Happy Pride Month, everyone!! It's one of those times in the year when I like to overshare. Sort of. Despite using certain labels on my bio until very recently, I never quite explained how it connects to my writing and things beyond it. So here it is; I'm an asexual panromantic who is leaning more into the gender fluid side of things. In simple terms, I feel no or little sexual attraction but am capable of feeling romantic attraction towards people of any and all gender identities. Men, women, trans men, trans women, intersex, non binary, etc, it doesn't really matter. And though on papers I'm female, I prefer a neutral gender identity for myself but lean slightly more towards my femme side.
My writing is a stark reflection of these identities. Many of my characters including Indira Mukherjee from Beneath & Ríone Embers from Underneath are both asexual individuals. On top of that, Indira is also aromantic. On the other hand, Yvaine Agan from Mina and Raisa Thorne from Beneath are homosexual and bisexual respectively. My WIP of many years, A Tale of Blood and Shadows, is filled with queer characters; Annalise is demisexual and biromantic, Adryan is demisexual, Wallace is homosexual, Lillian is pansexual and demiromantic, Nalini is bisexual, while Zaleska is asexual and aromantic. You can definitely notice a pattern here.
I ardently believe in love over romance and sexual intimacy. I believe that love is all that is, and all that will be. And I earnestly hope that we get to immerse ourselves in love in every way we want to.
With love,
Ruhika ❤️