Are There Books With Good Butch Representation?
In this episode of Ask A Butch we find out what authors have good butch representation in their books. Books are recommended by Lise and Amy.
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Books discussed in this podcast:
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The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien
Emily Parker has a busy life over which she maintains iron-clad control. Raised by drug-addicted parents, she’s used to taking care of the people around her, to the exclusion of her own needs. But not tonight. After years of celibacy, she’s ready to pay for exactly what she wants: to surrender control, by having it taken away. Having worked as a high-priced escort for years, Nat Swayne not only enjoys her job – she’s damn good at it. Dangerously sexy, she knows precisely how to fulfill the fantasies of women who enjoy her special brand of make-believe – all without ever becoming emotionally involved. When their night of intense play turns into something more, Emily and Nat can’t help but pursue a connection in the real world. Unfortunately, old habits die hard, and love isn’t always enough.
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
Published in 1993, this brave, original novel is considered to be the finest account ever written of the complexities of a transgendered existence.
Woman or man? That’s the question that rages like a storm around Jess Goldberg, clouding her life and her identity. Growing up differently gendered in a blue–collar town in the 1950’s, coming out as a butch in the bars and factories of the prefeminist ’60s, deciding to pass as a man in order to survive when she is left without work or a community in the early ’70s. This powerful, provocative and deeply moving novel sees Jess coming full circle, she learns to accept the complexities of being a transgendered person in a world demanding simple explanations: a he-she emerging whole, weathering the turbulence.
Leslie Feinberg is also the author of Trans Liberation, Trans Gender Warriors and Transgender Liberation, and is a noted activist and speaker on transgender issues.
Her Best Friend’s Sister by Meghan O’Brien
At 12-years-old, Claire Barker developed a massive crush on her best friend Sarah’s older sister, the handsome, butch Alex Williams. Now 27 and a successful entrepreneur, Claire’s interest hasn’t waned – despite Alex’s fashion photography career keeping her overseas for months at a time. When Alex moves home unexpectedly, she and Claire end up enjoying a surprise, wine-fueled reunion that alters their relationship forever.
Are Claire’s dreams about to come true, or will real life prove to be more complicated than her fantasies?
Infinite Loop by Meghan O’Brien
Regan O’Riley has just about given up hope that she will ever find a woman into shy, geeky programmers. She yearns for a connection, but can’t seem to make the first move. Mel Raines knows all about making moves. After a childhood under the thumb of her alcoholic father, she avoids intimacy by drowning herself in fiery, fleeting encounters with strangers. When Regan and Mel meet in a straight bar, of all places, their chemistry is unmistakable. Before they can begin to explore their new relationship, Mel’s world is rocked when a close friend is a victim in a shooting. Regan suggests they take a road trip to escape reality for a little while, and Mel is only too ready to shake things up. Together they embark upon a physical and emotional journey where they discover that breaking free of old habits may be the only way to change your life.
A Royal Romance by Jenny Frame
Georgina, Princess of Wales, has always known her destiny, but she never expected duty to call so soon. When her father dies suddenly, she is called back from her Royal Navy post to assume the crown. While the people acclaim their new Queen, Great Britain’s first openly gay monarch, all George feels is the isolation of her station.
Beatrice Elliot’s staunch anti-monarchist views have always been a point of gentle contention with her working class, royalty-loving parents. When Bea, director of a hospice charity, must spend six months working with Queen Georgina, her charity’s new patron, sparks fly and passion blooms. But is love enough to bridge the gap between Bethnal Green and Buckingham Palace?
Two years ago, Molly Sokol decided she wanted to get serious about finding that special someone. She could picture her perfectly—petite, feminine, excitable, adoring, and ultra-affectionate. When the opposite of all that comes along in the form of Falyn Shaw, Molly never thought they’d be anything more than friends. Being wrong has never felt so good.
The Right Kind of Woman by Voss Porter
Just when free-spirited farm girl, Cara Spencer Holloway, feels the regulatory world of her closeted, Southern enclave will swallow her whole, her three miscreant brothers team up to carelessly throw her together with regimented, Northern software designer, Dre Martin, on a misguided stop en route to Florida. One steamy stop leads to another and soon the two women will learn more about what the right kind of partner can bring to life than they had ever suspected. But can Cara Spencer move forward and out of the pain of her past, or will she succumb to the doubts that have plagued her romantic life from its very inception?
