Hop Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia

It's a pleasure for me to take part in another Hop Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia. This hop and giveaway has been organized to celebrate International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. This is a day of awareness where we join our voices together in support of equality for the LGBT community. 

As part of this event, I'm offering a prize, one of my books, winner's choice of title, in ebook. All you have to do to be entered in my giveaway is leave a comment on this post. Please also include an email address where I can contact you, should you win. Or if you're not comfortable posting an email address, then please stop by when I post the winner and if you're selected, you can email me at S.J.Frost3@gmail.com for your prize. I'll announce the winner on May 25th. Several authors, publishers, cover artists, and reviewers are also taking part in the hop. I've included their info below, so please check out their posts and giveaways. And I hope if you have a moment, you'll read my post, as well :-)

Good luck to all who enter in the giveaways and thank you all for being part of this special event!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness...

Many who just read those words will recognize where they're from, one of the single most important documents ever written in the United States of America, our Declaration of Independence. It was written when the forefathers of this nation stood on the precipice of making history. Once again, our nation stands on that edge, ready to either bravely leap forward toward equality, or take steps back and hide in a bigoted past.

The fight for equality continues in the U.S. There have been acts by those in power within the government who have sought to harm the LGBT community. From the passing of the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" in Indiana by Gov. Mike Pence, which in its original form allowed for open discrimination against LGBT individuals, to the Attorney General of MY home state of Ohio, Mike Dewine, claiming LGBT citizens already have too much power and don't need protection, to Senator Ted Cruz's attempts to ban same-sex marriage, there has been a shameful abuse of power in this country and a massive amount of ignorance displayed by those in office.

The politicians in office who argue against equality have lost sight that they are servants of the people. That it's their duty to protect ALL citizens of this country. No one should be made to feel they're a second-class citizen not deserving of equal rights, not deserving of being able to marry the one the love, not deserving to adopt a child because of their sexual orientation, not deserving of protection. And yet, many people live with this day after day in the United States and throughout the world.

The Declaration of Independence states that the government is granted power by the people. So too can the people take it away. We can abolish it, alter it, and stand up against those who refuse to do their duties to serve all people. And we're doing exactly that. There have been many victories in the fight for equality, one of the strongest being against Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a great demonstration of solidarity, people and businesses spoke out against the bill and showed they wouldn't tolerate discrimination. The result was the law got amended.

The victories show that the people of the United States and the world can make a difference. More nations and states than ever are recognizing marriage between people of the same gender and are adding protections for the LGBT community. Progress is being made and the movement for equality continues to grow stronger. Straight, gay, bi, trans, we'll stand together as allies, because we're all of this human race and we understand that all people are equal and all individuals are deserving of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Hop Against Homophobia Giveaway

As I'm sure many of you know, May 17th is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Along with several other authors, as well as reviewers, cover artists, and publishers, I'm taking part in the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and offering up a free ebook from my backlist, winner's choice of title. To be entered in the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post and please include an email addy where I can contact you. If you don't feel comfortable posting your email publicly, or you have trouble leaving a comment, you can email me at s.j.frost3@gmail.com The hop runs until May 27th, and I'll be posting my winner on May 28th.

Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia has been organized by three lovely ladies, Erica Pike, K-lee Klein, and NJ Nielsen, to help raise awareness for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and I'm very proud to be taking part.

When I participated last year, I talked about discrimination. This year, I want to talk about love and hope. I remember when I first started writing gay romance back in 2005, how distant things like acceptance and marriage equality seemed. So many people I'd talk to had attitudes so vehement against homosexuality. Though, maybe I was talking to the wrong people. Thinking back on it now, I'm certain I was. Still, those narrow opinions I saw in those few were the same opinions of many across the country, and even for me as a heterosexual woman, I thought they were confusing, and even frightening because I'd think of all the people who faced these kinds of attitudes daily and knew how much that bigotry could hurt.

I didn't understand how so much hate could be directed toward any person or group of people. I didn't understand how others could want to control the lives of people, tell them who they should love, how they should act, who they should be. I didn't understand their laughter at hateful jokes and derogatory words. Though, I'm sure they were just as confused by me not understanding their bigotry, which of course led to tension, anger, and ultimately everyone eventually deciding to go separate ways in life.

The essence of hate is to destroy, but for love, it's to nurture. Whether it's your partner, spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend, your child, a friend, a family member, a pet, love makes you want to protect and cherish, to care for and defend, to be kind and offer support, and all of those give strength.

By it's very essence of nurturing, love is overcoming hate and winning more and more in our world. In recent years, we've seen the strength of love, as those attitudes I spoke of have begun to change. More nations in the world and States in the U.S., are taking steps to recognize marriage equality, equality in general, and to offer stronger legal protections for LGBT individuals. Yes, there's still a lot of work to do, a long distance yet to be traveled, but hope is strong and continues to grow, as it's nurtured by the love of those who believe all individuals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, to make their own decisions on their life, their bodies, and who they love.

