Gay romance

Tonight Erica Pike will be discussing male romance in literature at The National Queer Organisation, Samtökin ’78. Pike is very familiar with the subject because she has written three romance novels and numerous short stories about gay men since 2012. Books that have been published in the United States by one of the three leading publishing houses in the field, MLR Press (ManLoveRomance Press), with the combined sale of several thousand copies that have earned her a spot more than once on the best seller lists of both Amazon and All Romance Ebooks (the largest Amercian e-book site specializing in romance).

Erica Pike is actually the pseudonym of Sigríður Jóhanna Valdimarsdóttir, an Icelandic author with great interest in gay romance novels.

Erica Pike, or rather Sigríður Jóhanna Valdimarsdóttir, has written numerous romances about gay men and says it's a lot of fun. Her stories fall into a category called "New Adult",New Adult is the crossover genre between young adult fiction and chick lit, featuring characters in their late teens to early twenties experiencing first love, college life and moving away from home.
“I just sent the publisher two manuscripts and he showed interest in publishing one. But on the condition that I’d make some changes, which I did, and that’s how I got my first story published”, says Erica Pike, or rather Sigríður Jóhanna Valdimarsdóttir, on how she started her career as an author of gay romance novels. Sigríður’s stories fall into a category called “New Adult”, which is a crossover genre between young adult fiction and adult fiction, featuring characters in their late teens to early twenties experiencing first love, college life and moving away from home. Her books touch upon themes such as homophobia, bullying and domestic violence but are never short of humor.

“The market for romance novels has always been huge in the US but during the last ten years or so, romance novels about gay men have become increasingly popular. Iceland hasn’t picked up on this trend yet, but now I think it’s time to introduce it to my fellow countrymen,” Sigríður starts by telling me.

“The funny thing is that the majority of the readers are straight women, simply because they are the most active readers of romance novels. They often refer to hetero romance novels as a cliché but when reading the romances about gay men there is a different dynamic between the characters,” explains Sigríður.

“In these novels, the two men in the relationship tend to stand on a more equal footing than men and women in hetero romances and that’s something American women like to read. Aside from the female readers, there are also many male readers and their numbers are growing from year to year.”

Vampires and werewolves

Although romance novels about gay men have become increasingly popular abroad, they haven’t yet gotten the attention of Icelandic book publishers, retailers and libraries. “These books are so interesting and fun to read. They aren’t just contemporary romance novels but also novels about vampires and werewolves, science fiction and mystery.

We have cowboys, BDSM, rock stars, motorcyclists, historicals, steampunk, and horror. We even have viking romances, a couple of which take place in Iceland.

There are so many genres to choose from, so there’s no excuse for not picking one up to try, especially since almost all authors have a free story or two on their websites,” says Sigríður.

Identifies as pansexual

Ever since she was young Sigríður says that she’s has always read a great deal of books in English and one day she happened to come across a gay romance science fiction. That’s how the passion for the books started. “I realized this was something for me. I found the stories fascinating and writing gay male characters is a lot of fun. I’m happy to have found my niche.”

Asked if it’s not a bit tricky writing about romances between gay men when you’re a straight woman, Sigríður hesitates for the first time in the interview and then tells me that actually, she identifies as pansexual. It’s the first time she has discussed her sexual orientation publicly.

“It has taken me four years figuring that out,” she admits. When I started writing I thought I was straight but these novels have helped me figure out who I am. Coming out late and finding myself, reflects a little bit in some of my books. So when I’m writing I often write about coming out.”

She doesn’t know of anyone else in Iceland writing gay romance novels for the international market. Most of the authors she is familiar with are American, but she also knows a couple of authors in Finland, one in Norway, one in Sweden, a few in Germany and many in England.


Sigríður’s, .a.k.a. Erica’s books are available in all the Amazon stores and at all the biggest online bookstores, such as Barnes&Noble, All Romance eBooks, Kobo and iTunes. Her short stories are sold on Smashwords.

So far Sigríður has solely written books in English, but does she intend to write in her native tongue in the near future. She shakes her head. “My flow is much better in English. I am currently writing a series of short stories that take place in Iceland but I doubt they will be in Icelandic,” Sigríður says and adds that her next novel however – which tells the story of two teenage boys trying to survive a zombie apocalypse – will be a step into a new direction as it falls into the category of Young Adult fiction and will be published under the pseudonym Erica Archer. “I’ve always been fascinated by apocalypse stories and it’s been great fun writing it.”

Stressful in Iceland

Sigríður has four times attended the American book conference Gay Romance Literature Retreat, where she has discussed her books and done Q and A’s. The event on Thursday night will be her first one in Iceland and she admits she finds it a bit stressful thinking about it. 

“Usually I’ve spoken with people who are active readers of these kind of books but now I’m speaking with people who have perhaps never read them. I don’t know why I am so stressful. Maybe because this is my native country and the tradition for love stories isn’t as great here as it is abroad. People here are more fond of thrillers. Or maybe it’s because I’m a writer and not really a specialised speaker.  I’m just not a person that loves the limelight. However, I am willing to do it for the sake of literature, I really want to introduce these books to my audience tonight.”

The event at The National Queer Organisation. Samtökin ’78, Suðurgata 3 in Reykjavík, takes place tonight, Thursday, November 19, between 20 and 23PM. You can find more about the event on Facebook.

On the left: Inherit The Sky by Ariel Tachna is one of the books Sigríður will be discussing tonight. She says that a lot of the authors support LGBTQAI rights, for example by raising money for various queer causes.

Some publishing houses make special trailers to advertise their books.

Á. Óskarsson
Á. Óskarsson

Á. Óskarsson offers a variety of products and services to sports centers, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens, and the general public. The company specializes in sport-related products, activity-focused games, and a wide range of solutions for sports facilities.

