Posted by Charlotte Kirton on 20th November 2015
Yep—I’m dancing the happy dance!
I love writing M/M stories! What’s weird about it is that writing this kind of story was always my inclination. I love men. Desire them. Enjoy them. Struggle with my obsession over them. Yet, I resisted that for most of my life. I twisted myself into a knot trying to conform to the idea that the only “real” art was literary. That was the kind of writing I was supposed to do. Despite the fact that two (or more) sweaty men panting and thrashing together under the sheets continually stole my thoughts from my more lofty literary pursuits.
I never felt at home in my literary aspirations. Oh, I did write the “literary” book. I published it myself. I got a five star review but no comments from readers. It’s good. I know that. But it’s more than that too. It was—at the risk of sounding melodramatic—my rescuer. Even in that book I couldn’t keep a couple of my male characters from falling into bed with each other. Because it was “literary” I wasn’t writing graphic sex scenes. But I was curious about how other writers wrote those scenes so I did a little research—and, WOW! Yippee! It’s a freaking candy store out there.
I found book after book of gay and M/M erotic romances. To me, that was like finding a gold and diamond mine all wrapped up in one. I bought one book then another and another and— well, you get the picture. And then I had my epiphany—I can do that! I can write that kind of book. And so I did. I wrote Backbone.
Thank you, Totally Entwined Group! Thank you, Pride Publishing! Writing my love and getting published is my dream come true.
But dreams have a lovely fuzziness about them. My dreams didn’t include contracts and edits and deadlines. But still. The publishing process was an interesting, exciting experience. I actually tested myself against the pressure to produce—to get it done—to turn out quality material within a timeframe not of my own choosing.
Before Backbone, there was no pressure to my writing. I wrote daily, but really, who would care if I didn’t? Who would know? Nothing was riding on it. Nobody was counting on me. My dreams didn’t include websites, blogs, Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter. It included writing, not promotion. I’ll confess—I was screaming scared of the promotional side of things. Introvert here! Shy.
Twitter? OMG! Nobody will follow me. Who am I kidding?
My real life now has the hard edges of deadlines and constant attention to social media, but it is crystal clear to me that this is what I want—what I love to do. Men in love! Hot sex! Making people happy! Now that’s a dream come true.
Get your copy of Backbone here.
Follow Kayleigh Sky on Twitter here.
Be the first to receive the latest news and exclusive offers straight to your inbox.
