Coming out can be terrifying. Some lose friends and family members. But not all experiences have drastic consequences. When Katie Mettner’s daughter came out to her, Katie reacted positively. But, I’ll let Katie tell her story.

Please welcome Katie Mettner.

Finding fresh fiction by stepping outside the box

My name is Katie Mettner and I’m a romance and romantic suspense author from Northern Wisconsin. I’ve been writing since 2011, and have written thirty books to date. Back in 2014, my daughter came out to us, and told me she struggled to find LGBTQ romance books that weren’t either all sex, or completely unrealistic, so I set about writing one. That was three LGBTQ books ago, now. The first book was about a pansexual named Crow, the second was about two women from opposite sides of the tracks who fall in love one summer on Lake Superior, and the third, Finding Susan, is my newest and biggest challenge in this genre.

Finding Susan is based on a real life love story, and it was the first book I’ve written based on a real event. When my friend, Renee, told me about her experiences online with a catfisher, she wondered if I would be interested in writing the story, and going on to make sure the main character finds real and lasting love, as she too was still searching for it in life. Always up for a challenge, I accepted and asked her to put together some information for me about her experiences with the catfisher, her experiences with love and the LGBTQ community, and her life experiences. Somehow, I had to take this mish mash of information and build characters readers could relate to, and tell a story that would keep their interest, give them hope, and teach them something about a world they may never have experienced before.

You’ll meet Renay, a woman who was catfished by someone using the name Susan as her moniker online. Renay nearly falls for the scam, but like my real friend Renee, she catches on just in the nick of time. However, she has fallen for the picture of this woman the catfisher had sent her, and she sets out to find the real Susan. Surprisingly, she does find her, but her name isn’t Susan, it’s Olga, and she’s not in some foreign land already married to the love of her life. She’s in Renay’s own backyard and she’s struggling with coming out of the closet about her sexuality to her extremely religious parents. At twenty-five, Olga has already missed out on so much in life by staying in the closet, and she lets Renay teach her about life and the experiences they can have together. They go on adventures, right some wrongs, teach each other about love, share their spiritual journey, as Renay is Native American, and help foster a young girl’s confidence in herself and who she is. In doing that, they find a path to a love they’ve both been searching for. The story isn’t all rainbows and Skittles, as I like to say. There’s plenty of heartache, typical life issues, and issues specific to the LGBTQ community, but they forge a life for themselves together nonetheless. As I wrote the story, I was pleased to find out the real Renee had met someone new! By the time I published the story, Renee and Jodi, had found their own happiness together, much the same way as Renay and Olga had. Sure, they had issues and life circumstances to work out, but their devotion to each other was worth it.

When I’m asked what Finding Susan is about it would be easy to summarize the book’s plot and move on, but instead I always focus on what the underlying message is. Hope wins. Passion wins. Truth wins. Trust wins. Love wins.

FINDING SUSAN

E-book $2.99
Paperback $10.00
Also available in Kindle Unlimited
Release date: October 26, 2107
Romance

A real life story of deceit, acceptance, and the quest to find true love, while staying true to yourself.

The last thing Renay Skovgaard expected was to find herself a victim of a catfisher. No stranger to online dating, Renay didn’t see it coming until it was too late, and she’d already lost her heart. Months after the catfisher had faded away, and time had healed the wound, Renay was finally able to grasp the truth behind the encounter. She was in love with the woman in the image she carried around in her back pocket, not the person behind the screen. Her hazel eyes were the same pair she’d seen since childhood, and she was ready to find the woman she knew only as, Susan Walters.

The last thing Olga Weber expected her first night at Oktoberfest was to come-to-face with the woman she couldn’t live without. Her kindness, humor, and easy going way of making her feel safe drew her to the woman like a moth to a flame. Olga knew the game she played was dangerous, because a woman like Renay could destroy the make-believe life she’s worked for years to build. After one chance meeting she could feel the walls of her closet crumbling around her, and she knew her life was about to change…forever.

Olga and Renay find themselves falling in love; one woman comfortable with her sexuality, the other uncomfortable in her own skin. A bottle of wine and a sweet, languid kiss told Olga the time had come to decide if Renay was worth fighting for, and if true love could conquer all.

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Amazon AUS

MEET THE AUTHOR

Katie Mettner writes romantic tales from a little house in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. She lives with her soulmate, whom she met online at Thanksgiving and married in April seventeen years ago. Their romantic tale was a true case of instalove. Finding Susan is Katie’s third LGBTQ novel, and her twenty-seventh novel in her writing career. When not busy being a band mom to her three teenage children, Katie has a slight addiction to Twitter and blogging, with a lessening aversion to Pinterest now that she quit trying to make the things she pinned.

CONNECT WITH KATIE METTNER

Facebook / Twitter / Website

Thanks so much Katie for stopping by today.

Have a fab weekend!