Friday, June 20, 2014

Writing Gay Romance Subplots in YA Lit


Writing Gay Romance Subplots in YA lit

“[Dimitri’s] eyes were rooted on Marcus, and Marcus, standing with his side to me, was staring right back.

“Lift the net,” Dimitri said.

Marcus shrugged. “Make me.”

Dimitri’s eyes flashed. “Don’t play games with me, Marcus, I mean it.”

“Who said anything about games? Do you want them freed? Bring. It. On.”

Bam!—Dimitri appeared in front of Marcus. “Bring it on? Okay. You asked.” But instead of pushing, hitting, kicking or tackling him, Dimitri smiled, laid his arms over Marcus’s shoulders, 
leaned forward and kissed him. . . .”


Lethed (Guardian of the Angels, book II)


Being a firm advocate of equal rights, a proud supporter of the LGBT community, and a writer of contemporary gay fiction, it went without saying that I’d have a gay romance subplot in my Guardian of the Angels trilogy too.

Love has no boundaries; there are many different types of love stories out there in the world and I wanted to bring in that diversity into my Guardians series as well.

What is really important to me writing Marcus in Guardian of the Angels is that he is not just a walking sexuality. He’s a person. He has worries and hopes, and he cares deeply for his friends, and he struggles with the demon curse that runs through his veins. He has a past and an unknown future and he tackles many of the same moral dilemmas as Sylva and other characters in the Guardian world. He is a guy with the goal to accept and love himself, a guy who keeps fighting despite the obstacles.

Also important to me is showing how Marcus and Dimitri slowly fall in love and how they overcome the challenges that are imposed on them. I love a good happily ever after, but it certainly feels more satisfying when the characters have been tested first; have proven their love for the other, and shown us that these guys will make it through anything.

I got asked (out of curiosity) recently if I would censor my scenes that showed Marcus and Dimitri intimately more than my scenes with Sylva and Attic. Well, I intend to write a blog post about my views on sex in YA lit coming up later in this book tour, but I’ll say here that this question made me sad.
Why would I censor one more than the other? Why should I? Both relationships are equally beautiful and any intimate moments stem out of love and further the story. So my answer was: no, I would not censor intimate scenes differently. That being said, my storylines are romances and not erotica so I won’t delve into pages and pages of detail. But yes, in the third book that I am currently writing, Marcus is also a viewpoint character, and there are a couple of, I believe (and hope), touching, intimate moments between them.

As well as Marcus’s subplot, I am also currently working on a spin-off novelette that features Leah and her romance with Audrey. This is set before Veined and Lethed, and it gives us a snippet of her life in the early to mid 1800s in rural Europe. The first part can be found on my website and over the next few months as I continue to work on Phoenixed, the third Guardian of the Angels book, I will be adding to her story. I very much enjoy writing about Leah—she’s a strong woman, and I can’t wait to write the big “meet” scene where she first sees Audrey!

Thank you, Fang-tastic Books for hosting me here on your blog. And thank you all for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on gay romance subplots in YA lit. 

Veined
Guardians of the Angels
Book I
Anyta Sunday

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

ASIN: B005J1L41Y

Number of pages: 446 pages

Word Count: 85000 words


Book Description:

It could be worse for Sylva Lark. She could be dead. A coma was nothing to that. Or her family moving across country for the treatment, leaving her with a big blue mark on her back.

She can handle it.

Mostly.

Except the mark glows and tingles, especially whenever transition helper Atticus Plot (Attic) is close by. She suspects he’s hiding something, and when she stumbles across a torn body bearing the same spiral marking as her own, that suspicion is confirmed.

After a few shaves with death, the truth finally comes out and the battles begin.

But not all her fights are external; her biggest one is the decision she has to make between doing the right thing for the world and giving up her beloved family for good.

Available at Amazon   Smashwords  and All Romance Ebooks

Lethed
Guardians of the Angels
Book II
Anyta Sunday

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

ASIN: BOOB8CKHRK

Number of pages: 418 pages
Word Count: 75000 words


Book Description:

Sylva Lark made her choice.

Now she has to adjust to Guardian life. Training. Killing demons. Controlling her powers.

If only giving up her family wouldn’t hurt so damn much, . . . and if there wasn’t a strange attraction to the betrothed Prince Atticus she just met . . .

Amongst murder and mayhem, and toeing an unclear line between right and wrong, Sylva and her fellow Guardians must find a way to secure Eirene.

But it’s not easy going up against underworld Queen Furie when those on Sylva’s side are hiding secrets . . .

Will they succeed in protecting the home of the angels? Or will they fail, submitting the heavens to the fate of Furie?

And will Sylva and Attic ever remember what they mean to each other?

Or will they stay forever Lethed?

Available at Amazon  Smashwords and All Romance Ebooks

About the Author:

A born and raised New Zealander, Anyta Sunday has been exploring the literary world since she started reading Roald Dahl as a kid. Inspired, stories have been piling up in her head ever since. Fast forward to her mid-twenties and jump a few countries (Germany, America, and back again), and she started putting pen to paper. When she’s not writing or chasing her kid around, she’s reading, hiking, watching a Joss Whedon series, attempting pilates, or curling up with her two cats. Updates on her projects can be found at anytasunday.com.




Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5155341.Anyta_Sunday

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