Rainbow Reads-WRAPUP

FINALLY RAINBOW READS EVENT IS AT AN END. This event was meant to take three weeks, possibly four maximum. But thanks to so many people providing such great content, so much great content (I got 9300 words of response!!) and my lack of organisation and time for bloggy things in among other things, this was a success!

I leave you with further reading suggested by other people, other internetty things that may take your interest, and a giant list of links of everyone who made this possible.

Books!

·         A Melody in Harmony by Ashley Chunell   Goodreads Amazon

·         Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan  Goodreads   Amazon  My review

·         The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan  Goodreads  Amazon

·         Hollow Pike by James Dawson   Goodreads  Amazon  My review

·         Cruel Summer by James Dawson   Goodreads   Amazon   My review

·         Almost everything by David Leviathan   Goodreads  Amazon

·         The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  Goodreads Amazon

·         Ash  by Malinda Lo   Goodreads Amazon My review

·         The Mortal Instruments verse by Cassandra Clare  Goodreads  Amazon

·         Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg.   Goodreads  Amazon

·         Love in Revolution by B.R. Collins  Goodreads   Amazon

·         Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan  Goodreads   Amazon   My review

·         CODA by Emma Trevayne  Goodreads  Amazon

·         Pretty Things by Sarra Manning Goodreads  Amazon

·         Adapation by Malinda Lo  Goodreads  Amazon

·         I Am J by Cris Beam Goodreads  Amazon  My review

·         Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson  Goodreads  Amazon

·         Pantomime by Laura Lam  Goodreads   Amazon  My review

·         Annabel by Kathleen Winter   Goodreads  Amazon  

·         A + E 4ever by Ilike Merey   Goodreads  Amazon  

·         Railsea by China Mieville  Goodreads  Amazon  

People!

·          Zoe Marriott

·         Suzanne van Rooyen

·          Ria

·          LH

·         Alfie

·          Rie

·          Ashley Chunnell

·          Sean Cummings

·          Caitlin from The Cait Files

·          Megan aka The Book Addicted Girl

·         Charlie Morris

·         Illjolras

·          Harriet Flight

·          M from We Sat Down

·         Katy

·         Lisa of Over The Effing Rainbow

·         Laura Lam

·         James Dawson

·         Daniel Kaine

·         Leo of Jet Black Ink

·         Cassandra Rose Clarke

·         Shira Glassman  

·         Riley from Reading Books in Bed

·         Chelsea Pitcher

Other Things!

Malinda Lo’s Pride Month. She does all these infographics with numbers which I think are amazing because I don’t have the patience to sit and sort through all of that.

Caroline’s LGBT teen novel week, the thing that made me do this because I thought it had been some time since a blog celebration of queer fiction...then three happen at once :)

GayYA.org Been quiet for a few months, but some excellent posts from various people.

Diversity in YA covers all sorts of diversity, and I really love this website.

Once again, huge thanks to everyone who made Rainbow Reads. 

Q&A-Queer Representation Over Time

Final discussion post! We're going to have a look at LGBTQIA representation in literature over time. With contributions from Zoe Marriott, Suzanne van Rooyen, Ria, LH, Alfie, Rie, Ashley Chunnell, Sean Cummings, Caitlin from The Cait Files, Megan aka The Book Addicted Girl, Charlie Morris, Illjolras, Harriet Flight, M from We Sat Down.

How do you LGBTQIA representation has changed in teen fiction over the years?

Suzanne: Tough question. I think it's moving away from LGBTQIA being a problem, a phase and something to fix towards sexual identity simply being a part of who the person is and something to celebrate. As legislation changes, I hope that teen LGBTQIA fiction evolves as well to show that teens do have a free and fair future to look forward to where they can marry whomever they choose and have the same rights and privileges as straight individuals.

Harriet: Undoubtedly. We learn that there are Absolute Truths and Evolving Truths. The representation of LGBTQIA is bound to change when the times change. In 19th century England, you will not see any books with LGBTQIA people in them, because of their beliefs about the subject. However, now that it's 2013, more appearances of LGBTQIA people have conjured. This is because what we believe to be right or wrong changes when the times change, when we get older, when we start to understand.
Any representation is and evolving truth, because it evolves with our understanding."

Charlie: I think there is slowly getting more of it, which is great, and they've become more sympathetic.

Charlie M: A lot more genre fiction is emerging outside of the contemporary Bildungsroman, so authors like David Levithan, Malinda Lo and James Dawson are getting more of a mass audience for their inclusive fiction.

Megan: It's more accepting now - more varied and less stereotypical.  Or so I think...

