Jenny, I'm not Lannie Rose; although, as it happens, she and I are Facebook friends. We've corresponded from time to time, I've read her memoir LANNIE, and she recently posted a very gracious Amazon review of my novel, SHE'S MY DAD. (We hope to meet one of these days, the next time I go up to Santa Cruz to visit my daughter.)
As for your publishing experiences, you have my sympathies: "Been there, done that." Two different literary agents spent a total of two years breaking their heads trying to get SHE'S MY DAD through the commercial publishing doors. Alas, no go. Not only was that during the worst of the economic implosion, but as you doubtless are aware, the publishing industry has succumbed to a (doomed) corporate blockbuster mindset which currently allows for little besides insipid teeny-vampire rubbish and a pestilential torrent of sub-literate YA.
In the end I elected to indie-publish, which entailed expense, time, and a grinding amount of proof-reading and revision. Still, the result made it all more than worthwhile. I have been extremely gratified by the enthusiastic reception, and even though my sales thus far are visible only with a microscope, I remain optimistic that the novel will eventually find its audience.
As to whether it falls into the category of "Trans Lit", well, I think that's a determination best left to the readers. My title character is a (straight) transsexual English professor, but the novel is more of a mainstream suspense story. At least, that's how I envisioned it.
Oh, and I don't think you're "cheeky" at all!
~Lannie~EDIT: Removed link
