To date, most of my interviews have been with established writers. Here's one with someone new on the scene, Morticia Knight.

AB: Hi, Morticia. Welcome to the hot seat. Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you. When did you start writing?

MK: I’ve been writing since I was a little girl, but I was led astray by the lurid siren call of rock ‘n’roll, so concentrated on my music career for 15 years. In that era, the only writing I did was lyrics to songs. It was odd – I would have these crazy sci-fi or paranormal romance stories running around in my head – but if I tried to write anything down, it would come out in a rhyme scheme! I guess I just needed to be in that zone during that time.

AB: It’s always fascinated me that there seems to be a special mystique about male rock musicians. There is almost a cliché about the beautiful actress and the definitely less attractive male rock star. What do you think is the appeal?

MK: Definitely the bad boy persona. I’ve always found myself more attracted to that than the classically handsome guy. I’m sure a psychotherapist could work that all out for me – but I’m happy with my bad boy (it can be an illusory image) husband of the last 6 years – so I wouldn’t want to change it!

AB: Men are often accused of not being romantic or not being able to express their emotions well, yet by far the majority of the ballads that tug at the heartstrings are written by or sung by males. Is that the secret? They feel it is permitted for them to express these sorts of feelings in song, but they could never speak or write these words normally.

MK: Absolutely! I fear I might fall in that category as well. I look back at some of the things I would write and then sing about on stage and I think “No way would I ever actually say that to anyone!” There’s a weird sense of freedom of expression that you get when you take on that rock singer persona on stage; you feel as though you can hide safely behind it. I feel that way as an author too, but I believe it helps my writing to be more truthful.

AB: What exactly was your involvement in the scene? Were you in a band?

MK: Two, actually. But the last one was the one that burned me on the business. We got some college radio airplay and charted, did some regional college tours, sold a few CD’s, but the business aspect of music destroyed it for me.

AB: You mentioned getting “burned out by the music business in L.A.” Was that from the back stage people eg promoters and managers or the performers. Do you miss those days?

MK:  – Sometimes I miss the synergy that you can achieve with other musicians on stage or in the studio. It can be like a very spiritual human connection moment. However, the beauty of that gets degraded by the record companies, distributors, etc, behind the scenes. It takes something pure and magical, and turns it into a commodity no different than a box of cereal. I get that we all want/need to make money – but there was a special type of viciousness associated with the music and film business that I haven’t encountered elsewhere.

AB: Would you ever write a romance novel based on the music scene?

MK: I actually have a few bouncing around in my head. There’s a rich well to draw from that subject matter!

AB: I gather that your path to writing stemmed from ghost writing or helping to write someone’s memoir. Care to elaborate?

MK: I had been involved more in the behind the scenes aspect of the music business and found myself working in P.R. with a crazy ex-music journalist who had interviewed everyone from Bowie to Chuck Berry to Led Zeppelin. I collaborated with him on his memoir, and that was when the writing juices got flowing again. I got out of the music business, moved to the mountains 2 hours away from L.A., and began to focus all of my creative energies on writing.

AB: How long ago was this? What sort of writing did you do in those days?

MK: This was about 10 years ago. I hadn’t gotten to the point yet where I was ready to start writing fiction again, like I did when I was a kid, so writing about other people, other fellow musicians even, helped me to flex my writing muscles.

AB: What prompted your re-location to Oregon?

MK: Two hours was still too close to Los Angeles, so a couple years ago I moved to the northern Oregon Coast. It is savage and dreary and gorgeous and peaceful here. In this environment, I have been able to get to a wonderful place where I can write down my romance stories. It was a little over a year ago, while I was laid up for a little while, that I discovered Total-E-Bound Publishing. I researched the internet; discovering that there was a huge market for books and stories of erotica. For some reason, it clicked for me. It felt like I could write some of my wild stories down under the erotica genre, and not worry about whether it was too questionable for a mainstream audience or publisher.

AB: Did you have any background in Creative Writing or are you totally self taught?

MK: I began to study towards an English degree before I left L.A.. I wanted to make sure I was grammatically coherent before I made a complete idiot of myself. But after I’d devoured all of the writing, literature, philosophy and history classes – I was done. I’m still not a hundred percent sure why I need a lab science class to get an English degree. Especially when they charge you so much money!

AB: What appeals to you about writing romance?

MK: I like it when romance (whether erotica or not) tackles the real challenges that all of us go through - we all have some physical or emotional block to believing we’re the perfect partner. So what happens when we have a very intense block – such as a massive injury like your hero Ethan did in “Isolation”? Does that mean we are no longer deserving of love and sexual fulfillment?

Sure - some readers might be uncomfortable with that, but I think it’s a worthwhile subject. There are plenty of women who read, write and enjoy rubenesque romances for that same reason. I think you should write what moves you, and the right readers will be moved by it.

 Also, I like literature to push boundaries the way books like American Psycho, No Country For Old Men, and The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty have done. I’m not at the stage of my erotica career where I could even hope to compare my writing to such illustrious authors and works, but I am striving to remain creative and true to the craft of writing. At the very least, I want my characters to be real and vibrant, and a part of stories that have a strong arc and remain with my readers. This is my hope!

AB: What sort of stories do you write and why?

MK: It seems as though my erotica writing has remained in a contemporary setting, primarily using BDSM and ménage as a back drop. But I also have several sci-fi and paranormal storylines in the works, and am currently working on an M/M contemporary men in uniform series. So I suppose I’m going where my heart takes me at the time!

AB: BDSM and ménage seem to be the flavour of the month or even year, and is even come to the attention of the NY publishing scene. Do you have aspirations to write the next “Fifty Shades of Gray”?

MK: Not at all. Unless you mean it in the sense of reaching a wider audience with my writing. It’s ironic – and I know several erotica authors who feel this way – I have a BDSM series “Bound by Pleasure”, that has been on Amazon since last summer, and the scenario is very similar to the one in Fifty Shades. Since I never even heard of Fifty Shades until a few months ago, and have never read it, I find that interesting. I truly believe there’s a little of the collective consciousness out there when it comes to that sort of thing. But I do hope that the success of Fifty Shades will help other erotica authors such as you and I to get our books seen.

AB: Bondage and bit of lightweight caning with a paddle can be seen as healthy kink, but have you ever had any contact with or desire to write about the full-on BDSM scene with its rules, safe-words and protocols?

MK: I was in rock ‘n’ roll, remember? (*wink*) I had a little contact with the scene back in the day, and the “Bound by Pleasure” series is fairly hardcore, and might be too much for some readers to handle.

AB: What writers inspire you?

MK: Stephen King was my first (*blushing*). From there, it’s been an eclectic swirl. Cormac McCarthy, Karen Marie Moning, Charlaine Harris, Phillip K. Dick and Hunter Thompson, to name a few.

AB: You mention that you have had scifi and paranormal stories swirling around your head, would you ever write these? Would they be erotica, or would you be aiming at a different market?

MK: I would like to write some sci-fi/paranormal erotica. I started one about an evil djinn during NaNoWriMo, but I have had other deadlines I’ve needed to attend to. I have a few sci-fi’s outlined that I may try to pitch to a mainstream romance market. We’ll see!

AB: I gather you have a new story coming out soon with Total E Bound. Tell me about it.

MK: I have an M/M/F story, “The Perfect Third” included in the new ménage anthology All Together Now that has just been released by Total-E-Bound Publishing.  There are a total of six scorching hot ménage stories included in this anthology set in all different settings, and it’s available by clicking on the cover at the botom of the page. 

I’ve also included a little excerpt from “The Perfect Third” for your enjoyment!

Adult Excerpt from “The Perfect Third”, a contemporary MFM Menage that is included in the All Together Now Anthology available May 7th from Total-E-Bound Publishing. All rights reserved.

After a large swallow of wine, Lorne set his glass on the coffee table and leaned into Alexa. He looked directly into her eyes, and locked his lips on hers once again. She melted into him, allowing herself to shut her eyes and feel the moment. Lorne used both hands to explore her body, sliding up and down her, briefly fondling her breasts, stroking her hair, petting the side of her face. Alexa began heating up again, and reciprocated by rubbing his broad, muscular chest, and caressing the stone-hard tops of his thighs.

