Rainbow Snippets

Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook group and meme for sharing excerpts from your own or others’ stories about queer/LGBTQIA characters. The goal is to share six or so lines—one for each stripe on the rainbow flag. (Most rainbow flags have six stripes, but there are variations with up to nine, so participants have some leeway with the exact number.)

Here, you can find the Rainbow Snippets I’ve shared. Some are things I’ve written; others are passages I’ve loved from other authors.

You can find even more Rainbow Snippets on the Rainbow Snippets Facebook page or by looking for #rainbowsnippets and #rainbowsnippet on twitter. It’s a great way to discover new authors.

The 188th General Conference: The Mormon church finally has a leader who isn’t white, but its sexual abuse policies need work, and so does its treatment of gays

For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (better know simply as “Mormons”), today is doubly special. It is Easter, the most important holiday on the Christian calendar, and it’s also the second day of the 188th Annual General Conference of the Church. General Conference is held twice a year—spring and fall—and … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: Why is it that people avoid the people they’re crushing on?

reading the signs book cover

Here’s another snippet from Reading the Signs, a romance starring Theo, a Dutch master’s degree student in sign language linguistics. Theo’s been avoiding the object of his affection, but then one day … … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: Dutch culture shock in New Mexico

Here’s another snippet from Reading the Signs, a romance starring Theo, a Dutch master’s degree student in sign language linguistics. Here, we learn about his feelings of displacement while studying in New Mexico, which is so different from home. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: Rob Rosen tells a hilarious tale of a friendly alien invasion

person standing under UFO in beam of light at night. Photo has a peaceful rather than scary tone

In “Close Encounter of the Three-way Kind” by Rob Rosen, the arrival of aliens from another galaxy results in a dwindling international supply of candy corn. But despite taking over two continents, they’re not as interested in invasion as consensual exploration. Read on for a snippet from this quirky erotic comedy. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: A werewolf in chains

Wolf sitting on rock

“When The Big Moon Shines” by Carl Redlum is the story of Henry, a college student intent on hunting down the man who turned him into a werewolf. The gay couple next door seem like they might be able to help—or maybe they’re trying to get in the way. Here’s a snippet. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: A half-naked love spell

Photo of paper label covered by cobweb that reads Love spell, batwing powder, lavender and sage, charm of an owl

A drafty attic, a magic spell, and being half-naked in front of one’s roommate—what could go wrong? I couldn’t put “Careful What You Wish For” by Elizabeth Coldwell down. Here’s a snippet for your enjoyment. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: Halloween in New Orleans and a Vision in Black

city lights at night

“The Endless Knot” is a fan-yourself-from-heat kind of tale about a fiery romance between a vampire and a werewolf that threatens to burn itself to the ground until a human teaches them to temper the flame. Here’s an excerpt. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: A lonely ghost longs for male love in “Inside Man”

This Rainbow Snippet is from “Inside Man” by Clare London, a touching tale of a ghost who’s desperate to feel the delights of having a human body again. He spends his nights hanging out in local pubs, watching hot men but never being able to touch them—until one night, a tear in the veil between the dead and living opens up new possibilities. … Read more

Rainbow Snippets: A classics professor, a handsome student & a campus janitor stave off the forces of evil

Myths Moons and Mayhem bookcover

A snippet from “The Secret of the Golden Cup” by Rebecca Buchanan, a delightful adventure in which a linguistics professor trying to translate an ancient artifact finds himself at the center of a magical war. With an unfairly attractive student and a campus janitor as his only allies, it’s not so easy to stave off the forces of evil.

… Read more