Poppy's Birthday Bash: Taylor Gets Listy

Today's special guest for Poppy's Birthday Bash is the lovely and talented Taylor V. Donovan. Along with several other writers, Taylor runs the blog Chicks & Dicks. Some of the posts on the blog have really changed the way I look at things. They make me think, and that's always a good thing. So for Taylor's contribution, I asked her to come up with a Top 12 list of Chicks & Dicks posts. 

First of all I’d like to thank Poppy for having me on her blog as part of her special birthday celebration. You are an amazing lady, and I am very happy to have you as my friend. 

One of Poppy’s favorite things is Chicks & Dicks http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/, a blog conceived for the purpose of providing a platform where a variety of subjects and opinions concerning MM Romancelandia can be aired, whether we agree with them or not. It is run by a group of amazing people that you can check out when you visit our blog, and counts with excellent collaborators that spice things up every month.

It’s been a year since we launched the site and during that time we’ve had a plethora of guests, themes, and a fair share of controversy. As you could imagine choosing only twelve favorite posts was almost impossible, but there are several that stood out because they made me think, laugh, and even cry. So without further ado and in no particular order I give you my twelve favorite posts on Chicks & Dicks to date.

1. Believing in Love http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/12/believing-in-love-by-marie-sexton.html , by Marie Sexton about characters reclaiming their faith and incorporating religion in stories in a positive way. 

2. This Really Needs to Stop http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/11/this-really-needs-to-stop-by-thorny_20.html, by Thorny Sterling about the use of the term “chicks with dicks” and how hurtful and/or offensive it can be. 

3. Coming Out as an Author http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/06/coming-out-as-author-by-tj-klune.html, by TJ Klune about letting people know he writes MM Romance. 

4. Real Stories, Real Romance, Real Soon, Please http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/03/real-stories-real-romance-real-soon.html , by Adara O’Hare, a very insightful analysis of the stories in our genre. 

5. Gay Pride, Fathers Day and a Gay Father and Son http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/06/gay-pride-fathers-day-and-gay-father.html, by Rick R. Reed, in which he talks about being a gay father of a gay son. 

6. American Grandstand http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2011/12/josh-lanyon-american-grandstand.html, by Josh Lanyon, in which he offers invaluable advice to authors on all things promotion. 

7. Mores First Ejaculation http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2011/11/mores-first-ejaculation.html, by Mores. A touching, hilarious recount of… well, the title says it all  

8. Same Sex Abuse: Can You Spot the Indicators? http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/07/same-sex-abuse-can-you-spot-indicators.html, by Edmond Manning, an eye opening look into the oftentimes difficult-to-spot same sex abusive relationships. 

9. Gay-For-You? That’s Not What I Call It http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/04/gay-for-you-thats-not-what-i-call-it-by.html , by Alec E. in which we discuss the viability (and veracity) of one of the favorite tropes in the genre. 

10. Authors’ Personal Lives http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/09/authors-personal-lives-by-nikyta-jenkins.html , by Nikyta Jenkins, a perhaps controversial take on the time authors spend online and how much information they should share... if any at all. 

11. What Makes a Series Spectacular http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/08/what-makes-series-spectacular-by.html, by Joyfully Jay about what makes or breaks a series. 

12. Smell-A-Mate Syndrome http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/04/smell-mate-syndrome-by-poppy-dennison.html, by Poppy Dennison, a hilarious look into insta-love. 

As a bonus, I’d like to include a post titled The One Thing We Shouldn’t Break is Our Community http://www.chicksanddicksrainbow.com/2012/04/one-thing-we-shouldnt-break-is-our.html , written by yours truly. It is a reminder of what our blog stands for, as well as a heartfelt plea to be kind to one another in our little MM Romance World. 

Taylor V. Donovan

Poppy: No commentary necessary from me on these. If you don't follow Chicks & Dicks, you should. They're a great group and while you may not agree with all of the posts, you'll definitely learn something from them.