Abruptly, Lorne pulled back and stood up. He looked down at her as she leant back against the arm of the sofa, and began to unbutton the white tuxedo shirt he was wearing, throwing the bow tie to the ground. His chest exposed, Alexa feasted her eyes on just how well built he was, with just a light smattering of golden hair. He undid his belt and slacks, which were also then cast aside. He was left standing in black briefs that strained under the hardness of his generous cock.

“Would you like to do the final honours?” he said to her, a mischievous tone to his voice.

Alexa wanted to rip the fabric from his body to get at what was being held prisoner beneath. She leant forward so that her face was even with his crotch. Feeling lightheaded from the wine, and maybe a little dangerous, she grabbed the elastic waistband with her teeth and began tugging it downward. He was so hard, it was difficult to get the underwear to cooperate, so she gave it an extra tug with both her hands.

Finally his large prize was free, and she immediately caught it with her lips, licking and tonguing the shaft, teasing the tip as she eased it in and out of her mouth. Lorne placed both hands on her head, moaning, and began to thrust his cock deep into her, pushing at the back of her throat as she opened up to take as much of him as she could.

Lorne held her head fast in his hands, so Alexa was free to begin sliding out of her silk dress. As it fell to her waist, she lifted up slightly to get it the rest of the way off. She sat perched on the edge of his white couch in a red satin lace bra and thong panties. She saw Lorne looking down at her and hoped that the sight of his thick prick ramming into her face and her full C-cup breasts bouncing in the red push-up bra was bringing him true delight.

She was briefly unsure of herself as he pulled his dick out of her mouth, but he reassured her. “You are way too sexy in this outfit, with a sweet, sumptuous mouth. I’m afraid I won’t be able to contain myself.”

He knelt down in front of her and began to kiss her again, and she could feel that her mouth was sloppy and her lips were swollen from the recent assault of his shaft. Her cheeks were flushed, and he watched as her chest rose alluringly with fast breath. He began to explore her again, and he made it clear it was time for the rest of her clothing to come off. He undid her bra, and she helped move things along by sliding her panties off.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” he said, locking with her eyes again. “I plan to reward it.”

If you would like to learn more about Morticia or some of her other available titles, you can find her at these usual hangouts:

Blog: www.morticiaknight.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/morticia.knight

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MorticiaKnight

2 Comments
 
 
For those who don’t know, to quote his bio: “Ryan Field is a fiction writer who has worked in publishing for almost twenty years. He has worked as an assistant editor and editor for magazines and non-fiction publishers. And aside from writing over eighty-four distinct published works, his short stories have been published in anthologies and collections by Alyson Books and Cleis Press.”

One of the most valid criticisms levelled at male writers in the m/m romance genre is about their inferior “craft”. Let’s be brutally honest here, some just don’t write as smoothly as the majority of good female writers. So for starters, that is one thing Ryan does well. His writing flows beautifully. This allows you to focus on the plot and the characters.

I’d heard of Ryan for ages, but never read any of his books, because I’d been put off by criticisms like “Oh, they’re just rip-offs of classic romances and not as good as the original.” So, for all those reviewers out there who try to protest that readers aren’t put off by your comments, think again!

Silly me! Now I have a hefty chunk of reading to “catch up!”

When I finally read “Four Gay Weddings and a Funeral” (FGWAAF), I was very pleasantly surprised. Perhaps because a) I hadn’t seen the original and b) I started to understand what Ryan was doing. So, I posed a number of questions which Ryan was kind enough to answer.

AB: As a writer, your “specialty” seems to be writing gay versions of m/f romance classics. Do you do these scene by scene and translate/equate that to what would be equivalent in the gay world? Or, am I reading too much into it?

RF: I actually see it as more of an overall picture, rather than scene by scene. And some things from the original story don’t work with m/m, so I had to change a lot. Sometimes, what I find works, is to take the opposite of what’s happening in the movie and put it into the m/m book. As in FGWAAF, I hated the movie and the weird love story. I wanted to just shake them both and say “grow up”" This is why I added a new character, changed the ending totally, and gave it my own twist. For me, the original was too boring and too sappy. So, when people say the books were rip-offs, they most likely haven’t read the books in full, to grasp what I’ve done. I change each and every storyline. It’s only the basic formula from which I draw the ideas. And it’s really my publisher who insists on using titles similar to the movies. If I had my way, I wouldn’t do it. But this is something that seems to be working and the publisher is right, so I let the publisher do what they want. The collaboration works.

I’d also like to mention  “My Fair Laddie”  wasn’t based at all on the play/movie. And I’ve been slammed by that over and over by “some” anonymous reviewers,  “My Fair Laddie” was based on the classic “Pygmalion,” which most of these people/reviewers have never even heard of. It’s been remade by me, and tons and tons of others over the years. The basic storyline is classic: wealthy older man/woman, takes in poor uneducated man/woman, and transforms them into a well-polished socialite. Again, the reviews and things you read don’t even know about this, which is sad on a large scale...that people are so uneducated about classics. I love the classic storyline. I wish I could redo it and write it all over again in a completely different way sometimes.

AB: Personally, I think you have every right to do this. It’s a form of appropriation as I see it. Saying these sorts of romantic dreams are not the sole prerogative of females, but this is the gay man's slant on it.

RF: There are no such things as totally original storylines...at least I don’t believe there are in romance of any kind. It’s the same basic seven to ten storylines in each book/movie that's always being remade. Here's one link that touches on the subject. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=210539

The other huge reason I started doing these quasi movie tie-in books was also because gay men like me, and the tons of others who read my books, have never had things like this to read before in the mainstream. There was nothing for us to identify with in mainstream movies/love stories at all. The only books and movies we saw, until recently, were depressing, downtrodden, “arty” things that only touched certain fringes of the gay community and revolved around suicide, depression, and dark subjects. I’m sort of making up for all the things I always wanted to see and read, but no one would take seriously.

AB: Can we go back to something you said above: “And some things from the original story don't work with m/m, so I had to change a lot.” I’d like to revisit that if I may. One of the fascinating aspects for me are these places where you can’t just change the sex of the participants, you have to change the scenario as the two aren’t interchangeable.

Take for example in FGWAAF, the straight husband coming onto gay guys. (I’m not talking so much about couples who swing, but “straight” guys who cheat on their wives, but feel it’s okay because it’s “only” with a guy). Do gay guys just see it as an example of Kinsey’s sliding scale at work? Do they feel demeaned because these guys have totally no respect for them? Or are some gay guys just so desperate for cock that they’ll take anything?

RF: It really depends on the individual gay guy. I personally would never even consider anyone married. I think it is demeaning to me, and some guys are just too bold and don’t care. I actually took that part from my own experience. I’ve never been to a wedding where I didn’t get hit on by a married guy. Sometimes old, sometimes younger. But for me, it’s just ick. For other gay guys, they would love it. In this case, like straight people, gays are just as diverse.

AB: So Neil’s comment here: “Neil despised infidelity of any kind. He’d had more than enough chances to cheat with married men, gay or straight, and he’d always turned and walked away—with pride, and not an ounce of remorse.” is you. But then later you have this:“With gay marriage being so new to gay men, it hadn’t occurred to him that cheating only counted now when someone was, in fact, legally married. Neil wondered if this was how the straights looked at it. He had to ask Portia or Thai. That would be an interesting question to ask on Facebook.

RF: Well, it's something I agree with, but I wouldn't say it was me. It would be impossible to remove myself completely from my characters in any book. And, I'm trying to write modern romances, and I don't think readers want to read about infidelity in a flighty, carefree way. Infidelity is so common these days in real life, I think romance readers want the escape from that sort of thing...Yes, the second part of this question would be interesting to ask on social media. I honestly don't know the answer to this. But I'm sure there would be a variety of comments and replies.

AB: There’s also some interesting and informative facts about the reality of being HIV positive. I remember reading your blog about it back in April: http://ryan-field.blogspot.com/2011/04/hiv-condoms-and-what-so-many-dont.html So I'm glad you brought things you said in that blog into your story.

