GayRomLit— or as some refer to it as GRL— truly is the must-attend event for
people who create and celebrate LGBT romance. For those who are unfamiliar with
what GRL is I can try and summarize it. Every year in October (this year it’s
the 17th to the 20th with pre-events on the 16th)
the LGBT community consisting of authors, narrators, readers, and professionals
gather to share in their love of LGBT romance. There are signings, author
lounges, many events, spotlights, it really is hours of fun.
The location
changes every year and on the opening night of each year the spot for the next
year is announced. During this time at
GRL there are two signings. One for Registered Authors and one for Featured
Authors.
At these
signings you can go to the authors’ tables, talk, have them sign swag they
have, books you’ve brought, pick up pre-orders, and they will even sign
something you brought from home.
Lounges are
set up as well these are outside the signing times. Registered authors have one
and featured have two lounges.
There will
also be spotlights with readings, Q&A’s and so much more.
Now until
October 14th Diverse Reader is spotlighting authors that will be at
this years GRL. And if you want to know more about it simply head over to the
site by clicking here:
Where To Find Jackie At The Event
Lounge Date 1
2019
Author Lounge Sessions
Thursday,
October 17⋅3:00 – 3:45pm
Lounge Date 2
2019
Author Lounge Sessions
October
18, 2019, 4:00pm – October 19, 2019, 4:45am
Spotlight Q& A
2019
FEATURED Authors Spotlight Sign Up
Friday,
October 18⋅2:30 – 3:20pm
Featured Author Signing Day and Time
Saturday October 19th
10:00
AM - 12:30 PM
Pre-orders are closed but I will
have a few paperback copies of each book to sell at my table.
The Story is the Thing -
by Jackie North
I’ve been asked for the
purpose of this blog post to talk about what I want readers to focus on at GRL.
Put another way, what do I want readers to get out of GRL 2019?
GRL is such an exciting
event with so many things going on at once, it’s easy to get caught up in the
hoopla and the excited voices and the sense of urgency to “do all the things”
and “meet all the people.”
I for one love catching
up with readers and authors I only ever see online, and meeting new readers and
authors for the first time in person. The positive energy at GRL is amazing to
me and I always come away from GRL wishing events like that happened more
often, like all the time, and that they were closer to home!
But the most important
thing to me at GRL is the fact that all of us, readers and authors and friends,
come together because of one thing: stories. Our stories are about members of
the LGBT community, and while most of the ones I know of are more on the m/m
end of the spectrum, there is room for everybody, and everybody deserves to
have their story told.
Sometimes readers will
ask me what I write about. And I know they aren’t asking me to tell them that I
write m/m romance because they already know that. What they want to know is
what is my focus? What are the tropes that they can find in my books?
Typically, I have an
answer that describes that I write about found families, and about characters
who are hurt, and then comforted. I write about someone being rescued and then
rescuing the rescuer right back.
But I think beneath
that, at the heart of it all, I write about the characters who want to be seen
for who they are. Who when they meet that special, just-right someone realize
that they don’t have to be anyone other than who they are.
That idea, I think, is
part of why folks come to GRL or conventions like it. Readers want to be seen
to be part of the community that they support with each book they buy. But
more, they want to participate in the event to such a level that it resonates
within me when I meet them.
I’ve had readers come up
and tell me their names. Then they say, “I’ve read your books and I love them.”
At such a moment, somewhat profound and still amidst the hustle and bustle of
the convention, I look into their eyes and think for a moment: This reader and
I have connected across and through the pages of a book. There isn’t any better
connection than that, in my view.
And that, to me, what I
want readers to focus on this year at GRL. That the books are the reason for us
coming together. That all the stories about all kinds of people connect us with
invisible strings. Every reader I’ve ever met has old favorites that they turn
to year after year, and they’re looking for new favorites, new authors that
they’ve yet to discover. They want something that touches their heart and stays
with them long after the book has been read. Books are the key to connecting
with others. Love is love, and stories are the key. And that is what I want
readers to focus on at GRL 2019.
Blurb
Soulmates across time. A sacrifice
that could keep them apart forever.
