trans

Why Unicorns?

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Hey all!

I’m doing a couple of stops on my blog dedicated to Love Rampage, which is being released on the 28th of January.

So some of you may be wondering: Why Unicorns?

First of all: I love unicorns

Second of all: my friend Laurence also loves unicorns, and he told me to write a story about a girl who was obsessed with unicorns. I have an inkling he might have been joking, but I have been known to write on ridiculous prompts before. I’ve dedicated this story to him, mostly because it was his prompt that got me writing this.

Before you ask: no, unicorn is not some sort of euphemism for something else. I really do mean that there is an actual unicorn in this story, and when I say “rampage,” I really do mean that literally.

Unicorns are magical creatures of myth that have been depicted by humans since antiquity. Most people think of unicorns as beings of purity, uncorrupted. They are usually depicted as having an affinity for virgins. In some tales, they can purify water or heal people with their powers.

I wanted to use the symbol of the unicorn to represent the purity of Maira’s love for Carol. Her worry that Carol will not love her because she is trans is something that she must overcome. She has to learn that her love is just as valid as anyone else’s.

Her love is pure, but I am not trying to suggest that either of these girls must be a virgin because of the presence of the unicorn. People may read it that way as they want, but the idea that one should remain pure of body, or that virginity will make one pure is something that I don’t want to spread. I do not agree with virgin idealization or with slut shaming, or with shaming anybody about their level of sexual experience.

Some people might say, “But Alex, those girls are just teenagers, they shouldn’t be having sex at their age!” Too bad. Some teenagers have sex, and that is the truth.

I also think of unicorns as creatures of adventure. Unicorns are untamed magical creatures, and I like to think that they would only approach those that are pure of heart and have good intentions. Maira certainly discovers what it is like to go on an adventure with the unicorn in this story!

And for anyone who used to love The Unicorns of Balinor series, or The Last Unicorn, or even The Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee, Maira might just be a girl after your own heart.

Thank you Laurence, for this idea, and for many others before it!

This is one of the stops on my blog tour for Love Rampage, so leave a comment below and your email address for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate with Less Than Three Press!

Geek Out Blog Tour

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Hey everyone!

Sorry I’ve let the blog posts go awhile without updating, but I’ve been super-busy!

Not only have I started going to university again, but I’ve been organizing a blog tour for the trans* anthology Geek Out published with Less Than Three Press.

What is going on with this blog tour?

Well, let me tell you, since I’ve finally seemed to get a grasp on what’s going on!

The Geek Out anthology includes 8 authors:

Francis Gideon with Sext-based Adventures

https://francisgideon.wordpress.com/

Caitlin Ricci with Horse Crazy

www.caitlinricci.com

J.K. Pendragon with Double Take

www.jkpendragon.com

Alison Evans with Long Macchiatos and Monsters

alisonwritesthings.com

Alessandra Ebulu with Of Anime and Baeci

alessandraebulu.wordpress.com

Cecil Wilde with Defying Convention

www.cecilwilde.com

Alden Lila Reedy with Manifest

aldenlilareedy.com

We have all written a story with a trans* protagonist, and we all feel that because this is a trans* anthology, we need to go all out with getting the word out. People are asking for representation in media, and we’re delivering. But without people knowing about it, then there’s not much point!

I see people writing fanfiction with trans* or genderqueer characters, writing ace or aro characters, genderbent characters, because they are lacking that what they really desire: representation. There are no stories out there about these types of characters that portray them in stories that are not a) specifically about their trans*-ness or b) tragic.

So we’re doing a blog tour. It’s a really fun time, actually, apart from the logistics and organization, which really aren’t my strong point. But you’ve got to try, right? I hate trying to organize things, but I’ve learned sometimes you’ve got to do things you don’t enjoy in order to promote the things you actually like doing.

It was a bit of a challenge, because while there were a LOT of m/m review sites, there are far less review sites that do trans* story reviews or blog tours. Thankfully, with the help of our amazing publisher Megan Derr, we were able to find a few.

Here’s the sites where our guest blog posts will be showing up over the next two weeks.

Smoocher’s Voice

Love Bytes

World of Diversity

Read, Play, Review

We’ll also all be doing blog posts on our own blogs, so make sure to check them out! Of course, I’ll be compiling a list of links for you all to get the big picture once they’re all up, so stay tuned for that!

The first stop on our blog tour will be at Smoocher’s Voice, and my blog post for Love Rampage on January 22nd!

Also, make sure you check them all out, because authors are doing giveaways for all sorts of fun stuff! Gift certificates, ebooks, naming a character in their next novel… so make sure to leave lots of comments for a chance to win!

Genderqueer Character

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I’m finally writing a genderqueer character!

I’ve been meaning to write a genderqueer character for ages, mostly because it’s a subject near and dear to my heart. As a genderfluid person, I’m always on the lookout for genderqueer characters, but they’re hard to come by.

There are a few authors I know have written genderqueer characters.

The first two, of course, are authors that write for the publisher I also write for, which is Less Than Three press.

Selume Proferre, by E.E. Ottoman features a genderqueer character. This book is an urban fantasy novel, and starts of with An-An, the main character, going to work at a spell-craft company for an exorcist. E. also writes a lot of books on trans characters, and zie has been on my must-read list for a long while now.

The other is J.K. Pendragon, who has a story coming out in the Trans* Geek Out anthology that will be coming out in spring. I won’t give away too much, since the book’s not out yet, but the story is a fantasy with an Egyptian-esque setting.

Lastly, I received a free book from the Gay Romance Northwest meet-up called Static, by L.A. Witt which turned out to have a genderqueer character as well. I liked the premise, which was that a small percentage of the population can switch their sex back and forth from male to female and back again. But it’s a reflection of their gender identity, so it’s a bit like having a genderfluid and intersex character. It’s a slight twist on the normal shifter story.

I’m always on the lookout for more stories about genderqueer characters.

I’m writing this character for the Villains Inc anthology call for Less Than Three Press. I would like to write an Arabic character for this story, so of course, I must do a lot of research. I’m kind of glad that I can write a villain for this character, because then xe can stab people whenever they misgender xem.

I’m thinking that one day I will also write a two spirit character, as that has always interested me.

I hope one day that the genderqueer section of LT3’s store is as expansive as the Gay section. It only has a few books for now. But it will only grow if we write the stories ourselves.