RF: Thanks...the hard part about m/m romance is that it’s still romance, and it’s escapism, and it’s all about happy endings. So I try not to get too heavy in my books. I like to touch on subjects I think are important, like HIV and people living with HIV, though. There's not enough information out there, and I'm always astounded that people don't know all the facts. Most people don't know that HIV is considered a chronic illness now, not a death sentence. However, I don't think people read romance to get into heavy topics. I save those things for the blog and go into more details. 

AB: Okay, now we’ve got all that out of the way, and I can see where you’re coming from, I’d like to get down to some specifics. If I were to ask you what point you’re making in FGWAAF, not the plot or description of characters what would you say?

RF: In this case, with this book, I would say the main point is that sometimes we are all blinded by what we think true, passionate love is. And we ignore the real aspects of love by chasing a dream or a fantasy, when we had it right there in front of us all the time and never knew it. This is the ultimate dream/fantasy. 

AB: Neil comments at one stage that a character “plays the gay card” and how much it annoys him. Is this something that resonates with you also?

RF: Oh yes (smile). I see this happen sometimes and it makes me cringe. I don't want to be treated differently because I'm gay...or for that matter, treated better and given free passes. Most LGBT people only want to be treated the same as everyone else. But I have seen some capitalize on their sexual orientation and get away with it.

AB: See, I find a lot of Neil’s observations on life fascinating and wonder how much are they your little digs on life, the Universe and everything in it. Here’s another one: “There were no limits to what some gay guys would do for a buck.”Anything further to add, or does that say it all?

RF: I have seen gay men lay on the camp and effeminate mannerisms on purpose...for the sake of entertainment. And many times it's because these people profit financially from this kind of exploitation. It's insulting to those of us who don't live or act this way.

AB: I know the reader should never equate the character with the writer but some things inevitably creep in. Neil’s love for rap music?..... “They did the toast as a staged rap song, which took almost as long as the rap vows they’d sung for the ceremony. Neil applauded when they finished.” Sarcasm much? Or am I being too bitchy!

RF: I absolutely love rap music and can't get enough of it. I *despise* Broadway and show tunes. If you want to torture me, sit me down, tie me up, and force me to listen to Jerry Herman songs (or the TV show Glee). Show tunes make me gag. Piano bar sing-alongs make me heave. If I could choose to come back in another lifetime, I would come back as a rapper. So this, I will admit, was taken from my love for rap music. And the only thing I wanted to show was that we (gay men) don't all like Broadway music...or the music those kind folks who write movies like Sex and the Citywould have you all believe we like.  

AB: A lot of your writing is little snippets of things I get the feeling you’ve seen or experienced, am I right? Here’s another one: “Poor Kevin had to pry Larson away from Blaine. The two of them started to sob on each other’s shoulders. If Kevin hadn’t pulled them apart, they would have continued to hug and cry for the rest of the afternoon.” In this case, the college buddies had slagged the guy off all the way to the wedding and then when faced with evidence of his happiness (however bizarre) found their cynicism disappearing. Do you find a lot of gay guys wear this cynicism as a brittle veneer to protect a mushy interior?

RF: This is one of those "it depends" answers. I wish I could pinpoint it. If anything, I've seen straight people do the same thing at weddings (smile). I think it's human nature, especially when people are so wealthy it's almost disgusting. So it's hard to really answer this one exactly. It worked with the characters this time. I didn't want them to come off as being too vicious...even though it would have worked both ways.  

AB: Again I know we shouldn’t be gleaning facts of life from romance novels, but this statement also resonated: “Gay relationships are complicated sometimes. It’s never been about the sex for us.” This is one factor I feel a lot of females miss, and I have only started to understand after corresponding with gay male writers. A few have, or are in relationships with guys who are their best buddies (in some cases almost carbon copies of who they are). I sometimes wonder if finding someone “just like them” is reassurance that they are “okay” and from this springboard they are able to go out and have (casual) sexual relationships with other men. Most hetero people have had this “reassurance” from one of their parents when growing up, but by always feeling “different” gay guys have felt lost until they find someone to have this basic relationship with. To outsiders looking in, this is seen as promiscuity and unfaithfulness where, if they understood the true relationship of the “couple” in the first place, the rest would make more sense. I’m possibly not making a lot of sense myself here, but can you see what I’m getting at?

RF: I know exactly where you're going with this. Again, this really does depend on the individuals. I know many long term gay male couples who have been in relationships for a long time and the sex dwindles and yet they remain together. Some do, in fact, have arrangements where they can go out and fool around. But not all do this. There doesn't seem to be a set standard. I also think this happens with straight couples over a period of time, too. This is why they hit 40 and have a mid-life crisis. It's the strong couples that survive, gay or straight.

AB: You seem to draw a lot of your life experiences when writing or real people you’ve met and I’m correct in saying this?

RF: I take bits and pieces from everyone I've known. And then I put them together and form something new. But sometimes you can't write about all you know...people wouldn't believe it. So you have to make up it totally, which I do often. Besides, making it up is more than half the fun. I'd be too bored writing about people I know and I wouldn't want to do it. 

AB: A couple of things get repeated quite often in your books: bad driving, guys whose legs bow slightly at the knees, the hand to the chest/throat/mouth yet I rarely see other writers using them. Is there any reason why you use these?

RF: I know a lot of gay men who are attracted to guys with slightly bowed legs...maybe it's the cowboy fantasy. And the hand to chest/throat/mouth is just a way to show how a character is feeling...or a way to express an emotion without actually getting into it. If you observe actors on stage or in film, they do it often. A character says, "You're an idiot." The other character presses his palm to his chest to show shock; that's he's been insulted, instead of actually saying "He was insulted." "He clenched his fists," shows anger instead of saying, "He was angry." Bad driving creates conflict and humor at the same time. I'm always looking for something that will do this. And, a lot of my books involve road trips and cars. 

AB: One statement: “He said he could depend on Warren and he never had to worry about anything when he was with him.” And later the same character says: “I’m marrying for security and companionship. I need stability. I need to know what to expect next.” Is this a lot of what gay men are looking for? Not so much a sugar Daddy but someone they can trust? And they will forgo some of the other aspects for this?

RF: In the book, I wanted him to be more sensitive than a true gold digger, but that's really what he was. Neil just didn't want to face it because he was in love with the "image" of him and he couldn't see clearly. And in real life, there are certain younger gay men looking for sugar daddies, just like this character. I even know a few. But most gay men aren't looking for this, especially these days when more and more younger gay men are coming to terms with who they are. They are looking for the same things straight people are looking for: love, security, companionship, and happiness...family. They are hoping to find it in marriage, in a traditional sense, just like everyone else. If I had a choice between a rich sugar daddy and going short of a buck for someone I loved, I'd choose the love over the sugar daddy any day. I think most gay men would agree.

AB: One aspect that rang true for me was that Neil’s brain was often saying one thing but his body (cock) was pointing in the other direction (literally): “Just because they had an arrangement didn’t mean Neil had to adhere to it or agree with it morally. But he’d just kicked off his shoes and his pants.” Should gay guys get the guilts in these circumstances or is it the expectations of a hetero nuclear society with its different needs and standards kicking in when it shouldn’t? In other words, in the gay community, is their growing pressure to be monogamous and labelling guys who sleep around as “sluts”. The original trend when the laws changed was for a lot of free sex. AIDS put a damper on that. Assuming everyone takes precautions (another topic of conversation) is there a need for gay guys to be monogamous?

RF: This depends, too. Gay or straight, everyone has a different guilt level, so to speak. I've met straight women who can cheat on their husbands and look you right in the eye and deny it completely. This varies from person to person. In the book, I wanted Neil to feel something.

AB: the concept of “romance” is important in FGWAAF. Especially when one character, is described as: Evidently, Tom wasn’t the romantic, sentimental type. And later this In its own peculiar way, Neil thought it was romantic. It wasn’t by any means the kind of tender romance he’d once craved from a lover... But at this point, Neil decided to settle for what he could get. and also this priceless bit: “I love your ass so much.” Neil laughed. He wiped a few beads of sweat from Tom’s forehead and kissed him. “And I love your dick just as much.” A common criticism by female reviewers is the lack of “romance” in male-written m/m romance, but Neil (and Tristan in Gay Pride and Prejudice) actually seem to prefer this rough and ready non-romantic approach. Do you expect to get flak from some reviewers?

