CANR

• The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Avon (New York, NY), 2021
• The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes Avon (New York, NY), 2022

1. The perfect crimes of Marian Hayes : a novel LCCN 2023275515 Type of material Book Personal name Sebastian, Cat, author. Main title The perfect crimes of Marian Hayes : a novel / Cat Sebastian. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022] ©2022 Description 338 pages ; 21 cm ISBN 9780063026254 (paperback) CALL NUMBER PS3619.E25934 P47 2022 FT MEADE Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE 2. The queer principles of Kit Webb : a novel LCCN 2021279357 Type of material Book Personal name Sebastian, Cat, author. Main title The queer principles of Kit Webb : a novel / Cat Sebastian. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Avon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021] ©2021 Description 335 pages ; 21 cm ISBN 9780063026216 (paperback) 006302621X (paperback) CALL NUMBER PS3619.E25934 Q44 2021 FT MEADE Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE

• You Should Be So Lucky - 2024 Avon, New York, NY

• Cat Sebastian website - https://catsebastian.com/

  Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and she’s been featured in the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly,
  and Jezebel.

  Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the south. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.

  The best way to keep up with Cat’s projects is to subscribe to her newsletter. You can email Cat at CatSebastianWrites [at] gmail [dot] com, visit her on twitter, or check out her instagram.

  Cat is represented by Deidre Knight at the Knight Agency.

• Fantastic Fiction -

  Cat Sebastian

  Cat Sebastian lives in a swampy part of the South with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. Before her kids were born, she practiced law and taught high school and college writing. When she isn't reading or writing, she's doing crossword puzzles, bird-watching, and wondering where she put her coffee cup.

  Awards: Lammy (2024)

  Genres: Gay Romance, Historical Romance

  New and upcoming books
  May 2024

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  You Should Be So Lucky
  (Midcentury NYC, book 2)
  Series
  Turner
  1. The Soldier's Scoundrel (2016)
  2. The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017)
  3. The Ruin of a Rake (2017)
  3.5. A Little Light Mischief (2019)
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  Seducing the Sedgwicks
  1. It Takes Two to Tumble (2017)
  2. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (2018)
  3. Two Rogues Make a Right (2020)
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  Regency Impostors
  1. Unmasked by the Marquess (2018)
  2. A Duke in Disguise (2019)
  3. A Delicate Deception (2019)
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  Page & Sommers
  1. Hither Page (2019)
  2. The Missing Page (2022)
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  Cabots
  1. Tommy Cabot Was Here (2021)
  2. Peter Cabot Gets Lost (2021)
  3. Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots (2022)
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  London Highwaymen
  1. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (2021)
  2. The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes (2022)
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  Midcentury NYC
  1. We Could Be So Good (2023)
  2. You Should Be So Lucky (2024)
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  Collections
  He's Come Undone (2020) (with others)
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  Novellas and Short Stories
  Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue (2023)

• Reading the End - https://readingtheend.com/2019/10/21/authors-in-fandom-an-interview-with-cat-sebastian/

  Reading the End
  before I read the middle

  Authors in Fandom: An Interview with Cat Sebastian
  Published 21 Oct 2019 by Gin Jenny
  Hey hey hey, we’re back with an Authors in Fandom interview based on MY LOVE OF SPREADSHEETS. Cat Sebastian is one of my consistent fave romance authors; she keeps an intimidating and amazing spreadsheet of her fic reading; and I’m delighted to welcome her to the blog to talk about her fanfic influences!

  How did you get into reading fic? What were the first fandoms you read in, and what’s the newest one you’ve fallen for?

  My first fandom was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and that was back when fic was mainly shared on message boards and list serves and sometimes literally just email that got forwarded around. I don’t think even live journal was a thing in 1998. Then I mostly lapsed out of fandom except for Holmes/Watson until last year when I imprinted on Bucky Barnes like some kind of baby duck. Now I’m reading Sirius/Remus like my life depends on it.

  Please tell the people about the genesis of your fic spreadsheet, which is the most epic fic spreadsheet ever. And then I would also like to know how you find fic to read!

  At the beginning of 2018 I started to track my reading in general, so it made sense to log my fanfic reading alongside my profic reading. Also, when you read a couple hundred fics that involve the same characters, it helps to write a line distinguishing one from the other (“this is the one where Steve turns into a golden retriever”) that way if you ever want to reread it or recommend it, you can actually find it. Even better, I can just share the entire spreadsheet—or at least the fics that I’ve marked as favorites—with people who want it.

  Also, spreadsheets in general provide the illusion of having accomplished something, which is satisfying.

  I mainly find new fic via recommendations, or by reading other works by the writer of a fic I’ve enjoyed. Sometimes I’ll search by tag in AO3 and sort by kudos.

  How has fic influenced your professional work? Were you already reading fic by the time you wrote The Ruin of a Rake? I ask because there’s such a terrific fic-ish line in that book.

  The main thing I’ve taken away from fic is that story structure—hero’s journey, save the cat, Freytag’s pyramid, whatever—doesn’t matter much to me as a reader, and in fact might prioritize a certain kind of story that I’m not very interested in telling anyway. Compelling characters who act like humans, rising action, stakes that matter, satisfying resolution: that’s a story. Beats and pinch points and so forth can get you there, but they aren’t a goal in themselves. And for me, for what I like to read and what I like to write—which is mainly characters learning how to care for and about one another, and sometimes even care for and about themselves—it’s okay for the story to be quiet and tender rather than big and plotty. I’m not sure I’d have gotten there without some time in the fanfic trenches.

  I believe I wrote Ruin during one of my Holmes/Watson periods and I’m dying to know what the fic-ish line is!1

  What makes you ship characters? Or more broadly, what elements in canon make you likely to want fic of the thing?

  Best friends separated by time and injustice, subsequently reunited with mountains of hurt/comfort. I show up for that every time, and every time I’m genuinely shocked to discover that this dynamic hits me where I live. Bucky and Steve. Sirius and Remus. Holmes and Watson, after the hiatus. Even Crowley and Aziraphale, from a certain angle.

  But the other thing that make me (and I think a large swath of fandom in general) crave fic is when canon is lacking. When canon provides a character with a really interesting backstory and complicated friendships and then completely ignores all of that in favor of, say, making a terrifying assassin decide she’s unlovable due to her infertility, this creates so much dissonance that I need fanfic to set it right. Or sometimes, when two characters have this really compelling dynamic and it’s the most interesting conflict in the entire canon, and then canon brushes it aside in favor of a really half-assed romance plot that manages to reduce women to prizes and sexy lamps while also forgetting how things like love and friendship actually work? Yeah, I’ll need some fic to smooth that over.

  Have you ever read fic where you’re not familiar with the canon? What made you do it?

  Many times! I follow favorite authors almost anywhere they go. I’ve never seen an episode of Supernatural, and God willing I never will, but I happily read in that fandom.

  What do you love about fanfic as a medium? Are there things about the fic world that you’d like to see changed or improved?