In present day, near the village of Ornes, France, Devon works on his master’s thesis in history as he fantasizes about meeting a WWI American Doughboy.
In 1916, during the Battle of Ornes, Stanley is a young soldier facing the horrors of the battlefield.
Mourning the death of his friends from enemy fire, Stanley volunteers to bring the message for retreat so he can save everyone else in his battalion. While on his mission, mustard gas surrounds Stanley and though he thinks he is dying, he finds himself in a peaceful green meadow where he literally trips over Devon.
Devon doesn’t believe Stanley is who he says he is, a soldier from WWI. But a powerful attraction grows between them, and if Stanley is truly a visitor from the past, then he is Devon’s dream come true. The problem is, Stanley’s soul wants to finish his mission, and time keeps yanking him back to relive his fateful last morning over and over, even as his heart and body long to stay with Devon.
Will Stanley have to choose between Devon and saving his battalion? Will time betray their love, leaving each alone?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, French coffee, warm blankets, fireplaces kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.
In present day, near the village of Ornes, France, Devon works on his master’s thesis in history as he fantasizes about meeting a WWI American Doughboy.
In 1916, during the Battle of Ornes, Stanley is a young soldier facing the horrors of the battlefield.
Mourning the death of his friends from enemy fire, Stanley volunteers to bring the message for retreat so he can save everyone else in his battalion. While on his mission, mustard gas surrounds Stanley and though he thinks he is dying, he finds himself in a peaceful green meadow where he literally trips over Devon.
Devon doesn’t believe Stanley is who he says he is, a soldier from WWI. But a powerful attraction grows between them, and if Stanley is truly a visitor from the past, then he is Devon’s dream come true. The problem is, Stanley’s soul wants to finish his mission, and time keeps yanking him back to relive his fateful last morning over and over, even as his heart and body long to stay with Devon.
Will Stanley have to choose between Devon and saving his battalion? Will time betray their love, leaving each alone?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, French coffee, warm blankets, fireplaces kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.
Buy Link
Blurb
Soulmates across time. A love that
was meant to be.
In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch.
The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier.
As winter approaches, Laurie’s normal fun-loving manner make it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John’s old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows.
Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, true confessions, a shared bed, fireplace kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.
In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch.
The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier.
As winter approaches, Laurie’s normal fun-loving manner make it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John’s old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows.
Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with hurt/comfort, true confessions, a shared bed, fireplace kisses, the angst of separation, and true love across time.
Buy Link
Blurb
Soulmates across time. Two hearts
that were meant to be together.
In present day, Zach takes a road trip to Trinidad to find information on a missing friend.
In 1892, Layton Blue, outlaw, longs for hearth and home even as he treasures his life of freedom.
A freak rainstorm washes Zach’s car into a ditch, sending him back to the year 1892. Searching for help, alone and on foot in the middle of the nowhere, he crosses paths with the famous Ketchum Gang. Now the gang’s prisoner, Zach’s fate is to be sold at a seedy auction for whores.
Layton is put in charge of making sure Zach does not escape, but as the chemistry between them grows, Layton finds himself wanting to help Zach.
Can Layton overcome years of being on the run? Can Zach accept help from an outlaw?
A male/male time travel romance complete with fast rides across the desert, campfires beneath the stars, cool water in the desert, wild rescues, and true love across time.
In present day, Zach takes a road trip to Trinidad to find information on a missing friend.
In 1892, Layton Blue, outlaw, longs for hearth and home even as he treasures his life of freedom.
A freak rainstorm washes Zach’s car into a ditch, sending him back to the year 1892. Searching for help, alone and on foot in the middle of the nowhere, he crosses paths with the famous Ketchum Gang. Now the gang’s prisoner, Zach’s fate is to be sold at a seedy auction for whores.
Layton is put in charge of making sure Zach does not escape, but as the chemistry between them grows, Layton finds himself wanting to help Zach.
Can Layton overcome years of being on the run? Can Zach accept help from an outlaw?
A male/male time travel romance complete with fast rides across the desert, campfires beneath the stars, cool water in the desert, wild rescues, and true love across time.
