It is #AceWeek so let’s do a quick review of my Ace-ness and Asexual characters in my books! Hi, I’m Liana, I’m a demisexual and I write characters like me!
Sam Rose in THE DAY BEFORE, CONVERGENCE POINT, and DECOHERENCE is coded demisexual/ace because I wrote her like me before I publicly identified as Ace.
Rowena Lee is on-the-page ace/demisexual and she talks about her lack of sexual attraction. She finds happily ever after with a pansexual partner and their sexualities are not a plot point. She’s the lead in CONVERGENCE POINT.
Selena Caryll in BODIES IN MOTION is demisexual-coded and probably bi/panromantic. She also gets a happily ever after with a non-ace partner.
Skeleton from IF YOU GIVE A SKELETON A 3D PRINTER is nonbinary, ace, and aro… although they would not say no to dinner with Gwendoline Christie.
If Aces aren’t your thing:
– Bisexual Characters
– Grab bag of Het-adjacent romances
– Zero Romance 1, 2, 3
– Strictly Murder 1, 2, 3
FAQ:
– What is Demisexual? A demisexual is someone who rarely feels sexual attraction, and only feels it after developing a strong emotional connection with someone. – What is Asexual? A person who feels sexual attraction never, rarely, or with no regular frequency?
– What’s the difference between Asexual and Celibate? Time for the donut analogy! Pretend you want a donut but don’t get one… that’s being celibate. You feel a craving, you would like to eat the donut, you want donuts, but you abstain. If you see a donut and you don’t want to eat it… that’s asexual. If you only eat particular flavors of donuts, but always want those flavors…. that’s het/gay/lesbian/allosexual If you go to a donut shop, befriend the owner, and try the new flavor of donut they made just for you… that’s demisexual.
– How can Aces be in Romance books? Being Asexual and Aromantic (feeling no romantic attraction) are different things. Even if an Ace is also Aro they may engage in traditional relationships for reasons like: they want to, they feel a need to meet social standards, it’s easier to explain to strangers as Married/Dating, it helps on taxes/health insurance.
Aces can and do regularly participate in relationships.
– Do Aces have sex? Yes. Feeling sexual attraction is not a factor when it comes to actual, physical sex. Some Aces are sex-avoidant/repulsed, some don’t care either way, some really like sex as a concept (or orgasms in general) but still aren’t sexually attracted to anyone.
– Do Aros have sex? Yes. See above.
– Is it really Queer Fiction if the pairing is m/f? Yes. Your sexuality doesn’t change with your relationship status. You do not miraculously become Ace if you are single. You are not suddenly Het if you are in a relationship with someone who identifies as a gender different than your own. That’s not how this works. If your definition of Queer doesn’t go beyond Gay/Lesbian I suggest reading about the history of queerness, queer rep in fiction, and engaging a few brain cells in breaking free of the idea of the binary sexuality.
– You mentioned you have kids… how does that work with being Ace? I’m asexual-demisexual, which means (in my case) there is one (1) person I’ve ever felt sexually attracted to. I married that person. We’ve had a lot of sex. Birth control is only 99.9999% effective. Some of the sex resulted in pregnancies. I survived the pregnancies, labor, and delivery. Thus, I am ace and have a spouse and children. Isn’t nature beautiful?
– Are your books clean? Yes, the printing facility is observing the CDC guidelines for handling COVID and the book will be shipped to you in the safest way possible. If you have other concerns, I recommend purchasing the ebook for minimal contact with other humans.