Is Diversity a Liability? (#diversity #amwriting #branding)

If I were looking for a logo, I might choose a Pu Pu Platter.

Do any of you remember those pseudo-Polynesian appetizer assortments, complete with the fiery wrought-iron cauldron in the middle to heat up all the finger food? Do they still exist? When I went searching for images on my favorite stock photo site, I came up with zero hits. Are PuPu Platters totally passé? Have they gone the way of granny glasses and lava lights?

Modern concerns with healthy eating have probably played a role in the platter's demise. It's difficult to imagine a more fat-and-cholesterol intensive repast than the traditional fried wonton, crispy egg rolls, barbecued spareribs, battered giant shrimp, cheese-filled crab puffs, and all the other delicacies that might show up ranged around the flaming Sterno. One PuPu Platter can undo weeks of toil at the gym.

But God, how I loved them! Indeed, I recall that on my first real date, my companion (with whom I was highly enamored) ordered us one. This may explain my lingering fondness; PuPu Platters are somehow mixed up in my mind with sex. (Not that I had sex on my first date, of course, but a teenager's hormones color everything in her world). And there are some similarities, after all. A PuPu Platter is decadent, all luscious flavor with little food value. You devour the components with your fingers and lick off the juices afterward. And you can't eat one all by yourself. PuPu Platters are made to be shared.

The real attraction for me, though, is variety. (I also adore mezze plates – Middle Eastern appetizer assortments.) A taste of this, a hint of that, never enough of any one dish to be bored – that's what I love. Diversity is my ideal in life. I want to sample a wide range of different experiences, rather than being forced to choose one dish, one path, even one person – although I have been married to the same guy for more than thirty years. (He likes variety, too.)

As a reader, I also seek out diversity. Anyone who scrolls through my books on Goodreads will find plenty of erotica, true, but also romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, classics, historical novels, biographies, plays, poetry, a bit of almost everything. If you focus in on the erotica, you’ll see I read and review work ranging from extreme hard core BDSM to sweet vanilla. I read and enjoy gay, lesbian, bisexual and multi-partner fiction – contemporary, historical, futuristic – really, whatever I can get my hands on.

Most authors write what they like to read. Hence it's not surprising my books are all over the map. At this point I’ve published nine novels (defined as works over 50K words). Two are gay erotic romance – one paranormal, one sci fi. One is M/F and F/F erotic noir. One is M/F paranormal. One is steampunk BDSM paranormal ménage. My first three are even harder to classify, offering a bit of everything, from a sexual perspective – from exhibitionism to enemas – with many assortments of gender and in one case, a parallel historical subplot.

I’m proud of my books. I like the challenge of tacking new genres as well as new forms. However, lately I’ve started to believe that diversity can be a liability to an author’s career. When someone asks you what you write, “almost everything” may not be a strategic answer.

Think about the authors whose names are household words. Steven King writes horror. Anne Rice writes paranormal. P.D. James writes (or wrote) mysteries. James Patterson writes political thrillers. Nora Roberts writes romance. J.K. Rowling writes fantasy. (Remember how nasty the critics were when she published her realistic contemporary novel, A Casual Vacancy?)

I couldn’t think of any really popular writers whose books vary as much as mine do, from one to the next.

Meanwhile, my favorite authors are the ones who can write anything – and do. M.Christian comes to mind as maybe the best example. I’ll devour anything by Kathleen Bradean/Jay Lygon. Jonathan Lethem’s wild imagination produces something different in every offering. And though I haven’t read anything by him in a long time, John Barth used to delight me with every book I read. I never knew what to expect – and that’s the way I liked it.

Of course, in answer to the question, “what do you write?”, I could say “erotica”. That doesn’t pin things down much, though. Some erotica readers are pretty picky about the themes and topics they want to read. I know people who find anything other than BDSM fiction totally boring. Others have complained they can’t find hot vanilla M/F stories anymore. The segment of the erotica market that’s reading primarily for arousal wants stories that push their particular buttons. Someone who gets off on water sports isn’t interested in femdom. And so on.

Anyway, the “erotica” answer isn’t strictly true. I also write erotic romance, which has a different audience. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms by some erotica readers that my stories were too tainted by romance. Meanwhile, I’ve had romance readers shy away from my work as “too hot” and “too much like porn”. I’ve considered adopting a new tag line: “Too raw for romance, too sweet for smut.” (I’m only halfway joking.)

I guess I have to accept the fact that the majority of readers does not value variety to the extent I do. Instead they are seeking predictability – the antithesis of enjoyment, from my perspective!

This is a bit depressing, if I allow myself to dwell on it.

Am I willing to focus on one sub-genre in order to become popular? If I were making my living as an author, I think I’d have to. Fortunately, I have the luxury of writing what I feel like – of indulging my love of diversity.

Now all I have to do is find readers with similar tastes.

Anyone care to share a Pu Pu Platter?

All the Colors of the Rainbow

Welcome to the 2013 Hop AgainstHomophobia and Transphobia! More than three hundred authors, publishers and reviewers of LGBTQ-themed literature are joining this event, which runs from today until the 27^th of May. With our blog posts, comments and giveaways, we're celebrating International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (May 17th). Our goal – to make as many people as possible aware of homophobia's costs, and to encourage them to honor, not fear, sexual diversity.

Last year's event focused only on M/M issues. This year we've expanded the scope to include all orientations under the LGBTQ umbrella, since lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals suffer from the same types of discrimination and harassment as gay men.

