1. Not writing about romance is fun. I love romance, but life’s other challenges can be interesting and fun, too. The Curse of the Old Woods is a supernatural suspense novel, and my two main characters, Maya and Julie, are rival lesbian paranormal investigators forced to work a case together. They flirt, but mostly try to stay focused on rescuing some ghosts trapped in the woods by an evil entity. The book is sometimes scary and always fun.
2. Lesbians should have more opportunities to tromp through the woods and chase things that go bump in the night. Personally, I’m afraid of the dark, and I hate bugs. Luckily, my characters are tougher than me as they return several times to Promontory Woods to solve their case and, ultimately, give their client the closure she’s needed for years. To tell more would be a spoiler, but lesbians should have more opportunities for these kinds of adventures in fiction and in real life.
3. At the core of every story is a fantasy, even if it’s not love. The core fantasy of this novel is that Maya and Julie’s friends are always available to be a part of their adventures. They are never too busy. When Maya and Julie call, their friends show up immediately. Who wouldn’t want friends like that? Actually, I hope we all have at least one friend like that.
4. I have two mantras. One is: no one is going to read what you write. No one cares. It’s not that important. Write whatever the f**k you want. Just write, already. This may be particularly true for lesbians. Let’s face it, non-lesbian readers just aren’t that interested in what we write. There are very few lesbian authors who have non-lesbian fans. Lesbians aren’t even always that interested in lesbian fiction. We might as well write the most out there, fun thing we can possibly imagine. The lack of interest should give us real freedom to write the most glorious stories, like one about rival lesbian paranormal investigators.
5. My other mantra: Your writing is so important. You must keep writing. People need it. Just write, already. When faced with a blank computer screen, I use whatever mantra gets me writing. Considering the shit show that our politics have become, telling our stories and having fun doing so is more important than ever. No matter what happens, we have lives to live. Love to give. Sex to have. Ghosts to track down, and adventures to be had. Time to plan my next one.

The Curse of the Old Woods, Paranormal Grievance Committee Chronicles book 1 is available from Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, iBooks, and Nook. Books two and three are in the final editing stages and will be available in 2019.

Elizabeth Andre is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Lesbian Light Reads series.

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