One of those formative movies is the lesser recognized, rarely remembered outside of film buff circles is the classic All that Heaven Allows, staring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, and directed by Douglas Sirk. This was brought to mind recently during talks with some of my writerly friends about issues like mary-sue accusations, genre novels, and feelings of shame.

If you haven’t seen or heard of the movie, it’s a romance about an “older” woman (Jane Wyman’s character, who I suppose is be at most about 45 in the movie — ancient, I’m sure we all agree) who is a widow living in the stereo-typical 1950s middle-class suburbs. She hires a free spirited gardener (Rock Hudson) and they fall in love, creating a scandal for her with her peers and children. For 1955, it was a fairly radical presentation of an older woman. It’s a very melodramatic story, quite over the top in places, but it’s charming, and hey, with eye candy like Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson can you really go wrong?

My memories of this movie are tinged by that old patina of time, because I first came across this on AMC in the late-1980s, back when AMC was more about the “classics” than it is now. Given that VHS was still in the early stages, AMC was really the only reliable way to catch older movies that wasn’t staying up until 2am for the late night movie on a broadcast station. For movie junkies like me and my mother, living in small-town Florida, AMC was a godsend. Anyway, I saw this by myself on AMC because if there was on genre of movies or books that my mother could not stand it was romance.

Oh, you see the irony, yes?

Anyway this movie really side-swiped me, and not necessarily for the romance in particular. It just struck me as so daring to tell the story of Jane Wyman as an older woman in love in a way that was not tragic, using actors who were actually appealing and had chemistry. It has remind with me over the years, despite never having seen it in full since that time. So when I was talking about writing stories with my writerly friends, this movie came to mind.

For me personally, the connection is pretty strong that stories like All that Heaven Allows are inferior; romance, and happy endings, do not great literature make. This is in no way a valid argument, it’s a gut-level emotional reaction I have based on the era I grew up in (70s and 80s) and the opinions of my stridently 2nd-wave white feminist mother. I’m also not getting too much into how such romance stories are “culturally legitimate” when told by men (Douglas Sirk, Nicholas Sparks)

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Word to the wise: It always ends badly.

A while go, this little gem showed up on my tumblr dash, written by a Pacific Rim fan:

After getting more than a little outrage and a few instructions on tag filtering in AO3 thrown at her, the author of the post retracted and apologized (although as Shinykari points out, the apology itself is problematic).

Putting this specific instance aside, this kind of behavior is pretty common. We see it in people trying to decide what “legitimate” science fiction is (usually, this means only SF written by white guys) or what constitutes “correct” fanfiction (no mary-sues need apply!). I have even seen people who profess to be supportive of inclusiveness then turn around and explain at length why their own rules don’t apply to them. *sigh* This kind of silliness ruins fandoms. For instance, due South fandom is still around but has, I think, finally tanked under the weight of repeated and childish ‘ship wars (and allow me to be a little bitter when I say, sincerely, that I hope the fucking BNFs who brought that whole mess on are crying persecuted tears into their beers over it). It’s place in history is assured but in no way will it ever hold the prominence and weight of a “primary fandom” as it used it.

I don’t mean to make a really downer post about this, though. What keep hoping is that we will learn from these mistakes.

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I admit I read this because I got it free in a give-away at AllRomance, but let me add that I am now actually buying the sequel because I enjoyed the book so much.

This review is rather spoilery, but if you don’t want the spoilers and just want my overall review, here you go: great read, intense but emotionally fulfilling with interesting, likeable characters.

<!–more The full review…–>The story revolves around Dan, a Kentucky horse trainer with a hard-luck background who found love and happiness only to lose it due to a tragic accident that put his lover into a fatal coma. He struggles with trying to move on while his lover lingers, but then is faced with an upheaval when both his lover is taken off life support by his parents and at the same time the horse farm Dan works at is sold.

If that sounds very angsty and intense, I assure you it is. As a mourner myself, it was sometimes hard to read Dan’s POV experience dealing with his lover’s lingering death and its aftermath. Sherwood spends most of the book exploring Dan’s emotions and reactions, very beautifully and intimately, which makes it extremely intense. She does not go melodramatically over the top, however, which in one sense keeps the affect of Dan’s experiences so realistic.

The balance to Dan’s sad past is the new arrivals in his life, Jeff and Evan. These men are involved in a relationship that is deceptively casual, but care about each other deeply and have been in love for some time. Evan, the charismatic young corporate mogul, sets his sites on Dan and puts into motion the domino of events that gets Dan out of Kentucky and under Evan and Jeff’s watchful, desiring eyes in California.

I really liked several points to this story:

1. Dan is utterly oblivious about other people, which is often just a character trope to create miscommunication angst, but Sherwood creates a back story for Dan that makes his lack of socialization make total sense.

2. The threesome isn’t easy for any of them; Dan is used to loving, exclusive monogamy while Jeff and Evan are very jealous of each other, no matter what they tell Dan (or themselves). Dan is understandably confused by the whole thing, and cautious. It’s very believable.

3. Secondary characters like Evan’s younger sister and Dan’s co-workers are all very fun and interesting, and help build the story up rather than distract from it.

4. The side character Ryan, whom Dan has a brief fling with, is very endearing, and I missed him when he “left town” to tour with his band. I hope he finds happiness, or at least makes a return showing in the sequel.

5. The whole story revolves around horses, which as a former “horse girl” I really enjoyed. Sherwood obviously knows that world really well, and her insider knowledge adds a lot of texture to the story.

There is a minor sub-plot about Dan’s long-lost sister that I felt was left hanging, and I wonder whether Sherwood will bring that issue into the sequel. It has a lot of potential for plot twists, and is fairly dramatic, so I kind of hope so!

Over all, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Go buy it! It’s worth every penny.

