Taking Pride with the Outer Alliance

As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity. I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work.

Today is Pride Day, and I’m proud to be an ally and advocate for GLBT rights, in spec fiction and in writing spec fiction. I celebrate diversity in the many worlds that we inhabit, both in our heads and in real life. And here’s hoping for a day when, in that bright future, we’re all equal in gender and all that relates to it.

And here’s a snippet from Heart’s Price, book three of the YA Fantasy GLBT “Heart” trilogy (soon to be a quartet!). Heart’s Price comes out on September 15th from Prizm Books:

The kisses — he wasn’t sure what to do about the kisses. It was sweet, aye, and it was comforting, and Soren liked it. He wasn’t sure what Aidan actually meant by it, though. They were friends — really good friends, brothers in arms, almost — but there’d never really been talk of more than that. Soren’s sisters and cousins and occasionally Katjin had teased Soren about Aidan being his mate, but beyond that? He’d fancied a girl or two, and thought himself desperately in love with a fella from the Salt River clan four summers back, when he was a little younger than Shria, but beyond that… He hadn’t had the time to think of mates and partnership and setting up a yer with someone. His goal had always been the cavalry, and after that, retiring with horses and fat babies and peace on his family’s migration route.

But Aidan knew him, had been with him for the past year and walked every step beside him. Starless hells, Nisha even liked him. And his horse didn’t like just anybody, case in point that Salt River boy that Nisha almost kicked in the head after he tried something with Soren that Soren didn’t exactly appreciate.

So he clung to hands and arms, and tried to take comfort, and tried not to think — or feel — to much about it. Apa always said that attachment in times of war could never be permanent, that everyone fell in love when danger appeared.