Today I am very pleased to be a stop on The Black Sheep Loving In The Present Blog Tour for author, Kia Zi Shiru. So, without further ado, over to Kia!
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today Sophie.
Today I’ll be talking a bit about my own experiences of writing LGBT young
adult fiction.
I often get the question if it is any different from writing
hetero stories and I would probably be pretty quickly in answering that it
isn’t. Not on a basic level anyway. A story doesn’t change whether we write
gay, lesbian, trans or hetero couples or characters, at least, it shouldn’t. I
would like to think that it often doesn’t matter what type of relationship or
characters are at the heart of the story (unless of course their gender or
sexuality are the main subject of the story, then all the bets are off).
The reality is different. Vic, my main character in Black Sheep, is seen
differently because he is a guy who likes other guys and there are a lot of gay
stereotypes that can totally destroy a story. Most of the time this meant that
I had to think about what I made my characters do so they didn’t seem too
stereotypical in their way of interacting with each other and even the way
other people perceived them. This for me in the beginning was quite hard. I had
some experience with writing gay characters in my past work, but that was stuff
I never showed to other people, that was just my own stuff.
I’m always very aware of how my characters are perceived.
I’ve had replies in the past hating on gays which used to really upset me at
first, but these days, not as much. Mostly because I started to realise that
the people making those comments did it for just that purpose, upsetting the
writer and the audience. They wouldn’t read something, they’d just reply to
hate on my gay characters (and once even on my vampires, not sure where that
came from, this was pre-twillight).
For this same reason each time I get a good review from
someone about the characterisation of my characters I get really happy. I like
that people seem to be able to connect with my characters, no matter if they’re
male or female. One of my big goals while writing Black Sheep was that I wanted
to write something people could connect to. Not per se because of their gender
or sexuality but because of shared experiences.
I think LGBT fiction has a huge spot in young adult fiction,
especially because it is young adult fiction. They are the age where people
start to realise their feelings and at which point experiences with the outside
or inner world can create ideas and images that might haunt you for the rest of
your lives. Black Sheep is very clean when it comes to things like sex and
making out. If I remember correctly there are only one or two scenes where
there is skin on skin contact between characters that isn’t on their hands or
face. In that way it is very clean. I didn’t plan this from the beginning,
though for these characters it makes total sense.
Stating someone’s sexuality doesn’t automatically mean that
the characters in the book will have sex. I think it is one of the problems
some people run into when they ask why LGBT fiction would be appropriate for
teens. Not all the hetero books are about sex, why should LGBT books be? Sure
it can be about their gender or their sexuality without getting undressed and
doing dirty stuff with others.
Black Sheep’s tag line without any gender identifications
would simply come down to this: Black Sheep is about a person and their friends
and family as they try to overcome their past with an abusive partner and the
following depression as they are at the same time trying to form a new
relationship and getting on with their life.
There are quite a few YA books with the same premise. I
know, I’ve read some of them.
People can say a lot of things about LGBT fiction and I’ve
probably heard most nasty things that are said about LGBT youth or fiction, it
doesn’t change that every teen needs someone who understands them. Sometimes
this is in fiction. When we have fiction about people with every colour skin in
the world, with every thinkable disability, with every type of problem. Why
can’t LGBT youth have that same right? Why does the fact that they might have a
different sexuality or gender identity suddenly make books about them to be
something only adults should read?
Okay, okay, enough of a rant. What it comes down to is this:
I’m very aware of my personification of my characters
because of two reasons. On the one hand I don’t want to alienate readers that
actually deal with the subjects that are talked about in the story. On the
other hand, I also want to show people who don’t know anything about LGBT
people or people who have had to deal with abuse or depression what is really
going on in a person’s head, I want them to be able to relate. This makes me
very aware of my writing and makes me sometimes wonder if I’m doing anything
right at all.
I don’t want to write things just to appeal to one audience
and that has been evident in my writing from the start. Sure, my characters are
gay, that doesn’t mean they aren’t relatable to hetero or asexual people, their
sexuality doesn’t define them. And I’d be so happy if one day I wouldn’t have
to specify my books as gay but can just have them accepted as YA fiction. As
being about relationships, love and ultimately life.
Hear, hear, Kia! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
So, if you're interested in checking out Kia and her work, here are the links to let you do that. :)
About Kia Zi Shiru
Kia Zi Shiru is a Dutch girl studying English and Creative
Writing in the UK. Amongst her interests she finds writing, reading, doing
research and learning different languages (including but not limited to:
English, Dutch, French, German, HTML, Java, PHP and Assembly). Her writing and
reading habits include books with Young Adults, gay themes, strong female or
minority characters and fantasy elements (more often then not all at the same
time).