Caitlin: I'd like to think it's gotten bigger? But I read quite a few LGBT books when I was a teen myself (Boy Meets Boy, The Bermudez Triangle, Pretty Things) and I read them less so now. I couldn't tell you if that's because there are less of them, because I just read less of them somehow or what.

M: More prevalent and subsidiary characters moving into mainstream lit (e.g. David Levithan).

Alfie: It's improved to shift the balance slightly away from pure straight fiction, however there is still a lot to be written to realign the balance between sexualities in the fiction world and the real world.

LH: To generalise massively, I think it's maybe got more overt?

Ria: It exists now, for one thing. Problem is that the vast majority of LGBTQIA fiction focuses around a character coming to grips with their sexuality or gender identity as the main driving force in the plot, and while that in itself isn't a bad thing (teens need to know that they're not alone in what they go through and that there are people and characters who do experience that same struggle), it's a lot more rare to find a character who's out, okay with it, and who has been okay with it for a long time. This gives the impression that LGBTQIA folk pretty much live for that identity, and that identity completely defines them. It's a step up from what it used to be, but there's still some work to be done.

Is there any specific way you’d like to see LGBTQIA represented in the future?

Suzanne: Absolutely! I'd like to see them represented authentically - if the guy's a jerk, he's a jerk even if he's gay. Being LGBTQIA should feel as natural as hair colour and should not be forced into the story for the sake of it. Authors also need to step out of their hetero-normative moulds - two guys in a relationship are two guys, there is no husband role or wife role that one or the other fulfils.

I'd like to see more bisexual male heroes and more trans characters take leading, butt-kicking roles in genre fiction. I'd love to read a teen Supernatural type story where the Winchester roles are filled by an LGBTQIA sibling pair or romantic couple."

Harriet: For a more diverse range, yes. Let's mix up the relationships!

Illjolras: I'd like there to be more diversity, not just gay white cispeople.

Charlie : I'd love to see more LGBTQIA characters get their happy endings. Enough almosts, enough tragedy. Give me a sunset moment please. If heterosexual people are allowed to pin their hopes and dreams own something not entirely 'realistic' why can't I?

Megan: "Yes, I think so.  I think that there should be more paranormals where the lead character is a lesbian.  Don't ask why, I just really think there should be...
Also, less stereotypes - more varying characters.  More characters covering all the letters.  And overall just more LGBTQIA people in YA lit."

Caitlin: Yes yes yes. I quite like them to just be in there casually, like, that's just part of who they are? I'd like to see more main characters who are LGBTQIA

Leit: Yes and they shouldn't be treated just as “the gay best friend".

M: Just as an ordinary character.

Sean: Yes and as ass kicking evil slamming heroes with supernatural powers.

Alfie: Realistically.  'Nuff said.

Ria: Yes, absolutely. As to how I want them to be presented, well, I want them to be presented as real people, with all the strengths and weaknesses and good and bad moments that everyone has.

Mini-Interview- Asexuality in Fiction with Katy

An asexual person is a person who does not experience sexual attraction- Aven  

Most surveys say that 1% of the population is asex

ual. So how come that 1% doesn’t get represented? I can think of two YA books with confirmed asexual characters, and that is only because I found them in an AVEN thread. I talk to KATY about this.

How do you feel about asexual representation in YA?

I feel that asexuals aren’t really represented much. Most of the characters that seem asexual are never confirmed. I guess that’s because it’s slightly harder to work out if someone is asexual or not without the author explicitly stating it.

Do you think there should be more asexual characters?

Well... yes and no.  I don’t want characters to be made asexual for the sake of it, but at the same time, it would increase visibility, which would be good.

Are some possibly asexual  characters subject to erasure?

No, I think it’s more like people don’t know about asexuality, so they don’t include asexual characters.

Have you read any books containing asexual charcters?

Like I said/wrote earlier, asexualty doesn’t tend to get confirmed, so no. I know there are some books out there, but I haven’t got round to reading them yet. It’s so difficult to tell whether or not a character is asexual or not because sexual attraction is different to romantic attraction, and aesthetic  attraction. The general advice when deciding sexuality is to work it out for yourself because no one knows exactly how you feel. Unfortunately, characters aren’t real XD!

Do you think writers ever try and write for the asexual market?

Yes, but I think that those authors are asexual themselves. Every so often, I hear about books written by asexual authors for the asexual market, but most are in the adult genre. But asexual enjoy reading normal books, just like everyone else. 

Lisa's Open Love Letter to Pantomime by Laura Lam

Today, yet another set of reasons why you should be reading Pantomime by Laura Lam, this time, put forwards by Lisa of Over the Effing Rainbow.

Bookworms! I discovered something bloody amazing recently.

