My latest release, Flash Me (Heathens Ink, 7) is a MMM romance between a sassy, transgender man, a mysterious tattoo artist, and the bowtie wearing therapist who completes them. When Liam first came on the scene as a the younger brother of a main character in Going Commando (Heathens Ink, 2), I didn’t expect to write him book. For one thing, he was only sixteen. And for another, he’s transgender, which frankly was a little intimidating. I’ve read and loved several books with transgender main characters, but it’s not difficult to notice that it’s not easy to find many. Which meant, if I was going to write this, I knew I had to make sure I did the research and portrayed Liam properly.

It was intimidating at first as I started learning about different surgical options, reading blogs and talking to some transgender individuals about their experience with feeling gender dysphoria, how it has shaped their thoughts, and what it feels like. There were decisions to make about Liam as a character because most of the things I learned about were very individual, being experienced differently or based on personal preference— would he get bottom surgery, how does he think about and discuss his own genitals, etc. It wasn’t easy but in the end I think (I hope) I did Liam justice.

What I ended up loving in the end about Flash Me was the same thing I usually end up loving about all my stories, that these men love each other fiercely and need each other in a way they didn’t realize before they met. I’ve also loved that I’ve gotten so many messages from readers with questions about transgender issues and had the chance to educate and point so many people in the direction of learning more.

I would love to see more books in the MM romance genre with transgender main characters, so here’s hoping this is something that other authors dive into as well!