Á. Óskarsson has been involved in numerous big projects related to building sports facilities and has made it their benchmark to offer good quality products and equipment since the company was founded.

See links to social media in the upper left-hand corner

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Á. Óskarsson selur fjölbreytt vöruúrval fyrir íþróttahús, sundlaugar, skóla og leikskóla og einnig ýmsar vörur til einkaafnota. Fyrirtækið selur vörur til íþróttaiðkunnar og leikja ásamt því að bjóða upp á ýmsar lausnir fyrir íþróttamannvirki.

Á. Óskarsson hefur komið að fjölda stórra verkefna við byggingu íþróttamannvirkja og hefur frá stofnun kappkostað að bjóða vandaðar og endingargóðar vörur.

Tenglar á samfélagsmiðla eru í efra horninu vinstra megin.

Webpage/vefsetur

Blush

    Blush was founded in 2011 when it started selling high quality sex products. The goal from the beginning was to change the market and take the discussion about sex products to a higher level. Today Blush provides professional services in a pleasant environment that fulfills different needs, both for individuals and couples. Blush respects diversity and wants to set a good example in all of its messaging to target audiences. Sexual health and equality in sex is important and Blush wants to focus on those issues through education and open discussion. Blush works in a socially responsible manner for society, their customers and the environment.

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    Omnom Chocolate
    - award-winning chocolate maker

      Omnom Chocolate is an Icelandic craft chocolate company based in Reykjavík. We produce handcrafted chocolate from organic cacao beans sourced ethically and sustainably. We’ve developed direct relationships to create premium chocolate with fine flavor cacao beans.

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      Nasdaq

         

        Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence.

        With over 4,300 employees in 39 offices around the world, at Nasdaq we all contribute to the success of the company and its culture, and each one of us has the ability to make a difference. When it comes to our core mission and values, we embrace the role of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) as a fundamental driver of our corporate growth, workplace culture and market development. We strive to create a culture that embraces the power of different perspectives—a culture where people’s unique backgrounds and different experiences helps us fuel innovation and support our clients around the world.

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        Blue Lagoon
        - One of the 25 Wonders of the World

        Named by National Geographic as one of the 25 Wonders of the World, the Blue Lagoon is a shimmering expanse of warmth, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Its unique geothermal seawater
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        From its humble beginnings in the shadows of a geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon has evolved into a world of wonder, now encompassing two hotels, three restaurants, three
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        Achieving harmony with the volcanic landscape, the lagoon and its surrounding architecture embody the unification of the man-made and the natural, and adhere to the highest principles of sustainability.

        The Blue Lagoon. A wonder of the world. A world of wonder.

        Landsbankinn
        - leading financial institution
        Landsbankinn

        Landsbankinn is a leading Icelandic financial institution. It offers a full range of financial services and is the market leader in the Icelandic financial service sector with the largest branch network.

        The present bank was established on 7 October 2008 but the history of its predecessor dates back to 1886. The bank is owned by the National Treasury of Iceland, which holds 98.2% of its share capital, and other shareholders who own 1.8%.

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        It intends to achieve this aim by building solid infrastructure and a strong team of 1.100 employees, by listening to its customers and by respecting and encouraging its employees to actively participate in their community. Landsbankinn was a founding member of Festa, a Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is a member of the UN Global Compact.

        Landsbankinn has been a proud sponsor of the Reykjavik Pride since it was first celebrated in Iceland.

        Dohop
        - get inspired
        Dohop

        Dohop allows people to find the cheapest flights available with just one click. Founded in Reykjavik in 2004, it is the only Icelandic company of its kind and quickly became the go-to tool for finding cheap flights among the locals. Dohop finds the best deals among hundreds of different airlines and online travel agencies, to make sure that the user is getting the cheapest price. Dohop also offers hotel and car rental search engines, so users can make all of their travel bookings from a single website.

        Dohop‘s specialty is finding so-called “self-connect” flight options, which can save travelers money by booking a ticket through two or more different airlines. The ability to look for these self-connect option is what sets Dohop apart from its competition, as it can save people hundreds of dollars on certain routes.

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        VSÓ Ráðgjöf

           

          VSÓ Ráðgjöf er alhliða ráðgjafar- og verkfræðifyrirtæki sem leggur áherslu á trausta og faglega þjónustu sem tryggir viðskiptavinum hagkvæmustu lausnir hverju sinni, skilar raunverulegum árangri og stuðlar að samkeppnisforskoti.  Á skrifstofum VSÓ í Reykjavík og í Noregi starfar yfir 80 manna samhentur hópur verkfræðinga og annarra tæknimenntaðra starfsmanna.

          Macland
          - for all your Apple needs
          Macland

          From starting out as a proper startup with only a good idea and the need to change things, to becoming an established company with 6 employees. Starting from scratch and expanding organically has allowed us to love our expansion and take our customers on the ride with us.

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          Ísey skyr
          - once tasted never forgotten

          Our Story
          Once upon a time, 1,100 years ago in fact, Nordic settlers began arriving in Iceland. They brought with them the skills and knowledge for producing skyr. As time passed, the know-how and recipe for this nutritious food slowly faded out elsewhere in the Nordic region. Luckily, the Icelandic skyr-making tradition continued.

          For centuries, Icelandic skyr formed a cornerstone of the national diet, helping to keep people strong in living conditions that were often harsh. On family farms countrywide, it was the women who nurtured this dairy and passing on both the recipe and the original Icelandic skyr cultures from mother to daughter.

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          This is our secret and you are in on it

          You can read more about Ísey skyr on our website.

          Contact Us


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