“Room at the Edge” now available from LooseId.

Three sexy men, one hot relationship. In "Room at the Top", devoted sub couple Jay and Austin went looking for a no-strings attached Dom and ended up falling for Liam, who, much to his surprise, turned out to be the Dom of their dreams. But their happy ending was only the beginning of their story.

Now Jay is begging Liam to turn up the heat with fire play and Austin wants them all under one roof, no matter what people might think. Caught up in the difficulties and pleasures of their new relationship, it's easy to miss the way they're moving dangerously close to the edge of falling apart, not deeper in love.

My thanks to Jane Davitt for co-operating and being so generous with her time.

Down the track, I hope to get the same set of questions answered by another great BDSM writer, Kim Dare. Stay tuned!

All of Chris's books are available at Dreamspinner Press and why not visit his webpage here

As I see it, there are a few different options:

1. The Epilogue where all loose ends are neatly tidied up.
   
2. A short story, published separately, showing the characters living happily together. Clare’s own trilogy of shorts that follow “True Colors” is a good example of these as are the many Holiday themed stories that authors write involving their popular characters.
   
3. A follow up story where unresolved external issues from the past intrude, eg stories like Jane Davitt’s “Wintergreen”, the follow-up to “Wild Raspberries”.
   
4. A sequel where the nature of their personality differences or their living conditions provide new / unexpected conflict. (the factors that can tear them apart)
   
5. Ongoing books in a series where their jobs and/or world allows for ongoing adventures that are as interesting and significant as the parallel romance plot which develops over the series.
   
6. Spin Offs involving minor characters in the first book which show the ongoing relationship of the initial characters in their own secondary role.
   

Each of these has a place depending on the characters and circumstances of the initial book.

Problems can arise, however, with readers noting that follow up books where all the edginess and tension has gone can be boring, no matter how hot the sex.

In other instances, readers have developed certain expectations based on the first book and are disappointed if these aren’t met.

All books need conflict. That’s what gets readers turning the page to see if this can be resolved. However books that rely just on arguments between the two characters can lead to this sort of reader reaction:
“It was like going one step forward and two steps back.” and another reader commented on a different story:
“I just wish they didn't argue about little things so much.”

While “Opposites Attract”, do they “Stay Together”? 

I could have written a single chapter epilogue, based it a year in the future and shown them playing “Happy Families” followed by a hot fuck. But I want to do more than that. I want to explore the concept of meeting these problems and overcoming them in a book “Give+Take”.
Clare had an interesting comment to make at the time, likening her characters’ lives to a Work in Progress.

So, here’s our discussion. 

 I don't think either of them ever mentions love or commitment aloud! Freeman will continue to skate close to the edge of legality, and Kit will remain rash and independent. But I felt it had enough of a settlement to stand alone. That said, I have started a sequel but it's in very early stages *g*. Freeman gets caught up in yet another dodgy deal and Kit helps - and this continues to add layers to their personal interaction.

A.B. Gayle: Freeman is a favourite of mine and I often quote it when talking about first person POV.  It would definitely lend itself to follow up books in the style of options 3, 4 or 5!

Clare: Yes, I think that's the one book I could imagine equally tense and messy and sexy sequel(s), while they *both* grow up! They may spend time apart as a result, but I'd still hope to bring them back together.

A.B. Gayle: What I find is that these two concepts “Hooking Up” and “Staying Together” don’t always fit comfortably in the one story. What’s your take on that?

Clare: You raise a very intriguing thought - how much do we truncate our stories at an early get-together stage to fit the romance HEA trope, yet the characters are so sparky with each other it's possible they won't stay together long-term? I'd say all my characters have long-term potential - but that's because I'm publishing in the romance genre. Some of my free fiction explores less stable and/or healthy relationships, and that can be both fun and challenging for an author.

A.B. Gayle: Sequels would be easier for me, because my heroes are "Opposite" and have already got major hurdles that aren't going to go away, eg Danny and Taylor - cultural, Patrick and Damien - age, Ben and Adrian - location as much as anything. These things are already built in so sequels are almost being demanded. Are there any sorts of sequels you don’t like?

Clare: The HEA sequel where nothing happens except they cook dinner and have perfect sex all the time *lol*. I don't mean any disrespect to "slice of life" sequels - and you're right, they tend to come up at holiday periods - but they're not as interesting for me as a reader, however much I liked the characters first time around. However, I'm pretty sure that's because I don't read much in the cosy romance genre anyway, whereas many readers love to feel part of the domestic life of their favourite characters.

A.B. Gayle: What sort of series do you think work best?
Clare: This relates to my response to the last question. My favourite characters are ones who struggle in the first place i.e. the HEA in book#1 is the beginning of a story, not the end. Look at Jordan Castillo Price's PsyCop series - there's no doubt Jacob and Vic are a great couple, but they still have plenty of friction. That's actually what makes me love the series so much. There seems to be scope for more stories, and she feels that way too. Whereas her Channeling Morpheus series - while I love that even MORE - has a definite arc that it followed, with a beginning and end, and that was that. Perfect!
Dennis Lehane wrote an excellent series with Pat and Angie as P.I.s, but the last in the series had them breaking up over a point of moral principle that was very powerful. I've just read a new sequel to that, when they're back together and married, although re-addressing the case they broke up over. It's still a good thriller, but the break-up one made a far stronger impact on me.

A.B. Gayle: Speaking of Spin Offs, is there any chance to see if Red and Carter hook up?

