Today I noticed that I have 1,647 comments on my blogs, the great majority of them compliments on my writing.  My blogging activity is dependent upon the sale of my books which cover the same subjects in fiction that the blogs cover in fact. So here it comes, the sales pitch.

Conflict in Writing Romance

The use of conflict in writing a romance novel is essential. Without conflict, there is no plot. Plots are made up of obstacles which the characters must overcome to find the HEA.   There are several types of conflict.  In brief they can be:

• ·         An actual state of war as existed in my novel The Sarran Plague in which the Sarrans were fighting the insectoid menace, the Zyptz.
• ·         A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interest that clash.  In Shattered Glass, the replacement drummer, Brad, hated Liam, one of the main protagonists.

·         Psychology – a psychic struggle, often unconscious, resulting for the simultaneous functioning of mutually exclusive impulses, desires or tendencies. In Shattered Glass, Milo has conflicted desires.  He loves and wants Liam but is inwardly at war with his homosexuality and does not want to leave the closet and live an openly gay life.

These types of situations move a novel forward.  Conflict, then resolution is what brings suspense, intrigue, the hopelessness of doomed romance, all to be resolved somewhere in the plotline by the writer.

In any novel as well as in life, there is major conflict and minor conflict.  Who gets control of the remote can set up a comic scene but doesn’t move the plot unless it shows the symptoms of a serious underlying problem.

In GLBT novels, especially those set in contemporary and historical time periods there is a black cloud of disharmony that provides essential conflict, an overriding battle without arms.  That battle is bigotry and prejudice.  Whether it is Milo’s fear that the band, Shattered Glass will not sell records if the fans know that some of the members are gay, or the gay bashing of Brian Murphy in A Matter of Trust that puts him in the hospital this compelling theme shades every GLBT novel written.

One of the reasons I write GLBT novels is because I believe in the equality of all human beings under the law.  I despise prejudice and ignorant bigotry.  If one of my novels is able to move someone to understand that love comes in relationships, gay or straight and that it is something to be respected, not disdained, because it is precious, then I feel I have accomplished something in this lifetime.  Knowledge fights the bigotry that ignorance breeds.  All citizens are equal under the law and no gay couple should have to beg for what is guaranteed to them by the United States Constitution.  Until that happens, I’ll be writing GLBT novels in hope that someone out there “gets it.”

Research for this article came from the Websites I Speak of Dreams – The Uses of Conflict and Hub Pages – The Use of Conflict in Novel Writing 71.

To find out more about me and my books,  please visit my website, www.ackatt.com and my blog at www.ackattsjournal.blogspot.com. I love to hear from my readers.  I can be contacted by leaving comments on my webpage and blog or by writing me directly atackatt@ackatt.com.

Shattered Glass is available from Captiva Press at www.captivapress.com.  A Matter of Trust is available from XOXO Publishing at www.xoxopublishing.com and The Sarran Plague will be re-released by Captiva Press in the fall of this year.

This weeks events with AC Katt

Gay Discrimination in the Workplace

In my book, A Matter of Trust, Brian Murphy is employed by Drummond Realty, which is touted as a gay-friendly environment. He finds out quickly that although the owner of the firm, Donald Drummond, is gay, the company policy against discrimination doesn’t trickle down to the trenches. Hired to work in the Information Technology Division, Brian finds himself relegated to the Mailroom after a run-in with an administrative assistant with a boss distracted by a messy divorce.

Brian’s situation is not uncommon. According to an article by Bruce Mirken for Consumer Health Interactive, one-quarter to two thirds of lesbian, gay and bisexual people have lost jobs or been denied promotions because of their sexual orientation. Gay workers earn less money than their equally educated counterparts.

Discrimination can take place subtly or overtly. In A Matter of Trust, Brian faces both overt and covert hostility. Mirken article states, “promotions…mysteriously go to less-qualified employees or a constant barrage of insults and antigay jokes that create a hostile, threatening atmosphere” are just some of the forms that homosexual bias can take.

Unfortunately that bias can extend to men or women whose “supervisors or co-workers believe he or she is gay,” even when their assumption is wrong. This kind of behavioral bias in the workplace is not illegal under present federal law. Gender discrimination is currently illegal in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, and Pennsylvania protect against discrimination in public workplaces only. In the rest of the United States, if you are gay or lesbian, you are at risk unless your local municipality has and enforces anti-discrimination laws.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), S.1284/H.R. 2692 is pending federal legislation that would make it illegal to discriminate against an employee because of sexual orientation including hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, and most terms and conditions of employment. It would also protect workers from retaliation for reporting such discrimination to the authorities. ENDA is structured in the same manner as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is the law that prevents discrimination against race, gender, or national origin and would be enforced in the same manner.

To live a decent life in the United States of America, you must be able to work. Discrimination in the workplace prevents a citizen from living a normal, decent life. As a country, we owe it to ourselves and the gay citizens among us to encourage our Congressmen and Senators to vote for ENDA to give true meaning to the phrase “liberty and justice for all.”

Gay Discrimination in the Workplace

In my book, A Matter of Trust, Brian Murphy is employed by Drummond Realty, which is touted as a gay-friendly environment. He finds out quickly that although the owner of the firm, Donald Drummond, is gay, the company policy against discrimination doesn’t trickle down to the trenches. Hired to work in the Information Technology Division, Brian finds himself relegated to the Mailroom after a run-in with an administrative assistant with a boss distracted by a messy divorce.

Brian’s situation is not uncommon. According to an article by Bruce Mirken for Consumer Health Interactive, one-quarter to two thirds of lesbian, gay and bisexual people have lost jobs or been denied promotions because of their sexual orientation. Gay workers earn less money than their equally educated counterparts.

Discrimination can take place subtly or overtly. In A Matter of Trust, Brian faces both overt and covert hostility. Mirken article states, “promotions…mysteriously go to less-qualified employees or a constant barrage of insults and antigay jokes that create a hostile, threatening atmosphere” are just some of the forms that homosexual bias can take.

Unfortunately that bias can extend to men or women whose “supervisors or co-workers believe he or she is gay,” even when their assumption is wrong. This kind of behavioral bias in the workplace is not illegal under present federal law. Gender discrimination is currently illegal in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, and Pennsylvania protect against discrimination in public workplaces only. In the rest of the United States, if you are gay or lesbian, you are at risk unless your local municipality has and enforces anti-discrimination laws.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), S.1284/H.R. 2692 is pending federal legislation that would make it illegal to discriminate against an employee because of sexual orientation including hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, and most terms and conditions of employment. It would also protect workers from retaliation for reporting such discrimination to the authorities. ENDA is structured in the same manner as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is the law that prevents discrimination against race, gender, or national origin and would be enforced in the same manner.

To live a decent life in the United States of America, you must be able to work. Discrimination in the workplace prevents a citizen from living a normal, decent life. As a country, we owe it to ourselves and the gay citizens among us to encourage our Congressmen and Senators to vote for ENDA to give true meaning to the phrase “liberty and justice for all.”

A Matter of Trust is available from XOXO publishing at www.xoxopublishing.com