Diverse Reader is thrilled to have author Noah Steele here today! Great post ahead and there's also an awesome giveaway. So, be sure to hang out and enjoy!
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all staying safe
through the panic of COVID-19. With so many people around the world
self-isolating and feeling the effects of the pandemic, I’ve been wrestling
with what to share with all of you today. A post about how being overly
realistic in romance isn’t super important? A reflection on my first year as a
gay author writing gay love stories? Nothing has felt like the right thing to
share! So instead, I thought I’d tell you a little about me and why I
gravitated toward writing low-angst gay romance.
I feel like I don’t need to tell you that even
in a progressive city like my hometown of Toronto, it’s not easy to navigate
life as part of the LGBTQ+ community (and as someone who benefits from white
male privilege, I recognize I still
have it easier than others). Before I’d even considered writing romance for a
living, I was the teen who was asked constantly about my sexuality in the
cafeteria, as if others were entitled to know that about me when I was still
trying to figure it out for myself. Why did they want to know? Would I be
bullied out of school the same way the only out gay student in my grade was
before the first semester came to a close? Before writing my first book with a
romantic focus, I had to know whether or not romance was something I could experience without being hated for it.
It took years. I was 16 when I came out, and my
first date wasn’t until I was almost 18 and already in university—and I was an
inexperienced hopeless romantic with lofty ideas of what it meant to be in
love. Let’s just say that over the next three years, I learned that real life
and romance novels are totally different beasts. As far as realism goes, gay
men’s life experiences (sexual or otherwise) are so wildly different, I don’t
even know how anyone can decide what
is and isn’t realistic enough for a fictional love story.
What I do know is that all of it made me want
to focus on building a world where romance can just happen for people like me,
because I never had media like that when I needed it. No hate, and no harm for
being gay. I met my current boyfriend when I was 20 (it’ll be 11 years together
this April, he’s a huge part of what inspires me to keep writing), and as our
relationship developed around some tragic circumstances that saw us living
together really quickly, I became even more sure that the love stories I wanted
to share would be low on hurt and high on joy. Heavy moments happen in real
life and on the page, but at least on the page I’d be able to handle them!
I wanted to write books that captured the
butterflies of seeing someone and just knowing
there was something special to explore. Books full of men who were free to fall
in love and express it everywhere on cute dates. Books that proudly display my
sexuality as part of who I am rather than an obstacle hanging over my life. And
you know what? I’m having a blast, and so are my readers!
Just like the LGBTQ+ community finds our family
in the way we support each other, I found a happy family of people sharing
swoony, sexy love stories, and every day it grows a little more. Exploring the
lives of gay characters working through other kinds of drama has felt like a
beautiful release (and I think we can agree that a beautiful release every now
and then is pretty great for some of us, LOL) I wouldn’t trade for anything.
So me and my guys will be there for you when
you need a pick-me-up from some angstier reads (and there are so many amazing
ones by so many talented authors)! I’m a firm believer in creating fiction as
escapism, and when you pick up a Noah Steele book, I want it to be a getaway
from the woes of reality into a world with a little drama and a lot of heart.
<3
Happy reading!
Noah
Author Bio
Noah Steele
is an out and proud gay author based in Toronto, Canada. His debut new adult
instalove gay romance series, Cut to the Feeling,
is the start of a journey to share stories featuring queer characters getting
the happy endings they deserve. He believes that queerness is strength, and the
gay men at the heart of his books embody that strength without experiencing
queerness as a roadblock to happiness. Like Noah, they're out, proud, and thriving
in their whirlwind romantic adventures! When he's not writing, Noah is an avid
video gamer and gym-goer.
Website +
Newsletter: noahsteele.com
FB Page: facebook.com/booksbynoah
Bookbub:
bookbub.com/profile/noah-steele
EXCLUSIVE
DIVERSE READER GIVEAWAY
I want to know what makes you happy! Do you
have a comfort read? A movie that makes you smile for personal reasons? Maybe a
memory or a hobby that puts you at ease? Tell me about it in the comments
below! FIVE winners will be chosen to pick any one of my currently available
books as your prize. <3
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Harry potter series, or the hobbit puts me into a great world.
ReplyDeleteI have two books by Amy Lane "If I Must" and " Do-Over" which I love to re-read they are cute and happy books.
ReplyDeleteMy five year old great-nephew <3
ReplyDeleteI like the Harry Potter series.
ReplyDeletei love to re-read all my judy blume books from when i was a teenager
ReplyDeleteLots of comfort reads too many too really name but I like to rotate them every so often. I'll just name 5 of the many: Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn,Summer at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, A Matter of Time series by Mary Calmes, Better Than Chance by Lane Hayes, Stranger on the Shore by Josh Lanyon.
ReplyDelete