When someone tells me I don’t have the right to do something, I pay attention. For example, the right to write gay male characters in my novels if I’m not gay or a man. At the heart of the objections to women writing gay male romance is that we “can’t know.”
I can only speak for myself. This is true even when I write a story from the perspective of a gay man. To do so with any hope of genuineness, I have to […]
Read MoreWhen people pay attention to you, what do you feel?
The chatter in the room pauses and all faces turn toward you. You react with… a raised chin and a smile? A gulp and a shrink? A “Pardon me” and a dust cloud as you make a beeline for the parking lot?
Whatever your reaction, the mechanisms around being seen were likely set in motion in […]
Read MoreWhen I tell someone I’m a romance writer, their reaction is often a pause or a change of subject. The romance genre has a reputation as a distraction for people who can’t be bothered to think. This couldn’t be further from the truth. This genre gives us important information about how to achieve better relationships.
For a story to be included in the romance genre, it must have […]
Read MoreWhen was the last time you lost yourself in a natural setting? What did you do there? How long did you feel better after you returned home?
You may have heard of the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.” This strikes a deep chord with me. In an article in The Guardian by […]
Read MoreHoming is a query to the self, a quest for comfort, an orientation toward alignment. It’s a useful feeling to tune in to, because it tells us how close or far we are to the resting place of our own truth. If someone urges me to be a way I’m really not, I feel it as a separation from the home of my true self […]
Read MoreAs a private person, I socialize by diverting attention away from myself. I use my intuition and empathy to protect my introversion, by asking other people about themselves. If you need to get something heavy off your chest, dig into a problem that seems to have no solution, or tackle a dreaded task, I’m an asset.
If you need to get the party started, look elsewhere. At the shindig, I’ll […]
Read More[Article by Alice published on SmexyBooks]
Where is home for you? Are you happy there?
Over the two years I wrote The Infinite Onion, I thought a lot about Home with a capital H, wondering if a deep feeling of Home would be possible for me after living in eighty places in three countries. I felt homeless in a conceptual way, and longed for […]
Read MoreThis unusual time of sheltering in place opens the way for something different. For now, the edges of our everyday worlds are smaller: the expanse of our residence, or an outdoor place where we can have some space. But creativity thrives in uncertainty. When our ability to venture wide is limited, we can shift our gazes to look deeper for treasure—right here where we are.
In my novel Everyday History, one of the main characters, Henry, writes articles to […]
Read More[Article by Alice published on Frolic]
The road to happily ever after is paved with boundary negotiations. From the first meeting to the happy ending in a romance story, characters interact in a series of approaches and retreats, queries and responses. Yes. No. Maybe.
This is why I love writing and reading romance: […]
Read MoreFor readers of my novel Everyday History who told me they wished Henry's articles were real so they could read more of them, I offer a compromise: a series of Everyday History-style articles about items in my life. (This one includes an audio option.)
My mom grew up by the Mississippi River in the Deep South. Her childhood photos show a thin girl in the midst of a tragedy. Dark circles under eyes full of […]
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