RF: Romance can be as complicated as it can be simple, and I don't like anyone to define what it is to me. I also think that straight couples joke around this way all the time. It's just that sometimes it's a bit too realistic for readers who are looking for more traditional romance. They'd rather have it less graphic. And I can understand this, and I never fault a reader for getting upset about it. But I try to diversify. In my story, "Strawberries and Cream at the Plaza," there's hardly any sex and most of it is along the lines of classic romance. It depends on the book and the story.  

I don’t get freaked by bad ratings and reviews. Sometimes they work just the opposite. I would rather have ten bad reviews and ten great reviews, than twenty mediocre reviews. I know that sounds backward, but nothing kills a book more than “meh” reviews. To get a bad review, it means you had to piss someone off, and you had to spark an emotion of some kind. That’s better than not "touching" them at all.

I also receive hundreds of e-mails from readers that don't post reviews or make ratings or online comments. Erotica, and erotic romance is a discreet genre and the majority of readers never make public comments at all. It's a nice little secret erotic authors know, and we respect the discretion of our readers. They trust us.

AB: The scene mentioned above concludes with this statement: When the experimenting with other guys was over, they agreed to be monogamous. Is this something you think readers should expect/allow gay guys to do? It was interesting reading (in a private FB group) about how a gay guy had sex with a straight guy and years later talked to him about it. Turned out he enjoyed the experience but related much better with his wife as a person. He never regretted “experimenting” and actually found it invaluable when his son admitted he was gay. Is there a place for “experimentation” even with committed couples as a reassurance/reminder that what they have is special? Neil describes this episode as “sordid at best”. I suppose I’m just wondering why you included it?

RF: I tend to think all relationships are complicated in this sense. And what happens in the bedroom is different for everyone. In the book, they experiment this way because they are getting to know each other and building something even though they may or may not know it. In other words, they weren't taking themselves seriously at this point, at least not Neil. He thought he was only having fun and games. 

AB: Given your sweet innocent outer shell (judging by your photos) can you relate to this or is there a “type” like this? Maybe he’d been a dirty little fucker all along and it just hadn’t occurred to him until now.

RF: Ha! I'm laughing because I think we can all relate to this. I know I have at certain times in my life thought about this. I've always been more conservative than outrageous. I'm still wondering, though. 

AB: Okay, and now to my continued study of Gayology 101, the mechanics: He’d once been with a guy who had so much trouble coming he usually lied about it and pulled out before Neil had a chance to examine the condom. Neil had learned straight men weren’t the only ones who often suffered anguish of fake orgasms with their female partners, especially when there was a condom involved. Gay men could be just as tricky.

RF: This happens for a variety of reasons. And I have heard stories from gay friends where this has happened to them. Sometimes the guy isn't into the other guy and he wants to be polite so he fakes it. Sometimes the guy is just tired and has other things on his mind that night so he fakes it. And sometimes he's just not in the mood but doesn't want to hurt the other guy's feelings. It's not always personal, yet people tend to take it that way. I would imagine it's the same way with straight couples. This "image" about men being horny all the time is highly overrated on TV sitcoms like "Raymond."    

AB: And can you expand on this? Is it accepting it hard and dry or does emotional comfortableness allow for easy entry” They’d reached that point in their relationship where Neil knew how to take him without needing any foreplay.

RF: It's a combination of physical and emotional. People get used to each others’ bodies and they know what to expect, which is a nice point to reach in a relationship. It's also easier when you're with someone you love and know than it is with someone you don't. I once had a friend who couldn't bottom unless he felt something special for a guy.  

AB: (His) dick had a slight upward curve, which hit one of the most sensitive spots inside Neil’s body. Is this the prostate or are there other “sensitive spots”?

RF: It's usually the prostate, but there are, indeed, other spots. Depends on the person...and the connection between the two people.

AB: And another aspect interests me (if you have time, even a link would be fine) namely, the political aspect: Neil wasn’t about to go into a long explanation about same-sex marriage on a federal level. I assume it’s things like inheritance taxes etc that “Gay Pride and Prejudice” deals with. So the ability to “get married” is only one aspect I gather.

RF: It's very important to same sex couples, especially as they get older together, to have the same rights and legal protections as straight couples. It is about romance and love and all those good things, but it's also about cold hard facts of life and legal issues like owning property, businesses, etc... There are many links that get into this. But I haven't found one yet that actually spells it all out in one place. The American dream is different for gay couples who aren't allowed to legally marry, especially if they own property together. Inheritance taxes can wipe them out.

AB: If you ever read my reviews (and my book “Mardi Gras”) you’ll realise how interested I am in the whole concept of how the changing laws and society in place when gay guys first realize they are gay have had a profound effect on their attitudes and their ability to relate to gays from different generations. So I found this bit interesting: But when it came to gay weddings Tom did a turnaround that left Neil speechless. To me, there is a difference in attitude between those who came out pre-legalisation (still angry and bitter – resigned – the optimist who has been stepped on too many times), then you have those who came out during the AIDS era (fearful). Those that came out after, but prior to HIV becoming deemed “chronic rather than a death sentence” (cynical) to today’s generation (idealistic and not very sympathetic to those coming before) I know these are broad brush statements, but do you see generational differences?

RF: I see certain generational differences. But for the most part I think it really depends on the people. I know some older couples who think very differently than other older couples. I think this is just another example of we're all very different, which is important in breaking down the stereotypes.  

AB: Apart from the characters at the core of the story, the tale of Craig and Luke really stood out for me. I loved this bit: The minute he walked into my classroom as a college freshman, a bright white light flashed before my eyes for a split second and I knew I had to get to know him better. I really loved the twist in this (I mean, I didn’t it was very sad) but I love the way you avoided the cliché. You had me in tears, not easy when it comes to books.

RF: I actually took that from a real life experience I had once. I met someone, I saw a flash of what I can only describe as a bright white light, and I did get to know him better. I think we all experience this at least once...I hope so anyway. It's a great feeling, even though it doesn't last.  

AB: You’ve been very patient, so far, many thanks. Before we finish off, I’d like to touch briefly on your other writing. The first book of yours I ever read was “You Missed a Spot, Big Guy” which is pure erotica. No romance. Books written more for guys than gals. Do you think readers in general understand that writers slant their books to what publisher’s loyal reader base like and expect?

RF: I try to explain this on my blog whenever something new is released, so readers understand. I try to put it in the blurbs, too. I'm always telling readers that when they are shopping for books please check out author blogs and web sites. Most authors I know explain what they are doing in detail on their web sites. We really do care about giving readers all the information. And I'm always asking people to e-mail me if they have a question about buying a book or story I wrote. Many do this. I once had a woman e-mail me just to find out the ending of a book so she'd know whether or not she wanted to buy it. She didn't like the ending, didn't buy that book, but went on to buy others. I'd rather see a happy customer not buy something than a disgruntled customer. 

AB: To wrap up. Neil didn’t see the same “white light”. Just standing next to Andre was an emotional roller coaster.... Oh, he was sick and tired of the drama, most of which he’d created on his own. The question for the reader then, is this settling? Or being realistic? To me, FGWAAF is a great exploration of what it means to commit, who to choose to commit to, and the perils and pratfalls that can occur along the way. I think readers of both sexes will relate to many parts of the story. It’s not even unusual to have these doubts at the altar. Relationships are tricky things at the best of times. There is no “Mr Right” and “Mr Wrong”. So who do you choose? The one who chooses you for who you are in reality?

RF: I wanted Neil to see that he came very close to losing true love because he was more focused on a dream. It wasn't settling, not in this case. And I agree, readers of both sexes can identify with this. I know I've been there myself.

AB: So, to get back to the original “rip off” accusation. I prefer to see Ryan’s “Covers of Classics” as first and foremost romantic love stories from a genuine gay male perspective, often with that twist and occasional stark reminder of how their world differs from ours. Sure there is diversity and you can’t make generalisations, however I found the insight into different standards/morals/codes of behaviour/fantasies and fears of gay men fascinating.

