I’m releasing a book of short stories called “Tales of Love and Emeralds”. One of such stories is called “The Emerald Statue of Saintete”. 

This story is not a romance. It does have some romantic elements when it comes to Alan (come on, my tag line is ‘love stories larger than life’) but it’s not a romance.  In fact, the story has only one kiss (the main characters are fourteen, you guys, which technically makes it an YA.)

Did I mention that this one kiss happens between two boys?
Yup. It was sweet, romantic, and filled with the insecurities that come with a first kiss.

Personally, it was a scene I was immensely proud to write.

But two of my Betas were put off by this and actually refused to read any further. I will quote, “The writing and world building were extraordinary,  and I loved the characters, but what really put me off was the fact that Alan is gay teenage boy.”

I felt shocked for a moment, and then so very sad.

It was just a kiss! An innocent, beautiful kiss!

Until when will we ignore same-sex prejudice; tell ourselves it’s not really there, when it clearly is, everyday, in the smallest of comments, in the tiniest of interactions? You might not even mean to hurt anyone, but if you keep thinking that way, you will.

Someone out there might argue, “Oh, silly C.S. Your demographic is hetero. You can’t write a story with a gay main character.” 

Look, if I had written a gay FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY (Omg: FIFTY SHADES OF GAY, how cool would that be?), I might (double emphasis on the might) give you the demographic argument. And even if I did, I’d hope this argument would cease to be valid in a few years from now.

But all I wrote was a first kiss.

Sure, I write hetero love stories, but it saddens me that the one time I tried to write just a tiny little bit of gay romance, I got bashed.

I’d just like to state a simple fact here:

love is love, and it chooses no race, no culture, no religion, and certainly no gender.