  One of my favorite things about fanfic is that it’s constantly inventing new tropes and forms. 5+1, soulmark AUs, Hogwarts AUs, etc. I love that “a character’s dick got too big so another character helps them feel okay about it” is a framework fic readers recognize in the way Renaissance audiences would have recognized the stock characters of the Commedia dell’arte. This makes me almost giddy with delight.

  I also love that fanfic creates a community in which people can make things and tell stories and just do art together. It’s such a basic, human thing to do together. Since we don’t have bards reciting the Iliad to us, we have the MCU (God help us) and Stargate Atlantis and so forth to give us characters and scenarios that provide a sort of storytelling lingua franca.

  Tell me some of your favorite tropes! And/or: Are there any tropes you really hate except for That One Fic that wore it best?

  My favorites are hurt/comfort, angst/fluff, and literally anything genderbent. Because of basic patriarchal horseshit, canon provides a pitifully small number of women characters, and even fewer nonbinary or genderqueer characters. So when a writer decides to make, say, Draco Malfoy a girl? I will dive headfirst into that.

  I tend not to actively seek out modern AUs, but I can think of a dozen I’ve really loved, all written by a handful of authors whose voices just work for me.

  Are there fics or authors that influenced you, or that you frequently return to?

  Katie Forsythe, candle_beck, and Speranza. They all influenced me as a baby writer, and continue to influence me now, and I never get tired of rereading their work.

  Could you share some fic recs for fandom newbies?

  YOU BET I CAN. Most of these don’t require much background in canon.

  “From Tralfamadore, With Love” by newsbypostcard. Steve is sent 18 years into the future, and is reunited with a Bucky Barnes who has spent all those years without him. It’s heartbreaking and healing.

  “Mistakes of Our Youth” by candle_beck. Holmes and Watson fall in love, then one of them moves on. Not exactly a happy ending, unless you really like sorrow? I promise my next recommendation will be light and airy!

  “The Dogfather” by hollimichelle. Harry Potter is adopted by wonderful muggles, Sirius escapes from Azkaban ten years early and is Harry’s pet dog, and everybody behaves reasonably. Whenever an update to this series appears in my inbox I shriek.

  “Sparklers on the Fourth of July” by what_alchemy. Bucky Barnes is a gender nonconforming woman. It contains the immortal line “kiss my stump, Rogers” and also pegging.

  “20th Century Limited” by Speranza. People who have been exposed to the serum have ESP with one another, so Steve and Bucky spend their years apart creating a world together in their minds. This is another crying-based recommendation.2

  Cat Sebastian writes historical romance about LGBTQ+ people. She lives in a swampy part of the South but also on twitter.

  “Courtenay tried to tell himself that this was all perfectly normal, that gratified lust and simple exhaustion had muddled up his feelings and created the illusion that Julian Medlock, kneeling on the floor with his head resting on Courtenay’s thigh, was a sight of uncommon loveliness.” ↩
  Yr humble blogger cosigns this rec. ↩

• Washington Independent Review of Books - https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/features/an-interview-with-cat-sebastian

  An Interview with Cat Sebastian
  Keira Soleore
  December 21, 2021
  The romance writer talks queer narratives, self-care, and the allure of the 1960s.

  An Interview with Cat Sebastian

  Before her writing career took off, Cat Sebastian practiced law and taught high school and college writing. Now a prolific author of 14 novels, she is best known for her queer historical romances. Sebastian’s newest series, The Cabots, is set in the relatively recent — and turbulent — 1960s.

  You published The Cabots during the pandemic. What was the impetus behind Tommy Cabot Was Here and Peter Cabot Gets Lost?

  With both books, I wanted to write something very low-stakes and gentle with minimal conflict. I wrote Peter Cabot Gets Lost during the first weeks of the pandemic when I absolutely could not focus on the book I was supposed to be drafting and yet couldn’t resign myself to doing nothing, either. And so I wrote a story that was filled with hope and sunshine (and pancakes and convertibles).

  The 1960s is an unusual era in romance, right on the cusp of what is considered historical vs. contemporary. Why did you set The Cabots in that decade?

  The short answer is that I’m fascinated by this era. The long answer is that the period of the late 50s and early 60s is a common setting for television period pieces: “Mad Men,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Call the Midwife,” just to name a few. But you’re so right that we don’t see it at all in historical romance. We don’t really see much of the 20th century, in general, in historical romance, presumably because of how we break up historical vs. contemporary in the genre, and maybe also because historical romance is firmly rooted in the 19th century these days. But [the 1960s] is a setting [that] audiences are familiar with and enjoy. It’s the end of one era and the beginning of something else. You have the Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum and the seedlings of the gay rights movement germinating in the background, but you still have a deeply conservative culture, and many groups are living with the aftermath of McCarthyism. It’s right on the cusp, a liminal space, and that makes it very appealing as a writer.

  You’ve written historical romances across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. What made you choose to tell queer historical stories?

  Mainly, I wanted to write myself into the genre I love. Historical romance is my comfort reading, and I kept thinking that I’d like it even more if I saw more queer representation, and so (in a fit of hubris that I’d like to claim is totally out of character) I decided to just write some. Also, there’s this tendency, mainly among straight people, to assume that if they haven’t heard of queer people throughout history, then it must be either because queer people didn’t exist or because they were miserable. In my stories, I want to populate the past, albeit a fictional version, with people who get left out of a lot of traditional narratives.

  Do you have a core story that you explore in your books?

  I think almost all of my books involve people learning to take care of themselves, take care of their romantic partner, and also allow themselves to be taken care of. There’s something about acknowledging that you’re a being worthy of care that feels universal and important to me.

  You’re a hybrid author of traditionally published and self-published books. What made you choose to work in both formats?

  Traditional publishing is great for building an audience and gives me a chance to work with talented people who are experts in their field. I’ve learned so much from my editor, and I’ve also benefited from the work of the marketing and publicity teams and everyone else behind the scenes at Avon [an imprint of HarperCollins]. On the other hand, self-publishing allows me to write things that might have a more niche appeal and which traditional publishers might not be interested in. Being able to alternate between one style of book and the other is great for staying enthusiastic about whatever my current project is.

  How did you become such an outspoken proponent of the romance genre?

  Romance novels were my principal self-care when I was at a low point, and I’ve heard from so many readers and writers who have had the same experience. Sometimes, it’s really soothing and even healing to read about people being loved and valued for exactly who they are, and fundamentally, that’s what genre romance does.

  What’s next for you?

  Next summer, the follow-up to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb is coming out: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes. It’s set in 1750s England and involves a couple that meets and falls in love via blackmail letters. The Missing Page [self-published, Jan. 2022] is the sequel to Hither, Page, where a spy and a country doctor team up to solve a decades-old mystery in 1948 England.

  Keira Soleore writes for Booklist, BookPage, Foreword Reviews, and the International Examiner.

• Writer's Digest - https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/cat-sebastian-on-writing-queer-historical-romances

  Cat Sebastian: On Writing Queer Historical Romances
  Author Cat Sebastian explains the inspiration for her latest novel, We Could Be So Good, and shares a writing lesson that took her a while to figure out.
  Robert Lee BrewerJun 7, 2023
  Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romances. Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the south.

