Episode 23 - Theo-frickin-dora

My reaction to the SCOTUS rulings on gay marriage (spoiler alert, I care more than I would like to admit). A quick look at Under the Dome on CBS. I read another book from Anne Holt's mystery series. And a rave review for Theodora: Actress, Emperess, Whore by Stella Duffy.

As always, streaming link and direct download below the cut. You can always download on iTunes as well. 

Full show notes will be up by Friday evening.

Episode 22 - The Sex Questions

This week's episode is full of an awful lot of sex talk! See if you can pinpoint through my voice the moments when I'm blushing the hardest.

It's great to be back after taking a week off, and apparently I have a lot to talk about as this may be the longest episode of QBP yet. I review an audio book version of SAFE HARBOR by Radclyffe, produced by Dog Ear Audio and narrated by actress Diane Gaidry. I also look into Lambda award-winner THE WORLD WE FOUND by Thirty Umrigar, and can't help but compare it to fellow nominees THE LAST NUDE by Ellis Avery and CARRY THE ONE by Carol Anshaw.

Plus, remember that survey I asked you to fill out last week? I discuss the results and share some more thoughts on the interesting topic of sex in fiction.

Download on itunes, or you can stream or download below the cut.

no new episode this week

I took the week off, but here's a quick update to assure you that I'm still here. Also I just can't seem to stay away from the mic for that long!

What is sexy? Some thoughts, and a GIVEAWAY!

I read a lot of romance novels for the podcast. It's not the only thing I read, but it's one my top guilty pleasures. Yes I like serious literature that tries to explore and capture the human condition. And I like fantastic, plot based genre fiction that seeks to surprise and amaze. But frankly, sometimes you just want to read something, knowing that you're going to get to read about women related sensually with each other. And I think those sort of scenes have a place not only in romance novels, but any sort of novel.

What I'm saying is, I like sexy stuff in my books.

 But what is sexy?

I'm going to give you a couple of thoughts on that question--and then I want to hear what you think. What do you think is sexy?

At the end of this post, I've set up a survey to try and figure out what other readers of lesbian fiction think is sexy in their literature. Fill it out and I'll enter you to win a book of my bookshelf. It might even be a sexy book!    

What do I think is sexy? I have a couple general thoughts on the matter.  

1. It's not all about what your nipples are doing 

One the silliest cliches in lesbian romances is the moment where one love interest catches sight of the object of her desire, and finds her so magnetic and so attractive... that her nipples immediately get hard. (stiffen, turn into hard peaks, pebble (!!!) So many ways to say it. I give some more examples in episode 5...) Sometimes I think lesbian romances are so clinical about describing the physiological responses of the aroused body that they forget that what makes a truly memorable and exciting sex scene are characters with great characters, where the sex means something.

Last week on the podcast I got very excited about the relationship in RULEBREAKER, a science fiction romance by Cathy Pegau. The relationship between Liv and Zia lacks some of the dramatic passion and conflict that often characterizes the romances in these novels. Instead their feelings blossom, not just because they are attracted to each other, but because they work well together and respect each other as friends as collegues. I know this sounds dorky, but I think that can be totally sexy!

My point is this: sexiness is not about how much sex is in a book, and how detailed a description you give of each and ever act. A romance is going to delight me because the lovers have genuine chemistry between them that feels both real and hot. And I think it's important for authors to remember that being a lesbian in a lesbian relationship is not only about the kind of sex you have. It's also about romantic feelings that transcend what's going to happen in the bed. If that isn't acknowledged in the relationship, it is going to feel half hearted.

.... on the other hand ...

2. In defense of explicitness. 

I've spoken with people who really don't like explicit sex when they're reading. Sometimes it makes them uncomfortable, or it feels gratuitous, or they just don't think the stuff that gets described seems very sexy. I suspect some of this has to do with personal preferences--if the couple are engaged in some act that you don't care much for yourself, maybe that turns you off completely. Or maybe they're talking about something you do like--does it hit too close to home? I've never minded reading about sex myself. But I want to defend explicit sex scenes, because I think, particularly in lesbian fiction, they serve a really important purpose.

You see, all lesbians don't approach sex in the same way. There are a lot of different ways we can get down, different acts, different levels of reciprocation. With heterosexual sex, rightly or wrongly, there's lots of stuff that can happen, but it tends to be leading up to missionary position intercourse. Ta da! The big finish.

What's the big finish for a lesbian couple? It definitely depends on the couple.

All this is to say that the particulars of a lesbian couple's sex life in a novel can be a lovely and fascinating way to reveal character. Fading to black may be tasteful, but the reader misses out, not just on a bit of sexiness, but on some real interesting information on the relationship.

TIPPING THE VELVET by Sarah Waters may be one of the finer examples of extremely sexy scenes used for greater literary purpose than simple titillation. Nan King has a number of different sexual experiences, many of them rather detailed, but those details work to show how Nan goes from naive to jaded to someone capable of a relationship based on mutual respect and equality.TIPPING THE VELVET is fun because it's a super sexy, exciting book to read. But it's great because those sex scenes aren't just about sex, but about power, self-confidence, hedonism, and about coming of age, and growing up into a better person than you once were.


