Sapphic Literature

I have been a voracious reader all of my remembered life. I always have at least three books going: an audiobook, an eBook, and an actual physical book. My favorite will always be the physical kind. I love the feel and smell of books, especially old ones.

But I only have so much space and money, so library books I can download feed the bulk of my appetite.

I am embarrassed to say I dated and broke up with my first girlfriend before I realized that I could read romance novels that had lesbians as the main characters. How had I not known this was a thing?

I devoured every library book I could find; I spent tons of money on Kindle and Audible during the pandemic. But while I like a good sappy or fiery romance, my favorite genres to read are mysteries and Sci-Fi/fantasy. Those were way more difficult to find with lead sapphic or queer characters. And the ones that are out there are typically YA, which are fun but not very spicy and those that have even a little spice I feel a bit weird reading.

The romances almost exclusively have 20-or 30-something year old characters, predominantly white, able-bodied, successful and gorgeous. It is what sells, I get that, but representation matters. This lack of representation and genre cross over is what finally got me motivated to write my first novel. If no one else was going to write what I wanted to read, I would.

I am working on the second draft, but editing is not nearly as much fun as creating. I really didn’t want to start another big project, however. Thus the birth of this blog. A way to continue being creative daily and who knows maybe someone will find a nugget or two of something useful or helpful from time to time.

Well, I can’t have a post about Sapphic books and not have a recommendation:

“Light From Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki

From the publisher’s website:

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki’s Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California’s San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250789075/lightfromuncommonstars

I loved this book! I hope you will too.

Be well my friends.