  When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle. She is the author of several series including the Turners, Seducing the Sedgwicks, the Regency Imposters, and the London Highwaymen. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

  Cat Sebastian
  Cat Sebastian

  In this post, Cat Sebastian explains the inspiration for her latest novel and shares a writing lesson that took her a while to figure out.

  Name: Cat Sebastian
  Literary agent: Deidre Knight
  Book title: We Could Be So Good
  Publisher: Avon
  Release date: June 6, 2023
  Genre/category: Romance
  Previous titles: Queer Principles of Kit Webb, Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes
  Elevator pitch for the book: A reporter befriends, and then falls for, the boss’s son at a newspaper in 1950s New York City

  We Could Be So Good | Cat Sebastian
  Bookshop | Amazon
  [WD uses affiliate links.]

  What prompted you to write this book?
  I can’t get enough of 1950s New York. Aesthetically, it’s such a great setting. More importantly, since we’re living through a time when civil rights are increasingly threatened, the 50s resonated for me.

  I wanted to write a story that’s fundamentally cozy and domestic, despite being set in a frightening time. I wanted to show queer people finding happiness not despite their persecution, but rather as an act of defiance.

  How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
  I started the first draft of this book during NaNoWriMo in November of 2021. The book as it currently exists is very close to what I initially planned on. I’ve had books change pretty radically from initial idea to finished book, but this wasn’t one of them.

  Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
  I worked with a new editor for this book, and that turned out to be an excellent experience.

  Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
  The biggest surprise was how easy it was to write. It’s a different setting and a slightly different voice and structure than most of my other books, so I was expecting a bit of a challenge in finding my feet, but after the first few pages the book felt like it wrote itself. I wish I knew what makes some books like this (while others almost resist being written) so I could replicate the conditions later on, but I suspect it’s just lightning in a bottle.

  On Writing Queer Historical Romances | Cat Sebastian
  What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
  Writing this book was such a warm and joyful experience, and I hope that readers experience some of that warmth and joy.

  If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
  This is probably extremely obvious to most people, but it took me a while to figure out: When you’re coming up with a book idea, pick something that you’re excited to devote a year or more of your life to.

  There are loads of things that I can be interested in for the length of time it takes to read a book, but the level of interest it takes to sustain writing a book is a whole different level. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a draft and realizing that you’re bored, and then having to go back and fix or abandon it.

• Scary Mommy - https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/cat-sebastian-interview-you-should-be-so-lucky

  Your Queer Historical Romance Of The Summer Is You Should Be So Lucky
  “I think romance is often the fantasy of being seen for exactly who you are and being loved for it, right?” says author Cat Sebastian.

  by Kelly Faircloth
  July 2, 2024

  Ariela Basson/Scary Mommy; Getty Images, Avon
  Author Cat Sebastian got her start writing queer Regency romances that played with one of the oldest and most storied subgenres in romance. And then, around the time of the pandemic, she tried a little something different — a series of novels and novellas set in midcentury America. And folks, I simply cannot get enough of them.

  Maybe it’s because she often characterizes them according to the amount of “crying on the floor in sweaters” each one contains. (Who among us hasn’t spent some time in the last four years crying horizontally? Though let’s get real, it was ratty sweatshirts.) Maybe I just watched too many Turner Classic Movies at a formative age. Whatever the reason, they are delightful, and her latest — You Should Be So Lucky — is no exception. A loose sequel to We Could Be So Good (which followed a pair of reporters slowly falling in love), it features the budding relationship between a grieving reporter named Mark, who’s been maneuvered into covering a floundering new baseball team, and Eddie, who should be their star hitter, but he’s in a terrible slump.

  I wanted to ask Sebastian about what makes a scene romantic, her decision to write queer romances in the era leading up to Stonewall, and also about her recently announced upcoming contemporary novel, which she describes as a love letter to shows like Star Trek and Stargate: Atlantis. So we scheduled a chat.

  Scary Mommy: Give me the elevator pitch for your latest.

  Cat Sebastian: So it's about a grieving reporter who is assigned to cover a slumping player on an expansion baseball team in New York in 1960.

  SM: I have to tell you, I thought I was going to cry a lot more than I did while reading this book.

  CS: I think it depends on what makes you cry in a book, right? I think that some people find being seen and being comforted to be the stuff that they get emotional about and they cry over it, but not from sadness necessarily. But I'm a person who just cries. I cry really indiscriminately, so I don't even need a reason. By the third act, if I get to the last 10% of a book, I'm probably crying.

  SM: I think I was expecting to be more sad, and then it ended up I was just so happy for the characters that they got to know each other.

  CS: I mean, it is a book that's about finding comfort in someone else and finding comfort in the experience of someone caring for you, and that's a theme I like a lot. I keep going back to that theme. One day I'm going to have to find another theme. But right now I like looking at that from different angles. It's really very soothing, and I think that's one of the reasons why romance novels can be really appealing.

  I've been thinking a lot about how there's always a reason why we read whatever subgenre we're reading, right? Maybe it's for an adrenaline hit — if I'm reading a thriller, there better be some real messed up stuff, and I want the rush of figuring out what it is. If I'm reading a mystery I want, it's not solving it. The fantasy being delivered with mystery is often the fantasy of justice, the fantasy that we can live in a world where justice exists. And I think romance is often the fantasy of being seen for exactly who you are and being loved for it, right?

  SM: How did you end up moving to writing mid-century historical romance?

  CS: I like the time period, is really where it started. Visually I love it, and I knew that I wanted to write something in it. So my friend Olivia Dade was putting together an anthology and she asked if I wanted to contribute a novella, and I was like, ‘What if I wrote a 1959 set second chance romance?’ And she was like, ‘Sure, do literally whatever you want.’ And so I did. It was so fun to write. People liked it. And that sort of stuck with me. And then when the pandemic happened, it was March or April 2020. I have my kids in the house, their dad in the house. It was terrible. The house was too small and I couldn't write the book I was supposed to write. And so I was like, ‘As a palate cleanser, I'm going to write another novella in the same universe as that previous Cabot novella."‘ And that, again — road trip, minimal plot, high chili pepper/heat level situation — was so fun to write.

  People really liked it. That’s when I started thinking, ‘You know what? I think I might have the numbers here to make a case for publishing a book in this era.’ And so instead of assembling the numbers, I just wrote We Could Be So Good.

  I had written maybe 12 books set in the 1700s and 1800s, and I was a little tired of it. If I needed to keep writing in that era, I could have, but given a chance to take a break and do something different, that was really, really tempting. And I know that there are a lot of authors who can write dozens of books set in roughly the same setting and time period, and that's a talent that I think I don't have. I need to chase after the new shiny thing. And so it really was very refreshing to write something in a brand new setting.

  I feel like there's something going on with the fact that around the time that I started writing, historical romance was really synonymous with Regency. Now it's less so. I feel like we're starting to see a little more variety, and I think that might be because the historical market is pretty soft. I’m looking now and it’s like, "‘Oh, that's a medieval. I haven't seen much. That’s a pirate romance. I haven't seen those in 20 years.’ It's an opportunity for the genre to revisit what it considers to be a normal setting.

