This month has seen a crazy release success of Upside Down! My little asexual comedy has really resonated with readers. I’ve had a LOT of people contact me to thank me for writing a story they connect with, that they identify with, and that they feel finally—finally—gives them a voice.
And that’s an incredible feeling. In my opinion, that’s the biggest compliment a writer can get. It means we’ve touched a reader. We’ve struck a chord within them, resonated something in them they might have been lacking.
They feel validated. They feel seen. They know they’re not alone. They know they have a voice, a place, a community.
So next time you tell someone you read (or write) romance books, and in particular LGBTQIA+ romance/fiction, and they scoff or roll their eyes, tell them these books are important. This work is important. It matters. And I don’t care if it matters to one person, or twenty-one people, or a million and one people. It matters.
A sixteen year old kid who struggles with how they feel. A fifty-seven year old woman who thought she was broken because she’s never felt sexual attraction. A guy in his twenties whose family won’t accept him. A thirty-four year old person whose gender identity doesn’t match the body they were born in. A fifty-two year old man who longs for romance with another man.
The people we write about matter. It’s not just words on a paper. It’s not “just romance”. It’s representation. And to those who don’t fit the mould of majorities, that representation matters.
It matters a lot.
Blurb:
Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, a librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But when he realises adding the label asexual might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.
Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.
A little bewildered and scared but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.
You can find Upside Down at Amazon
For more about N.R. Walker you can find her at:
Email:
nrwalker@nrwalker.net