RF: Thanks, this is what I've been trying to do. It's not always easy because I don't want to get on a soap box and preach. And, even though the gay community is different, we are all individuals and it's hard to give definitive answers. There are times I honestly don't even know when I am giving stark reminders.

AB: Thanks again to Ryan for being so willing to answer my questions. Knowing what he’s trying to achieve and why sure makes me appreciate his writing just that much more in both this series as well as others not directly related to existing books, eg “Hot Italian Lover” and his less romantic books published by lyd. Check out my reviews if you want to know more, or better still read his books for yourself!

http://ryan-field.blogspot.com/ 
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The first book of Jane Davitt’s that I read was “Bound and Determined”. I loved that, so I bought “Drawing Closer” and “Wild Raspberries”. That led me to “Wintergreen”.

I make it a practice to email authors when I really enjoy their work. Call me a crazy fangirl, whatever! I like to tell author's what really works for me. As well as being a great story teller, Jane’s writing style is very fluid. The sort of thing that possibly escapes most reader’s notice, but as a freelance editor as well as a fledgling author, I appreciate well written prose when I see it. So another congrats are in order to Jane (and/or her editor *grins*). This is from the email I sent about a year ago:

Can I just say “Wintergreen” has to be one of the best "sequel" books I’ve read. To me, the anticipation of a couple getting together in the first place is what makes a romance, so sequels often don’t cut it. However, the way you handled the story and the knowledge from the get-go that the pairing would have its difficulties was fantastic. The conflict didn’t feel manufactured and the resolution was well done. I’m not a fan of external conflict being brought in just to create tension in a story. However, in this case, the action in book two had almost been foreshadowed in book one. The tension and conflict still centred around the characters’ past and personalities, with the action being the vehicle to carry that forward.

So, I sent the above to Jane and a discussion followed which I’m blogging here with her permission.  Firstly, her response:

JD: Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me; it’s much appreciated!

I’m so glad Wintergreen worked for you. I loved Dan and Tyler and I wanted to do a sequel and see just how they were getting on a few months down the road. I think there were a lot of pointers in Wild Raspberries that it wasn’t going to be easy to them, yes; just too much dragging at them from the past.

I like to think that now they finally made it on their journey :-)

AB: I’m glad you're not tempted to drag it out further with another book. So many authors do.

JD: I don’t think I could really get into it; one book is usually enough, though Alexa and I did do a trilogy together and enjoyed it.

AB: Though, the next time it would be interesting to be a “fly on the wall” when Tyler gets to retirement age and Dan is at his peak (ie in his thirties). Transitions in relationships are a great source of conflict.

JD: They are! But they’re only, what 14 years apart? When Tyler’s 65, Dan would be 51 :-) ; not that far apart maybe? So, if they last that long, I don’t see it being an issue because they’d have adjusted to it by then.

AB: I’m interested in your collaborative process with Alexa. Do you do it character by character i.e. in role-play or are there elements each adds?

JD: We usually write a character each and tag back and forward, sometimes a paragraph, sometimes more. And we’re not possessive; we often borrow each other’s characters for a few lines. I wouldn’t write:

Would you like a cup of coffee, X

and then send it to her; I'd use her character to answer and pass it over when it got to somewhere more interesting.

With each book, we've become less attached to a single character; in our most recent one, “Room at the Top”, though we each dreamed up a character, when we came to write, we would write long tags, using each other's characters freely until it got to the point where they were jointly owned, really. It made the writing go much faster and the story flow better, I think.

Because, I also collaborate with other writers in an online soap "Redemption Reef", I followed up this question with a couple of other to clarify matters:

AB: I gather you each take a particular character then and write the next scene from that viewpoint by yourself, is that correct? But, that would mean you would have to have some idea about what each of your characters is going to do in that scene, so you must have plotted something out. How much pre-plotting do you do when you're co-writing?

JD: We don't do a whole scene on our own; sometimes it's a paragraph, sometimes even a line.  It's totally dependent on the story. We alternate POVs so if the chapter's from 'my' character's POV, maybe I'd handle anything that added something new to what we know about him or write a particularly emotional bit, but the more we write together, the more the lines blur. We used to add notes, 'hope it's okay, I borrowed your character for a few lines' but we don't now, we just do it and we're way faster and the voice is more consistent, I feel. Think of us as being parents to each character; one of us gave birth to him but we bring him up together :-)

Plotting we do outside the story via email. We'll sketch it out roughly, with a few highlights to include, get started, try to incorporate the highlights -- sometimes the story shifts direction and they don't work -- and plot in more detail as we write. It's a very fluid, easy process. Mostly, the story tells itself.

AB: If you each "own" a character. Which ones are yours and which are Alexa's?

JD: See above :-) To start with, we have a character each and swap their bios, maybe include a photo so that we get a mental image. But once we start writing, these days it's all a melting pot. This is a snippet from Room at the Top, written from Jay's POV (Jay was my character, Austin was Alexa's and we shared Liam). From memory, I'll try and divide it as we wrote it, but honestly, it's hard to remember because we have such a close joint voice so I can't swear who wrote which :-). I'm in italics. So you can see that we're both writing both of them.

“It’s not—” Jay took a deep breath and abandoned the argument before it began. “I’ll be good.”

“If you are, I’ll buy you something special,” Austin said. “It’ll be like Christmas. Really late Christmas.”

“Or really early.” Jay didn’t care either way. He loved Christmas, and the most recent one he’d spent with Austin had been as close to perfect as he could have wished for. They’d had an amazing tree and piles of presents, and Christmas breakfast had consisted of the two of them snuggled on the couch in their almost identical new bathrobes, sipping hot chocolate and eating fresh cinnamon rolls. The apartment had smelled like cinnamon for days. “Too bad there won’t be candy canes.”

“Yeah, I think those are a seasonal thing. Have a good afternoon, okay?”

“Love you.”

“Love you two.”

“Love you three,” Jay said. If he’d heard anyone else say that, he’d have rolled his eyes at the sap overload, but when it was between them, it felt like a joke only they got.

He tucked his phone away and left a scatter of bread crumbs for the ants.

Did they even eat bread? Maybe he’d look it up when he got back to the library. He was going through Dewey numbers in his head as he crossed the road, but he made it to the other side, so he must’ve looked both ways.
end of chapter

Hope that helps!

AB: Why do you collaborate?

JD: Alexa and I both started off writing fanfic (still do!) and worked together on several fics in the Buffy fandom years ago. We enjoyed it so we decided to try co-writing a novel. At that point we’d both had solo novels published. I find it fun, because you get to read at the same time as writing. I once collaborated on a fic with three other people and we posted a new chapter daily for eight months, each taking turns to write it, and we were as much fans of the fic as writers of it. I find that there’s no writer’s block when you’re collaborating; if you’re stuck, you do a short tag and your partner digs you out and then you return the favor. It gives it a very organic feel, especially in the sex scenes; you’re not controlling events and it’s looser, more natural.

AB: Do you find it difficult to write by yourself?

JD: No, not at all. I'm pretty prolific :-) I do find it’s much faster to collaborate, though. Solo, I aim for 1000-2000 words a day; with Alexa, we can knock off 5,000 a day easily.

AB: Do you have other things you’ve written that you are looking for publishers for? Or are you flat out writing for your current publishers?

JD: I have four publishers, Torquere and Ellora’s Cave for my solo novels, Loose Id for the books with Alexa and Total-e-Bound for short stories (it just sort of happened that way) and no, everything I write is usually at their request so I don’t have anything hanging around. I aim for a solo novel and a co-written one a year plus a few shorts.

Recently Jane responded again when I reviewed her book “Hourglass” at Goodreads which also appears in m,y previous blog post.

JD: That is such a great review; thank you! I don’t just mean it’s good because you liked the book either; I love that you really took the time to detail your feelings and responses to the story as you read it. It was so interesting to see the book through your eyes that way.

Emboldened, I asked her some more questions which she was kind enough to answer:

AB:. When you set out to write “Hourglass” did the concepts about the structure come first or did they grow with the story? In other words, was the “how” you were going to write the story always there from the start?