  SM: You're writing about the pre-Stonewall era. I think that a lot of people would assume that this would be a sort of sad time to write about, but your books are totally life affirming.

  CS: One thing I kept thinking about is that in order for Stonewall to happen, you need to already have a community. Stonewall happens because you have a bar that had regulars and they knew one another, and so when some people were being arrested and harmed, other people made it into a protest.

  You're coming out of the '50s, which were really, really bad. The '30s had been not too terrible, and the '40s, because of war reasons, you have a little bit more leeway. And the '50s became truly terrible. And emerging from that, you have people who are also looking at the Civil Rights Movement and saying, ‘That could be us.’ And are deliberately organizing, and you also have people who are just forming a community out of necessity. You have sex workers, you have people who are doing drag. So you have this building block of what the queer liberation movement was made from. Writing about the period of time when this was starting to gel, I love that.

  Also, when we think of what the '50s are, at least in America, we're thinking of aggressive domesticity — white picket fence, sitcom, stay-at-home mom, kids and a dog, whatever. That's something that was only available to certain people. Obviously straight people, but also white people, rich people, right? So I want to share a book where — for We Could Be So Good — aggressive domesticity is part of that. They want that. They want domesticity. They love the idea of there being somebody to come home to, which is sort of queering the entire experience.

  One thing I kept coming back to was the idea of, in all my books to a certain extent, but especially the books that get closer and closer to the present day, the idea that when you insist on doing for yourself, that is an act of protest. When the norms of society are telling you you don't deserve it, or maybe you don't exist, and you insist on having joy, having a full life, that's empowering. And I think that obviously we currently live in a time that's not fantastic for a lot of queer people, and that does not mean that everybody's lives are soaked in tragedy. Counting the wins as wins and carving out joy for yourself as part of what marginalized communities have always done. And that doesn't detract from the oppression they experienced, but writing about that is for me affirming.

  SM: I want to hear you talk about what makes something romantic, whether that’s a whole book or just a scene.

  CS: Part of it is as I'm writing the book, I know that I'm writing a character study. I know that that's the strength of what I'm bringing to the table, right? And so whatever I do to make it romantic needs to be deeply embedded in what these two characters’ personalities are, or it's not going to work. If you're writing a book that has really, really high tension, what is going to be romantic might be totally different from what it would be in my book.

  SM: Did you start out like, ‘I'm going to write a book about putting your life back together?’

  CS: I knew I was writing a book about what happens on the other side of rock bottom, whatever that means for you, and also about the existence of second chances. I knew those were going to be two. I knew going in that they were going to be in some way shape or form themes or keys in the book.

  I do think it's a really common experience of writers — you look back and you're like, "Oh, I made a pattern." But in this book I knew that loss very broadly speaking and feeling like you’re at your lowest low and not believing there’s something that comes after it, and then sort of accepting that this is actually what life is. Life has its flows — it's not a new concept — but being able to experience it not as something you deserve, maybe not even a tragedy, but that it is something that you can just accept as “this happened,” and then find that there are other good things.

  SM: I really enjoyed reading the idea of like, ‘Well, you know what? Sometimes you have a string of misses, and that's just life, but that doesn't mean life is over. That doesn't mean you don't crawl out of rock bottom.’

  CS: And it doesn't even mean there's a reason. I think that that's one of the most frustrating things when you have a bad experience, you so badly want there to be an explanation whether it's losing your job or if you get seriously ill. People want there to be a reason and they will say the wildest things in order to make sense of it.

  And probably you're doing the same exact thing yourself. You are trying to find meaning in the bad thing, and there's often no meaning at all because there's no narrative at all. It just happened, it's random. The loss of Mark's partner, there's no reason for it. It just is a really bad thing that happened. Eddie's slump, I didn't want to explain why it happened. Various characters have various opinions, but it just happens, slumps actually don't usually have a reason unless there's an injury. It's a statistical thing that happens, and I wanted that idea of meaningless loss to be part of it.

  SM: Sometimes you just get hit by an asteroid. What are you going to do?

  CS: Exactly. It's just a fact.

  SM: Changing gears a little bit, I want to ask about your next book, which I am sure you cannot talk about it too much, but I want to ask you on a scale of one to 10, how much of modern fan culture is literally built on Spock’s facial expression at the end of “Amok Time” when he realizes that Kirk is not dead? I'm giving it 85%.

  CS: No, for real. I feel this is one of those butterfly effects. If you don't have that episode with every line reading identical to what it is and Leonard Nimoy's face doing exactly what it was, we live in a different world.

  I had watched as a kid all of Star Trek, the original series, because it was one of the shows that was on television when I was home sick from school. And not until watching them in my thirties did I realize exactly what was going on. I knew that the history of romanticizing two characters together as a community probably had its origins with Kirk and Spock. I knew that, but at that point I was so used to the experience of taking two characters and making up an entire love story for them in my little head, that to see that it was on the screen was something I felt I could not get over.

  SM: It was not made up. It's there. I don't know if they meant to put it there or not, but I saw what Leonard Nimoy’s face did, and it's text.

  CS: I think that he is such a deliberate actor that he knew what he was doing. But yeah, I love that, and I love that people have that and then they see The Wrath of Khan, 15 odd years later, and they correctly perceive that as a love story. And the only thing to do about it is write millions of words of fanfic and do art and make your little fanzines in your basement using your mimeograph machine. A community is born from it, and I love that, where people are seeking one another out saying, ‘Did you see this?’ Loving things in a community with other people who want to do these extremely close gay readings of the text is fun. That's such a common queer experience. I love that, and I love the intersection of queerness and sci-fi. I’ve had a ball with this book.

  SM: So do you have any book recommendations? Things you've read recently, things that have come out recently, things that are upcoming?

  CS: I strongly recommend T.J. Alexander's Triple Sec. It's a poly romance, it is just so fun. The side characters are exquisitely drawn. I love every single thing T.J. Alexander writes — every time I get to the end of the book, I think to myself, ‘Why aren't there 300 more pages?’

  I recently read In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I didn't expect it to be a tearjerker with an optimistic ending. It's a war tragedy book, and I cried my eyes out the way you do when you're watching a sad movie, that type of thing where you can almost hear the music that's going to make you cry. But it's not not a romance novel — it has the same beats that a romance novel would, but it's a love story with an optimistic ending. I loved it, and it's also, I feel like an example of how historical romance can work in a different way. It's an unusual setting, with different beats.

  I also really love We Could Be Heroes by Philip Ellis. The premise is that the gay actor needs to stay closeted in order to keep his role in a superhero franchise movie. But it's also about the very queer origins of the superhero. I loved it.

  I’m currently reading All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim, which I’ve had on my TBR since it came out. It turns out the book is one of those books where the voice is so strong, it doesn't even matter to me what’s going to happen because the voice is perfect. It's like pulling me through the book and the character's voice is so funny and occasionally so sad that the range is exquisite.

  SM: Ok, now give me three fanfics!