If you've heard these, or similar words from a fellow book geek, then you probably know the wonderful sense of excitement they're feeling, that goes along with the exclamation. If not, then I hope you experience it for yourself, and soon, because I love that feeling as much as I love being able to say that about a book. I've been saying nothing else about this one, since I finished it. But let's backtrack a little bit...

When I heard that Nina was looking for contributions to Rainbow Reads, I got curious enough to put my hand up and volunteer a guest review. Then came the puzzle over what to actually pick up and read, because however curious I was about the LGBT subject matter that is the theme of this event, I am most assuredly a bit of a newbie when it comes to actually reading relevant fantasy books...

So, when I conferred with Nina and she suggested I read Pantomime, which I had at least heard of by then, I thought 'okay, why not?'

That 'okay, why not' quickly became 'dear deity, what took me so long?!'.

I bet you know that feeling too.

Now here is where I ought to note that there will be potential spoilers ahead, though I will try my best not to give too much of the plot itself away. You are warned!

Pantomime is the story of Micah Grey, whose real name is not Micah Grey – but this aspect of his issue with identity is just the tip of the iceberg. We meet Micah as he joins a travelling circus, and from the outset it's clear that Micah is on the run from something – or someone. The first half of the book leads us down the twisty path of discovery, from the prominent events that led to Micah's abandonment of home and family, into the disturbing truth of why he ran away.

Micah Grey was born Iphigenia Laurus, and Iphigenia's parents wish for nothing but to have a real daughter. They want this so badly that they will do just about anything to turn 'Micah' into the child that they want, instead of learning to accept the child that they have. It is when Iphigenia (who tries and generally fails to insist upon being called Gene) learns just how far they intend to go in this endeavour, that she sheds the identity they've spent her whole life forcing upon her and runs away from home.

However, while joining the circus offers Micah much more freedom in terms of lifestyle choice, there is still that secret, and thanks to Gene's parents Micah is, for much of the book, too afraid to confess it to anyone – even when romance comes calling. And the problems of home haven't been left entirely behind, either. Gene's parents have set investigators on her trail with the task of bringing their child home...

The general plot (and plot-related events) in this book are largely straightforward fare. The plot twists, once reached, were less of a surprise to me than I had hoped after devouring the story until that point. Where it excels, instead, is in the drawing of Micah as a main character. There is some delightful worldbuilding and a few neat little teasers for the story's continuation in the second book (due out in January, I believe) planted along the way, as well as laid out in the book's final scenes, but despite my admitted love of such worldbuilding details I found myself ranking them second to the star player, here. Micah's story is such a unique one to me, and so smartly written by the author, that it kept me glued to the page from start to finish.

I had my reservations at first, I will confess. The last thing I wanted to find when I read this was the issue of Micah's gender identity being treated as a token plot point, or 'character quirk' – something that was tacked on for the sake of tacking it on and getting attention, yet failing to make the most of it. Thankfully, Laura Lam does the smart thing – not to mention the brave thing, as this is the first such book I've read and enjoyed so thoroughly where this has been the case – and makes this not a story about adventure with some 'scandalous' romance thrown in, but a story about her lead character's personal journey, their self-discovery and the places that their personal development might take them. It's a smart move that I long to see more of, and thankfully for the (admittedly few) forays I've begun making into YA fantasy fiction, this is much more the norm, or at least becoming it, than it was when I was reading fantasy fifteen years ago.

It's a big, wide, diverse and often scary world we live in, and teenagers have more invested in dealing with it than I think grown adults do. This is going to be their world soon enough, after all, and the times when we buttoned up these issues and kept them out of sight is (or should be) very, very over. That is why I want to see more books like this one, and it's why I'll be in the line to buy the follow-up. This is just plain excellent work, and beautifully written to boot.

Pantomime can be found on : Amazon and Goodreads. 
Lisa can be found at her blog, Over the Effing Rainbow, on twitter, tumblr and goodreads.

Q&A - Publishing Over Time

Discuss getting LGBTQIA fiction published. Do you think publishers have changed their attitudes over time? Thanks to Zoe Marriott, Suzanne van Rooyen, Ria, Ashley Chunnell, Sean Cummings  Charlie Morris, Illjolras, Harriet Flight,  James Dawson and Daniel Kaine.

Zoë: I honestly don't know. I first started working with my publisher in 2005, less than ten years ago. I first included a QUILTBAG character in my writing in 2009, less than five years ago. I'm very much working in the modern era. I've never encountered any homophobia or any reluctance to publish work that featured QUILTBAG characters from anyone at either my UK or US publisher. But I was once asked to change the main romance in a novel from one between two girls, to a hetero relationship. I was told this was because my lesbian characters were unconvincing and hollow, rather than because there was any problem with having a lesbian relationship in the book (indeed, there was another lesbian couple in the supporting cast, and that was accepted). But I've never been sure how much that request was really about my inexperience in writing a gay romance and making it convincing, and how much was down to an unconscious lack of empathy/interest in gay characters as romantic leads.

