Welcome back to Author’s Corner! I’m so excited today to have James Crawford here with a very interesting post about LGBT heroes! Or lack there of. My SO is a major superhero fanatic and is put off by this as much as James is, but this and the lack of female/women superheroes in any of the story lines. So keep reading for James’ POV on the lack of LGBT heroes.

Lack of LGBT Heroes

People ask me all the time why I chose to write in my genre. Well growing up, I have always had a fascination with heroes. No, I’m not talking about the ones that put on helmets or a badge. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate all they do for us, but I’m talking about fictional heroes like Batman, Superman, the Lone Ranger, and even Michael Knight from Knight Rider. Heroes that would swoop in at the last moment, save the day, and get the girl. There are hundreds of heroes out there of every ethnicity, all showing kids to stand up, be strong, and hopefully become productive members of society (or at least not destructive cretins).

But as a gay child growing up, I didn’t have any homosexual heroes to look up to. Some might roll their eyes at the thought and say “so what?” or “why do people have to bring sex into everything.” The need for LGBT heroes, I feel, is very important. With LGBT kids being preached to say they are bad, immoral, going to hell, and abominations, they should have heroes who can show they don’t have to listen to others, they too can be heroes. It doesn’t matter what gender you are attracted to, you can stand up, be strong, and become productive members of society (or at least not destructive cretins). And why bring sex into this? It isn’t about sex. Superman has Lois Lane, Batman had a different woman in every movie, and did you once think about that as sex? No, saving the girl was just part of the story line. Love and sex are two different things.

Phew! Sorry, kind of felt like I was shouting into my keyboard there for a moment. Now that being said, the science fiction community is evolving. LGBT characters are becoming more prominent, both DC and Marvel have introduced LGBT characters; we have Captain Jack Harkness, and we can’t forget Willow who I feel stepped up to the plate and broke the mold for LGBT Characters in all genres.

So why do I write LGBT young adult books? I hope I can create a character as powerful as Willow Rosenberg, or as passionate and witty as Jack Harkness to inspire any youth to be strong, to let them know its okay to be different and maybe even inspire them to be one of the real heroes one day.

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Every High School has their social outcasts. The band nerds, the math geeks, the chess club, the girl that chews her hair, but at Butler High, even the creepy nose picker in the chess club is more popular than Caleo Anima. No matter what he did, his pale skin, snow white hair, and piercing blue eyes always made him an easy target. He used to think that the only way things could get worse would be if someone found out that he was gay, but that isn’t even the tip of the iceberg of problems after a mysterious stranger shows up and changes Caleo’s life forever.

Hidden amongst our society, a secret and magical race of people known as ‘Leeches’, have been engaging in civil war for decades. Both sides are desperately searching for a weapon with unlimited power that will give them the advantage they need to rule their world. This wouldn’t mean anything to Caleo, except for one problem…He is that weapon!

Forget making it through High School. Caleo has bigger problems! As the search for him goes on, the world is quickly crumbling around him. He’s now fighting for his life and the life of what little family he has left. With the help of new friends, he has little time to try and master his newly found powers as he tries to figure out who he can trust, who is trying to use him, and who just wants him dead. One wrong step and being the awkward pale outcast will be the least of his worries.
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Caleo-Leech-james-crawford-ebook/dp/B004YQVF96/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396283364&sr=8-1&keywords=caleo

Every high school has its social elite; the football players and cheerleaders … you know, the popular crowd. At Butler High, Jack Barely was as close to the top as they came. Captain of the swim team, great hair, and abs that most would die for. However, that was all before the Leeches attacked, taking away everything: his popularity, his house, his grandmother, and even his best friend, Caleo, whom he secretly loved.

Now, living in a destroyed world, popularity means nothing as Jack struggles just to keep him and his twin sister, Jillian, alive. With attacks happening more frequently, Jack starts to wonder why they are even bothering to try and hold onto the past when it just reminds him of all they have lost. Just when he has given up hope, Jack hears a rumor that Caleo is still alive and sets out on a mission to find him. But will Jack make it to finally tell Caleo how he really feels?
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Leech-james-crawford-ebook/dp/B00C275OE6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396283274&sr=8-2&keywords=caleo

james crawford (All Lowercase please) lives in Horn Lake Mississippi with his partner of 7 years. He began writing the Leech series in 2007 after having a reoccurring dream about a young boy with skin whiter than a sheet. The story inspired a writing frenzy that is shaping into the Leech series.