  CS: I can't only do Captain America fanfics, that's not going to happen. “Graduate Vulcan for Fun and Profit.” It's all about Kirk at the academy. It's a total delight. “Strive Seek Find Yield” by Waldorph, which is another Star Trek, but it's a royal AU, which is not something I usually enjoy at all, which is perfectly executed. And now let's go back up to Captain America. I think “20th Century Limited,” by Speranza.

  I want to think of 10 more immediately. Those are good. I feel confident about those three.

  This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity and length.

Sebastian, Cat. It Takes Two To Tumble. Avon Impulse. (Seducing the Sedgwicks, Bk. 1). Dec. 2017. 384p. ebk. ISBN 9780062820501. $3.99. M/M REGENCY ROMANCE

Vicar Benedict Sedgwick is betrothed to his dear friend Alice, who charmingly sits on a couch propped up by a flotilla of cushions as she recovers from an unidentified illness. Benedict is assigned to mind three rambunctious children who have been blacklisted by all the tutors in the area. Capt. Phillip Dacre, their father, is expected back in Portsmouth port two weeks. Enter the similarities with The Sound of Music: adventurous children, a domineering, military father, and a fun-loving tutor with a religious calling who realizes he is falling in love with the children's father. What follows is a page-turning story of two men who attempt to hide their attraction from observant relatives. Benedict grapples with his choices between Alice and Phillip and his vocation and spiritual values. An entertaining subplot involves Benedict's father, Alton, a free-loving poet who finally decides to settle down.

Verdict Sebastian (The Ruin of a Rake) provides yet another sizzling romance with a robust plot that transcends time and setting. She has created a family readers will want to get to know better. [Previewed in Joyce Sparrow's "Love Is All Around," LJ 10/15/17.]--Joyce Sparrow, Kenneth City, FL

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Sparrow, Joyce. "Sebastian, Cat. It Takes Two To Tumble." Xpress Reviews, 15 Dec. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A521876404/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8633b061. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score. Avon Impulse. (Seducing the Sedgwicks, Bk. 2). Jul. 2018. 277p. ebk. ISBN 9780062820631. $3.99. M/M HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Sebastian (It Takes Two To Tumble) takes on issues of race and class in the second book in the "Seducing the Sedgwicks" series. Londoner Hartley Sedgwick is a publicly shamed aphenphosmphobe--someone with an abnormal fear of being touched--who was sexually abused by his godfather but who now lives in a mansion bequeathed to him by the same man. After meeting Sam, a black local pub owner and former boxer, Hartley decides to help their mutual friend Kate recover a nude painting of her commissioned by that godfather. Hartley and Sam develop an intimate relationship, but tensions build when Sam is asked to use the back door of the house. Kate, who is a midwife, adds dimension to the story. And, of course, the painting in question is hiding in plain sight. Verdict The initial chapters can be confusing, but once readers are drawn into the heat of the physical relationship between Hartley and Sam, the plot soars, transcending time and place.--Joyce Sparrow, Kenneth City, FL

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC
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Sparrow, Joyce. "Sebastian, Cat.: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score." Xpress Reviews, 29 June 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A546502456/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6c4ae9df. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Since the 2016 release of her debut historical romance, The Soldier's Scoundrel, Cat Sebastian has been increasingly winning over readers with each new title published. Queering historical romance, her books feature complex but exceedingly lovable gay, bisexual, nonbinary, and other diverse characters. We asked about her path to romance and current series mixing history and small-town mystery.

Before publishing your first hook you had careers in education and law. What prompted you to start writing historical romances?

I started reading a lot of romance when my kids were little and I was staying at home with them. When they got a bit more independent and I had a more time on my hands, I decided to try writing. Since I was reading so much romance, and loving it enormously, that was what I chose to write.

In addition to varying sexual, gender, and romantic orientations, your stories feature characters of diverse racial identities and those with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities. How do you ensure these characters are portrayed with sensitivity?

History is filled with disabled and neurodivergent people and people of color. Historical fiction that doesn't reflect that reality is a tool of oppression. I know that sounds dramatic, but when you repeatedly see a version of reality that's overwhelmingly white, abled, rich, cis, and straight, you start to accept that as the default identity of human beings, even if logically you know better!

When I'm writing outside my identity, I either hire a sensitivity reader or ask someone who shares the character's identity to do a sensitivity read. Every time [...], the reader has found things I never in a million years would have considered problematic.

Among your self-published works, Hither, Page (Jun.) combines a romance and a small-town mystery. What was it like incorporating these two genres into a single novel?

The biggest challenge was making sure neither stole the show. The book is primarily a romance with a mystery subplot, so I didn't want the mystery element to get out of control. But at the same time there has to be a satisfying resolution with an appropriate build up of clues. My critique partner responded to an early draft by politely pointing out that actually readers might want to know who the murderer was and why they did it.

What research do you do to familiarize yourself with different time periods and places? How do you guarantee historical accuracy?

I'm pretty familiar with the basics of life in the periods I write about, so usually my research involves details such as figuring out stagecoach routes and what the state of early railways was in 1823. If there's a book that covers a topic that is outside my knowledge but central to the story I'm writing, I read it. When I was writing a black English character, I read David Olusoga's Black and British. Ann Wroe's Perkin has provided a lot of information for the Perkin Warbeck novella I've been threatening to write. That said, I think I get something wrong in every book, and I've decided just to make peace with that one inevitable error.

What are some of the challenges and advantages of self-publishing and traditional publishing? Do you prefer one to the other?

Traditional publishing has the advantage of a team of people [...] supporting my book. Self-publishing, though, gives me the freedom to take risks.

Can you tell us more about your forthcoming books?

A Delicate Deception sees a grumpy engineer and an agoraphobic novelist fall in love despite layers of misunderstanding and half-truths. The main characters, a man and a woman, [... are] both bisexual. Two Rogues Make a Right is a friends-to-lovers romance that I've been referring to as Only One Bed: The Novel.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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"Cat Sebastian." Library Journal, vol. 144, no. 9, Oct. 2019, p. 18. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601947038/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=64955ac2. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES Avon/HarperCollins (Fiction None) $15.99 6, 7 ISBN: 978-0-06-302625-4

A woman falls in love with the man who attempted to blackmail her.

This novel opens with a retelling of the events that ended the first book in the series, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (2021), but from the point of view of Marian, Duchess of Clare. Trapped in a loveless marriage and recovering from a near-fatal pregnancy, Marian is outraged when a blackmailer threatens to reveal that her husband is a bigamist. If the news became public, it would invalidate her marriage and render her daughter a bastard. Rob Brooks has his own personal reasons for blackmailing Marian, but as they exchange letters, he's surprised to find himself admiring her moxie. She informs Rob that she won't pay the blackmail since she has her own plan to neutralize the threat of discovery. Her scheme goes terribly wrong, and she has no choice but to shoot her husband. Fearing she'll be arrested, Rob helps Marian flee London on horseback. They plan to hide at her father's country home until the coast is clear. Marian and Rob must trust each other to survive the journey, which is full of rollicking adventure. Their friendship and romance are emotionally satisfying, with both Marian and Rob determined to make it in the world on their own terms. The plotting fails to find its footing after the propulsive first act, but the sharp writing and likable band-of-thieves vibe is its own reward.

