If you needed more evidence that YA Books Central is one of the most important sites for teens, here it is:
September is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered month on the site. Kimberly Pauley is posting articles and interviews by a whole host of amazing writers on the subject. Teens are invited to participate in all kinds of fun contests and giveaways. Don’t worry: allies are welcome!
I hope to write in about some recent experiences I’ve had with my new book, Another Kind of Cowboy, which features a gay hero. So far some offended teachers and librarians in the Calgary area have tried, unsuccessfully, to have me kept out of the Calgary writers’ festival. Some people have embraced the book and written me touching letters about what it has meant to them. And today I learned that the book is about to receive a bad review in the Calgary Herald by a reviewer who feels I handled the entire issue badly and without tact. I am devastated, of course.
Now that I’ve finished weeping into my keyboard, I have decided that if I were to write a response, which I’m not, obviously, because writers aren’t supposed to respond to reviews (ahem), I’d say that I tried to be as sensitive as possible when I created Alex. However, I don’t try to hide or tiptoe around the fact that he’s gay because I think it should be celebrated. He knows exactly who he is, even though he’s very cautious about what he does with that knowledge. I’m saddened by the idea that being gay or lesbian or any variation of the above should be considered a “bomb”. In a perfect world it would be considered more of a “gateau”. I know, easy for me, as a straight woman, to say this, and I know the lived experience of many people is much, much different. In Alex I tried to create a young man who is self-protective but fundamentally at ease with his reality. And, lord help me, I never wanted to be tactless and insensitive! Anything but that!
People have asked why Alex is written in the third person and Cleo is written in the first person. Cleo is very open. Too open, in fact. She leads with her chin. Alex is quite closed and channels all his energy into his riding. I wrote him in third person because he lives at a slight remove from himself in order to protect what he sees as his fragile family situation. I doubt I’ll write a sequel (although I do have an outline for one) because a) my editors might be tempted to jump off the nearest bridge and b)this book has been unbelievably tough from start to finish, but if I did, my plan was to switch the POVs, so Cleo was in third and Alex was in first. I should point out that Alex’s sexuality is only part of the story. It’s really a story about friendship and about horses. And aunts who don’t cook very well. And dads who live in motorhomes. And, and, and…
But back to my main point. YABC is a great site for those of us who love teen books and those of us who support GLBTG teens. I hope everyone gets a chance to check it out.
And if you want a sample of the kinds of essays featured, check out this one by Brent Hartinger, who, to put it mildly, rocks. The Revolution