Buy Link
Blurb
Soulmates across time. Two hearts,
stronger together.
In present day, Maxton is good at finding trouble and bad at everything else.
In 1892, Trent Harrington, sheriff of Trinidad, Colorado, lives a respectable but lonely life, devoid of any closeness.
Trying to escape a past that keeps chasing him, Maxton drives south to avoid getting arrested. When his car spins off the road, he is swept up in a desert whirlwind and finds himself in the year 1892. Lost and alone, unused to the laws of the wild west, Maxton gets arrested anyway.
Trent is tasked with escorting Maxton to Trinidad. The request isn’t unusual, but the miscreant is. Maxton draws Trent’s heart out of its shell with his flashing green eyes and lush head of hair. It isn’t right. It isn’t natural. It’s illegal. Yet Trent cannot resist the impetuous young man.
As the two men travel through the vast, empty desert to their destination, will they find in each other the love and companionship they never thought they’d have?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with the scent of desert roses, brilliantly colored sunsets, starlit nights, bitter campfire coffee, growing honesty and trust, and true love across time.
In present day, Maxton is good at finding trouble and bad at everything else.
In 1892, Trent Harrington, sheriff of Trinidad, Colorado, lives a respectable but lonely life, devoid of any closeness.
Trying to escape a past that keeps chasing him, Maxton drives south to avoid getting arrested. When his car spins off the road, he is swept up in a desert whirlwind and finds himself in the year 1892. Lost and alone, unused to the laws of the wild west, Maxton gets arrested anyway.
Trent is tasked with escorting Maxton to Trinidad. The request isn’t unusual, but the miscreant is. Maxton draws Trent’s heart out of its shell with his flashing green eyes and lush head of hair. It isn’t right. It isn’t natural. It’s illegal. Yet Trent cannot resist the impetuous young man.
As the two men travel through the vast, empty desert to their destination, will they find in each other the love and companionship they never thought they’d have?
A male/male time travel romance, complete with the scent of desert roses, brilliantly colored sunsets, starlit nights, bitter campfire coffee, growing honesty and trust, and true love across time.
Buy Link
About Jackie
Jackie North has been writing
stories since grade school and spent years absorbing the mainstream romances
that she found at her local grocery store. Her dream was to someday leave her
corporate day job behind and travel the world. She also wanted to put her English
degree to good use and write romance novels, because for years she’s had a
never-ending movie of made-up love stories in her head that simply wouldn’t
leave her alone.
As fate would have it, she discovered m/m romance and decided that men falling in love with other men was exactly what she wanted to write books about. In this dazzling new world, she turned her grocery-store romance ideas around and is now putting them to paper as fast as her fingers can type. She creates characters who are a bit flawed and broken, who find themselves on the edge of society, and maybe a few who are a little bit lost, but who all deserve a happily ever after. (And she makes sure they get it!)
She likes long walks on the beach, the smell of lavender and rainstorms, and enjoys sleeping in on snowy mornings. She is especially fond of pizza and beer and, when time allows, long road trips with soda fountain drinks and rock and roll music. In her heart, there is peace to be found everywhere, but since in the real world this isn’t always true, Jackie writes for love.
As fate would have it, she discovered m/m romance and decided that men falling in love with other men was exactly what she wanted to write books about. In this dazzling new world, she turned her grocery-store romance ideas around and is now putting them to paper as fast as her fingers can type. She creates characters who are a bit flawed and broken, who find themselves on the edge of society, and maybe a few who are a little bit lost, but who all deserve a happily ever after. (And she makes sure they get it!)
She likes long walks on the beach, the smell of lavender and rainstorms, and enjoys sleeping in on snowy mornings. She is especially fond of pizza and beer and, when time allows, long road trips with soda fountain drinks and rock and roll music. In her heart, there is peace to be found everywhere, but since in the real world this isn’t always true, Jackie writes for love.
GRL Bio Link
SM Links
Website
- http://www.jackienorth.com/
Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/jackienorthMM
Pintrest - https://www.pinterest.com/jackienorthauthor/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JackieNorthMM
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