mm romance

Interactive Gay Romance

October 24, 2014 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Sid Rivers and Jack Brown are two sides of the same coin. One is a lawyer with his own firm and dreams of money and power; the other is a criminal with a lengthy record and a quest for vengeance. When they meet, sparks fly. But was their meeting an accident? Or was it planned by the billionaires who want to control their destiny?

The Love of Wicked Men is an erotic journey into the underbelly of the legal profession, the corporate culture of profit-at-any-cost, and the secret world of industrial espionage.

How is Wicked Men interactive?

This book is serialized fiction. That means it will come out in episodes and readers will get a chance to influence the story as it is written! [Read more…] about Interactive Gay Romance

Bad Boys, Hot Lovers

October 13, 2014 By Brandon 3 Comments

Let’s face it, we like bad boys. The badder, the better. Maybe because we’re all so square that we like the obtuse angles they come with. Honestly, I don’t know the attraction. But damn, who can keep from looking…

As with most indie writers, my time is squeezed by the realities of modern life. I’ve decided to offer Wicked Men as a series of short episodes. This will enable me to focus on each section of the story and offer it to you faster than I could if I simply published the entire book at one time.

Also, in serializing, I am giving my readers the opportunity to help write the story with me.

From the beginning, I never know how a story will turn out. I have an idea how it might end, but nothing is ever set in permanent ink. The development of characters, beta input, the muse, my mood, the amount of time I have for writing and research, they all affect the final outcome of a story. But this time I want to invite you into my writing process and into the world of Wicked Men. Be aware that the characters are not particularly nice people. They are vain, corrupt, contemptuous, and look down on almost everyone around them because of their wealth and power. I invite you to help me teach them a lesson in humility. [Read more…] about Bad Boys, Hot Lovers

It’s Erotica, so it’s … Badly Written?

August 29, 2014 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Welcome Todd Young to the blog with an excerpt from his latest, Naked.

Todd Young’s first book, Corrupted, was released in 2010. Since then he has published five other titles, most recently, Angel, a companion to the “beautifully psychotic” Subject 19. His work sits on the borderline between gay erotica and m/m romance.

Essentially, I’m writing erotica, but I want it to be as engaging as any other type of fiction. I don’t see any reason why a book should lack in terms of storyline, characters, theme or any other aspect merely because it contains sex, as though this in itself were some reason to deem the book unworthy.

While my stories are sexual fantasies, rich in absurdism, I work hard to imbue them with a deeper meaning and a quality of unexpectedness. I’d like the reader to close the book with the sense of having read something worthwhile.

Naked, my shortest book, is my current favorite. I’m pleased with it’s complexity and the way the plot is revealed. As one reviewer put it, it’s “creepy and deeply unsettling.

In this scene, Leigh has broken into a strange house.

Excerpt

The staircase creaked. Leigh slid along the drywall, his head turned toward the light spilling onto the staircase from the window on the landing. As he neared the second floor he squatted, and then climbed a little further, spread-eagled on his hands and feet.

He lifted his head and peered through the banisters.

No one — on this side of the hall at least. The staircase rising above his head blocked anything that might be lurking at the foot of it.

But the music sounded as though it was coming from the attic. Definitely from the attic, Leigh decided, as he stepped onto the landing and stood with his back against the window. [Read more…] about It’s Erotica, so it’s … Badly Written?

Hot n Horny in the days before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

July 25, 2014 By Brandon Leave a Comment

I asked acclaimed gay novelist Elliott Mackle to stop by and tell us about his Captain Joe Harding historical romance series. Several of my own fans pointed me in his direction and nominated the books for a 2014 LGBT Book Gem so, here he is, as requested.

I’ve said elsewhere that my Captain Joe Harding series is based on four years of Air Force service during the Vietnam era. That’s essentially true, but with reservations. For instance, each of the three novels includes at least one fatal plane crash. During my time in uniform I never witnessed a crash or even a serious mishap. I was a food service officer, not a pilot or air traffic controller.

But most officers, then and now, are assigned what’s called ‘additional duties.’ Among mine, at a Strategic Air Command bomber base in California, was occasional duty as a Disaster Control or Safety Officer. My tasks included driving down three miles of runway, and twice that of taxi way, sometimes at night, checking to make sure no parts had fallen off an aircraft. The potential to damage another plane was real and serious–as happened later, in 2000, outside Paris, when a Continental airliner shed a piece of metal engine cowling that damaged, and doomed, an Air France Concorde taking off right behind it.

I was trained to inspect flight lines, missile sites, maintenance areas and alert facilities, and to investigate and report on problems such as outdated fire extinguishers or incomplete training records. If an accident occurred, I knew to take charge of rescue operations until a higher-grade or better-qualified officer arrived. [Read more…] about Hot n Horny in the days before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

You Don’t Have to Be Gay to Like Gay Fiction

July 18, 2014 By Brandon 7 Comments

Special Guest Post By Rick Bettencourt.

I’ve always been fascinated with things that cross genres. Cross dressers…cross culture…cross walks. No, wait. That last one. Never mind.

I’ve always liked to mix things up a bit. For instance, I’m not a country music lover, but I like Carrie Underwood’s music—and, of course, what gay man doesn’t love Dolly Parton?

When it comes to reading, I’m also diverse. My Kindle is packed with everything from sci fi to romance to personal growth to books about books. Oh, and you’ll even find some straight novels in there. “Well, of course,” you might say. “Most books involve heterosexual characters—mirroring life. Why shouldn’t it?” But, what about the other way around? Straight people reading gay books? Here are a few reasons why you don’t have to be gay to read gay fiction. [Read more…] about You Don’t Have to Be Gay to Like Gay Fiction

The Awkward Conversations of a Gay Romance Writer

July 13, 2014 By Brandon 8 Comments

A lot of my posts are on the serious side, so I thought we’d have some fun and asked fellow authors what kind of reactions they got when someone they knew found out they wrote gay romance. These answers come from both male and female authors alike. Feel free to add the nuances of your own ‘outing’ in the comments. We can always use more lols.

1. You write M/M? Isn’t that like…gay smut?

Not necessarily no, some of it is highly erotic; some of it is based more on love and passion.

[An awkward pause.] Have you had the kind of sex you write about?

[To mom/other relatives/kids]: No, I’m a paragon of Southern gentlemanly virtue.

[To a really hot man-hunk]: You want a test run? That can be arranged. Let me call my agent.

mm romance

How is Wicked Men interactive?

Excerpt

1. You write M/M? Isn’t that like…gay smut?

2. OMG, what if your boss finds out?!