JD: It was, yes. I had the idea of the TV show first and then I decided it'd be fun to not just refer to it in the book, but to plot it out in detail. From there, I got the idea of starting each chapter with a snippet of script or a show-related article. They were masses of fun to write and of course, I could use them to echo something going on in the ‘real’ story (though in some ways, both sets of characters felt equally real by the end).

AB: What prompted that decision? Did something else inspire you?

JD: Nothing in particular. I guess as a fan myself, I know just how it feels when a show is cancelled so I drew on that, and I own many scripts of shows, which I love reading. They came in handy as templates so that the scripts were as authentic as I could make them.

AB:. How much of what I interpreted as being deliberate was, or am I reading into it much more than you did consciously?

JD: Sometimes, I’ll write something and people will read more into than I consciously intended, but with Hourglass I was very deliberately setting up echoes between the actors and the characters they played and structuring it in quite a complex way. It was like someone sitting between mirrors and seeing endless reflections of themselves. There was a story within a story within a story.

AB: Would you ever write something so untraditional again (not necessarily using the same methods but other more deliberate devices)?

JD: If an idea comes to me that would fit that format, sure, why not?

AB: How did Torquere receive the story?

JD: I don’t recall any issues at all. I sent it in; my editor, Vincent Diamond, liked it, and we worked together to polish it up.

AB: Do you have an editor there who encouraged that style or was it more of a case of “Well you’re a well-respected author of the genre so people will forgive you for your untraditional story telling style?”

JD: I work with different editors there but I’m sure whoever edited it would have been supportive. To be honest, it never occurred to me that it WAS all that untraditional or out there. I thought the concept with the chapter headings telling a parallel story was interesting but I’m sure it's been done before (what hasn’t? :-)). Ben introducing and ending it, well, I liked Ben and I didn’t see why the story had to be solely about Ash and Lee; there seemed room in the story for him. They were actors; they needed to be directed, if that makes sense.

AB: Do you regret that m/m romance particularly is becoming formulaic?

JD: I read a fair bit of it now that I have an e-reader, and I don’t know if it is or it isn’t really. The genre of romance itself does have a framework that readers like because it’s reassuring and that goes for m/f, m/m, or f/f romances. I definitely like stories to push the boundaries, but I’d be pouting if there was an unhappy ending so maybe I don’t want them pushed too far!

AB: What would you like to see more of in the genre?

JD: Nothing comes to mind. There’s a huge variety of settings and heat levels as it is, plus crossovers with SF, horror, mystery and such. I think it’s a vibrant, growing genre, especially with the surge of interest in e-books and I’m proud to be part of its growth.

AB: Any other comments you’d like to make on reviewers, readers and your future writing plans?

JD: I’m currently writing a solo novel for Torquere that’s my first novel not set in a contemporary setting. It’s a pre-industrial fantasy world, no magic, no dragons, but definitely not our world, with a theatrical background. An actor sees a young man fresh from the country in trouble and steps in to help him only to find he's unable to walk away once his good deed's done. I’m having a lot of fun (in a vaguely Hourglass way!) in having the actor quote from plays that I invented, and coming up with dozens of titles.

And to reviewers and readers alike, I have only one thing to say which is : thank you! Thank you for reading and for being interested enough to comment. It’s much appreciated.

"Room at the Top", Jane's most recent collaboration with Alexa is now available from LooseID.

A big thank you to Jane for so patiently answering my questions. I do enjoy knowing more about the why and how they write.
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Back in April, I won “Double Blind” in a Dreamspinner Facebook chat. I sent a message of thanks to Heidi for the book, discussed some coincidences and we exchanged a few emails. I also discovered the existence of “Special Delivery” which I immediately read.  As a Christmas present to myself this year, I re-read “Special Delivery” and was reminded again what a great book it was. Judging by the number of awards it’s won as “Best Book” of 2010, I’m not alone in feeling this way. You can read my review at Goodreads and below.  I’ve also turned the discussion I had with Heidi into a Q&A and, with her permission, I’m posting it here.

HC: Hi, Alison. I’m glad you enjoyed Double Blind!

AB: What prompted you to bring in Kylie, Missy Higgins and Olivia? As an Aussie, you can imagine how stoked I was to have them in the story. But I didn’t think they were very well known in the States. Did you get any feedback in that regard?

HC: Ah, the Kylie. People keep asking me about that lately. I think it’s because she’s referenced in Special Delivery AND Double Blind. Well, I know about Kylie because my husband has always listened to her, though I’ve now outstripped him (nearly) as a fan. While she’s not generally well-known in the US, she is VERY well-known in the gay community here. When she announced her US tour here last year, the Entertainment Weekly article read, “Kylie Minogue to Start US Tour: Or, Why Your Gay Co-worker Just Screamed.” Of course, Dan and I did as well, but it didn’t work out that we could go. I think that’s why I put Kylie at the end. If I can’t go see her, at least Sam can.

Then Kylie starred in Special Delivery because it’s such a good themeing for Sam: light, fun, innocent-feeling, but very, very sexy. And I brought the Oz Triplets in because I needed something big at the end, couldn’t think of anything, and decided it was fantasy, so why not. The Missy Higgins reference is obscure, but a good friend of mine LOVES her, so it was a subtle nod to her. Also, I enjoy her as well and got to see her in a fun little local concert last year (with that same friend). As long as I was going Aussie, I figured I better stick with it, and she was one I knew would actually be possible. The ONJ (Olivia Newton John) is because my husband fell in love with her at age twelve and never fell out. He did get to see her in concert, though.

AB: Funnily enough, one of my stories, “Caught”, mentions Kylie. It involves a Chinese guy called Daniel who gets dressed in drag and refers to himself as Dannii, mentioning she is Kylie’s sister.

HC: I will say less US people know Dannii than Kylie. (An online friend waged a campaign to convert me from one sister to the other, so I know more than most.) For US audiences, tacking on Minogue after Kylie would be a good crutch. Some won’t know no matter what, but they’ll suss it out.

AB: What about Crabtree though. Will he ever find someone??????

HC: As for Crabtree--well, a friend of mine is feeding me plot bunnies

AB: Obviously Las Vegas is one of the stars of “Double Blind” it’s funny but I’ve never wanted to go there. I don’t mind card games, but the slots don’t interest me, neither does shopping. I really got a good picture of the city from the story, maybe I’ll get there one day!

HC: I actually have not been to Vegas except for a few minutes, to be honest. We blew through on a vacation last year (if you read Special Delivery, we took the same trip as Sam and Mitch except we went all the way to LA and didn’t have sex because our eight year old was along), but we got in at ten at night and were gone by noon the next day. I got up the Stratosphere tower (where I had Sam’s reaction, not Randy’s) and took a cab ride down the Strip. I did a lot of research for it, from movies to YouTube videos. Now, however, I really want to go. Except I’m like Sam and hate gambling. I can play a little poker, but I probably wouldn’t, as I hate to lose money. (Even though in theory that’s where you make it.)

At this point, I read SD for the first time and sent another email to Heidi commenting on the research that went into both books, click on "read more" to read the rest of this great, long interview.

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Intro: Thank you so much for taking the time to answering my questions. First off, I’d like to say how much I've enjoyed your books. You write some beautifully complicated Doms and sluttily submissive subs. Twink (Charlie) has to have become one of those characters who will be remembered by anyone who reads your stories. Not that I don’t like Dave and some of the other subs you’ve written about. Each has their own personality and needs.

 Thank you! Twink took on a real life of his own once I’d introduced him. 

1. Your other pairings intrigue me: Hugh and Ryan, Rick and the Chef, Matt and Nick. I gather these were some of your earlier works. How do you see these stories today?

Yes, they were relatively early.  I’m very fond of these guys, and I had a lot of fun with them.  They’re more like visitors to my brain than inhabitants.  They don’t pester me like the Fell characters do. I’m pleased with the stories as they work in smut, plot, and character – which is a lot for short form erotica!  I’m an old-fashioned writer in many ways.  I like plot and people -- they need to be entwined.  Plot comes from the characters and their reactions, but – love yaoi and its “no plot no point” reputation as much as I do – I still want my characters to do something and grow – even just a bit.

