As a lesbian, I want to make it clear that
#GetTheLOut
do not speak for me, or any lesbian I know. We’re proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. They can get out if they want - I’m staying. We have rights to fight for.
#LWithTheT
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Seeing a lot of shit about Eddie Izzard scandalising the Mail by wearing a fuchsia coat and then being correctly gendered on GBNews - and absolutely nothing about where she bought said coat. Priorities, people.
When a high profile person attacks the trans community, the LGBTQ+ media’s *literal job* is to report that. By criticising PinkNews for doing so, JK Rowling is very clear about how she sees the role of the press.
I just had the best experience of my life. No contest. Thought I’d get some fresh air and look at the Halloween tat in B&M when I realised I was being followed. By my cat, Collins. We’d just had a nice cuddle in the garden, so I figured I’d pause and chill with him for a bit. 1/
I’m proud to work
@PinkNews
every day, but after a week where mainstream media has published incorrect and damaging information about trans lives, it’s a genuine honour to be able to ensure reporting like this reaches the widest audience possible:
He was most perplexed that I wouldn’t follow him into other people’s gardens or through hedges, but we came to a decent compromise. And I achieved my life goal as the woman who wanders around her local area followed by her black cat. 3/3
Then he trotted on, and glanced back to see if I was following, so I did. We went on an adventure around the neighbourhood for 15 solid minutes together, Collins chirruping away and pointing out the gardens with the really good smells.
Oh my god. I went out to *buy* Halloween tat, but with my black cat and orange jumper I actually *became* Halloween tat. If you can’t find your heart’s desire in your own back yard…
Given the ‘gender critical’ stance of the Beira’s Place founder & board members, as an AFAB survivor of sexual violence in Edinburgh, I would rather accept my rapist’s Facebook request than seek support somewhere that excludes trans women & wouldn’t respect my non-binary gender.
Extremely Good Girl Pearl has come to live with us after her previous owner got sick and I guess it’s time to find out if Maine Coons really are that affectio - yep. Yep, they are.
Hugely excited to be kicking off my first official day as Senior Audience Manager for
@PinkNews
! I've been freelancing with them since Jan, and thrilled to be sticking around to help one of the most trans-friendly British publications find new readers & viewers.
#NewJob
What the Staunch Prize gets wrong, how to write about rape in fiction responsibly and why I used my own experiences for Sarah’s backstory in THE WAGES OF SIN & THE UNQUIET HEART. Trigger warnings, obviously. Also, first time I’ve properly spoken about this publicly so yikes.
As a lesbian writing a straight female character, sometimes I run into problems when she's admiring the object of her affections - what exactly does she like? Sometimes I try and solve that problem by Googling "parts of body men have".
#seriousauthorproblems
VERY excited to announce that as of Monday I’ll be joining
@EdinburghLive_
and
@Glasgow_Live
as a reporter! I’ll be focusing on features for Edinburgh and, in a victory for geriatric millennials everywhere, trend reporting for Glasgow. Thrilled to bits. 🥂✏️
🌈Happy Pride Month, everyone! Remember to hydrate, wear sunscreen, trans women are women, aces and aros are part of the LGBTQIA community, queer kink is political and part of the liberation movement and to keep your phone charged in case you get separated from your friends.
It’s other last full day with the best stripy boy in the world today. Vet coming tomorrow at 3:30 for his big sleep. He’s still hungry and affectionate, but he’s so skinny now and any longer and we risk him really being in pain and I can’t have that.
It’s today! Happy publication day to me - and to THE UNQUIET HEART, the second in the Sarah Gilchrist series. Murder, misogyny and medicine in Victorian Edinburgh - the New York Times liked it, maybe you will too?
Claiming there’s an “atmosphere” in the Scottish literary scene bc the majority of the people in it don’t want to support transphobes 🙄Truth is, the atmosphere is supportive, queer as fuck & a pleasure to work in. I’m proud to be part of what they clearly consider a problem.
Just a reminder to be careful about meeting people from the internet. 19 years ago I went to an Ani diFranco gig with a girl I met on Diaryland, and this morning I woke up to find she’d stolen all my pillows in the night.
There’s a slight chance I started today with a last minute LBC appearance on the importance of LGBT education in primary schools and the phrase “no one’s teaching them about fisting, Nick.”
I’m just going to say it. If you’re enjoying Miss Scarlet and the Duke, you will probably also enjoy my Sarah Gilchrist mysteries, starting with The Wages of Sin? Fallen woman turned medical student and sleuth in Victorian Edinburgh with an occasionally shirtless gruff Scotsman.
I love this picture of me that
@Yasemin_Writes
took so much. It helps that I’m far, far more comfortable in myself now I’m nearing 40 than I ever was in my 20s. It’s me in all my plus size, early middle-aged queer glory. 🥰💖
Authors, how do you approach bookshops to sign stock without sounding like an absolute knob? I just held up a copy of THE UNQUIET HEART, said “I wrote this, would you like me to...?” and made a gesture that in retrospect looked like wanking.
Pulling together a list of LGBTQ+ people in Scotland who are doing Cool Shit I should be aware of (for a Twitter list but also Other Purposes). Who should be on there?
Guys, STOP. Stop revealing gender. It's clearly too powerful for our world to cope with. Keep it hidden and mysterious as the ancient prophecies decreed.
THIS JUST IN: Fire officials say "a smoke generating pyrotechnic device" used during a gender reveal party caused San Bernadino County's
#ElDoradoFire
in Southern California.
There’s been a lot of press lately about ‘exposing’ children to LGBT people’s existence, but I tried to explain homophobia to my 7 year old niece this weekend and she was utterly confused that it wasn’t always possible for me & Auntie Lola to be married.
