At Pink Petal Books our slogan is “love is a beautiful thing”, which means how can we not publish lesbian romance. If we truly walk our talk when we say love is a beautiful thing, and it is something in which I do strongly believe, then we would be remiss in not publishing romance simply because of the pairing. I’ve heard the rumors; I’m sure you have, too, that f/f doesn’t sell. While the readers of f/f romance may not be the perceived “traditional” romance audience (man, woman, baby makes three), they are there. And there is also cross-over in the erotic romance area with the erotica market as well. Plus, today’s romance readers are savvy. Not all of them want the perfect nuclear family, and many of them share our belief that love/romance is wonderful, no matter the pairing, genre, or heat level.
Honestly, I believe that if an author thinks there is “no money” to be had, then there won’t be. In the classic metaphysical concept of “we create our own reality”, then we will manifest what we believe. We need to change our perception that in today’s ever-changing market, we can make a book be whatever we’d like it to be. Do some genres take work? Yes. Do some genres take research and reaching out to new markets? Of course. But at Pink Petal Books, as well as my own personal experience, lesbian romance oftentimes does better than more “traditional” heterosexual romance. (We also have some sensual/sweet stories which defy the “only sex sells” mantra too, further strengthening my belief that an author can make his or her own niche in the market and do well.)
For me, it boils down to the romance. Readers who pick up a romance novel want love, a romance, emotions, and the happily ever after/happy for now sort of ending that is expected. In the past when I’ve read romances with f/f scenes, they’ve seemed tacked on, like someone said “ooh, I need to up the sex quotient here, let’s add a little girl-on-girl”. That didn’t move the romance along, and as a reader, it didn’t move me. The romances which I enjoy reading, and publishing, are romances where even if the f/f relationship is secondary, or one of many in the book, it has feeling and emotions. It feels real, not an add-on to perhaps draw in male readers or like a gratuitous boob shot in a movie.
Our newest release this month, Her Secret Incantations by Heather Avalon, begins with a f/f relationship between two bi-sexual long-time friends and lovers. Each woman has a distinct voice and personal, strong reasons for being back in the relationship, as well as the reasons why she left. When the male leads show up, there’s an understanding of the women’s history and status as lovers, and the knowledge that as bisexual women, our female leads will need to be allowed to be with each other. There is no “primary” or “secondary” relationships, per se, but rather an understanding of a true polyandrous lifestyle and the sacrifices and acceptances which need to happen to make it work.
Secret Lives of Sea Crest Wives by Kerri Nelson takes a contemporary approach to lesbian romance. The book deals with friends, each one going through her own issues. When one of the women, again bisexual, refuses to deny her attraction to women, she runs into a lover from her past. This relationship in the book, woven throughout the story reinforces not only our belief that love of all kinds is a beautiful thing, but that relationships between the same sex have much the same perils and joys as relationships between different sexes. It’s a healthy, and a sexy, look at modern relationships within the microcosm of a group of friends.
Going back to the civil war, Southern Rose by Mary Winter, tells the tale of two widows, one who loved her husband, one who married him because he was gay and the marriage was one of convenience for both. Again we have bisexual characters who end up in a long-term same-sex relationship. It looks at the social elements surrounding such a relationship given the restrictive time period in which they’re in, and how these two women made their relationship work.
We’ve also published lesbian erotica by Megan Rose, and while this is not romance per se, there is definitely an air of things continuing, of a “happy with the situation for now” sort of ending. And given that relationships are as individual as the people involved in them, I feel that this also fits with our belief about love and relationships.
Though the stories we published all have bisexual women, it is not a requirement. I look at this as similar to the ménage romances where a gay character suddenly realizes that yes, he can love a woman and still love his partner. Given the characters’ histories, it is not a female version of “gay for you”, because the women have either established that they have had same-sex relationships in the past, or because they have been with that woman in the past.
Truthfully, while there is always going to be a push to be more “edgy” and lesbian romances might be one of the final frontiers in erotic romance, I think the trend toward more storytelling and less sex sans plot, will mean that the door opens even wider for lesbian romances. A love story is a love story. And though the stories all mentioned here are erotic, I see no reason why a sweet or sensual lesbian story wouldn’t be just as satisfying a read. I think there is a lot of room to explore the story, and the emotions, inherent in two women sharing their lives together, and I believe that it, too, has a strong place on the ereaders and bookshelves of romance readers.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts with you.
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