Suzanne: Oh yes. Following a recent agent and editor Twitter chat where industry professionals tweeted their wishlists, there were many calls for LGBTQIA fiction, specifically NOT coming out stories. While positive, I wish there didn't need to be a call for it, the same way editors and agents don't specifically request stories with black characters simply because authors are already writing those.

Ria: Little by little, yes, things are changing. But not as quickly as I'd like. Some publishers will still steer clear of LGBTQIA characters for fear of generating controversy and hurting sales, which unfortunately leaves limited options for where a book can be published. Some publishers specialize in characters like that, which is great, but often those publishing houses focus solely on romance. Which sucks for the fantasy writer who has gay and trans characters in the spotlight but aren't writing something with the express purpose of them getting it on.

Ashley:  I self-published "A Melody in Harmony," so I'm really not sure. I hope publishers are very open on the genre.

James: No-one has ever suggested that Kitty, Delilah or Ryan should be straight. In fact, Ryan started life as the 'best friend' because I thought my publisher wouldn't want a gay main character. How wrong I was! My editor identified Ryan as the most compelling character and insisted he be brought centre stage. I can only speak for my experience and my publisher has been overwhelmingly supportive.

Sean: The thing that's missing from this discussion and I believe it's an important one is the fact that books are published to make money. Under representation of LGBTQIA might well be due to the fact that nobody has yet made a strong business case for more books - publishers invest heavily in producing a book and they want to see a return on investment. If someone can make the business case, then you will see LGBTQIA explode.

Charlie: I am currently writing an MA project about marketing LGBT YA in the UK. My research has shown me that some publishers are definitely open to representative fiction of high quality. More needs to be submitted and put forward via agents! Don't be afraid to try and get your LGBT inclusive book published, but do your research first (Catnip are currently accepting unsolicited submissions!)

Illjolras: I think it's still harder to get LGBTGIA fiction published, but it's slowly becoming more mainstream.

Harriet: "Publishers are looking for good books, not for what sexual orientation the characters are!
If you have a book, and it's finished, and you're are uttermost proud of it, then take it to a publisher.
(Although, if it doesn't get published, then do not worry. There are a lot of people who dig LGBTQIA. Self-publish it, or publish it on the internet!)"

Daniel: Yes, it was. I had self-published two novels previously, and, in all honesty, was going to continue doing so with my future books. But then I made some great new friends at GayRomLit in Albuquerque last year, and they’ve been such a great support. They encouraged me to take the plunge and try submitting to a publisher. After weighing up my options, I chose Dreamspinner Press, and after almost nine weeks of checking my emails every day, I received an offer from them. That was the best feeling ever. Having being through the submission process now, I feel a lot more confident and am going to, hopefully, continue signing books with publishers.

Leo's Open Love letter to Pantomime by Laura Lam

Hi! Today we have Leo, talking about Laura Lam's Pantomime.

Pantomime, by Laura Lam, is quite possibly one of the most important YA books written in the last ten years. Not only does it openly address issues that have either been ignored or forgotten, such as homosexuality or bisexuality, but it is written and executed in such a way that the book, through its characters, becomes a very introspective experience.


Essentially a story about the journey of an intersex character, Pantomime follows the lives of Gene and Micah. Gene is who Micah begins the story as; who Micah is presenting himself as and how he has chosen to live. This is why, for the purposes of this, I'll be referring to Micah as "Micah", and as a "he" instead of a gender neutral pronoun.


Micah begins the story hiding who he is, and there's a lot to say about this. The fact that Lam chose to set the book in a society very interested in propriety is an excellent way of conveying the underlying tones of non-acceptance that fuel the need for YA books that deal with such issues with both sensitivity and sensibility.


I'm not especially knowledgeable in regards to LGBT themed YA books, mainly because I read exclusively fantasy, and the choice of LGBT themed SFF books is fairly limited. But that's where Pantomime is starting to straddle the lines between regular YA novels and those that cater more to SFF interests: Pantomime, with its subtle semi-Victorian Ellada and plethora of myths lurking just beneath the surface, is a book that doesn't boast the kind of fantasy themes that could overshadow the overall subtlety of just what Lam is trying to do.


In fact, my not having read too widely in the genre (should it even be called that?) of LGBT fiction gives me a completely fresh and new perspective. And that perspective is what tells me that Pantomime is an ideal sort of book: not only because it handles the themes so well, but that it presents so many relevant issues and themes that are entangled within the issue of being different and allowing yourself to discover that.