2. Were there aspects of their relationships you especially enjoyed exploring and may revisit?

I’m a tongue-tied person when I’m in an emotional place and, for some reason, it rarely occurs to me to just ask!  I think I’ve convinced myself that I’m not allowed to ask. Ryan, Rick, and Nick all try to figure out what they are meant to be doing.  I think I let these three boys be my guinea pigs in the emotional consequences of saying or not saying things.  Tommy in the Felliverse seems to have claimed that trait in his dealings with Dr. Tanaka. 

I’m also intrigued by hierarchy (surprise!) and like to see what happens when someone is a literal superior in the eyes of the world -- by professional or social rank --  as well as a top.  

3.  I've been doing lots of reading of the m/m BDSM scene (in fiction) in preparation for writing one of my own books. Yours seem to be more about the D/s relationship and the needs of the sub rather than the techniques and rules of S/M that others seem to explore. Does this aspect of the BDSM scene interest you the most?

Yes, I’m interested in D/s as a lived life rather than as ritual and scene.  Rituals and scenes are grand, but for me discipline has never meant rules.  That sounds contextually silly I know, but it’s the spirit of submission and obedience -- finding a place that’s true to you – not being a cog or a crushed drone.  And I really really don’t mean I see structured BDSM that way – it’s just for me the draw is not about regulation.  I’m awful at following imposed arbitrary rules – school was bad and cube jobs were hell – but I do deeply value discipline, training, craft, and so on. A ritual that calms, sure, so long as it feels true to you and not artificial.  I think rituals have real power to center and ground a person. Whatever path gets you to your own inner discipline is what is right.  Some folks like rules and techniques to get there. I’m not a formal person, or a tidy one, or impressed by ranks.  But I do like structure, method/routine, and acquired skill/expertise. 

(Click on Read More to read the rest of this great interview).
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Vancouver NightsVancouver Nights by Hank Edwards


PWPPH = Porn with plot plus humor.
There is a lot of sex in these books, but surrounding that is a great yarn.
I enjoyed reading “Vancouver Nights” as much as I did the other two in the series. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was even better was that the laughs continued right to the last page. Unusual in comedic books that often fizzle out half way through.
Here the sex makes a welcome break to the comedy and vice versa.
You don’t have to have read the previous two books about Charlie Heggensford to enjoy VN. In fact if you come across this one first, you can still enjoy reading them afterwards. In each book Hank has added to his great cast of characters. They come in all shapes, sizes – each an unforgettable addition to the team who work for Fluffers Inc.
Hank introduces a new character here, Ming Ho. Her intro in the first chapter in an almost slapstick routine sets the tone for the rest of the book.
To give Charlie a fresh, fertile field to play on, Hank manoeuvres him out of town and away from his work as a fluffer by having him inadvertently cause a strike in the porn industry. He is aghast to watch on the news as the porn stars:
” carried picket signs and shouted, “Hell no, we won’t blow!” as they moved gracefully within their tight bike shorts and form fitted T-shirts and tank tops. Some of the signs read “Porn Stars Are People Too,” “We Don’t Get Paid, They Don’t Get Laid,” and “Porn Stars CAN Say NO!”

Charlie has a reputation for courting disaster. If he’s not being a tad too enthusiastic in keeping a porn star hard for his next sex scene, he’s getting into all sorts of other mischief. He doesn’t go looking for trouble, trouble finds him.
He escapes the scene by travelling up to Vancouver with another great new cast member: Canyon Collingwood, the four and a half foot truck driver who gives Charlie a ride in his truck. Sex with dolls takes on a whole new meaning with him.
Throughout it all, Charlie is the same good natured country boy he was when we first met him two books ago. He puts his foot in his mouth regularly:
“It’s always good to have someone similar to you in your life. It helps me feel less abnormal.”
That of course is when he doesn’t have something more solid in there; something he can really suck on.
Hank also includes all sorts of good medical advice like when Charlie gets hives from Endora the cat:
“How ‘bout a blow job?” Brent asked, leaning in the bathroom doorframe with his beefy arms crossed over his bare, hairy chest. “Would that help clear your sinuses?”
As far as Charlie is concerned a BJ cures everything.
Inevitably, Charlie runs into the bane of his life, Cedric Wilmington:
He did not want to be anywhere near Cedric ever again, he was an evil, lying, conniving bitch who had hated him on sight. Well, maybe because Charlie had just finished sucking off Rock Harding, Cedric’s lover at the time, but that had been an honest mistake!
Poor Charlie, he’s pining for Rock and his nine inch dick, but in the meantime he’s happy to have sex with whoever takes his fancy, or should I say pants.
The story has balls of every size. Sex in every position and location. While Charlie might be your average Idaho farm boy, the guys he has very vigorous encounters with are anything but average.
In the course of the story, Charlie manages to take a nose dive into a barrel of severed hands, trip over a rotten step and end up flat on his back (a position he rarely finds himself in – too vanilla) he collides with a pole, and numerous other solid objects, get hives and has hamster shit smeared all over his face and later is covered in even worse excrement. So if even reading about animal faecal matter turns you off, just skip that bit.
There is always something new, something different around the corner you just have to keep turning the pages to see what other misadventures will befall our hapless hero including an unusual way to get drunk on champagne and escape from bound wrists in a hostage situation.
Throughout there are sentences, situations and characters to amuse. I liked this one:
“Never underestimate the power of a lesbian on a sports team.”
You just had to be there, though to really appreciate it.
This is a story where you don’t have to be beautiful to star. Yes there are hot bods, but more than that the characters have personality. They have life.
His scenes also are very vivid. I asked Hank a few questions by email and will include these in an interview on my blog.
If you’re tired of reading the same old, same old and feel in need of a laugh while being entertained by a lively plot and enough kinky sex to keep the most jaded satisfied, do yourself a favour....


View all my reviews

An Interview with Hank Edwards

AB: First off, congrats on your book “Vancouver Nights” I enjoyed reading it as much as I did the other two in the series. They make a refreshing change from a lot of the same old same old in the m/m scene. By page seven, I had done enough laughing to justify buying the book and what was good was that the laughs continued.

HE: I'm so glad Charlie made you laugh. He always gives me a good chuckle. He gets into so much mischief I have no idea how he's still alive.

AB: I loved your description of the way the woman got out of the car. A memorable entrance if there ever was one. Too often writers neglect little moments like that that can add to the uniqueness of a book. I also loved your eccentric cast of characters, especially Ming Ho.

HE: And I'm glad you enjoyed Ming ... I was concerned people would call me racist or something, but good God she just burst out of my head in this fireball of craziness. She and Billy will be getting into quite a bit of trouble, I daresay.

AB: As someone who has just discovered Corbin Fisher videos, the whole porn scene fascinates me. Were you aware how many women watch gay men’s porn? What is your reaction to that? Hopefully, I’m not as rabid as Ming is. I must admit that every time I watch them now (purely for research purposes of course), I visualize a Charlie behind the scenes just waiting to keep them ready for the next take. (Relax I know it's fiction)

HE: I have been very, very surprised by the number of women readers. When I started writing, I published in gay anthologies and gay erotic magazines like American Bear and Honcho. I never even considered women would find my fiction at all, I thought I was targeting an all male audience. Then I got a few emails from some female fans and I started to understand that women were really drawn to gay sex and LOVED to read about it! I was happily surprised, and I have to say, that's really fueled my writing.

AB: I find your writing very visual, I can picture your scenes really well, the barn scenes particularly. Do you visualize your scenes as mini movies before you write them?

HE: Thanks for saying my writing is very visual, I've always "seen" my books as I write them, like you said, "mini movies." I have a distinct setting and look to the characters in mind when I write and I'm glad those details come through. The barn was a fun scene to write, there was so much action (sexy and otherwise) and a number of fun, sassy characters to generate the drama. With Charlie I always try to have something funny and sexy happen in each chapter. He does work in the porn industry, after all, and he is a natural klutz. And thanks for the compliment about PWPAH, I think it's tough to pull that type of story off, and humor is especially tough with erotica. Here's hoping more readers will appreciate that as well.