Sebastian's hallmark witty banter and charming characters will keep readers invested in spite of the disjointed plot.

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"Sebastian, Cat: THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A698656150/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6588e630. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

VERDICT The world of "Bayside Summers" can feel a little overwhelming to new readers, especially in a book that begins by introducing previous protagonists at a wedding. The book quickly relegates series regulars to the sidelines to focus on Violet and Andre's rekindled passions.--John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston

Sebastian, Cat. A Duke in Disguise. Avon Impulse. (Regency Imposters, Bk. 2). Apr. 2019. 384p. ebk. ISBN 9780062820662. $3.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE

While there are plenty of political shenanigans surrounding engraver John Ashby and printer Verity Plum, the initial tension revolves around their mutual unwillingness to risk their long-standing friendship for the possibility of love. Further complications arise when Ash discovers that he's the heir to a dukedom and that he must claim a title both he and Verity hold in deepest disgust in order to save the lives of those who live in fear of the man who murdered Ash's father and attempted to murder Ash himself. The radical Verity has no desire to marry at all, making Ash certain that he will lose his love to his duty. Unless love conquers all. As a follow-up to the first book in the series (Unmasked by the Marquess), this is a surprisingly traditional historical romance. There is plenty of Sebastian's usual radicalism, set during a period when sedition was punished as treason and radical writers and publishers risked the gallows. But the love story itself hews to the staples of historical romance--fear of love, evil dukes, missing heirs, and lovers who believe they can't compromise enough to achieve their happy ever after.

VERDICT Recommended for readers of Regency romance, particularly those who love their heroines in nontraditional roles.--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, Atlanta

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Harris, Marlene. "Sebastian, Cat. A Duke in Disguise." Xpress Reviews, 12 Apr. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A583251449/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=46d5b758. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb: A Novel

Cat Sebastian

Avon

www.harpercollins.com/collections/avon-books

9780063026216, $15.99 paperback

B08HZ4R7XP, $10.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Queer-Principles-Kit-Webb-Novel/dp/006302621X

Synopsis: Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.

In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy's savior. More comfortable in silk-filled ballrooms than coffee shops frequented by criminals, his attempts to hire the roughly hewn highwayman, formerly known as Gladhand Jack, proves equal parts frustrating and electrifying.

Kit refuses to participate in the robbery but agrees to teach Percy how to do the deed. Percy knows he has little choice but to submit and as the lessons in thievery begin, he discovers thievery isn't the only crime he's desperate to commit with Kit.

But when their careful plan goes dangerously wrong and shocking revelations threaten to tear them apart, can these stolen hearts overcome the impediments in their path?

Critique: A lighthearted historical novel featuring a spark of passion between two sharp-minded men, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb is set during the 1700's and comes to life with a remarkable wealth of information about stagecoach robberies and other dangerous realities of nearly three centuries ago. Kit Webb resists the desire to return to his former life of thievery, yet crosses paths with an attractive nobleman with a less-than-transparent agenda. Kit agrees to teach the persistent aristocrat all about robbery, while refusing to personally participate. When best-laid plans go awry, the fallout could destroy them both--or at the very least, tear apart any chance of shared happiness! Witty, vivacious, and crafted with unquenchable flourish, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb is highly recommended. It should be noted for personal reading lists that The Queer Principles of Kit Webb is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.99).

Editorial Note: Cat Sebastian lives in a swampy part of the South with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. Before her kids were born, she practiced law and taught high school and college writing. When she isn't reading or writing, she's doing crossword puzzles, bird-watching, and wondering where she put her coffee cup.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Midwest Book Review
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"The Queer Principles of Kit Webb: A Novel." Wisconsin Bookwatch, Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A710603566/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3017a4c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. Avon. Jun. 2021.352p. ISBN 9780063026216. pap. $15.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE

When Lord Holland (known as Percy) and a childhood friend are blackmailed, Percy will do anything to obtain his mother's book of secrets, which has been confiscated by his father. That includes hiring former highwayman Kit Webb (a.k.a. Gladhand Jack) to steal the book back. After a close friend's death and his own injury by gunshot, Kit contents himself with dull days running his coffee shop. Then Percy upends his world and tries to recruit him for theft by revealing that he knows Kit used to be Gladhand Jack. Kit refuses to rob anyone, but grudgingly agrees to help Percy plan the robbery. The closer the two get, the more they fall for each other. However, Kit's longheld hatred of the aristocracy, and shocking truths from both of their pasts, threaten their fragile bond. Sebastian (Two Rogues Make a Right) excels at detailing the vulnerabilities and endearing characteristics of the two heroes. VERDICT Despite some pacing issues (a rather slow beginning and a hurried, action-packed end), readers will still enjoy the tussles between the high-class Percy and the Robin Hood-like Kit.--Eve Stano, Ball State Univ. Muncie, IN

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"Sebastian, Cat. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb." Library Journal, vol. 146, no. 5, May 2021, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A661829825/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0698408c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Unabridged. By Cat Sebastian. Read by Joel Leslie. 2021. 9hrs. HarperAudio, DD, $26.99 (9780063026230).

One might think that after a hard youth as the highwayman "Gladhand Jack," Kit Webb would be content slinging mugs and political barbs at his modest coffee shop. But Edward Percy, a refined nobleman hatching a sinister, if ultimately altruistic, plot sees right through him to the bruised adventurer within. With some diligence, Percy convinces Kit to aid him in his plan, and along the way, the men discover a steamy attraction and a deep emotional connection despite their oil-and-water exteriors. Leslie's reading of this queer Regency romance is joyful. He clearly has fun with the disparate characters: Percy (fussing over the placement of his velvet beauty marks) comes across as foppish, while Kit (who doesn't brew coffee so much as violently wrestle the ingredients together) is portrayed with a deeper, obstinate tone. An array of English accents are used for characters across a range of social classes; love scenes are impassioned; and the emotional core shines through in this tale of finding love and justice in equal measure.--Heather Booth

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
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Booth, Heather. "The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Unabridged." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2021, p. 70. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A678822226/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b85a578d. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat. The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes. HarperAudio. (The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, Bk. 2). Jun. 2022. 9:14 hrs. ISBN 9780063026278. $27.99.