Ultimately Lam wrote a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance; I'm not sure there's anything more important than discovering who you are and accepting yourself.


Micah runs away from home to escape what is essentially surgery that will make him completely female, just as his parents want. Micah doesn't feel female, doesn't especially want to be female - so he runs away. This sort of idea doesn't apply just to someone who, like Micah, is intersex. Parents sometimes refuse to accept a gay or trans teenager, and the reaction presented would still be the same: to run. If we're talking about real life, teens don't always actually run. But you don't have to physically up and out to really be running. There are a thousand ways of running away from what hurts us. When you don't feel accepted for what and who you are, if the reaction isn't to try and bend towards what is expected, you run, close off, put up walls and defend yourself.


Micah does this by creating for himself a new life. Again, this reaction is mimicked by people who don't run. It's not difficult to, when pressured and you feel alone, to try on a new persona, one that feels more real and more like you. Whether it's coming out online where you can be openly gay, or playing a female character in a role play because you're discovering you're transgender, or even assuming a completely genderless existence where nobody pins a label onto you and your own physical or mental gender can be precisely what you do or do not want it to be - doesn't this sound like Micah leaving home and slipping into the persona he wants to wear?


I'm deliberately stretching a metaphor here, but imagine that the circus - its lifestyle, its dynamic - is the Internet. Micah encounters trouble because of his past and the threat of discovery. Micah meets other people who have secrets too. He finds himself discovering even more about himself sexually and mentally, then he would have done otherwise.


The circus is a freeing place for Micah, just like the Internet is a freeing place for people who need to get away from whatever lack of acceptance and understanding plagues their offline lives.


But it's not just this that makes Pantomime so special, there's more to it that's subtle and simply slipped so casually between the pages. Micah is forced by circumstance to explore the concept of bisexuality, something important to Micah, who had never considered that finding a male attractive whilst presenting himself as a male would be a gay romance, at the same time as accepting that dating a female as he is does not constitute a lesbian relationship.


Bisexuality is something so often overlooked in favour of homosexuality, and this is problematic. Someone of a binary gender can be attracted to both men and women. And this makes them bisexual. In the same way, someone who is intersex is precisely the same if they are attracted to men and women. Further, a transgender of transsexual person can still be bisexual. What is great with Lam's exploration of all this isn't just how Micah reacts, but how those around him interact with him and react to the romantic situations.


For the most part, Micah's former life as Gene is kept a secret, but when a male character does find out, the romantic advances (whether acted upon or simply implied by the non-POV character) must be considered male-to-male, since Micah has the choice to exact himself as male. That the character one knew Gene is irrelevant, because now he knows Micah.


One of the most well-handled issues that Lam managed to weave neatly into everything else, is uncertainty. Sometimes we're taught completely rigidly and in black and white. Micah, sometimes, is unsure. When he plays the part of a girl in a play - and enjoys it - he is unsure. When he handles feelings for the people around him, male and female, he is unsure. I'm hoping these themes of uncertainty continue into Shadowplay: they're too important to Micah's development to allow to fizzle out. But Lam will stay true to the issues she has introduced: she's got this.


Ultimately, when people talk about Pantomime, it's all about Micah and an intersex character. But it's really so much more than that, and that's why I get cross when I don't see Pamtomime on the shelves of my local bookshop, or being discussed by online forums, or by the world at large.


This is such an important story and Strange Chemistry landed themselves a stunner of a novel. Everyone should read and talk about this book - and definitely never shut up.


Pantomime can be found on : Amazon and Goodreads. 
Leo can be found at his blog, Jet Black Ink, as a regular writer for Fantasy Faction, and on twitter. 

Author Interview- Laura Lam

Today, we have Laura Lam! I’m really excited about this, because I LOVED Pantomime and cannot wait for Shadowplay. Here’

s Laura talking about some things.

-How do you feel about the Micah/Gene intersexual being marketed as a plot twist?

This is a very tricky question. I will say I never wrote it intending it to be a plot twist. I can see both sides--some people have really enjoyed being surprised, not realising that two characters were one and the same, and I like that they had their preconceptions twisted like that. You thought Gene/Micah were going to be a couple? Nope. And though it's about the intersex experience of Gene/Micah, it's not really an "issue" book per se, thus why more emphasis was placed on the fantasy elements and circus in the marketing.

On the other hand, it makes it very difficult for people who want to read about an intersex person to find out about it, and I found it awkward keeping it secret at the start. I still now feel the urge to give a disclaimer, worrying I'm "ruining" it for people by revealing the "twist."

-How do you pronoun Micah/Gene?