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But on the other hand, I’ve felt stifled by the whole publishing thing. *waves hands around* While I’m capable of writing books that fit into the current publishing model, I’ve always longed for ways to tell more involved stories — longer, more complex, and featuring multilayered world building.

What to do? WHAT TO DOOOOOOO?

Well, apparently what to do is start serializing my stories on a brand new subscription platform, Ream! This is a really exciting development for authors and readers, and honestly I’ve been trying to figure out how to successfully create web novels for years. I know from writing fanfiction that I love working with the serialized format, and I kept looking at ways to apply that model to my own original fiction.

Yes, I looked at Patreon, and sites like Wattpad, Radish and RoyalRoad, but I’ve never been overly impressed with any of them. There were major drawbacks to each platform, and while I do know of authors who are successful on them, I kept looking for something better. Specifically, something better that I would not have to create and code myself!

I think it has finally appeared in Ream, and I will be launching my site there soon. It will be fully encompassing site for me, which means you can join to read just Cooper West stories OR you can also join to read stories under my MMF penname, KC York!

It’s a brand new era of authors and I’m super excited to be a part of it! I hope you are too!

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I went wide with all of my books over the summer, which was a hella chore since I’m a one-woman shop. However, that means all my books are available on all the major distributor sites, not just ‘zon! I’ve been looking forward to do this since, uh, since before the pandemic. Yikes.

Speaking of, I’ve managed to stay healthy despite everything, and unlike many people, I have not lost anyone close to me. It seems the past couple of years were made for dying, sadly. A lot of friends lost loved ones, both to COVID and to other things, and it’s been hard. My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to anyone who has suffered such a loss.

As far was what the future holds…well, I’ll be expanding a bit. While I’d love to get back to writing Guardsmen, I’ve got too many other irons in the fire right now to dive into stories that complex (I have ideas for two more novels! So it’s not dead yet! Just…continuing on hold…). Not sure when I’ll publish another book, honestly, but I will be publishing more. I’m talking with a friend about collaborating on a queer, solar-punk, far-future series that will feature M/M, F/F, and poly M/M/F stories along the way and also a lot of…mushrooms? It makes sense, I swear!

Thanks for hanging in with me through all the hell we’ve been through for the past six years. It’s been…a lot!

(If you would like to read something I’ve written that is M/M/F, though, check out my latest under my K.C. York penname, The Queen’s Aerie!)

OH! Also, check out my bio page for updates to my Transformative Use Policy!

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‘The Protector’ has returned!

The Protector is back!

It feels like it has been FOREVER since this book was available! I’ve had fans asking about it and I must apologize for the delay. I had to wait, and wait, for reformatting and cover art and all sorts of bedeviled details…no one’s fault but my own, to be honest, but still, it took a while.

This is by far my most popular book, and still holds a place in my heart. I dreamed up this world when I was writing fanfic, and suddenly my fanfic was full of original characters, and then I thought, well hell, why not tell their story? So I switched gears from fanfic to what eventually became this book.

The story of the weredog “Protectors” bonded to their almost-human “Handlers” struck a cord with readers too, which eventually led to the next in the series, Parker’s Sanctuary. I do, actually, have a couple more ideas for books, so hopefully they will happen again soon!

It is available as an ebook right now on Amazon and you can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited. Enjoy!

Looking for content warnings? They are all here on my Content Warnings page! Don’t visit it if you don’t want spoilers, though. 

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‘Games’ is back and better than ever!

 

Games was written a long time ago, and was published quickly with sub-par editing. I was never happy with it but at the time I was pushing through grad school and uncertain of where I wanted to take my writing career in the M/M category. So I let it slide. 

As most of you know, I managed to get my rights reverted for my books from my previous publisher at the start of this (loooong, omg) year. I realized, prepping this story for republishing it myself, that this was my chance to improve it. SO I DID!

It’s basically the same story, but the final third has been expanded and rewritten. I love these characters and I think I did them much better with this version. I hope you enjoy!

It is available as an ebook right now on Amazon and you can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited. I hope you enjoy this sweet story!

Looking for content warnings? They are all here on my Content Warnings page! Don’t visit it if you don’t want spoilers, though. 

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Damaged Goods has returned!

As most of you know, I’m slowly in the process of editing and re-publishing all the books I had with my former publisher. It is not going as fast as I would like (does anything, ever???) BUT! I bring GOOD NEWS!

Damaged Goods, my contemporary novel (well, I mean, it’s set in 2015-ish) featuring a rakish tattooed short order cook and a quiet, down-and-out professor, is BACK!

It is available as an ebook right now on Amazon and you can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited. I hope you enjoy this sweet story!

Looking for content warnings? They are all here on my Content Warnings page! Don’t visit it if you don’t want spoilers, though. 

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Mixed Signals (3rd ed!) is back!

I am very thrilled to announce that after three months of being unavailable, the latest edition of Mixed Signals is back! I really love this sweet story about an unconventional couple fighting their way through insecurity, past traumas, and (yes) political intrigue, and I hope you do as well!

I got the rights back from Dreamspinner in October 2019 but I knew even then that I would not get a chance to re-release it before the new year. It’s taken a while to sort out all the reformatting and publication rights and what not but I did it! Whee!

Some might be unhappy that it is only available via Amazon, where you can buy it or read it through the Kindle Unlimited service. I’m very sorry, but the bare facts are that putting my books “wide” (that is, available from a variety of distributors) doesn’t pay well for me. I’ve tried it for a couple of years now, but it just doesn’t. At least, not with the marketing budget I currently have, which is $0.00. Never say never! But for now this is a business decision I must make. Thank you for being understanding.

Anyway! Go read! I hope you enjoy this updated and expanded version of the story.

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