Spotlight on Silver & Gold LGBT+ Anthology
EDITED BY AMANDA JEAN
EDITED BY AMANDA JEAN
From one-night stands to on-and-off love stories that span decades, the roads of love are diverse and have no map. One of the hardest relationships to navigate may be those with an age difference. Society isn’t always sure what to make of May/December pairings, and the odds seem stacked against them. But the wisdom of age and the optimism of youth is a combination not to be underestimated.
AN EXCLUSIVE NOTE FROM THE EDITOR, AMANDA JEAN, WHO MOONLIGHTS AS ALTERNATING CURRENT’S LGBT+ DIRECTOR:
The origin story for Silver & Gold begins in late 2013, at the first Gay Romance Northwest meet-up in Seattle. I attended, along with the owners of Less Than Three Press, where I’m a senior editor. During the book fair, I had a rum and Coke, or several, and talked shop with Samantha Derr, LT3’s Managing Editor. We got onto the subject of upcoming calls, and the idea of a May/December anthology popped into my head fully formed and seemed like A Really Good Idea. Who doesn’t love a good May/December flavor to their romance? What could be better than a collection of May/December romances, highlighting the unique challenges and rewards in age-difference pairings? I said as much to Samantha, and she said something vague about checking the slate, so obviously the only thing to do was start a mild campaign of harassment that ultimately ended in a “PLEASE LET ME DO THIS” email. Luckily, LT3 is a benevolent force, and gave in.
Fast forward to October of 2015, and Silver & Gold is out in the world, not just an amorphous concept in my own head. Over the last year and change, I read dozens and dozens of amazing stories submitted, painfully whittled them down to a selection of six, edited for truly talented and accommodating authors, nitpicked my way to narrowly making the deadline—and now there’s nothing left to do but to sit back and take stock. I’m proud of what we accomplished. I wanted to reflect as much of the LGBTQ acronym as possible: though I love the genre, it is very much dominated by a certain letter. I’m happy to say that the book reflects some of the truly colorful lives and loves of the community. Also, there’s werewolves in it.
Seriously, there’s the aforementioned werewolves, but also a lesbian meet-cute, a Navy SEAL and an ex-prostitute, a snarky political intern and his surly boss, a hunky contractor and his gun-shy employer, and a youngish professor who butts heads with a dog groomer (who has a corgi!).
If I’ve learned anything over the course of editing Silver & Gold, it’s that having a drink with my boss is a habit I clearly need to develop.
AMANDA JEAN is a publicist for Alternating Current Press and the LGBT+ Director for The Spark. She is also an editor (and writer) of LGBTQ romance, and when not wrangling manuscripts, she can be found watching space documentaries, looking at pictures of shoes, and attempting to read for pleasure. She has worked with Less Than Three Press, Torquere Press, NineStar Press, Siren BookStrand, Athgo International, The Typewriter, and the Seattle-based literary magazine POPLORISH, and has paid her dues writing dreary freelance content.• Post contributors receive ~80% of your tip, after necessary transaction and administrative fees. Even small change makes a difference. • Permalink • Tag: The Beam •
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