I usually use "she" when the character is Gene and "he" when the character's Micah. I've tried various gender neutral pronouns (hir, zir, etc), and I'll use them sometimes, too. I don't mind at all what pronouns others use.

-What kind of research did you do regarding intersex?

I read a few books on the subject. I recommend "Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex" by Alice Domurat Dreger, which focuses on the history of intersex conditions and how in the 19th century people changed from displaying these anomalies to trying to "fix"them. I also read the memoirs of Herculine Barbin, an intersex individual in the 1800s who was raised female in a convent and later lived as a male. Herculine's story is very sad.

For a more modern context, I recommend "Intersex" by Catharine Harper and "Intersex: For Lack of a Better Word" by Thea Hillman. I also watched the documentaries "Me, My Sex, and I", "Gender Unknown" and a few others. I've watched interviews by Hida Viloria, an intersex writer and activist. I researched a lot on the internet. I watched transition videos on Youtube (which is trans, not intersex, obviously, but I think there's some experience overlap), which are beautiful and inspiring. I still do a fair amount of research and keep up on intersex current events because I'm really passionate about it. I am against surgery on children too young to consent if there's no pressing medical need, I'd like countries to allow non-binary genders on official documents, and provide more protection against discrimination.

-Was there anything difficult about writing an intersex main character?

I am very aware that, as a cisgendered woman, I'm an outsider looking in. I've tried to do my best to put myself in Micah's shoes, think about how he'd react to things, his confusion and desire for acceptance. I suppose the biggest difficulty was portraying and balancing both his masculine and his feminine sides.

-How did you decide who Micah would end up with-did you think about representation of bisexual characters?

I always knew who he'd end up with because that character was in the book I started before Pantomime, which had Micah as an adult of 27. I did want to make it clear that Micah's sexuality is different from his gender identity--he's attracted to both males and female, and he himself doesn't identify as solely male or female.

-How important do you

think books with LGBTQIA characters are?

I think they've very important, especially for YA. It's important to reflect our society accurately, and there are intersex and people from all shades of the LGBTQIA. To marginalise them for YA, or SFF, or fiction, is a disservice. Teenage years are when people are discovering their gender identity or sexuality, and reading fiction can sometimes help them work through their thoughts and feelings. They even call this "bibliotherapy." So to sweep different experiences under the rug makes it seem like something that should be shameful rather than celebrated.

So far, there's been no homophobic outcry in response to Pantomime, and I think that's surprised some people. Though I might have gone and jinxed myself now by saying that. In fact, the only controversy has been some people wishing the blurb was more open about the intersex nature of the protagonist. I think that's great.

-Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Thank you for having me and thanks to everyone for reading :-)

If these great answers don’t make you want to read Pantomime straight away, stay tuned for Lisa and Leo talkinga bout why they loved Pantomime.

For now, you can find Laura at twitter, her blog, tumblr, and facebook.  Pantomime is on goodreads and amazon. 

How important do you think LGBTQIA books are for teens? Round 2

Part two! Thanks to Rie, Ashley Chunell, Sean Cummings, M, Leit, Caitlin, Megan, Charlie, Illjolras, Harriet, and James Dawson.

Rie: Incredibly important. We need to show all facets of the sexual spectrum in a sex positive manner in order to help adolescents who are struggling with their sexual identity understand it's fine to be exactly who they are.

Ashley: I think they're very important. I'm new to writing this topic and I'm not sure how many books have covered it appropriately for teens. I know there's a good number of M/M and erotica books out there, but I also think it's important to have more PG rated books about young, gay couples and equality, which is what my new novel "A Melody in Harmony" is about.

Sean: I think it's massively important for teens to read that which reflects the reality of their lives. More importantly, though, I think we need to see LGBTQIA characters in genre. I write urban fantasy for teens. I think we need to see someone who isn't plain old white bread.

M: Two answers, in preferential order:

1) Not important because sexual prefence (as gender) shouldn't be a defining 'category'
2) Important because sex & gender are still defining categories in which LGBTQIA is othered in fiction (& life), as heteronormativity generally prevails.

Leit: It helps them feel not as alone.

Caitlin: Very important! Partly because people totally deserve to read books with characters they can relate to and not everyone is white, straight and middle class ;) Everyone deserves representation. But aside from that, people deserve to not be overlooked/ignored. I also think it's important for people who aren't LGBTQIA to be able to read about people who are; to learn, to understand, to see that those people aren't so different from them. Also, diversity is a marvellous thing. We should celebrate it.

Megan: Very very.  I think that fiction is finally pushing the fact that there is nothing to be ashamed of: you should be proud to be gay and there should be just as many books about LGBTQIA teens as there are about straight ones.  Of course, this is not the case yet but I think we're getting there.  I think more LGBTQIA books will be really good for teens who are struggling with their sexuality and will do a lot to change the more... intolerant public's minds.