Where You can find Kia:
Website www.5timeschaos.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/kiazishiru
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KiaShiru
Black Sheep Trilogy #2: Loving In The Present
Vic has taken a turn for the worse and is back in the psychiatric
hospital. Jack gets
kicked out of his house when his parents find out that he is gay. The reason
Adam is not getting better is revealed. And that is just the beginning.
Everybody
is lost and trying to not let it spiral out of control. Jack moves in with
Vic’s family, making it his temporary home until he can move in with his
brother and sister. Vic’s health doesn’t improve until he hears about Adam, at
which point he put his mind to getting better. Adam on the other hand is
fighting his own feelings about Vic’s illness and questions their friendship.
When Vic and Jack visit Adam and Tom for Tom's birthday, it
seems like a great way to let loose, but Vic is hiding more secrets than anyone
knew and when they are exposed the situation explodes. Vic storms off in anger
and seeks solace in dangerous places and, unknowingly, putting not just
himself, but Jack too at risk.
Buy links:
Excerpt:
“So, here we are again.” Dr West sits down next to the bed. “Not talking again, I’ve been told.”
I
stare
away
from
him,
silently
confirming
his
statement.
Memories
of
the
last
time
I
was
here
have
started
haunting
me
and
even
though
I
have
only
been
here
for
a
week
it
seems
like
the
time
between
then
and
now
has
never
happened, or at
best has been a dream.
“They called me as soon as my holiday ended. They figured I knew how to deal with you. But I’m not so sure about it, Victor. You need to start talking. Everybody is getting really worried. Don’t start hiding inside your head again.”
I
know
he
is
staring
at
me,
he
is
good
at
that,
sitting
still
as
a
rock
and
just
analysing
my
every
move.
My
every
blink
and
breath
will
be
studied
and
he
will
write
about
it
and
talk
to
me
about
it
and
he
will
analyse
my
reaction
to
his
first
conclusions
and
everything
will
start
over
again.
Until
I
start
talking
of
course.
“Victor. Victor, look at me. Come on.” Dr West moves his chair so he is sitting at the foot of the bed.
I
shake
my
head,
trying
to
hide
my
face
in
my
hair,
but
without
my
hands
there
is
not
much
I
can
do
when
it
comes
to
hiding.
I
sigh
and
close
my
eyes,
not
looking
at
him,
not
working
with
him.
It’s
not
like
it
worked
that
well
last
time,
I’m
back
for
the
same
damn
reason,
aren’t
I?
“Your sis told me that your boyfriend moved into your house. How is that, living with him?”
I
still.
What?
When
did
that
happen?
How
come
Jack
moved?
Is
it
because
of
me?
“You didn’t know?”
See,
there,
he
did
it.
Reading
my
moves,
analysing
what
I
do.
Being
all
psych
with
me
even
if
I
don’t
talk.
But
this
time
he
won’t
be
able
to
get
me
to
break.
They
won’t
keep
me
here
forever,
they
have
to
let
me
go
at
some
point.
Black Sheep Trilogy #1: Letting go of the Past on sale for $0.99 (Feb 13-25)
Trying to rescue her son from a destructive environment, where the end of his last relationship almost ended in tragedy, Vic's mother decides to move them all to a new town. Vic, glad at being able to start anew, takes the chance to create an image that would make his last two years of high school a lot easier.
But that plan is sabotaged when his new best friend, Jack, kisses him on New Year's Eve, something Vic has been longing for and dreading in equal measure. Vic knows being gay in high school can be hell, and he's scared sweet and innocent Jack won't be able to handle him, or his past. It scares him more than anything now that his past has come back to haunt him, metaphorically and literally.
Vic tries to hide the horror of his past as long as possible, knowing that when Jack finds out what happened he will leave him.
As Vic takes a turn for the worse everybody but him realises how strong Jack and his love for Vic actually are. But is that enough for Vic to move on?
This ebook also includes a short story that has not been shown while it was being ran as a serial.
I really enjoyed this post. Putting so much thought into your characters is what makes them interesting, not cardboard. :) I admire that you write about young people, because young people are dealing with so many difficult things, and even more so when they navigate the waters of being "different."
ReplyDeleteHi I noticed you are signed for the A to Z Challenge, I am Yvonne of Poetry From The Heart helping Arlee Bird make sure people who have signed have any queries.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post very much and look forward to reading more during April.
Yvonne.