasmine Gower came out this year and might be worth looking at. I picked it up about a month ago but haven't had a chance to start reading it yet, so I can't really say anything about the writing quality.
About the Author
Jasmine Gower studied English literature at Portland State University. Since then, she has balanced writing with various office jobs which served as inspiration for Daisy’s story in Moonshine. Jasmine was drawn toward writing years before amidst a childhood of fantasy novels and 90s video games and has a passion for exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and disability through the conventions of speculative fiction and fantasy worldbuilding.
“Gower’s effortless depictions of queer characters is refreshing, the world is intriguing, and the climactic brawl is gloriously wild.”
– Publishers Weekly
“Moonshine manages to centre non-romantic bonds throughout the story while still representing queer lovers in a positive light – a difficult but much-appreciated balance. ”
– Queer Books for Teens
“Moonshine is set in a fantasy version of 1920s Chicago & it is full of magic, diversity & action – I absolutely loved it! If you love diverse, queer, action-packed fantasy books, that are full of strong women then this is definitely a book for you.”
– Writing Wolves
Steam: TheArcadeBear
A lot of people seem to like that about Joe Abercrombie's books.
I am not qualified at all to interpret the thematic meaning of those ribbons
that's why you need to find yourself a nice skeleton to bone
QUESTION:
did you read the Kushiel books by Carey and how does this compare/relate to them?
She's one of those authors where the genre categorization is so weird, because she's marketed and shelved as fantasy but at least the Kushiel books are straightup porn. To be clear: I really like them. But I also wouldn't bring them up e.g. to my coworkers when discussing books :P
Waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy less sex. Very little sex.
God damn I love the Kushiel books though.
ugh I know; they're so good!
or...ok they are not good, per se, but they are great to read and every scene between Phedre and, hm, Melisande is her name, right? is just like...deadly
Off the top of my head can think of JY Yang, who does amazing silkpunk fantasy/SF set in a Singapore influenced setting with multiple gender diverse characters, and Bogi Takacs who does incredible weird SF with plenty of neurodiverse and gender diverse characters.
Charlie Jane Anders also does really great SF and Fantasy stuff.
I generally find new authors that I like by reading a lot of short fiction anthologies like Lightspeed magazine (which appears to make an effort to include a diverse range of authors). It's a great way to get a sampler of new authors and find out if you are into their work without having to commit to a whole novel. And if one isn't to your liking you can just skip to the next story!
There is also a set of anthologies designed to bring diverse perspectives to genre fiction known as Women Destroy SF/Fantasy/Horror, Queers Destroy and POC Destroy (People with Disabilities is coming out this year as well). I've personally found the quality to be really high, they're definitely worth checking out.
Ok I bought one of the JY Yang books; looks good--thanks for the rec!
And yes, as I mentioned above, I know there's way more diversity in short fiction, but I don't read short stories, usually, and honestly I don't intend to start*. I've seen Bogi Takacs's twitter but e doesn't have a novel out, as far as I can tell, and I'm looking for novel-length work.
Oh hm All The Birds In The Sky I've seen around but I can't tell if I'd like it; didn't realize the author was trans. I need to poke through it in a bookstore I think.
*I'm really not sure why the format doesn't work for me; I've tried to figure this out for a long time; I have guesses but they're irrelevant to the topic at hand.
Ah right fair enough, if I discover or think of any more authors with novels out that suit the criteria I will make sure to post a recommendation to this thread.
Those books zeroed in on exactly what they wanted to be, and then went for it full-throttle, and I admired that enough to enjoy the hell out of them. But yeah, I definitely see how most readers couldn't get through a chapter of her writing style without feeling exhausted by it, just like I recognize that most eaters couldn't handle like a block of marshmallow fudge the size of their head and still want more.
I've got to stop thinking about those books and ludicrously oversized fudge blocks at the same time, or I'm going to wind up with a new kink that I don't need.
Like Todd in Bojack Horseman is the only properly decent bit of asexual representation I've ever seen in popular media. Maybe some of the writers on that show are asexual and if so that's great! But if they're not I really don't mind because I get to see an awesome ace character presented well, which means more people will know about asexuality and more aces might feel comfortable talking and writing about their whole deal.
Seemed to work for Girl on a Train
I always seem to write female protagonists though.
Maybe someday I could make some up and put them in without it being too painful.