Award-Winning Author of Slow-Burn Romances between Strong Women
This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features romance novels in which the characters never intended to become involved in a long-term relationship with each other. The romance starts with a one-night stand, a fling, or a friends-with-benefits arrangement.
I realized there aren’t that many WLW & lesbian romance novels around in which the characters meet online—maybe via a dating app—or start communicating via emails, texts, or phone calls and meet face-to-face only a little later in the book. Which is a little strange, since so many of us find love—or great friends—online, right? So I thought I’d put together a list of 12 f/f romances that start out on the Internet or via the phone. Make sure you scroll all the way down for a free bonus story. Wrong Number, Right Woman by Jae Flirting has …
This week’s F/F crossword puzzle features a really important topic: body positivity in romance novels. The romance novel industry is especially guilty of abiding by Hollywood’s standard of beauty. It’s rare to find plus-size characters in f/f romance novels (or any romance, for that matter). Most of the main characters are portrayed as slender, with perfectly sized breasts, and if they are a bit chubby, their goal in the story is probably to lose weight. I hope that going forward, there’ll be more body positivity in romance novels and that women of all shapes and sizes will find themselves represented …
Since April Fools’ Day was just a couple of days ago, let’s start off April with a very popular trope: pretend relationship romance novels! I think what most readers love about “fake girlfriend” or “fake fiancée/wife” stories is that the plot throws together two characters who usually are total strangers and who might not even like each other. Under normal circumstances, they would never consider dating each other, but now they are forced to spend time together and pretend to be a couple. As you can imagine, they get into some hilarious situations, and after a while, they discover …
Today’s the day—my new novel Falling Hard is now available from pretty much all major online bookstores. One of the main characters is Dr. Jordan Williams. Those of you who have read Heart Trouble might remember her as Hope’s best friend. She’s a surgeon with just two goals in life: saving patients in the OR and pleasuring her latest conquest in the bedroom. Her new neighbor, single mother Emma, couldn’t be more different. After her recent divorce, she plans to focus just on her five-year-old daughter. Neither of them counts on falling hard for each other. If a slow-burn romance …
It’s Oscar weekend! To celebrate, Ylva Publishing is rolling out the red carpet and offering my Hollywood series at a reduced price. Each book can stand on its own and has different main characters: Departure from the Script is a novella (short novel) about Amanda, an actress who struggles to get her career off the ground. At an anti-Valentine’s party, she meets butch photographer Michelle. She has never been attracted to butch women before, but Michelle has her consider a departure from her dating script. Damage Control is a slow-burn romance in which world-famous actress Grace is caught in a …
Over the past several years, I’ve made it a tradition to post my working hours every month to keep myself accountable and to give you some insight into what’s going on behind the scenes, so to say. I spent the last weeks of December on vacation at a lovely beach with gorgeous weather, so I only now took a look at my December numbers. Here’s what I’ve been up to in the last month of 2016: I got the edits back for my latest novel, Falling Hard, which is a medical romance between an interracial couple. Luckily, there wasn’t that …
Since I basically have two full-time jobs that I love—writing and editing—I rarely have the time to read for pleasure, so I decided to give audio books a try so I can listen while I work out. One of my own novels has been released in audiobook format recently too, and it’s a great one for the holiday season. In Under a Falling Star, Austen is given the task of decorating the Christmas tree in the lobby on her first day at a new job. When the star-shaped tree topper falls off and hits Dee, the company’s second-in-command. There’s an …
October and Halloween are over, and we’re heading toward Christmas and the year’s end already! Hard to believe, isn’t it? October was a record month for me. I had several new books out: My contemporary lesbian romance Heart Trouble is now available through all major online bookstores. I also published two nonfiction guides for writers: Show, Don’t Tell and Point of View. And my holiday-themed romance novel Under a Falling Star is now available as an audiobook! So, as you can see, I had a lot of reasons to celebrate in October–and I did…with cheesecake! Yum! I also spent most …
Personally, I love romance novels that pair two women who couldn’t be more different from each other if they tried. It’s not just that opposites attract; it’s also that they somehow complete each other and can learn from each other and bring out the best in each other. My latest lesbian romance novel, Heart Trouble, certainly falls into that category. On the surface, the two main characters are very different from each other: Hope Finlay is a doctor in a busy ER in Los Angeles. She grew up in foster care and learned not to bond too closely to people. …