That's where love is stronger than hate. How it truly can conquer all. To destroy something is to bring it to an end. But love never ends. There will always be a man who loves a man, a woman who loves a woman, a man who loves a woman, and a woman who loves a man. It's a fruitless battle for those on the side of hate to fight, because people will never stop loving.

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My thanks to all of you who've stopped by today to show support against Homophobia and Transphobia. It's greatly appreciated! And do be sure to visit the other folks taking part in the hop and working to raise awareness as we stand together against discrimination.

A Few Bits of News

Hey there, everyone! I've been a busy little author lately, so I've got some news to update everyone on.

First, the sweet and talented, Jaime Samms, was kind enough to have me over to her blog, where I talk about rock stars, the Conquest series, and rockers going country. It's a fun blog post, and I hope everyone who stops by enjoys reading it and hearing what I'm up to with my next musician themed story. If you'd like to head on over, just click HERE.

Second, we have a release date for TO THE OTHER SIDE. Woo hoo! Keep an eye for it to drop at MLR Press on June 14th! Which is actually a very cool date, because some of you may recall that's the birthday of another sexy guy from a different series, Evan Arden from Conquest! It's going to be awesome for me to have a book come out on his birthday :-D It's also hard for me to believe it's that close. 

As I've said before, this is my first foray into writing a gay fantasy novel, complete with all the erotic romance elements you're used to seeing from me. I'm super excited and freaking out all at once! But I'm also very proud of the story. It's also going to be the first in the "Terra series", with at least three more stories planned. I'm in edits on it now, and so far, they've been going really well! 

Third in my news, I'm going to be taking part in the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia. This is a very special blog hop honoring International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia on May 17th. It's to help raise awareness and acceptance for all members of the LGBTQ community, and I'm happy to be taking part. The hop will run from May 17th to 27th, with tons of authors, publishers, cover artists, and reviewers taking part. And it's not only featuring authors of M/M, but also authors of F/F, Trans, and Bisexual works. For the hop, I'll be donating winner's choice of a title from my backlist, and I'll have my post up on May 17th for all who'd like to enter in the giveaway. With the number of folks already signed up to participate, it's going to be one great hop! Be sure to check out everyone taking part! 

And the final piece of news I've got regards A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY: THE NOVEL. It's finished and is in my editor's hands. Right now, we're thinking of August for a release month. Woo hoo!

And, that's it! That's what's been going on in my little writing world. Lots of things I'm very excited about, and I hope some of it is exciting for you guys, too!

Hop Against Homophobia Giveaway

Hey, ladies and gentlemen! It's time for another blog hop, and I'm offering up an ebook copy of a title from my backlist, winner's choice. To be entered in the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. Please do include in your comment an email address where I can reach you. If you'd prefer to not have your email address posted publicly, you can also email me your entry privately at s.j.frost3@gmail.com  The hop is running from May 17th - 20th, and I'll be announcing my winner on the 21st.

This blog hop is a little different from ones I've been part of in the past. It's for a very special cause; to raise awareness against homophobia. May 17th is International Day Against Homophobia, and this hop was organized as a way for members of the M/M writing community to join together in a demonstration of support against discrimination and to raise awareness. I'm very happy to be able to take part, and thank my fellow authors, Erica Pike, NJ Nielsen, and K-lee Klein, for organizing this. To learn more about the hop and participating authors, please go here: http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/

As many who have followed me know, I write gay erotic romance because I'm a strong believer in love. That it's the inherent right of all individuals, and no one should be denied the happiness of being the person they're born to be, or to openly love another person. To deny individuals such basic rights, make them feel like second-class citizens, treat them with derision, tell them they need to change who they are, is a gross insult to humanity. All people are deserving of respect and kindness, and to be cherished for the unique individuals that they are. After all, as I've said many times before, it's the diversity in the world that makes it beautiful. It would be a terribly boring place if we were all the same.

I've witnessed homophobia far too often in my life. I've stood up for friends being put down for their sexuality. For myself, I had people walk out of my life for the path I'd chosen to take as an author of gay erotic romance. But I think people from your past aren't part of your present for a reason. 

I believe all life is precious and valuable. I believe in respect, kindness, diversity, and love. And I believe that every voice that speaks out against hate will strengthen the fight for equality, until all our voices are united in a chorus of acceptance that will drown out those who would subject others to discrimination.

And that is why days like International Day Against Homophobia exist and why so many of us are joined together in honor of it now.

I do sincerely thank and appreciate each and every one of you who are participating in the hop and for stopping by. Thank you!  Best of luck to all in the giveaway!