#SPARE
is basically ‘depressed stoner with shit family meets hot girl, learns about racism’ meets ‘conspiracy thriller but surprise the villain is your gran and also your dad and your brother’ via ‘wow, that’s a lot of childhood trauma’.
Just woke up from a very biblical dream where Lilith came back to Eden because Eve was a t*rf and told her to “get the fuck out of my garden and take your husband with you”.
"It’s 2019 – homophobia and transphobia should be given the same short shrift we give to flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and people who still play Farmville." I'm in the
@Telegraph
in praise of LGBT issues in schools.
Just a quick reminder to anyone planning on attending the anti-trans Portobello event tonight - it’s allegedly run by “Concerned Parents” but the email account behind all the ticketing and comms is from anti-vaxxers Common Knowledge Edinburgh…
Bloody love an interview that dives into feminism and ageing and sexism and women's relationships both romantic & professional.
@catherinerusse2
has me fired up and ready to take on the world (and embrace those grey hairs) (mine, not hers. that would be weird & unprofessional)
Some of my friends have faced really horrible losses over the past six months that it feels silly or outright selfish to post about missing my cat (especially since we still have the other three). But goddamn, I already miss Orlando and his pretty little face.
This issue of DIVA is cracking as ever, but I’m particularly pleased with my interview with
@catherinerusse2
on acting, feminism, body hair - oh, and some show called
@BBCHolbyCity
with excellent LGBTQ+ representation...
Just a quick reminder for those of you who don’t know - The Woolf Pack is a networking group I run on FB for women & non-binary people working in the Scottish lit sector and we explicitly welcome trans women. Writers, booksellers, academics, policy folk & more! DM me for info.
9 years since I chucked on a slutty black dress and headed down to City Hall to get hitched to some bird I met on LiveJournal. Love you,
@LolaKeeley_
. 💍🌈🤵
Getting bike maintenance from Dad:
Him: Do you have any WD40?
Me: I’m married to a lesbian. Of course I have WD40.
Followed by an interrogation about why I’m ‘not the right kind of lesbian’ to have bought the WD40 myself.
Wait,
#HolbyCity
killed off a lesbian character after repeatedly being told it’s a problematic & damaging trope? A character who had left the show anyway? That’s commitment to fucking up queer plotlines if ever I saw it.
Would have been Mum's 66th birthday today. I was planning on saving all my sadness for the 10th anniversary of losing her this spring, but apparently that's Not How Emotions Work. It's fine - just a small, sweet sad about missing someone who was such a lovely, generous person.
I’m wearing a white t-shirt, which is one of those things I’d internalised that I shouldn’t do as a plus size woman but actually it looks cute af. I 1000% dress better now I’ve started to love my body and like my size.
Missing
@Hannahgadsby
’s Edinburgh show because neither of us wanted to leave the post-surgery cat alone is the most lesbian thing we’ve ever done, including get married to each other.
It’s other last full day with the best stripy boy in the world today. Vet coming tomorrow at 3:30 for his big sleep. He’s still hungry and affectionate, but he’s so skinny now and any longer and we risk him really being in pain and I can’t have that.
THE UNQUIET HEART is out in May! "A richly atmospheric and gripping medical mystery", it sees Victorian medical student & amateur sleuth Sarah Gilchrist faced with an unwanted engagement and a murder - and her new fiance is the police's main suspect.
Well. Magi Gibson really is a piece of work, isn’t she? The abuse that
@DavidPaisley
has to face is horrifying enough without *repeatedly* bringing his late mother into it.
The transphobic lesbians weren’t kicked out of
#EdinburghPride
. They were *protesting* Pride and all the inclusion it stands for. Pride marches are no place for bigotry, no matter who you fuck. 🌈
Publishers! I'm particularly on the lookout for LGBTQIA books by BAME, working class, disabled, trans & non-binary writers or about those experiences for
@DIVAmagazine
's 2019 Books Pages! Got something that fits the bill? Tweet/DM/email me!
#WeNeedDiverseBooks
#LGBT
#bookreviews
Apparently Edinburgh Castle has been “seized” by people describing themselves as “Sovereign Scots” taking it back under Article 61 of the Magna Carta, making it the 24th attempted siege of the castle in its history. The others were a wee bit more prepared
Just wrote the final chapter of New Book.
I mean, I still haven't written the middle bit which I hear is quite important? But at least I know how it ends!
The whole ‘potential overturning same sex marriage’ thing is making me feel a bit sick, particularly since L & I got married there because New York legalised it first. If that fucking overgrown Wotsit in a wig tries to de-marry us - or anyone - I will unleash hell.
A message to my bi friends on
#BiVisibilityDay
- please stay safe. Remember that this is *not* the day to commit crimes, carry out a heist, or wander the street naked. You can be seen. Save it for tomorrow.
@Baroness_Nichol
As a cis lesbian, could you please tell me how my same sex marriage has degraded the status of women and girls? Preferably in short words with visual aids because this is making zero sense to me.
I’m really bad about celebrating my own accomplishments, both publicly and to myself, but I am so proud of getting to edit the Books page of
@divamagazine
- a magazine that inspired me as a teenager and an adult. I never want to feel blasé about seeing my name in print. 😍
I've been tweeting perkily all day/week and friends, I can't do it anymore. I am having an unimaginably terrible week and I'm heartsore for some people I love who are having a worse one. No details now or ever because it's not my story, but any good vibes would be appreciated.
@Scaachi
@Nicole_Cliffe
My cats are Franklin, Orlando & Nora. Colleague thought I was talking about my kids, so I explained then said “ironically, my daughter is called Tibbles.” She believed me.
Can someone please like this tweet so it shows up in my notifications tomorrow and I can see in black and white that it’s just PMT and everything isn’t terrible?