What do you do when the woman you want to be … is a man?
One of the best books I read in any genre last year was Woman as a Foreign Language, by Katherine Wyvern. It's a story of a young, gender-queer woman emerging from an abusive childhood to find joy and love--and it's full of surprises. Witty, sharply-observed, and often delightfully steamy, it is an honest, believable story about two extraordinary characters, told with a shifting POV. Everything works. When Katherine told me she was looking for a little love on the blogs, I opened the door to The Room Downstairs right away.
And here's something you have to know: Woman as a Foreign Language was Runner-Up for Best Contemporary story in the Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards, and is available on the Evernight site at a 25% discount with the coupon code WINNER2017. More on the business end in a bit.
And so, without further ado, here's the author herself!
This is a very, very tender (and hot!) contemporary love story between two gender-queer characters living extremely isolated lives in a crowded town.
Unlike some of my other books this story has a very minimal setting. No flamboyant Sci-Fi or Fantasy world. It is in fact extremely intimate, and totally character-driven, and concentrates on those tiny shifts in our state of mind that slowly paint the picture: we are in love.
This book even has a musical score, to help you get into the mood.
I have this feeling that our perception of love owes so much to love songs. I think it’s how we learn to talk about love, even as children, long before we know much about love. Sometimes, when we hear a song that “rings true” it can become the way define our feelings. I really wanted to use this in the story, because music is one of the few things that these two characters, Nina and Julian, have in common, being in everything else extremely different. And you know that quote, “and then suddenly all the love songs were about you.” There is something magical about music, and the magic seems stronger when we are in love…
If you are curious about this, feel free to drop by my website and check out a list (with links) of all the songs in the story.
It took quite a bit of research to put this story together, and also I was so attached to these characters, that once I was done with the book I realized I still had a lot to say on the topic. All this spill-over turned into Spice and Vanilla, WaaFL darker, naughtier, whip-and-leather sister, which will be published in May. It’s not WaaFL’s sequel, but it treats similar themes, and Julia/n and Nina both make a brief appearance. Stay tuned!
Sounds like a great read, right? Here's an excerpt--and when you've finished reading it, it'll be easy to buy the book right from Evernight, the publisher! You'll need to fan yourself a little first.
Here's Woman as a Foreign Language on Amazon, with another downloadable excerpt.
See what Katherine is up to on:
Katherine’s Blog: https://katherinewyvern.blogspot.fr/
Katherine’s Website: http://meetingivory.wixsite.com/katherinewyvern
Katherine’s Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Katherine-Wyvern-Author-122569301260917/
Or follow her on Instagram @katherinewyvern