The Wrong Kind of Woman by Voss Porter
All of her life, Dana Anderson has done what was expected of her. She put herself through school, she worked hard for her career, and she held her brother together after the loss of both parents. As summer comes and her inhibitions lower, however, she finds herself face-to-face with danger, mystery, and an illogical chance at true love.
Will rough and ready biker, Bri Gunner, be the woman of her dreams? Or will the heat of their passing flame burn out?
Swept away by desire at the wrong time, Mal Davis and Raina Greer have already proven to make a royal mess of commitment. When life presents a second chance, will they throw caution to the wind or will they let the chance meeting of a lifetime slip away?
When farmer Lorraina “Raina” Greer happened upon recently widowed Deputy Mallory Davis one spring evening, sparks hurriedly flew and both women were consumed with the flames of raw passion, at all of the wrong times. As news of Mal’s past surfaces to put a stop to their burgeoning romance, both vow to move on. The trouble is, neither can seem to stop reliving those fiery nights of desire, the taste of pure lust, and the hours whiled away in one another’s arms. Neither has managed to forget. But when life presents the women a second chance, a better time, will they be brave enough to take that leap of faith into the future?
The Butch and the Beautiful by Kris Ripper
Jaq Cummings is a high school teacher who really wants a committed relationship—as long as it doesn’t keep her out late on school nights or interrupt Sunday mass with her dad. She is absolutely not about to fall for the hot-mess divorcée she hooks up with even if said hot mess pushes all her buttons. Jaq’s white knight days are over.
But one hookup with Hannah becomes two, then coffee, then more incredibly hot sex. And unlike most of Jaq’s exes, Hannah’s not looking for someone to come on strong. In fact, Hannah comes on plenty strong enough for both of them. But she’s just out of a disastrous marriage, she’s in the process of moving across the state, and Jaq can’t take a chance on yet another relationship where she defaults to being a caregiver instead of a partner.
Just when Jaq decides her relationship with Hannah is far too precarious, a crisis with a student reminds her of her priorities and makes it clear that sometimes, you have to take big risks to get what you really want.
Depths Of Blue by Lise MacTague
For Torrin Ivanov, life is a bargaining table. Every planet is a new business opportunity. Legality is optional and supplying one side in a local civil war always adds up to profit.
Jak Stowell is at war within a war. A woman hidden in the heart of a male-only army, her brother’s murder has left her desperate for vengeance. Her skill as a sniper gives her both the disguise she needs and paves the way ever closer to her real goal. She kills efficiently, without remorse. Putting down an off-world smuggler will be no different.
A moment’s hesitation. A flicker of doubt. Two women on a collision course set off a chain reaction of intergalactic intrigue—and awaken a dangerous passion that could cost them their lives.
Five Moons Rising by Lise MacTague
Unknown to regular citizens, nightmarish creatures lurk in the dark underbelly of human civilization. The presence of these supranormals (“supras”)—werewolves, vampires, demons—is a closely guarded government secret, as is the existence of a cadre of specially engineered Hunters charged with exterminating them.
Code-named Malice, Hunter Mary Alice Nolan was genetically modified and rigorously trained to use her great strength, heightened senses, and killer instincts to track and eliminate supras who prey on the innocent. A loner by choice, her only real link to the human world is her close connection to her mother and sister—until the unthinkable happens…
Ruri Samson has been a werewolf for more than a century and is comfortably situated as the Beta of her peaceful pack. Until she is betrayed by the woman she loves and an evil outsider massacres her Alpha and his most loyal followers. Barely escaping with her life, Ruri is forced to tread the perilous path of a lone wolf while vowing vengeance against the usurper and his minions.
Although these two powerful women should rightfully despise each other, fate will soon compel them to join forces on a dangerous quest to avenge their loved ones—and will ignite a forbidden passion that neither of them ever imagined.
Ask A Butch: Are There Books With Good Butch Representation?
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