AB: The book touched on so many different sexual variations and fetishes where does that leave you? Just how much research do you do? I know it’s fiction, but to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me, as no way could I ever get in there, do places like The Dirty Jock exist in real life? Are they really like that?

HE: The book did touch on many sexual fetishes. A friend of mine challenged me while I was writing the book by asking if Charlie would be branching out at all. I decided to introduce him to the watersports and fisting at The Dirty Jock. I have never been to a place like The Dirty Jock, but I've read about such places and I let my mind go wild and create this multi-leveled sex club where pretty much everything was acceptable.

AB: Will there be more adventures for Charlie?

HE: I am planning another book for Charlie and his friends, just have to get some time to write it. Right now I'm working on a zombie/vampire story so Charlie's on the back burner until probably June or so (fingers crossed). I've got some notes jotted down for his next adventure, and a few ideas for another 2 books after that. Who knows? Maybe he'll keep on going, as long as Lethe Press is willing to publish the books, I'd love to keep bringing Charlie back for more adventures.

AB: Thanks Hank for coming clean. Hopefully Charlie will stay clean until June...
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 In my last blog post, I reviewed Jay Lygon’s excellent book “Chaos Magic”. I enjoyed it so much I sent Jay a message and a request to be “Friends” on Facebook (as you do). Once I was “accepted”, I read some of the back posts and discovered I’d just missed out on participating in a “Meet the Author” day that Jay was involved with at Torquere Press’s Yahoo group.

I would have liked to ask Jay some questions and take part in the discussions. I mentioned this to Jay who said “Fire Away”, so I did in a typically long waffling email. The answers and comments on some of my statements were so thoughtful and articulate,  I wanted to share it with other fans.

I got the green light to re-post it in my blog, including the answer to the gender question I posed in my original review. Enjoy.
 
AB: I have this inner urge to deal with “difficult” subjects. I’m at the stage in my life when I’m not in this for fame or fortune. I want to add something to the genre, not just dish up more of the same old same old. However, I’ve been advised by my publisher and beta readers to concentrate on the humor.  That’s why I found your book so inspiring. To show it is possible to stick with difficult subjects as long as I inject enough humor.

Jay Lygon: I used to tell people that I aspired to be the Dominic Dunne of gay erotica, but people just looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues. I think there's room in this genre to tackle serious subjects. Many writers will produce the m/m equivalent of a Mills and Boon or Harlequin romance, and many readers will want that level of escapism, and that's perfect for them. But then there are those other readers who want a deeper experience. There are fewer of them, but they're under-served. If you can't write breezy stories (I try, but always end up complicating things) then write what you're good at.

Chaos Magic has been out for almost three years now, and it just now seems to be finding critical mass in readers. Thank goodness for the long tails of e-publishing, because a print publisher would never give it that much time to find its way into the hands of readers.

So first question: Do you find adding humor difficult?

I'm a natural smartass, so no.

AB: Is it something you set out to do from the start?

JL:In Thomas Hardy novels, the unrelenting march into the dreary abyss always had me ready to slit my wrists. That taught me that after an emotionally heavy scene, the reader needs a break. The writer needs a break too. That sounds as if I think a great deal about pacing from the beginning when I don't. I just write the first draft and then worry about such things in the revision, but I've found that rhythm naturally occurs before I focus on it.

AB: I’m a plotser by nature and knew where I wanted to go (with "Caught") but wasn’t sure how to get there.

JL: That sounds familiar. I know my starting point and end point, but between home and the store, so to speak, there are many streets to take.

AB: Are there any other authors out there you can recommend that you find inspiring because of their ability to get the humorous tone right? (serious subjects or not serious)

Christopher Moore and Janet Evonovich come to mind as writers with a deft hand at comedy, but their subjects aren't serious. If there are writers out there who mix humor with heavier material, I haven't seen their work. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

AB: I’m still a pretty newbie writer so I do study and analyse reviews. (Both of my own books and other authors's stories).

JL: Mike Kimera, who writes straight erotica, has a sig line that says: "What you read is not what I wrote." So every reader brings something to the story that the writer never envisioned. That's cool and a bit scary at the same time. Sometimes, it means reading a review and wondering if that person read the same book that you did.

AB: Is it that they don’t understand the Dom/sub dynamic?

JL: Not every book is for every reader. Many readers want a fantasy Dom figure. Hector is deeply flawed. I didn't deliver the reader's expectation. That doesn't mean that they're wrong. It just means that Chaos Magic isn't for them.

AB: Or is it that some readers take their character’s worth at the face value of how the POV character sees them?

JL: Or maybe they're completely overlooking Sam's idealized view of Hector and thinking that something doesn't seem right about him. And they'd be right. Hector should be sending up red warning flags from time to time. Sam has pretty much proven that he's the worst judge of people, ever. From Marcus to Brett, he makes a lot of excuses for inexcusable behavior.

(Part of the discussion on the Yahoo group had been about writing stories in limited third or first person POV compared to multi character POV. “Chaos Magic” is told only from one viewpoint, but some of Jay’s other books are multi-third. I related my experiences then posed this..)

AB: I’m finding all sorts of reasons why people don’t like first person. The latest one being that women (who make up the bulk of m/m romances) find it a bit squiky during the sex scenes, especially writing it)?

JL: To answer the question posed in your review, I'm female. I don't have any problem writing sex from a male POV. What other POV are you going to get in m/m?

AB: Are you going to deliberately go down one path or the other or will it depend on the story?

I come from an erotica background. Erotica tends to be written first person because it's part of the literary genre. Romance tends to be written in third person. If the audience I intend to write for are romance readers, I try to write in third because that's what they expect. That's what feels "right" to them. I can't think of any other genre where the readers dictate the content and style of books to the writers the way that they do in Romance. Science fiction writers would go into vaporlock if a reader said, "I started to read your book, but it was written in first person, so I chucked it across the room." Romance readers say stuff like that all the time. On the other hand, when you're 50% of the book market, I guess you can say things like that.

AB: Next question: (You’re being very patient with me if you’ve got this far! LOL.
I see you write either paranormal or scifi. Not that I define “Chaos Magic” as paranormal. When I read it, I saw the Gods as either persona Sam overlays on real neighbours or products of his imagination designed to give him an “out”. However, maybe I’ll go with the paranormal definition. Is there a reason you’ve done this?

JL: I call it magical realism, but it gets lumped in with paranormal because what that's the big marketing umbrella that fits over it.

How you feel about the reality of the Gods is up to your interpretation, although the phasing is hard to explain away as Sam's imagination, as is the ability to make things appear at hand. In my interpretation, they are real gods in the Hindu view where godhood is simply a state of being like being a hungry ghost or a human, or any of the other possible states of being. It's not eternal.

AB: I noted at one point in “Chaos Magic” that Brett says: “By the way, I sent in our registration for the spring rugby league.” In LA is that another way of saying rugby competition?

JL: Brett and Sam play basketball in what we'd call pick-up games - meaning that they show up at the courts and they just start playing a game with any other guys there. There's no schedule and no set teams. Leagues are defined teams with scheduled games. They can be very competitive with uniforms and semi-pro coaches. On the other end of the scale, my sister plays softball in a mixed-gender league, and they keep a cooler of beer out by second base so you can have a drink during an inning. So some leagues are more about the social aspect, and the game is the excuse to get out of the house.

Why did I include it? When I wanted to show the guys playing sports together without having to write a game scene, I picked rugby because I have friends in New York who play on a gay rugby team (Gotham Knights) and that fit what I envisioned.

AB: Lastly, but by no means least. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that you write under different names. Are any of these in the m/m field?

JL: I have several other pen names. The only one that will matter to you is Kathleen Bradean. Kathleen is my girl smut pen name. Jay is for boy smut. I don't write m/m under any other name.

AB: Thanks for your patience. So much for my couple of limited questions, huh? I do this sometimes with authors I like. But relax, they'll tell you that after a couple of emails where I picked their brain for info, I cease and desist. LOL.

A.B. - I'm flattered. I'm also glad to share any info I can, so don't be afraid to ask.

What a honey. I'm really looking forward to reading the sequels.
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