To celebrate Black History Month, we want to recommend some black authors writing incredible LGBTQ+ characters.Â
Xio Axlerod
We discovered USA Today Best Selling author Xio because of her m/m Frankie & Johnny series featuring a Scottish disc jockey falling in love with the man who was remodeling one of the radio station’s studios. In May, she releases the highly anticipated m/f romance The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes. You can hear Xio talk about Frankie & Johnny in Big Gay Fiction Podcast episode 229.
Jayce Ellis
We love the m/m romances Jayce Ellis delivers, whether it’s the High Rise series (which started out as a wedding present to her husband) or the Higher Learning series. On March 9, Jayce releases Learned Reactions, and we can’t wait! Jayce discussed her romances with us in episode 266.
Riley Hart
Riley Hart writes across a wide spectrum, from sweet contemporary and heavier angst-ridden romances. We loved her recent book Awkward Love so much that we made it our Big Gay Fiction Book Club selection for February (that episode will release later this month). Riley joined us in episode 286 to talk about Awkward Love as well as her forthcoming release, Finding Ian.
Adriana Herrera
To say we adore Adriana Herrera’s Dreamers series is an understatement. That series sits among our very favorite m/m romances of all time. Adriana continues to write wonderfully diverse m/m, f/f and m/f romances. This year she’s already released Caught Looking, a hot friends to lovers m/m romance. Coming in June she releases One Week to Claim it All, which kicks off her all-new series from Harlequin Desire. You can hear Adriana talk about the Dreamers series in episode 188.Â
Frederick Smith & Chaz Lamar
In Case You Forgot gives readers an incredible look at a happy, sad, angry, messy year that’s full of great triumph and really bad mistakes for Kenny and Zaire. While this book isn’t a romance, it is a wonderfully compelling story about two men trying to sort out their lives and find happiness for themselves. They’ve just announced their next book is coming in August and we can’t wait. You can hear from Frederick and Chaz in episode 203.
LaQuette
We adored LaQuette’s debut m/m romance, Under His Protection, and look forward to its eventual re-release. This month, LaQuette release the first book in her new Restoration Ranch series called Jackson. The cover is seriously hot and the story is already drawing acclaim. LaQuette is also a major force in the romance community with the work she does with the Romance Writers of America and her efforts to ensure the romance community is inclusive. We spoke to LaQuette in episode 184 when Under His Protection first came out.Â
Joe Okonkwo
Joe wrote an incredible 1920s Jazz Age historical set in Manhattan and Paris with Jazz Moon. The story of aspiring poet Ben mesmerized us. We talked to Joe about the book, which remains one of our favorites for its rich characters and setting, in episode 39.
Christa Tomlinson
We fell for Christa’s books about wrestlers in the Between the Ropes series. She not only writes sizzling hot sports stories, but she’s also got sci-fi/omegaverse romances with the Star Force Fighters series and a contemporary romance series focusing on law enforcement with The Sergeant. We talked to Christa in episode 138 to get the scoop on her books.
A.E. Via
A.E. writes romances set in the gritty worlds of a narcotic task force (the Nothing Special series) and bounty hunters (Promises series) along with paranormal turns with wolf shifters (The King & The Alpha series). She’s been in the m/m romance game for years and we got to talk with her for episode 106 as she prepared to release her first paranormal book.
Julian Winters
Julian dazzled us with his debut Running With Lions. His diverse young adult tales of teens finding their place in the world, along with some romance, deserve all the awards and acclaim they’ve racked up. His next book, Right Where I Left You, is coming in 2022 and we can’t wait. Julian joined us most recently as part of our Pride Month 2020 festival where he read from The Summer of Everything.
About the Authors:
Jeff Adams & Will Knauss are husbands, authors of m/m romance and podcasters. Big Gay Fiction Podcast, their weekly show, is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can learn more about them at BigGayFictionPodcast.com, jeffadamswrites.com and willknauss.com