Charlie M: I think LBGTQIA books for teens are incredibly important. The world is not black/white and straight. To dismiss the experiences of many young readers simply because that experience isn't the majority is counter productive and in my opinion does not make for truthful storytelling. I would have been overjoyed to have read some of the recent books when I was a teenager, and wish I'd known about some older ones.

Illjolras: Incredibly important! Teens need both role models and characters to identify with. If there were more queer fictional characters telling and showing teenagers queerness is incredibly normal, it would give hope and acceptance to those who might not get it otherwise.

Harriet:"For one word, 'important' has many meanings. There are many deviations in the world 'important.' For example, to a few teenagers, LGBTQIA books don't mean a lot, but they'll find that they are important because it broadens the horizon and introduces them to a wider world.

However, to other teens, LGBTQIA books have a higher level of importance, either because the matter applies to them or they just want everything to of equal value.

Thus, I think LGBTQIA books are just as important as anything else in this world; if it is just to bring awareness and understanding, or just an inanimate object that belongs."

James: this is an interesting question. Much LGBT* fiction for teens is ABOUT being LGBT*. I find this very odd. I'm confused as to why it's such an issue. All these books about depressed LGBT* characters having epic dramas about their sexuality doesn't always ring true. I'm much more interested in seeing LGBT* characters going about their business. That said ANY LGBT* character is important so young readers can see themselves in the world of books.

Q&A-Shelving of Queer Lit

Something I noticed while going round a few of my larger local libraries and some big bookshops is that LGBTQI fiction is often shelved separately in bookshops/libraries. How do you feel about this?

 Suzanne van Rooyen,  Zoe Marriott, Charlie Morris,  Daniel Kaine, Illjolras, Sean Cummings, Ashley Chunell,  Ria Bridges,Alfie, Rie, Caitlin,  Megan,  and Harriet.

Suzanne: I think it's silly and I'm hoping that as LGBTQIA characters become more prevalent across genres, that these books will simply be shelved according to their genre (romance, SF/F, thriller etc.), instead of their main character's sexual identity.

Harriet: This separation is a microcosm of what we experience everyday.
The question is, should we separate ourselves because we are different in how we act/ behave/ dress/ feel/ etc?
If you want to become accepted by anyone, you should treat yourselves like you are not different from anyone. After all, aren't we all of the same species?
This separation is the no-mans land between people wanting to be different and separating themselves, and between people who truly just want to be seen as a normal, everyday human beings.
This is a separation we've created ourselves. We can also be the undoing of the this separation.

Daniel: On the one hand, I can understand why it’s a good thing to keep them separate. How else are our LGBTQ youth to find these books, if not given their own section? Otherwise, they’d have to slog through the blurbs of every book, and sometimes, even that isn’t enough to identify them.But at the same time, I keep thinking that the sexuality of the characters shouldn’t matter. Why should these books be segregated from the rest of fiction? Why can’t they have the same chance to be picked up by non-LGBTQ readers as other books? To me, it seems like this kind of labelling could be negative toward our community. Like black people having to drink from a different water fountain.In the past, I was opposed to separate shelving for exactly these reasons. Nowadays, thinking back to my adolescence, I can see why it makes sense the way it is. Overall though, I’m now firmly on the fence about the issue.

Illjolras: It makes it easier to find but it's also othering.

Charlie M: On the one hand I think it makes books discoverable for those who are specifically seeking them out, on the other it makes readers who aren't out feel anxious to be seen looking for the fiction and also makes the subject matter seem 'other.' I would prefer to see the books integrated into the main market on shelves.

James: I understand why you'd want a gender theory or gay theory section in a book shop. I also understand why you might have a gay erotica section, anything else should be in fiction, right? Most bookshops wouldn't segregate Hollinghurst, Maupin or Waters. I hope. Most YA fiction with LGBT* characters just goes in the YA section which is quite right.

Megan: It's wrong. It's making it seem like being LGBTQI means you're something 'other'. Everything should be mixed together, showing that everyone, no matter their sexuality, is equal and shouldn't feel alienated.

Caitlin: Wrong. Sorry, but wrong. It should be shelved with the other books of its genre. If it's YA, in the YA section. If its fantasy, in the fantasy section. We should not be encouraging segregation.

M: Ha! Usually next door to erotica? Let's go back to little boy blue and she girl pink, and maybe white/black, rich/poor - how low can we go!

Sean: I think that it's a way to catalog books. Everything is cataloged by it's nature at bookstores and libraries. You don't see cookbooks mixed in with romance novels.