Clare: Funny you should say that :). I have started another story with Red and Carter - that's me giving into peer group pressure again *lol* - but I don't intend to have it feature Miles and Zeke's relationship too strongly, just them as friends of the couple.

A.B. Gayle: What sort of follow up stories don’t you like?

Clare: I can get irritated by the manufactured conflict, just to make another book. A previously-unknown stalker turns up, or a long-lost - and threatening - relative suddenly reappears, or one of them suddenly reconsiders his love and they break up over something daft just to be able to re-live finding the HEA, etc etc.

A.B. Gayle: One reason I end my books where I do (and explore this further in Anne’s blog) is that I like to think I’ve shown enough about the characters’ personalities and strengths that the reader, using their imagination, can develop their own futures for them. How do you feel about that aspect?

Clare: That's a great viewpoint and I agree. It ties in with my opinion that a book should be self-contained, although it's fine if threads are left for a potential sequel - and for the readers to develop their own ideas, as you say. I often won't read a book in the first place if I know in advance it'll end on a cliffhanger - it feels like I'm being "tricked" into buying a long-running series before #1 is even out. I like to read a book, love it, then find there's another about the characters that I'd also like to read. The difference is difficult to explain! and I'm struggling to think of an example. Maybe for me it's the difference between the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, which are fascinating individually, and some of the long-running crime series, which start to pall and become repetitive after too many.

For me, it's all about contrivance - if another book rises out of the ending of the first, all well and good. I find it less justifiable to set out to write a series - and also tricky in the m/m genre because it implies an endless supply of gay main characters, all in the same setting! The Sean Michael series is an example of handling this logistical problem, with the BDSM clubs.

A.B. Gayle: I was advised that rather than write a sequel, I should write a totally new story as sequels don’t sell as well.

Clare: I got similar advice from a publisher, too - that sequels don’t sell as well unless they *are* a fully-fleshed plot on its own. It's heartening to hear on one level. However, I can see plenty of series books doing excellently! It must have its pros and cons - on the one hand, a much-loved book will have an established and supportive market for a series, but on the other hand, if a reader didn't like #1, they're perhaps unlikely to try #2 through #12.

A.B. Gayle: Well, thanks for letting me pick your mind, Clare. I’ll be interested to hear your readers’ thoughts on the subject and maybe even hear examples of ones they think work and ones they don’t.


Clare: Great to see and chat with you!   

* This interview and blog originallty appeared on Clare's Live Journal here

Today it's my pleasure to welcome author P.D. Singer whose book, "Fire on the Mountain" is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

First off, the blurb for her new release:

Take a break from academics, enjoy the Colorado Rockies, fight a fire now and then. That’s all Jake Landon expected when he signed up to be a ranger. He’ll partner with some crusty old mountain man; they’ll patrol the wilderness in a tanker, speak three words a day, and Old Crusty won’t be alluring at all. A national forest is big enough to be Jake’s closet—he’ll spend his free time fishing. 

Except Old Crusty turns out to be Kurt Carlson: confident, competent, and experienced. He's also young, hot, friendly, and considers clothing optional when it’s just two guys in the wilderness. Sharing a small cabin with this walking temptation is stressing Jake’s sanity—is he sending signals, or just being Kurt? And how would Kurt react if he found out his new partner wants to start a fire of a different kind? Jake’s terrified—they have to live together for five months no matter what. 

Enough sparks fly between the rangers to set the trees alight, but it takes a raging inferno to make Jake and Kurt admit to the heat between them. 

Bonus Short Story: Into the Mountains 

Long before he met Jake, Kurt Carlson climbed Yosemite with his best friend, Benji. But after a storm traps them halfway up the face of El Capitan, Kurt has to accept that their friendship isn't what he thought. 

The First Electronic Edition of Fire on the Mountain was published by Torquere Press in 2009. I asked Pam the background to the re-release and other questions about her writing. 
  

We've got the fire, now for the grilling!

Thanks for agreeing to an interview, PD.

First up, can I say how much I enjoyed “The Rare Event”. There’s so much m/m released these days,  around 200 a month according to Elisa Rolle. So when someone writes a book that stands out from the crowd, I think it’s worth noting.

The m/m Romance group at Goodreads has a poll of preferred jobs for our heroes. Cops and Private Eyes top the list with 17.3%, followed by cowboys, shifters and military. It wasn’t until near the bottom at 2.3% that business men featured.

I wish I’d known that statistic when I was planning “Red+Blue”! 
I remembered a gay guy commenting in a thread that he wished authors would write about people in everyday jobs. So as I can’t resist a challenge I wrote about an actuary working for an insurance company. I did mention I liked a challenge didn’t I?

However, the thought of writing about hedge fund traders like you did in “The Rare Event” never crossed my mind. Brilliant! And you did it so well.

Now to make you sing for your supper!

AB: What fascinates me about your writing is that both "Maroon" and "The Rare Event" centre on a worldwide catastrophe, yet in neither case do you actually include the catastrophe in the story. Was this a deliberate decision?

PD: With the Rare Event, the whole catastrophe was just too large and spread over time, so I had to tackle a chunk of it. With Maroon, the call was for a story to go with a color, and being Attila the Pun, maroon meant ships to me. I have an Age of Sail story meant for that call, but I couldn’t make the ending come out happy without bending history to the breaking point. Then I found one of Walter Lord’s Titanic books, which had a tidbit that became a central plot point. With the Titanic, you are limited to a few possible outcomes to get a happy ending, and a reunion in heaven has already been done. If you can’t pick out the event, let me know; I’ll tell you.

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