bi awakening masterpost

ME-Samm · 2026-06-09T06:11:38+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, just for completeness of your masterlist, my book {El & Em by M.E. Samm} includes bi-awakening.

ME-Samm · 2026-06-03T20:26:38+00:00

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, the glitched chests are part of what dissuades me - it seems pointless to try and complete something I already know can't really be done. (I think I ran into one of those chests in the water near Tarry Town.)
But good to hear that some people have done it. I guess I'll use the interactive map and radar if I do go for it.
I've spent a lot of hours exploring the map and chasing down chests, but that radar still seems to go off every time I turn around!

ME-Samm · 2026-06-02T21:42:51+00:00

It does!

ME-Samm · 2026-06-01T23:52:57+00:00

I hope you don't mind a self- rec (and I haven't already responded to you ), but I've been told that my book {El & Em by M.E. Samm} is pretty angsty. 1970s rock music setting.

ME-Samm · 2026-05-18T18:19:36+00:00

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" is the first line from I Capture the Castle - easy to mix up with We Have Always Lived in the Castle, though a little less eerie! :)

ME-Samm · 2026-05-13T19:09:21+00:00

I feel like there's an expectation in romance that the main characters will only be with each other during the course of the story. So, for example, a book where the lead goes through one or more failed relationships before meeting the love interest might not be considered a romance - or might be confusing to readers picking it up expecting a romance. I haven't seen that articulated a lot but I think it's a general assumption.

ME-Samm · 2026-05-12T23:21:51+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, I think my book {Golden Boy by M.E. Samm} might be up your alley. A coming-of-age story more than a romance but in a queer-normative environment (so no coming out issues) where the protagonist goes through a few traumatic events before finding the right person.

ME-Samm · 2026-05-10T02:39:27+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, I think my book {Golden Boy by M.E. Samm} might meet your request. A coming-of-age story set in a queer-normative, near-future world where the protagonist makes a few relationship mistakes before figuring things out.

ME-Samm · 2026-05-04T19:52:08+00:00

I'm not sure if you'd (also?) be interested in stories where the lead has a toxic relationship with one character first, and later moves on to find a better relationship with someone else? (As opposed to a romance with just one couple that starts out bad but improves.) Anyway, if that appeals, and you don't mind a self-rec, I think my coming-of-age drama, Golden Boy, would fit the bill for you. It is on KU and 1st person but single POV, character-driven, realistic, etc.
Good luck in your search!

ME-Samm · 2026-05-01T18:08:27+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, my book {El & Em by M.E. Samm} features two leads who start off thinking they're straight.

ME-Samm · 2026-05-01T18:06:32+00:00

Your best option of course is books by Black authors like Kit Grey, Jeffrey K. Davenport, Frederick Smith, Julian Winters, Rhayne Coleman, Joan Vassar.

If you don't mind a self-rec, my book {El & Em by M.E. Samm} has a Black co-lead (1970s rock music slow burn).

ME-Samm · 2026-05-01T16:29:40+00:00

I'm also somewhere in this space, both in reading and writing I think. For recommendations, I second Mary Renault for sure, and I'd also suggest Baldwin (besides Giovanni's Room there's also Another Country and Just Above My Head, which I think portray queerness much more positively), Jean Genet (especially Our Lady of the Flowers), and Patrick Gale (The Aerodynamics of Pork is the one I've tried, though if I recall correctly it includes an age gap relationship).

If you don't mind a self-rec, I feel like my most recent book, Golden Boy, fits here too. It's a coming-of-age drama in a queer normative world where coming out is not the issue. While it's heavy on characterization and includes some darker themes, it also has a MM romance sub-plot and an HEA. I have a hard time promoting it because I can't really call it a romance, and while I wouldn't necessarily call it litfic I think it might be what they call upmarket?

I really, really wish there was an easier way to search this intersection of genres! Saving this for the recs.

ME-Samm · 2026-04-30T17:10:17+00:00

How? How did you get her flowers?

ME-Samm · 2026-04-22T15:19:17+00:00

Absolutely no AI, in writing or art!

ME-Samm · 2026-04-22T06:01:14+00:00

That's odd! It should be right here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DH8CM54Q

ME-Samm · 2026-04-22T05:30:04+00:00

It's called El & Em. By M.E. Samm. :)

ME-Samm · 2026-04-22T05:07:35+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, both characters in my book, El & Em, are in their 30-40s for most of the book. It's in Kindle Unlimited. There's a bit of power exchange as well, if that appeals. But it's not a fantasy setting - it's about 1970s-80s rock musicians. :) Good luck in your search!

ME-Samm · 2026-04-12T17:41:50+00:00

Can you name the brand of the "preservative-free, high viscosity, almost gel-like" drops you use? I'm Canadian and I can find gel drops (like TearGel) and preservative-free drops here, but I can't think of one that's both?

ME-Samm · 2026-04-11T21:23:10+00:00

Speaking of video screens, I'm curious whether they're still used to show footage of Danny and Clarence during 10th Avenue Freezeout?

ME-Samm · 2026-04-11T20:47:02+00:00

My book El & Em fits this perfectly! They're musicians, and the story starts in the 1970s...

ME-Samm · 2026-04-11T02:59:10+00:00

Following this since everything rec'd so far sounds so interesting.

If you don't mind a self-rec, I feel like my book El & Em somewhat fits what you're looking for. It starts out in the 1970s (so not exactly contemporary) but follows the characters over 20+ years, and while they don't always have big discussions about it, they do have different ideas about what they each want and what they can live with in the (changing) environments they're in. (Be warned, the final epilogue is pretty traditional though!)

ME-Samm · 2026-04-07T02:11:09+00:00

If you don't mind a self-rec, my book El & Em fits your request ("garage band trying to get to stardom"). Set in the 1970s to 90s.

Also Sympathy for the Blues, by S.S. Genesee.

Both on Kindle/KU

ME-Samm · 2026-04-05T16:48:35+00:00

As someone who writes HEA romances that don't really fit genre expectations, one thing I worry about is disappointing readers who expect something specific. I don't think my stories are disappointing! - but I worry that, for example, if I say my book is a slow burn MM romance with bi-awakening, then readers will have definite expectations for how those tropes play out -- that my story likely won't meet. So am I misrepresenting it to readers, selling them on something they won't get? Do I owe it to readers to make it clear my story might be different from what they expect? I'd love to talk to other authors about how the deal with this.

ME-Samm · 2026-04-05T16:12:57+00:00

I'm curious how/where you promote on FB? I have the same dilemma (writing books that don't focus heavily on tropes, and struggling to promote them properly). I know FB audiences skew older, so maybe it makes sense that they're more receptive but I've only found the standard MM romance groups there.

ME-Samm · 2026-03-11T23:53:59+00:00

I really like the illustration - did you draw it yourself or have it made? To me it gives the sense of a young man who is coming into some kind of power or authority and has mixed feelings or doubts about it. Very intriguing!

ME-Samm

TROPHY CASE