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

With help from the talented narrator Joel Leslie, Sebastian returns with a follow-up to the Georgian London-set The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. Leslie's masterful accents and dialects keep listeners entertained as he introduces Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, who has shot her horrible husband and is on the lam, with Rob Brooks, a charming criminal who is blackmailing her. Opening with the blackmail correspondence sets up the story and allows listeners a front-row seat as their relationship progresses from enemies to friends to more. A perfect balance of light and dark in both personality and narration, Marian and Rob flee across the countryside, encountering many adventures along the way. The banter is fun and witty, and the chemistry blossoms into an interesting sexual dynamic between them. From Sebastian's fantastic storytelling to Leslie's dramatic performance, the depth of the characters is phenomenal. VERDICT A uniquely different take on historical romance with lots of adventure that runs parallel with the first title and will be even more delightful when read in order.--Emily Pykare

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Pykare, Emily. "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes." Library Journal, vol. 147, no. 9, Sept. 2022, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715674763/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa458d73. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Cat Sebastian. Avon, $15.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-06-302625-4

Sebastian's Georgian England--set sequel to The Queer Principals of Kit Webb shines with a pair of intoxicatingly audacious leads who so successfully blend good nature with criminal intention that readers will root for the success of every bad idea, including their unlikely romance. Lovable thief Rob "Gladhand Jack" Brooks is displeased to learn from his brothel-owning mother that he is the legitimate heir of the Duke of Clare, a role he has no interest in. Rob's attempt to blackmail the current Duke's unhappy new wife, Marian Hayes, with this information yields no money, but it leads the pair to a charming correspondence. Marian sets out to fob the Duke's coach for her own reasons--but after things go awry and she unintentionally shoots the Duke near-fatally, she compels Rob to join her on her flight from London, leading to lots of wittily acerbic verbal sparring and, of course, love. It's a rare m/f pairing from Sebastian, but with two bisexual leads, cross-dressing, and frank discussions of the pleasures of nonpenetrative sex, this refreshing romance brings wonderfully queer sensibilities to bear. Sebasrian's clever mix of Gilbert and Sullivan--esque plot, Robin Hood morality, and contemporary gender dynamics make a stunningly successful combination. Agent: Diedre Knight, Knight Agency. (June)

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"The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 14, 4 Apr. 2022, p. 35. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700952494/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4f45ac7f. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

We Could Be So Good

Cat Sebastian. Avon, $18.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-327276-7

Sebastian (The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes) sets this irresistible romance in 1958, when Nick Russo, acub reporter for the New York Chronicle, finds himself inexplicably smitten with the publisher's absent-minded son, Andy Fleming, who's "slumming it at the city desk... because his father threatened to cut off his allowance." After Andy's fiancee calls off their society wedding, a reeling Andy moves into Nick's West Village walk-up and their improbable friendship intensifies. Nick is secretly thrilled, but he also knows he needs to maintain caution as queer men can be arrested. In the Village, Andy's curiosity about queer life grows, and after he asks Nick to take him to a gay bar, he gains new clarity about his own desires and decides to declare his feelings. Once coupled up, however, the guys must worry about rumors. Meanwhile, Nick courts trouble with a piece he's writing on police corruption--and a blackmailer threatens to expose his telationship with Andy if he doesn't drop the story. There's plenty of conflict to keep the pages flying, but it's the scenes of Nick and Andy's cozy domesticity that truly shine. This wonderful period romance will leave readers just as giddy as its leads. Agent: Deidre Knight, Knight Agency. (June)

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"We Could Be So Good." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 14, 3 Apr. 2023, p. 47. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A746558159/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=53f5773c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

We Could Be So Good. By Cat Sebastian. June 2023.384p. Avon, paper, $18.99 (9780063272767); e-book (9780063272774).

Well, this is just great. Reporter Nick Russo has enough to worry about (like preferring the company of men in a world where this is frowned upon, to say the least) without having to basically babysit Andy Fleming, the New York Chronicle owner's son and heir apparent. However, given that Andy is such a sincerely nice guy--and not to mention he is engaged to Nick's friend Emily Warburton--Nick can't help but take Andy under his journalistic wing. But the fledgling friendship sprouting up between the two is thrown for a loop when Andy's wedding plans take an unexpected turn and Nick discovers that Andy might want to be more than just friends. Few authors have Sebastian's (The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes, 2022) flair for deftly exploring the intricate, often messy nature of human relationships, from moments of heartbreak to happiness, with such insight and compassion. While the vividly evoked 1950s setting is new for this author, everything else about this sublimely romantic love story, including the dryly witty writing and graceful characterization, is signature Sebastian.--John Charles

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Charles, John. "We Could Be So Good." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 16, 15 Apr. 2023, p. 28. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747135414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=94552881. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat WE COULD BE SO GOOD Avon/HarperCollins (Fiction None) $18.99 6, 6 ISBN: 9780063272767

Two men who work for a newspaper in New York City in the late 1950s fall in love.

Nick Russo worked his way up the ranks to become a reporter for the Chronicle, a reputable progressive newspaper. As a gay man, he keeps his personal life private. Even outside of work, he's cautious about his actions since he knows cops regularly throw people like him in jail. Andy Fleming is set to inherit the newspaper from his father, but first he has to get experience by working in the newsroom with Nick. Scatterbrained, amiable Andy becomes unlikely friends with grouchy Nick, but after Andy is jilted by his fiancee and moves in with Nick, their friendship deepens into more. The story is grounded in its time and place with specific New York references, including visits to Yankee Stadium, and thoughtful mentions of real historical heroes and queer media. The hardships queer people faced because of intolerance are present, yet the focus remains on the revolutionary act of queer joy--sometimes simply feeding each other soup and cuddling on the couch. Nick's reporting work on police corruption adds some intensity but mostly hangs out at the periphery of the tale. Both men have complicated relationships with family--Nick with his extended Italian family, particularly his cop brother, and Andy with his ailing father--which function to deepen the characterizations of the leads. A found family element contributes to the hopefulness and heart that are the cores of this story.

A vividly portrayed midcentury romance filled with queer contentment.

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"Sebastian, Cat: WE COULD BE SO GOOD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A748974202/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0e110098. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

In 1960 New York City, a curmudgeonly reporter falls for the shortstop he's been assigned to cover in Sebastian's You Should Be So Lucky (Avon, May; reviewed on p. 44).

Why this era?

I wanted to write a story that was optimistic despite being set in a time that was rough for queer people, because, for a lot of queer people, we currently live in a time that is rough. Maintaining hope is part of resilience.

Mark is a reporter and Eddie is a ball player. How did you choose the men's professions?

Obviously, there used to be more than three daily papers in New York and there used to be progressive papers. By the beginning of the 1950s, partly because the country was getting more conservative and partly because it was getting more expensive to run a newspaper, a lot of these papers shut down. I thought, what if one managed to hang on? What would that look like, a barely profitable paper that is the only voice of progressive journalism in the city? I also want there to be more queer historical baseball romances. The concept of baseball feeds into that nostalgia we have for the era. By the '50s, you have all these players being held up as idols. There's all this mythologizing happening. I also really like the 1962 Mets and expansion teams in general. You can start a team out of nothing and everyone knows they're going to lose for a few years, but you root for them anyway.

What was your approach to writing the baseball games themselves? My goal if I am writing a book in any universe--newspapers, baseball--is to make sure that there's not a high barrier to entry. Readers shouldn't have to google things. But I also don't want to explain "this is how baseball works." I try to make it make sense without context. I want readers to be able to enjoy the book without any baseball knowledge.

Mark is afraid of outing Eddie. What led you to making that the central conflict?

I try to write books that have as minimal conflict as possible to sustain a plot. The conflicts can be resolved by the characters changing the way they think about things.