Zoe: I hate it. HATE IT. Burn it with fire. Part of the wonder and joy of YA fiction and part of the reason it is so exciting to work in that category is that there are no boundaries, everything is welcome. It's YA fantasy or YA romance or YA thriller or YA historical. YA with QUILTBAG elements should be in there with all the rest, where all kinds of kids can pick it up without even meaning to and either see themselves or their friends or family reflected, or see characters of a kind they've never experienced before on the page and get an insight into how to empathise with people who aren't Just Like Them.

Ashley: I don't think there's anything wrong with it having its' own section. LGBT is its own genre that people may look for.

Rie: Separating the two is saying one is inherently different. This is wrong and can make LGBTQI teens feel even more ostracized. Although, it may be good to have displays so people can readily find books about the subject, but no it's not acceptable to have them separated.

Alfie: Whoever made that decision can go fuck themselves, the discriminatory twatwaffles. Sorry.

LH: I don't think I've actually seen a segregation of YA fiction in any of the libraries I've worked at.

Ria: it's both good and bad. Good, because having it in a spotlight can build some more awareness instead of letting it easily sink into the background. Bad, because it doesn't do anything to actually blend in with more mainstream fiction and leaves people with the impression that LGBTQIA characters and novels have to have a separate place and can't blend in. It's a double-edged sword.

Me: I think that part time displays work. It's like what I'm doing now-a feature to spotlight, display, and raise awareness for something. But I seriously hate it when it's a full time thing,  separate shelving, and so on. Partially because the YA stuff is shelved there (at least the LGB romance), along side all the erotica. I don't want to have to go through p4wn to find my representation.    I understand that it can help people looking for those things specifically, but nowadays, that's what the internet's for. Or, shock horror-ask a person for recommendations!  In my opinion, LGBT is not a genre. Genres are romance, or history, or fantasy, or sci-fi. Genres relate to the kind of story, not the characters.  Also, the beauty of non-segregated shelving is that you can just stumble across things. Easily find things that can open your mind. Segregation in any context, of anything, won't do that. 

Shira Glassman on the importance of representation

It's important that LGBTQ+ kids be surrounded by peers, role models, allies, and stories that include them, because only then will they have the confidence to demand respect in a world that is still under many circumstances hostile and stifling. An isolated queer youth, cut off from other kids like them, cut off from adults like them to look up to, with no straight people valuing them for their full selves and no characters like them to reassure them that they have a right to exist and have adventures -- this is a child in danger. This is one of the reasons I told my mother that the true villain of my queer feminist fantasy novel The Second Mango isn't any one human being -- it's 'life being unfair', or 'the difficulties of life'.

The heroine of my book, Shulamit, is such a young woman in danger. As a 'damsel in distress' character, her distress is largely internal, her "tower" not a real tower but the isolation of her own queerness. Shulamit lacks the confidence to just be herself and demand a place in the world even though, as the newly-crowned queen of Perach, she literally rules the country--and it's entirely because of her isolation. This is a young woman who grew up with no queer role models, with a father who loved her very much but basically erased her identity when she tried to come to him and downplayed everything she said, with no true allies who accepted her as she is, and with only one other queer friend--a girlfriend who's run off by the time the book begins.

This all begins to change when she becomes less isolated--when she meets her new bodyguard, Rivka, a woman who despite being straight believes her without question when she talks about her feelings for women and her other problems that hardly anybody else in her life took seriously. Rivka is willing to take her around the country on the back of her dragon in search for other queer women, and even a potential partner, so things quickly begin to look less hopeless.

It was my earnest wish when creating this story to show lesbian and bisexual characters in the same kind of beautiful, innocent, "cute" fairy-tale setting that straight girls all got to enjoy when they were little. Seeing themselves represented in fiction are all very important in reassuring these young people that they deserve to be a part of the world, that they can have wonderful adventures, too, and that they're not destined for tragic endings while their straight counterparts go off merrily into the sunset. We can have families, too, if we want--not that we have to--and we can be everything straight people can be, whether that's heroes or comedians or leaders or very good hard workers or even just "beautiful". We aren't destined for loneliness by virtue of our difference.

This is what Shulamit learns as she goes on her journey with Rivka into the wilds of her own kingdom. She comes home transformed, ready to lead--ready to become the "face on the coin" in her father's place.

Shira Glassman is the author of The Second Mango, which is available  on Amazon from Prizm Books in Kindle and paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Mango-ebook/dp/B00EOSCJCQ/ref=cm_pdp_rev_itm_img_1Check out plenty of character artwork at the author's blog
http://shiraglassman.wordpress.com/About

Pretty artwork by Jane Dominguez and Erika Hammerschmidt