My
Lovely Lesbians
The sexuality of fictional characters is
a subject that
fascinates me. I think it's because they
have such clear sexuality to me, and it is so tied in to their whole
identity and personality. It's such a real
dynamic.
I never "set out" to write a
book with a gay lead, any more than I set out to write one with a straight
lead. I do get ideas, and from time to time I think about how I'd like to write
about a certain matchup or dynamic, maybe a poly trio or a transgender character.
I can't start with that,
though. I can't write the character to suit the plot point. The character has
to be there first.
One thing I love about new characters is
that there is so
much more to them than merely being
straight or gay or bisexual. Their sexual personalities are so diverse and
unique, which is where the uniqueness of the stories comes from. I may have
published two lesbian romance novels, but the stories, the circumstances, the
love matches, the leading ladies themselves, are all different. It's more than
who they take to bed. It's about who they are.
Rhiannon, from my first novel Lotus Petals, is more feminine. Fans of Lotus Petals may find that strange, since
Rhiannon touts some very anti-feminine
opinions (she hates being called 'princess' and despises dresses), but when it
comes down to it, she is a woman more expressive in her feminine nature. She is
womanly, and she loves women.
Reagan, from my second book Goblin Fires, could easily be a boy.
She's not male-identified and she doesn't feel disassociated from her
biological gender. She's just
not feminine and has no care towards femininity. She became a character I
imagined would be equally comfortable as male or female. But her ambivalence
towards her own female-ness does not extend to her appreciation of other women.
She loves women, wildly and
passionately. She loves feminine women, loves their breasts and hips and soft
planes. She's definitely a lady-killer.
Rhiannon would identify as gay, but
she's not immune to a bit of bi-curiosity. Reagan, on the other hand, hasn’t
got a single bi-curious bone in her body. She gets along just fine with men,
but they're about as sexually interesting to her as a cardboard toilet paper
tube. Rhiannon can be a little kinky; Reagan, mostly vanilla. Both prioritize
the pleasure of their partners, though Rhiannon does so because it turns her on
to see another made helpless with desire, while Reagan simply loves to serve
her lovers. These are all things I just know about them. It's part of their sexual personalities.
Sometimes I like to imagine how each
woman might be different with a male partner, just to hypothesize how the situation
changes. The littlest things alter
characters on a 'molecular' level, I've found. Their story—their persona—is
made wildly different.
I really enjoy exploring the sexualities
of the characters that
come to me. I've written about lesbians who knew from day one that they would fall
in love with a lady. I've written lesbians surprised to discover their own
sexual desires run towards women. Right now I've got a pot simmering about a
late-in-life lesbian taking a chance with another woman for the first time. A
mature woman/younger lover story. I've already "met" my leading lady,
but her story is still on the fire for now.
Of course, I write characters who are
straight as arrows as well. Many of my published short stories happen to be
about these straight characters. And of course, many of my characters simply
fall upon a spectrum, neither 100% straight nor 100% gay, but having an
interest and willingness that
is purely their own, and shaped by their personalities. The character of
Talaith, one of Reagan's fae lovers, is a woman I would consider
"perfectly bisexual". Equally interested in male as well as female
lovers.
What I worry about, writing lesbian
fiction, is that at
the most accessible level—early budding erotic writers—it
is so often fetishized, relying on a perceived 'kink' of girl-on-girl action. I find it funny: it seems much more acceptable
for gay erotica, featuring two men, to focus on the emotional needs and
complications of the characters, finding eroticism though the emotional as well
as the physical interactions. Most authors who set out to write male gay
fiction understand this as part of the genre. If not taken seriously, though,
lesbian fiction can easily miss the mark and be reduced merely to pornographic
renditions of two women screwing. This also gives the genre a false appearance
to those outside of it.
It's so easy to sacrifice the honesty of
personality and character in favor of unabashed porn. It's just not very good
writing. But that's
for another blog post.
It's been too long since I spent time with
my own lady-loving ladies. It might sound a little surprising, seeing as I've
released two lesbian novels this year, but of course there's quite a lot of
work in between writing a story and seeing it to press. My workload's been
taken up by a lot of hetero couples and a few wonderful gay men, as of
late...but I've definitely been yearning to return to the stories of deeply
passionate women, and the love—or lust—they find in the arms of their own
beautiful girls.
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Author
bio
When
she isn't visiting the worlds of immortals, demons, dragons and goblins,
Brantwijn fills her time with artistic endeavors: sketching, painting,
customizing My Little Ponies and sewing plushies for friends. She can't handle
coffee unless there's enough cream and sugar to make it a milkshake, but try
and sweeten her tea and she will never forgive you. She moonlights as a futon
for four lazy cats, loves tabletop role-play games, and can spend hours
watching Futurama, Claymore or Buffy the Vampire Slayer while she writes or draws.
In addition to her novels, Brantwijn has had several stories
published in anthologies by Breathless Press, including the 2013 Crimson
Anthology and 2014 Ravaged Anthology.
She's also had a short story published in the Cleiss Press Big Book of Orgasm and the anthology Coming Together Through The Storm. She
hopes to have several more tales to tell as time goes on. She has author pages on GoodReads and Amazon,
and loves to see reader comments on
her work. Her short stories occasionally pop up at Foreplay and Fangs, her blog at http://brantwijn.blogspot.com.
Rhiannon Donovan, daughter to the vampire Queen,
would rather die than be made a bride to a demon Lord. Aijyn, courtesan to the
undead Daimyo of Kansai, can think of nothing more horrifying than his promise
of eternal life. In the halls of the
Blood Lotus Temple, the two women struggle against the chains of their fate,
and find a solace in each other that could mean freedom for them both... or
might cost each of them their lives.
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Great post, Erzabet. I found myself nodding and agreeing with so much of what you have written here.
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