2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Leah from Loving Venus- Loving Mars Shares Her Favorite Books and Movies

I love that KB is doing this because I think there are many women who like or might like reading f/f but feel uncomfortable talking about it in a predominantly m/f, m/m reading romance community. I didn’t know I liked reading f/f until I actually came across it in erotica.

Just a quick introduction. I run (occasionally) a blog, Loving Venus- Loving Mars, that was set up several years ago to review and talk about f/f, f/f/m books. It was meant mainly to give the small group of straight and bi readers within the romance community who like reading f/f and lesbian a safe place to discuss it without the common judgments that were happening on the general blogs. We also wanted to give exposure to authors who were writing f/f to help support them writing more.

I love reading f/f because I find the idea of women, who are normally rather intimate in the way they relate anyway, taking it just a step further into the realm of love and sex more interesting and exciting to me. It’s like something I know and am very familiar with, yet it’s unexplored territory for me, so it’s an exciting mystery.

Katie asked if I talk about a few books and movies that I’ve enjoyed. I can’t say that I’ve read a whole lot of lesbian romance in which both characters are lesbian and not one is bi or curious. I’ve looked more for books with a bi slant or first time experience stories that would appeal more to the straight reader, but I’ll give it a shot.

Sci-fi:

Rulebreaker by Cathey Pegau. Cathy Pegau has a great voice. This story is unique and fun and it features a bi/lesbian romance in the sci-fi genre.

War Games by K.S. Augustin- What I liked about this book, outside of the excellent story-telling is that the main character can choose to be either gender. She can also choose to be heterosexual or gay. I love that for her, her favorite is to be a woman and in love with a woman.

The Gunfighter and the Gear Head by Cassandra Duffy – I loved this book. I think it’s fresh with a young feel to it and features an interesting blend of sci-fi, steampunk and western. The women are strong, sexy and independent, which is refreshing to me.

Fantasy/ YA:

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer. This book is gorgeously written and a great YA lesbian story. It’s a different take on the mythological characters Persephone and Hades. Sarah Diemer has written many books in the YA genre and gives a fresh, young voice to younger lesbians who want their own HEA.

Retro/Pulp:

Lois Lenz Lesbian Secretary- by Monica Nolan. This book is a hilarious spoof of 50’s lesbian pulp. There’s not much sex in this story, but plenty of double entendres and amusing moments with the story focused on a clueless young woman caught up in a lesbian world without realizing it.

Contemporary:

There are several authors of lesbian romance in the contemporary field. Any books by Radclyffe , Karin Kallmaker, Georgia Beers and Katherine Forrest (70’s-80’s iconic lesbian) are good to read. I haven’t read too many books by these authors but their books are a staple in the lesbian romance genre and the few I’ve read I’ve really liked.

Mystery/Thriller:

The Devil series by Ali Valli- She writes very intense and gripping thrillers in her Devil series. They are dark, fast paced with the characters acting in non-stereotypical ways.

Famous mystery writer Laurie King has a detective series with a lesbian character as the detective. It’s the Kate Martinelli series and they are really well written and don’t shy away from talking about Kate’s personal life. I think she’s one of the few mainstream authors who has a lesbian character as a regular.

Parnormal:

The Midnight Hunt by L.L. Rand- this is a dark shifter/vampire book. Very erotic with the definite fated/ “mine” story. Before this book I had only read m/f PRN, but I liked how it was written with two women as the fated partners.

Historical:

I haven’t read too many lesbian historicals. If you want to read some then the author Sarah Waters is a good way to go. I’ve only seen movies of her books but I know that her stories are lesbian centric and have become classic books that the straight community loves as well.

Movies I’ve watched with lesbian centric themes. There are quite a few good ones actually.

For the YA crowd I’d definitely recommend:

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love- this is a very sweet and poignant coming of age story of two teenage girls from different backgrounds who fall in love.

Historical- two film adaptations of Sarah Waters books are a must see.

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. Both movies are BBC made movies and easy to find on Netflix. I got them both from my library. While both films are lesbian centric, Tipping the Velvet shows more of the life of a lesbian and the gay scene during the Victorian Era. Fingersmith is more of a Gothic thriller/drama with lesbian understones. Both are excellent films.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and Portrait of Marriage are both excellent films about the lives of real historical lesbian/ bi women.

Contemporaries:

Fire- a film from India about two married Indian women who fall in love. This movie is intense, poignant and gorgeous. It’s one of my most favorite films in with an f/f theme.

When Night is Falling- This is also a gorgeously aesthetic film about an engaged straight Christian woman who falls in love with a lesbian.

Saving Face- is a sweet and realistic Chinese American film that centers around two lesbians falling in love while trying to find their place in traditional Chinese and modern American cultural values.

French Twist- a French comedy that deals with a married woman who falls in love with a lesbian. It’s very funny and the romance between the women is rather sweet with some sparks.

For good bi f/f oriented books, I would suggest books by these authors:

Kirsten Saell
Michelle de Lully
Paisley Smith
Leigh Ellwood
Adriana Kraft