Lesbian romance doesn’t sell, so why write it?

By Berengaria Brown (Guest Blogger)

People say that lesbian romance doesn’t sell, that it’s stupid to waste my time writing it when my male-male and ménage stories will earn me more money. But every now and then I write another lesbian romance. All my lesbian erotic romances are based on the idea of women overcoming difficulties to achieve their happy endings. Because all women deserve to find their happy endings.

I’ve always loved reading stories about strong women from history. In a time when women had almost no rights at all, every now and then a woman overcame every obstacle to guide her people. One of those was Queen Elizabeth I of England. Other women who come to mind are:

Marie Curie, Queen Victoria, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Mother Theresa, Eleanor of Aquitane, Aspasia of Miletus, Boadicea, Catherine the Great, Sappho, Florence Nightingale, and in our own day, Aung San Suu Kyi. Of course, you will all have your own lists.

My only female cousin was thirteen years older than me, so by the time I was old enough to know she was my cousin, she already seemed completely grown up to my little girl self. One by one my cousins got married but Bron didn’t. I longed for her to tell me she was engaged because I planned to ask to be her flower girl, but all that happened was that she took a job in a state a long way from where we lived. I was much older before I understood that she and her female best friend were closer than that. And it as even longer before I understood that where she and her lover had chosen to live was a state that accepted lesbians.

It was Bron who opened my eyes to the obstacles that two women face in finding their own happy ever after even today. I’m so glad she and Nancy found theirs in the end.

And, just to prove everyone wrong, two of my lesbian romances went on to become best sellers. So once again I have a new lesbian book out. 

 

Lesbian Lovers: Three Short Stories in one book!

Three lesbian couples. Three very different situations. Three fulfilling journeys to happiness.

“Fist Me”: Maeve nearly fell off her barstool when Taryn, the sexiest woman she’d ever known, asked her to fist her. But is it the right thing to do? Taryn’s not lesbian, and has just broken up from Mr. Perfect. Is she taking advantage of her? Or is this the ideal opportunity for them to begin a relationship?

“Lady Caroline’s Reward”: Lady Caroline Eversley needs a chaperone so hires Miss Dinah Watkin, a distant relative. Dinah and Caroline fall in love and Dinah teaches Caroline all about sex, but the problem of Caroline’s suitable chaperonage refuses to go away. Can they find a solution and have their own happy ending?

“Stubborn Attraction”: Laid off for ramming her knee into a co-worker’s balls after he tries to feel her up, lesbian Jaelle heads to her father’s cabin in the mountains. There, she takes the form of a mountain goat and climbs, free and uninhibited. So, what happens when she finds a very attractive interloper on her favorite rock ledge?

Previously published as individual stories by Torquere Press.

PG13 Excerpt

Later that evening, the women sat by the fire in the book room, their fingers moving diligently as they sewed. Hugh, Thomas and John were all upstairs with Caroline’s father. His suite of rooms was always heated warmly and he was never left unattended even for a moment.

Dinah gazed at Caroline. She really did look lovely in the firelight, her pale cheeks slightly flushed by the warmth of the fire, the long hair coiled neatly on her neck and gleaming with reddish highlights, her slender fingers busily employed mending one of her father’s shirts.

Dinah’s heart lurched. She could fall in love with this woman. Not only was Caroline beautiful, but she was also highly intelligent and courageous in the way she was facing the adversity of her father’s, and therefore her own, situation.

“Have you ever been kissed?” Dinah asked suddenly.

“Well, just a few quick pecks by boys who shouldn’t have when I was younger. At family gatherings and such. And one or two of the suitors have tried. That’s why I made sure Hugh Howel was always with me. They totally ignored the fact my maid Betty was in the room!”

“Would you like to be kissed? Properly kissed?”

“But who— What? You—”

“Yes, me. May I kiss you?” Dinah put her needlework down on the side table and slid along the sofa to the end where Caroline sat.

Caroline’s hands dropped to the sofa. With no objection forthcoming, very gently, Dinah turned Caroline’s head toward her and kissed those ripe pink lips. Softly, gently, sweetly, but with enough heat and passion to warm their lips. Very soon, Caroline responded, one hand reaching up to rest on Dinah’s arm.

Caroline’s lips softened under Dinah’s caress, and Dinah licked along the seam, urging her to open her mouth. Caroline did, and Dinah’s tongue slipped inside, very gently running along Caroline’s teeth and all around the warm wet cavern.

Dinah’s hands firmed on Caroline’s head, tilting it slightly as her tongue thrust into the younger woman’s mouth.

