This is the cover of my novel Serpentine Walls. The two cuties, Pete and Matthew, are standing on The Lawn at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. I went to college at UVa and many of the scenes in the novel were culled from my memories of being a UVa student and living in Charlottesville. I wrote two other m/m novels set there, Aidan’s Journey and Sex, Love, and Videogames.
So you might imagine how I felt a week ago Friday about images of neo-Nazis bearing tiki torches and marching onto the Grounds. Virginia, Charlottesville, and UVa, founded by slave owner Thomas Jefferson, have all played their part in the history of white supremacy in the United States. But my sentiments are echoed by these brave students who stood their ground against hate and racism while surrounded by white supremacists. See them there in the middle?
(source: sophia armen on Twitter)
Here is a closeup of these brave souls:
That happened Friday night. The world knows what happened Saturday when Heather Heyer was murdered by a neo-Nazi.
What do we do? We speak up, we resist, we continue to protest. And write and read books that show a different and loving world.
On Saturday I and three fellow LGBTQ authors had a table at our local Pride festival. That was the best place to be.
And the universe keeps going… today with a total eclipse. Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling us to stop for a few minutes and reflect on our lives. Until next month…
After years of hearing characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche. CJane has traveled all over North America for work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming out stories.
CJane is the author of the award-winning Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook Awards.
Keep standing up for what is right.
Keep writing about what is real.
Thanks.
Thanks so much, 16forward!