Gay gothic novels
Richard Peters was born in Yorkshire, England in 1953. After a varied career, from working on building sites to computer programming, in the 1980's, he was a regular writer of software reviews for terminal magazines and weekly periodicals. Since the 1990's he has been a prolific writer of erotic fiction. His works, while containing explicit, gay, erotic descriptions never fail to move his readers emotionally.
Unusually for this genre of fiction, Richard's work combines full characterisation with sexually explicit scenes. His writing design is rather rare where the inner feelings of his characters are described in compact or efficient phrases, making a careful browse rewarding. Sometimes a character's inner actual world is described by irony, sometimes by humour, sometimes by emotion.
This writing approach is idiosyncratic and can take a little getting used to but is well worth the read. The whole experience of reading a Richard Peters novel is fulfilling on many levels!
He has written many novels and concise stories and they will all be produced, one by one, for the Kindle. One of his favourite themes tends to affect the fluidity of sexuality. For example, straight
This little blog starts to answer a timeless doubt. It is adapted from a twitter thread that I wrote in May 2021. It doesn’t cover everything and I’d desire to hear more about your favourite queer Gothic reads!
Much of Gothic fiction is replete with homoeroticism.
Gothic texts regularly explore the transgressive, places on the edge of fear and desire. What better place to find a point on queer desire, which is often the highlight of this Gothic exploration of transgression.
First up, let me be transparent straight off the bat that a lot of the homoeroticism of the Gothic (in its first manifestations) is closeted. Equally, a lot of the representation is conditioned by the homophobic rhetoric of contemporary sexual mores. It’s not all stealthy celebration. Far from it. Queer-coded villains abound and homosexual characters rarely come to good ends. Narratives of infection, corruption, degradation abound alongside explorations of want, gender non-conformity and queerness. Be warned. The Gothic’s history with queerness is not plain sailing and queerness is often existence navigated in a cultural context which is explicitly antagonistic to queer lives and desires.
Having
Their love was forbidden by both their families...
Cornell James has come to Marchain House, home of an ancient and reclusive aristocratic southern family, to pen the history of the house and estate. Exiled from his own residence by parents who cannot accept his orientation, he is thrust into the twisted intrigues of the Marchains. There he meets Hayes, whose hauteur and dark beauty build him so other from the boys back home. Too bad that Hayes clearly despises Cornell, never giving him a second glance.
Trapped by obligation, desperate for a way free...
Hayes has spent his entire animation protecting his family from scandal and ruin. Locked into a mutually loveless engagement to preserve the family fortune, he must be married within the year or monitor the estate go by out of his hands. He longs for someone he can be sincere with, someone he can trust. Cornell may be that man, but how can Hayes reliance someone from so far away, someone who doesn't comprehend the dangers Marchain House faces? He tries to clash the passion he feels for Cornell, but it is a losing battle. After a stormy night of care for, he has to make a decision: Will he last to serve his family, giving up all hope of fu
You’re here for queer gothic books. So let’s procure one thing straight (lol): gothic literature is inherently queer! Themes that own persisted in this genre, including monstrosity and otherness, often have queer connotations and associations. Have a look at the widely recognized origin of the genre, Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. Many scholars own identified homoerotic themes in the book. Some biographers think author Horace Walpole was gay or asexual, and that his writing may be a manifestation of his struggles. So queer gothic books are there from the very start.
So many other gothic classics, like Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, contain had queer subtexts or not-so-sub-texts. Think about how Dr. Frankenstein, grieving his deceased mother, creates for himself not a maternal figure but a large, burly man: it’s queer! But things rarely complete well for the queer-coded characters in older gothic fiction. Gothic novels often end with a restoration of order after the frightening and dramatic events of the plot. The monstrosity is subdued and the status quo is maintained.
Testament by Jose Nateras
This gothic horror has a richly d
A&B by JC Lillis (YA, f/f, B)
Grrrls on the Side by Carrie Pack (YA, f/f)
Stygian by Santino Hassell (m/m)
One Kiss with a Rock Star by Amber Lin and Shari Slade (m/f, B)
True Brit by Con Riley (m/m)
Bonus: For shorter reads, confirm out novellas Full Exposure by Amy Jo Cousins (m/m), Fearless by Shira Glassman (f/f), and Lioness in Blue by Shira Glassman (m/f, B)
Double Bonus: Not a Romance, but Another Word For Happy by Agay Llanera has a gay main character who’s a piano prodigy