So what do you think? Do you want sex in your lesbian fiction--how much?  Fill out this survey!! And I'm going to send away at least two books from my bookshelf to people who contribute, so there's definitely something in it for you! Here's some of the books I have to offer: THE DAUGHTERS OF MOAB by Kim Westwood, STRANGERS IN PARADISE vol 1, TIPPING THE VELVET by Sarah Waters, KISSING THE WITCH by Emma Donoghue, SPIN STATE by Chris Moriarty, BATTLE SCARS by Meghan O'Brien, COMMENCEMENT by J Courtney Sullivan, THE WRESTLING PARTY by Bett Williams, and Y THE LAST MAN vol 1.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Episode 21 - More Science Fiction

I deconstruct the coverage of the Lambda Literary Awards, plus reviews of Cathy Pegau's excellent sci-fi romance novels RULEBREAKER and DEEP DECEPTION. Also a review of THE DAUGHTERS OF MOAB by Kim Westwood.

Quick note, I will probably be taking next week off, if I can drag myself away from the microphone! But hopefully I'll be using some of that time to spiffy up the website and do some writing/planning/organizing that will make the podcast even better as we head into the summer.

If you have any suggestions or requests for Queer Books Please, now's a great time to let me know!

Direct download and streaming link below the cut!

Episode 20 - brackets, crime, horror

This week Mary breaks down the YA/Childrens category of Lamba Literary Awards. Turns out using brackets and turning it into a tournament didn't make it any easier to judge books against each other. Will she be driven to tears as she has to chose between many fantastic titles? Plus two great novels with secondary lesbian characters, and the winner of last week's contest revealed.

You can listen below the cut, or download the mp3 file directly. You can also subscribe on iTunes.

Also below is the my final bracket for my Lammy Madness experiment. If you want to hear my meandering to a champion, all my explanations are in the podcast.

More first round match ups!

  versus

 Matt, the protagonist of PERSONAL EFFECTS, is angry. Really angry. For good reason. His mother is dead. His father is a bully. His brother died serving in the military in Iraq. I haven't read a YA book with a young man as a narrator as a long time, and thus found Matt's rage to be novel and compelling. This the one of two books (ARISTOTLE AND DANTE is the other) where much of the suspense in the book is generated from the possibility that the narrator might explode and do violence to those around him. It's certainly interesting and different from books aimed at girls, although I read these two books back to back and by the time I was finishing the second it was losing its power.

Angry boys are interesting, until you realize that it's apparently their natural condition.

The sheer rage in this book is particularly interesting when you compare it to SILHOUETTE OF A SPARROW, a book where my lasting impression is the image of two girls caught in the rain on a lake, and kissing under a boat, the picture of sweetness. It's not that SILHOUETTE lacks drama, or painful circumstances in the past and present, but hope and love and inner strength overcome.

Head to head, it's an interesting match up. Both books feature top-notch narration which made them fun, entertaining reads. I think they are well matched in terms of literary merits. What about gay content? PERSONAL EFFECTS is overtly political on the issue of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and gay people in the military. It's an Important Message book that has a great chance to really get a lot of young people thinking about these issues. And I like that the book is very very clear in the end that Matt's brother had a relationship that was romantic, sexual, and in all ways comparable to a heterosexual relationship.

But PERSONAL EFFECTS is still a book that looks from the outside in. Whereas the narrator of SILHOUETTE is herself gay. And in general I those are the books I most want to see out there, representing the queer community.

Yes, I'm going to do it. SILHOUETTE wins! Moving on to the final four! In case you can't tell, I think this is a really special book. Although its scope is modest, the execution is flawless, and it's such a sweet book, such a pleasure to read. When I talked about it on the podcast, I mentioned that my reaction to it was: this is the exact book I wanted to find when I was 14.

  versus



ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE versus BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN. I like that these two books are matched up against each other. Both deal with identities that don't personally share (gay boys and ftm transgender). I enjoyed each quite a bite. BEAUTIFUL MUSIC reminded me of the coming out lesbian books I read when I was a teenager--straightforward, sweet, the primary drama coming from facing up against hate. Many of Gabe's experiences as a transgender teen seem general, intended as an all around primer for the reader on transgender issues. Which is good and important! Especially when there aren't many books dealing with a topic, I think this approach makes sense, makes it accessible and useful to as many people as possible. 

ARISTOTLE AND DANTE takes a lot more risks. The book has a really exciting, interesting style, combining Ari's blunt, raw narration with a huge amount of dialogue. At times this book reads like a stage drama. I found it awesome and interesting!  I also loved that this book dealt heavily with Ari's relationship with his parents. The conflict and affection between parents and teenagers are very well depicted here--a welcome change from many books that look to keep parents backstage so that the teenagers are free to have as many adventures as they want. The relationship between Ari and Dante felt real to me, their long friendship and flirtation crackling with real chemistry, even when they seem unaware of their feelings.

I'm going with ARISTOTLE and DANTE as the winner of this match up! Love the bold, dialogue heavy approach, a cherry on top of an all ready notable novel.



Final four match ups are set! A quick preview of them, plus the updated bracket (once I get home and can edit the file) underneath the cut. Remember that these match ups plus the finals will be in my podcast this week!