Caroline groaned and responded more passionately, kissing back with enthusiasm.

Dinah increased the heat by sucking a little on Caroline’s tongue pulsing in and out before retreating again.

Caroline melted into Dinah, leaning against the older woman and holding both her shoulders as she returned the kisses very passionately now.

Deliberately, Dinah took one hand off Caroline’s head and placed her palm against Caroline’s breast, smoothing it up and over the nipple. A nipple that was standing up, a hard, excited little peak.

Caroline’s tongue delved into Dinah’s mouth, exploring the roof, the sides, the teeth. Dinah responded by sucking on it as her hand slid down inside the bodice of Caroline’s gown, hot on her flesh, to rub the globe of her breast and tweak the nipple between her fingers.

“I... Oh... More,” gasped Caroline, then returned to kissing Dinah, her arms now grasping the older woman firmly.

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In Memory of My Dad

By Berengaria Brown (Guest Blogger)

When I was small my Mom was quite ill. My Dad had never had to look after me for more than an hour or two at a time until then, and he wasn’t too sure what to do with me. The first day he bought me a wonderful set of blocks with bridges, and towers, and awesome things in the box, and I played with them all day. I’m pretty sure he enjoyed playing with them too. At least for the first hour or so. But by the second day he was once again at a loss to know what to do with me. 

He loved reading, so he sat me down and taught me to read. I was already fascinated that the black squiggles on the pages of my books actually meant something, and picked up the idea fairly quickly. My Mom was ill for several months. Long before she had gotten better I was reading voraciously. All the kids’ books I owned, I could now read, and I read them over and over. When I got tired of that, Dad took me down to the local library, and signed me up for a membership card. That worked well for several years, until I’d read everything in the children’s section. Dad didn’t even blink. He just handed me his adult borrower card and I started to read the adult collection.

Some people were horrified that I might read something that little girls shouldn’t know about. Dad wasn’t worried. “If she doesn’t understand it, it won’t hurt her. And if she knows what it means, there’s no need to hide it from her”, he said.

Likely that explains why I write FF, and MM, and ménage, as well as MF romance. I like to read all genres so that’s what I write.

Aquamarine: Courage and Comfort by Berengaria Brown

Blurb

Edmund’s sister Mavis was tragically widowed by a hit-and-run driver, when her husband was rushing to the hospital for the birth of their son. Now Mavis can’t cope with the loss of her husband and a new fatherless baby to care for.

Mavis’ friend, AJ, tells Edmund that he and his partner, Utah, must go and retrieve an aquamarine. The stone will bring courage and comfort to Mavis. It will hold the spirit of her dead husband and she will be able to rear their son and have a fulfilling life.

Only lovers can find the stone. Edmund and Utah are a little skeptical, but very willing to try.

PG13 Excerpt

Utah just smiled at his partner. Edmund had all the confidence in the world, and likely some naughty plan in mind. Well, they'd soon see just how doable his plans were. One of the things Utah loved about Edmund was his insouciant acceptance of sex as an integral part of daily life. And Utah's dick was always ready to get involved in sex with Edmund!

Even just looking at Edmund in that tight, body-hugging wetsuit, made Utah's cock grow and harden, and his balls tighten. Down boy he thought widening his stance a little to ease the pressure on his equipment. First we find this mystical aquamarine for Mavis. Then we fuck each other's brains out.

The more he thought about it, the crazier it sounded. Here on a public beach where dozens, even hundreds, of people swam every day, they were going to swim out to a sandbar and find a precious stone. They would then give this stone to Edmund's sister, and with no other help -- no therapy, no psychiatrists, no lawyers, nothing else at all -- she would accept the loss of her husband and focus on rearing her kid. When he put it like that, it almost sounded like he was the one who needed a good therapist. Deluded didn't come close to explaining the lack of logic in those thoughts. Ah well, all he could do was support Edmund. AJ had made it quite plain Edmund would not succeed if Utah wasn't there with him. And anyway, he wanted to be with Edmund. Wanted to help him.

Shrugging his shoulders he swung around to look at Edmund. "Are you ready to go fetch this rock?"

"Yes, sure. But how are we supposed to recognize it?"

"Hell if I know. Isn't it supposed to call to you, or something?"

Buy now from Torquere Books!

Bio: Berengaria is a multi-published author of erotic romance: contemporary, paranormal (magic, ghosts, vampires, fairies, dragons, and werewolves), futuristic, medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: one man/one woman; two women; two men; two men/one woman; three men, two women/one man, three men/one woman…. Whatever the characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure they get it.

Blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com

Website: http://berengariabrown.webs.com/

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