Banned in Russia?

Say not3I’m not, yet. Not that I know of. But it’s only a matter of time.

Say not1In June, apparently driven by pressure from the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church, Russia passed sweeping anti-homosexual legislation essentially making it a crime to even talk publicly about LGBTQ topics. It’s another ‘think of the children’ outcry, spuriously ignoring the many real and crushing issues facing Russian young people today.

Now, I’m not gay. But I have on occasion, written fantasy and science fiction about gay men and women. Having sex. And they don’t generally go to hell for it, or have terrible lives because of it. It’s just another aspect of storytelling, granted unto me when I migrated from mainstream science fiction and fantasy to the wild frontier of Erotic Romance. Say not2

I know I have Russian readers. I worry that my legitimate readers – who are certainly reading other M/M books – might be singled out by this new law. I also know that my book is pirated fairly often in Russia. I even worry about the pirates. Even if each one is unlikely to ever become a paying customer, there’s a faint chance one of them actually read my book.

Personally, I’d take it as a badge of honor if my work got banned in Russia. I’d make a T-Shirt. I’d make a banner, and flaunt it here and on my hypothetical convention swag. There is no immediate negative personal consequence for me. I’m not likely to go to Russia any time soon.

But I would be saddened to learn that my legitimate (and even pirate) readers could be singled out and persecuted because of this stupid, religious-based, retrograde law.