Gabrielle Goldsby is the author of six novels, all with lesbian characters. She’s won a Lambda Literary Award and was a Forward Magazine finalist and recipient of the Alice B. Lavender Certificate. Gabrielle currently resides in Portland, Oregon. When not writing, she enjoys reading, camping, hiking, and lifting the heaviest things she can get her hands on.
I understand you got a pretty unusual start to your writing career. Can you tell us about it?
I knew I wanted to be a writer after reading my first Nancy Drew book. I’d dabbled here and there at putting my stories on paper, but I didn’t get serious about it until I started reading Xena fan fiction. Since this coincided with the realization that I was gay…well, I’m sure you understand the excitement that a universe of people devoted to reading stories for and about women would generate. I did cheat a little though. Most of my stories were thought up long before I read fan fiction. A tweak to the eye color here, an added quirk or euphemism there and my stories fit right in. There, I admitted it. I was a fan fiction fraud.
You write both romance and suspense novels, but they all center around lesbian relationships. Why are lesbians the centers of your books?
Fantasy played a huge role in my fiction early on. I simply wrote the stories I thought I wanted to live. Keep in mind that was 15 years ago.
Would anyone learn anything about lesbian relationships from your stories?
I think the best fiction has some elements of true life experience in it. Having said that, while it would be nice to think that someone read one of my books and thought, wow I didn’t know that… it is not my goal to educate. My goal is to entertain.
Does writing about romance help your dating or love life?
This question made me laugh out loud. I’d have to say no. I would say that life and spending time with someone special has helped my writing more than vice versa. It may sounds strange, but I love to read fiction that has truth to it. You can tell when an author doesn’t believe what they’re writing. Happily ever after is hard to swallow if you don’t really believe it.
What’s your idea of a perfect lesbian date?
I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is a perfect date. People are so different that what works with one person doesn’t work with others. If I had to choose a perfect date it would be quality time with someone special. That could be at an Italian café or on the couch with a book and a shared glass of wine.
One of your stories Such a Pretty Face has a plus size character. What is it about that story that resonates with you and with fans?
I can only speak for myself, but I spent most of my adult life in the plus size category. I still struggle with weight daily. You do not see plus size woman represented in fiction and when you do, they are rarely portrayed as sexy. I wanted to do both.
What makes a good lesbian romance novel? Is it the same thing that makes a good lesbian romance?
I don’t consider myself a lesbian romance writer, but romance seems to creep into all my stories. If you give your readers likable characters, add a bit of conflict that can be overcome by love, you’ve got yourself the making if a good story. In my opinion, it’s not a romance if it doesn’t end happily ever after.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Winning the Lambda Literary award for Wall of Silence is high on my list of achievements.
What’s your latest project?
I have no idea which will be finished first, but I am toggling back and forth between suspense and a story that takes place in Louisiana in both the 80’s and the present. I rarely write this way and I only did it thinking one of the stories would pull my attention the most. It hasn’t happened yet, but we shall see.
Where can people find your books?
My books can be found or ordered in most brick and mortar women’s book stores, Barnes and Noble and Borders (if you can still find one). Online booksellers such as Amazon as well as my own publisher’s website: www. boldstrokesbooks.com