Our message is the same, though. We are humans first - gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight or queer second. And every human being deserves the same rights, the same freedoms, the same respect. When we condemn or oppress another individual because of his or her orientation, we are not only wronging that individual, but diminishing our own humanity.

Authors of LGBTQ-themed books have a big role to play in reducing homophobia, I believe. When a reader becomes emotionally involved with a LGBTQ character, he or she begins to realize that we're all far more alike than we are different. The greater visibility of gay and lesbian characters in literature and in media, especially characters who don't follow the stereotypes, has led to a greater acceptance of different sexual orientations, and a relaxation (at least in Western countries) of some of the legal and social barriers to equal rights. We authors feed this trend. I'm quite certain that the many women who read M/M romance have played a role in the recent advances in marriage equality, for instance. Slowly but steadily, we're helping to chip away at the old attitudes.

I'm personally thrilled by the more inclusive definition in this year's hop. I write not only M/M erotica and erotic romance but also lesbian and bisexual stories. I've written a couple of transexual secondary characters as well, and a tale featuring a transexual heroine is simmering on my mental back-burner. I also have a story idea I hope to develop, a science fiction love affair between a woman and a hermaphrodite. You might say that I write all the colors of the rainbow.

I'll step into controversial territory now, though, by saying that I sometimes find LGBTQ readers and writers less tolerant of diversity than I'd expect. Some M/M readers refuse to read anything else. I've had fans who love my gay books tell me that lesbian content is “icky”. Meanwhile, some F/F authors not only restrict themselves exclusively to tales about women with women, but also protest that a male could never write convincing lesbian fiction. I've had gay erotic romance rejected by M/M review sites because it incorporated half a page of heterosexual interaction.

Please! Isn't this a kind of reverse discrimination? In fact the guidelines for this hop exclude M/F authors. This actually bothers me a bit. Can't an author who focuses on straight relationships contribute to the effort to erase homophobia? Don't we need all the help we can get to fight bullying and secure equal rights for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation?

Anyway, my personal preference is to mix things up in my fiction. My most recent release, Rajasthani Moon, is primarily a M/F/M title, but it includes a bit of lesbian sex – first of all, because that fit the story, and second, because I personally found it arousing. I hesitated before adding this scene, worrying about alienating some readers. I may pay for this indulgence in lower sales. But ultimately, it was the right thing to do and I'll stand by my decision.

All the colors of the rainbow, to me, means the freedom to explore one's sexual preferences, whatever direction they might lead, without fear of being ostracized or otherwise punished. And for me, at least, sexual orientation is relative and variable. I'm attracted to individuals, not to a particular gender, and that's the way I write, too.

What do you think about this issue? Leave me a comment, with your email address. On the 28^th, I'll draw three winners. One will win a copy of my F/F romance Velvet. One will win a copy of the M/M anthology Gaymes, which includes my story Crossed Hearts. And in honor of the third winner, I'll make a $10 contribution to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund: http://www.lambdalegal.org/

I hope you'll visit at least some of the other participants in the Hop, too. You'll find links to all their posts below.

Pick 'n Mix

By Victoria Blisse (Guest Blogger)

Hello, I am Victoria Blisse and I’m taking over Lisabet’s blog today. Thanks for the invite!

When I was little I would get to have sweets once a week, usually a Friday and I would get a whole twenty pence to spend as I wanted. My very favourite way to get my sweet fix was to indulge in a good old pick and mix.

All the sweet shops and post offices and such would have a tray with multiple square indents in it and each little square would be full of a different kind of sweet. You might have gummy worms, white chocolate mice, chocolate cups or cola bottles. There would always be the individually wrapped pieces of bubbly bubble gum that had a particularly pink flavour that doesn’t remind you of any real kind of food and probably some lollipops of some kind or another.

Most sweets cost a penny or the large items like the ones shaped like a babies dummy might set you back two whole pence. You could get many sweets for your twenty pence I can tell you.

I am sure you’re trying to work out where on earth I am going with this pleasant jaunt down memory lane well I’ll tell you. My love of pick and mix has never changed. I love variety, I like to pick and choose a little of this and a sample of that with maybe a little of the other mixed in for good measure. If you’ve ever read any Victoria Blisse stories you might have noticed this. In fact you only have to pop on over to victoriablisse.co.uk and have a look at my books page to see I like variety. You’ll find ménage, vampires, werewolves and contemporary romance set by the seaside all in my list of titles.

So, I suggest to get the best from your Blisse you need to pick and mix a few titles and mix them together but if you’re like me actually picking and mixing can take a long time. So, House of Erotica has made it simple for you. They’ve taken my four stories published separately with them and combined them into one collection.

It contains a little femdom mixed with a heightened sense of smell and the most wonderful seaside town in the world (Scentsual), An older lady who falls head over heels for a young lad she employs at her supermarket (Till the End), A submissive college student who doesn’t realise her own beauty (Reluctant Muse) and a young lady out for revenge on a cheating partner by having sex with anything that moves in Masquerading Hearts.

All those titles are available individually if one particularly catches your eye but I suggest you go for The Victoria Blisse Collection and then you can enjoy them all together, it saves you money too!

Now, are you a ‘variety is the spice of life’ kind of person or not? Let me know if you like to mix and match or if you like everything to be in order. Also shout out if you remember old fashioned pick and mix, you can’t beat a good old reminisce now and then!

Also, please keep in touch. You can contact me over on my website or find me on Facebook or Twitter. I love meeting new people.