music, books, love and kindness

I am so excited (cautiously so) about this book coming out next Tuesday...it features a main character who is a lesbian AND asexual and, well, lesbian asexuals are just not very often a part of fiction...or ever really even mentioned in the real world. 

We do exist, even if it seems no one knows what to make of us, and though we can be deeply romantic at heart and full of rich emotions we just do not feel sexual stirrings the way other people can. I probably should not use the word "we" since I cannot speak for every lesbian who identifies as asexual, but I do know that I am not alone in this and it is so very nice to see it reflected elsewhere.

Here's the description for the book from Amazon:

Pop star Leontyne Blake might sing about love, but she stopped believing in it a long time ago. What women want is her image, not the real her. When her father has a stroke, she flees the spotlight and returns to her tiny Missouri hometown.

In her childhood home, she meets small-town nurse Holly Drummond, who isn’t impressed by Leo’s fame at all. That isn’t the only thing that makes Holly different from other women. She’s also asexual. For her, dating is a minefield of expectations that she has decided to avoid.

Can the tentative friendship between a burned-out pop star and a woman not interested in sex develop into something more despite their diverse expectations?

A lesbian romance about seeking the perfect rhythm between two very different people—and finding happiness where they least expect it.

....

Just after I saw the above, I discovered another book with a similar theme and downloaded it right away and started reading...and, well, all I can say is: wow! 

Feeling that you are asexual in addition to being gay is like a double-edged sword and within the lesbian community (it seems to me, at least) there is almost an ambivalence towards people who are asexual. For me, finding this book (and anticipating the one above) is a Godsend...there are no words for it, really. 

To be strongly emotionally and romantically attracted to someone of your own gender is already considered (even now in 2017) pretty controversial (and often also still referred to as "sinful") so there is already that to deal with as a huge and painful struggle. 

You would think a person not being sexually driven or having a strong sex drive would be a good thing not something to be dismissed with disdain, yet it can be and, thus, it throws things into even further disarray. Books that speak to you when you are desperate to find another soul (even if that soul is fictional) that understands what you are going through and where you are emotionally is simply amazing.