2013 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Katie Porter on Writing F/F *Book Giveaway*

When Katiebabs initially asked if we’d like to participate in her Lesbian Fiction Appreciation event, we naturally said yes in a quick hurry. Of course we would love to join in! Why wouldn’t we? But as I skimmed last year’s posts, I started to wonder if I was in the right spot. If I belonged.

After all, to date, “Fireworks” is Katie Porter’s only f/f story. And it’s only a ten thousand word short story, in O Come All Ye Kinky [http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/o-come-all-ye-kinky], an anthology that we share with seven other authors, none of which wrote f/f stories. We never expected to make cash off the story—who would when you split royalties eight ways? Plus a portion of the proceeds goes to the National Leather Association’s [http://www.nla-i.com] Domestic Violence project. Very awesome.

So…do Carrie and I belong here? Would we be seen as posers or maybe dabblers?

Maybe. But I don’t think it matters. Every voice matters.

Carrie and I don’t consider ourselves writers of lesbian romance. But then, we don’t consider ourselves writers of heterosexual or m/m romance either. We write romance. Period. We write characters that generally have really kinky, fetish-based sex, and characters who are meant to be together no matter what—and no matter that they have vaginas.

We’ve actually received more squeamishness the BDSM in “Fireworks” is too hard, goes too far, is a little too extreme, than any negativity about the f/f content. Which makes sense, because Rachael and Emma are pretty hardcore, and we don't generally hold back when it comes to BDSM themes.

The flipside may be that those who didn’t care for the story’s f/f themes didn’t want to touch the topic, as with the anthology’s only story featuring a trans character. They know it’s no longer okay to say “Gee, I wish this story didn’t have so many vaginas.” From our standpoint, progress is progress in whatever form. The voices that speak up for lesbian romance are making fantastic headway against those who might prefer that the subgenre be quietly shuffled aside.

So let’s have another lovely year of lesbian romance. We write it, we read it, and we appreciate Katiebabs’s efforts to try to bring more attention to what amounts to just another form of love. And we’re all here for the love!

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For more about Katie Porter, the co-writing team of Carrie Lofty and Lorelie Brown: 

In January, Lead and Follow [http://katieporterbooks.com/books/club-devant/lead-and-follow/] will launch the five-part “Club Devant [http://katieporterbooks.com/books/club-devant/]” series of erotic romances set in a glitzy New York City burlesque club. RT BookReviews gave Lead and Follow 4 Stars and raved, “Fans of erotica will be left breathless as they cha-cha straight into a cold shower.”

Where to find us:

http://KatiePorterBooks.com

Twitter: @MsKatiePorter

Or individually: @carrielofty and @LorelieBrown

CONTEST TIME!

We'd like to give away a copy of O COME ALL YE KINKY in any digital format. Just answer the question: If you won a copy or sought out “Fireworks” to read, would it be for the BDSM story, the f/f characters, or pure curiosity? (runs until Sunday 1/20)