CC Saint-Clair is a prolific writer of lesbian erotica based in Brisbane. However, her writing seems to transcend genre as she tackles complex, yet very human subjects of love, sexuality, gender and abuse. Morgan in the Mirror, for example, is a sensitive, thought-provoking narrative on the experience of a young engineering student, who also happens to be a female to male transgender. She skilfully blends the factual reality with sensuality, creating a fascinating insight into the way Morgan lives his life. Meanwhile in 2003’s Far From Maddy, Saint-Clair tells the story of Jo, who survived a childhood of parental neglect and abuse and her loneliness when her sister left home.
As a young woman, Jo’s interactions with her lover Maddy are forever strained because of her fear of intimacy and inability to trust, leading to Maddy’s heartache over Jo’s disappearance.
In Jagged Dreams, the subject of incest is handled with intelligence and compassion. All the books are set in Brisbane and many readers will enjoy the local references. On the other hand, Saint-Clair also makes Brisbane a unique character of itself, which will appeal to international audiences. Her writing is poetic, intelligent, searching and heartfelt. She grapples with the most serious of issues and yet indulges in the sensuality of sex with frequent abandon. Highly recommended.