Regarding Eddie's fear of being outed, I wanted to explore the nuances of outness. A lot of people have the idea that pre-Stonewall, queer people were 100% in the closet. I wanted to explore the concept of being "out to friends" or everyone except the public; how, even though it was a very bad time to be queer, people could navigate some degree of openness. I wanted to push back against the idea that there was this pall surrounding queerness and you couldn't have a queer community, or friends who knew, and it was all under cover of darkness, secrecy, and fear.

The relationship is a real slow-burner. I do like stringing it along. Having the characters really explore all of the reasons why they shouldn't do this-that sustains tension.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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Kramer, Gary. "PW TALKS WITH CAT SEBASTIAN: Squeeze Play." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 10, 11 Mar. 2024, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787043907/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b7a2de32. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

You Should Be So Lucky

Cat Sebastian. Avon, $18.99 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-327280-4

Sebastian delivers another irresistible period romance in this poignant spin-off of We Could Be So Good. In I960, New York Chronicle reporter Mark Bailey is assigned to ghostwrite the diary of Eddie O'Leary, the alienated new shortstop for the Robins, an MLB expansion team. The diary entries, published weekly in Mark's newspaper, are designed to get people to like Eddie, who's in a horrible slump. Having been depressed for more than a year since the death of his lover, William, the prickly Mark unexpectedly enjoys getting to know the equally lonely Eddie over dinners, finding that "beneath the layer of grief, something is starring to stir." He depicts Eddie as a lovable underdog in his column--emphasis on lovable. Meanwhile, the sight of Mark in the press box makes Eddie beam so brightly others start to notice. The men's increasingly flirtatious friendship could be dangerous for Eddie, a public figure who inspires legions of fans. Mark, who "doesn't make much of a secret" of his sexuality, worries their connection will ruin Eddie's career. The pair's endearing slow-burn romance, which plays out between ball games and on the Robins' road trips, delivers a big emotional payoff. (" 'I love you,' Eddie says... 'You're a nightmare,' Mark returns, in precisely the same tone of voice.") Readers will melt. Agent: Deidre Knight. Knight Agency. (May)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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"You Should Be So Lucky." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 10, 11 Mar. 2024, p. 44. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787043902/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1860c7bf. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY Avon/HarperCollins (Fiction None) $18.99 5, 7 ISBN: 9780063272804

Two men stuck in the past find a future with each other.

When they first meet in the locker room of the New York Robins baseball team in May 1960, shortstop Eddie O'Leary and Chronicle reporter Mark Bailey are each stuck in a slump. Eddie, who until recently was "a serious candidate for rookie of the year," seems to have forgotten how to hit since he was traded from Kansas City and made some thoughtless remarks that have left him isolated in his new clubhouse. And Mark, still grieving the loss of his life partner, William, has been drifting through life, unable to focus on writing--or anything, really--the way he used to. Then he's assigned to write a series of articles in Eddie's voice, and the two men agree to an awkward breakfast to try it out. Though both are mired in their own internal torments, they have to talk to each other every week to keep the series going, and an attraction flickers between them. Though Mark is about as open as a gay man can be in their time, Eddie doesn't have that freedom as a famous athlete, but very carefully, over the course of their discussions, both come to realize they're beginning to have feelings for each other. Though Mark and Eddie's story is a stand-alone, it's set in the same universe as Sebastian's We Could Be So Good (2023), and it easily meets the high expectations readers will have from that book. A deliciously slow burn threaded with midcentury New York detail, Eddie and Mark's romance will delight Sebastian's many fans, even those who think they don't like sports stories. Though things finally get hot and heavy about halfway through, the true warmth of the tale comes from the emotional connections--and not just between its heroes, but also among their friends, families, and colleagues. Elegant character development and strong, witty writing make this one a home run.

Another stunning queer historical romance from a writer at the top of her game.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Sebastian, Cat: YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788097059/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7d6521b8. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian, Cat. You Should Be So Lucky. Avon. May 2024. 400p. ISBN 9780063272804. pap. $18.99. LGBTQIA+ROMANCE

It's 1960, and the baseball season isn't going well for shortstop Eddie O'Leary. He's been traded to a mediocre expansion team, which he learned very publicly and didn't react to well. His new teammates are giving him the silent treatment, his batting average is dismal, and the fans boo him regularly, on the field and off. He's beyond homesick and lonely, and it's all he can do to keep his temper on the field, let alone with the press afterwards. Meanwhile, grieving arts writer Mark Bailey scarcely leaves his apartment anymore, but his editor has just assigned him to report a series of articles about Eddie. Mark is not a sports reporter, and he has no desire to spend an entire season in close proximity with the baseball team. But as the two men get to know each other, their attraction becomes impossible to deny. Eddie can't come out and keep his job, but Mark won't have his sexuality be a secret anymore. Do they have a future? VERDICT Sebastian's (We Could Be So Good) latest is full of grumpy/sunshine goodness, with an absolutely delicious slow-burn romance.--Rebecca Moe

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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"You Should Be So Lucky." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 4, Apr. 2024, p. 88. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788954051/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fb9584d5. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

Sparrow, Joyce. "Sebastian, Cat. It Takes Two To Tumble." Xpress Reviews, 15 Dec. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A521876404/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8633b061. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Sparrow, Joyce. "Sebastian, Cat.: A Gentleman Never Keeps Score." Xpress Reviews, 29 June 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A546502456/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6c4ae9df. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Harris, Marlene. "Sebastian, Cat. A Duke in Disguise." Xpress Reviews, 12 Apr. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A583251449/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=46d5b758. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "Cat Sebastian." Library Journal, vol. 144, no. 9, Oct. 2019, p. 18. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601947038/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=64955ac2. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "The Queer Principles of Kit Webb: A Novel." Wisconsin Bookwatch, Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A710603566/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3017a4c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "Sebastian, Cat. The Queer Principles of Kit Webb." Library Journal, vol. 146, no. 5, May 2021, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A661829825/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0698408c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Booth, Heather. "The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Unabridged." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2021, p. 70. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A678822226/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b85a578d. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "Sebastian, Cat: THE PERFECT CRIMES OF MARIAN HAYES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A698656150/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6588e630. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Pykare, Emily. "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes." Library Journal, vol. 147, no. 9, Sept. 2022, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715674763/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa458d73. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 14, 4 Apr. 2022, p. 35. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700952494/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4f45ac7f. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "We Could Be So Good." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 14, 3 Apr. 2023, p. 47. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A746558159/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=53f5773c. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Charles, John. "We Could Be So Good." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 16, 15 Apr. 2023, p. 28. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747135414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=94552881. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "Sebastian, Cat: WE COULD BE SO GOOD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A748974202/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0e110098. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. Kramer, Gary. "PW TALKS WITH CAT SEBASTIAN: Squeeze Play." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 10, 11 Mar. 2024, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787043907/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b7a2de32. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "You Should Be So Lucky." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 10, 11 Mar. 2024, p. 44. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787043902/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1860c7bf. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "Sebastian, Cat: YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788097059/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7d6521b8. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024. "You Should Be So Lucky." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 4, Apr. 2024, p. 88. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788954051/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fb9584d5. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.

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