YA LGBT Books discussion

My new novel, OUT, just went live on Kindle. It's a YA speculative fiction book, and I'd love some feedback from your group. I'm a Gay Straight Alliance advisor at my high school, and proud PFLAG mom. Here's the description and link:

"In a society where “perpendiculars,” opposite-sex couples, are forbidden, persecuted, freakish…Chris Bryant, a preacher’s son, finds himself in love…with a girl.

Chris has always been faithful to his Anglicant religion – even though he’s never felt like everyone else, never felt…parallel. And then it happens: he meets her. Carmen. Daughter of one of the leading Perpendicular prosecutors…the girl he knows he can’t live without.

Carmen has always thought the treatment of Perps is barbaric – but to actually be one? To fall in love with Chris and openly admit to it is suicide.

Their only chance to be together is the Underground, a secret society Chris’s sister introduces him to that is determined to mount an attack against the social restrictions of the Anglicant church. They want to make an example of Chris and Carmen, two Perps from high social families, to become the catalyst for an uprising that will threaten the traditions of their society’s families and church.

But the cost of involvement just might be death for them both.
http://tinyurl.com/acngjob

I like the reverse roles idea - good luck with the book.

Thanks!

I'm sure that you have the best of intentions with this book, but personally I don't see how this is an LGBT book. It's about a straight couple (and oppressive queer people). I have to agree with this article that after the Save the Pearls fiasco laments "flipped prejudice" as a trend: http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives...

I really do get the good intentions that you had here, but personally I don't find reading a book where straight people are the oppressed victims and queer people are the villains to sound very appealing.

Edited to add this post as well, as a queer publisher's take on this book: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/blog/?p...

I understand where you're coming from. However, if you read the book, I think you'll see why it works. My problem is that several people have criticized it without reading it.

Well, most of the comments on the Goodreads page read at least a chapter and felt similarly. Plus, it's the inherent premise of the book that's problematic to me. I really have no interest in reading about straight people as the heroes and queer people as the villains. I would rather read and support YA books about queer people.

I understand. But in every civil rights fight, the majority has had to help change the minds of the others in the majority. If the straight people in our world could see what it would feel like to be persecuted for who they are, who they were born to be, maybe they could understand.
This conversation reminds me a lot of what people said when Huck Finn was published: that it was a racist books because it contained the N-word 274 times. It's the least racist book you'll ever read. And, just for the record, I haven't seen anyone who's actually read the whole book discuss it, nor have I seen mention of anyone reading one chapter and then dismissing it. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place, I don't know. But just as you can't judge Huck Finn by one quality (the n-word), you should not, in my opinion, judge my book based on the fact that you see the queers as the villains. (In fact, many of them help change this world.)

Well if I had a kindle I'd read it. I like speculative fiction that turns expectations inside out - it makes us think more deeply about the ideas explored.

You can actually get Kindle apps for ipad, android phone, etc. for free. There will also be a print version in February.

PM me with more information, please, at your leisure? I have access to a Sony e-reader and an android tablet. But if the print version is going to be reasonably priced I might want to wait.

I think it's important to explore controversies, like oppression & bigotry for example, from every angle we can. Only with a fuller understanding can we more effectively argue our own position.

I hope that you find some peace. You are clearly upset about this, and I didn't mean to sew discontent. Just because some people do not agree with what I write or don't like it is no reason for me to stop doing it. By that logic, you'd stop doing what you do. What I'm saying is that I know my intentions, I know my heart, I know what I meant.

As a mod, I deleted a comment (#11) that I felt was a personal attack on another group member. Discussion is more than welcome here. Calling names is not. That poster will be more than welcome to repost their comment without the personal slurs, which presumably were unintended overstepping, due to feeling emotional about the subject.

I've read the first several pages and so far it's about people. As in, we're individuals first, and gay or straight or white or black or male or female secondarily. So far so good.

(Laura, I'd love it to be possible to sew discontent - but you probably want to fix your typo to 'sow' :)

I must admit, I adore the cover. I have actually got it on my kindle and it seems interesting. I'm not going to judge it without reading it, so yeah, good luck with OUT :)

And by the way, you are not yet listed as the goodreads "official" Author of OUT yet. Just in case you didn't know.

HI Gabby
How do I do that? Thanks for letting me know.

If this is you http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/... then you are - if it's a different Laura Preble then you probably need to contact Goodreads and request it be changed over.

It's me...but it says I'm not part of the author program. I sent them a message. Thank you.

Yeah. you click "Is this you?" on the author page and then it works.

Well, I've read it. It's not homophobic. The impression I got is that it's a polemic against bigots and zealots of any stripe, especially those who prey on others' prejudices to gain more power. Pretty good.

Thanks.

OOoh, your now the official author! :D

Yes, I officially exist! I feel somehow more...solid.

lol :)