BookWenches

Me? Write Gay Sex?

What does a middle aged, basically straight woman know about men falling in love with men?  Well, you could read my newest release Fire Season and tell me whether you think I know something about it or not. Hee hee. Actually, I have gay friends. My high school sweetheart is gay. I know a little something about this subject.  Still, it certainly seems an odd thing to have a woman writing about a man’s feelings for a man. Yet lots of women do. Z.A. Maxfield, Clare London, Ava March, and Carol Lynne to name a few off the top of my head. Makes you wonder why their books are just as popular, if not more so, than those of A.J. Llewellyn, D.J. Manley, Ethan Day, and Josh Lanyon. 

To me, the common denominator is that they are writers. A good writer can not only think up these scenes, but can commit them to paper with words so vivid it’s as if you’re in the same room with the characters. These same people will tell you that it’s not easy to write a love scene or a sex scene. Yet they do it day in and day out. How much harder must that be when you are writing something you have never experienced? 

I usually write in Word Wars, which is a bunch of authors (most of us 
from Cobblestone Press) getting together in a Yahoo IM conference. One 
of us (usually Dee Carney or L. Shannon) puts time on the clock and 
wields the whip over the rest of us to make us write for the allotted 
time. At the end of the time period, we cheer each other’s word count, 
share a couple of paragraphs, and do it all again. Some of us can do 
20K words in a weekend when we’re warring. 

In WW I have the reputation of writing fast when I’m writing sex scenes. The other authors turn out 400-500 words in 30 minutes. If I’m writing sex, 700 words isn’t unheard of for a 30 minute session. However, those 700 word sessions are usually M/F sex scenes. Stuff I’ve done and know. Since I’m not a man who has sex with men, writing Fire Season’s sex scenes dragged a little as I figured out the logistics. Writing the descriptions of what they looked like and felt like was easy. Writing men’s reactions to men was hard. 

So here I thought Fire Season would be an easy write. Boy, was I wrong! Writing this book was an intense experience for someone who had only ever written M/M short pieces. I had to take these men from the beginning of their relationship right through the HEA. It was an incredible experience and I was drained at the end. 

Now, I have the incredible nail biting joy of sitting back and waiting for all of you to buy this book, read it, and weigh in on it.  And I hope you do. I’m on a tour of the internet this month it seems. Lots of guest blogging, lots of interviews. That gives all of you time to comment on Fire Season and tell me what you thought of Holden and Garret. 

Here’s some info on Fire Season, my first full-length M/M novel. 

Title: Fire Season - Tales of the Darkworld Book 3
Author: Lex Valentine
Publisher: Pink Petal Books
Genre: erotic shape shifter (dragon) m/m romance
Length: novel (55,000 words)
Price: $4.95
ISBN# 978-0-9824885-9-1
Cover Art by RottNRoll Productions

BUY LINK

BLURB:
Black dragon Holden Antaeus isn't looking for a mate. His life is filled with family, work, and dating. Women adore him and he's never short of offers for sex, but a relationship isn't something he's interested in. When Holden's brother Sean hires a new executive for Antaeus International, Holden's whole world, and everything he's ever believed about himself, is blown to bits. Garret Renquist is a green dragon, intelligent, witty, bi-sexual, and hot for Holden. Despite the fact that Holden is positive he's heterosexual, the moment he meets Garret, something happens inside him. What follows is a journey through stereotypes and ingrained beliefs as Holden struggles with the fact that his destined mate is a man.

Excerpt:
Holden wanted to look over his shoulder to see Garret’s reaction. He didn’t. He returned to the main room of the suite and picked up his water, wandering out to the balcony to watch the sun rise. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes later that he heard a soft sound that told him Garret had joined him.

“Holden, I’m sorry.”

The softly spoken words caused Holden to release his breath on a sigh. “I am too, Garret.” He turned, his gaze caught and held by Garret’s. A wave of emotion, mostly indefinable, rose within him, causing an ache in his chest.

Garret swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Holden sensed Garret’s discomfort, but stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. He gave the man points for holding his gaze when by rights he probably wanted to look anywhere else.

“I was angry and disappointed and confused. When Rob came on to me in the bar…” Garret broke off and swallowed again. “I didn’t think you would care what I did, but that is no excuse. It’s just an explanation of my motivation. I know it was wrong of me to bring him back here on the day I found you. I’m so sorry.”

It had been a long time since Holden had met someone with the level of integrity that Garret had just shown. “I’m sorry too, Garret,” he replied in a low voice. “This whole thing was such a shock. And I know that’s not an excuse for my behavior. It’s just an explanation.”

He smiled as he repeated Garret’s words. The British man’s eyes lightened as a smile curved his lips. Holden caught a glimpse of brilliant white teeth as Garret’s smile flashed out and he suddenly felt sucker punched, his gut twisting with emotion. The urge to reach out and touch Garret overwhelmed him, just like the man’s scent filled his senses, until all he could think about was asking him to repeat yesterday’s kiss.

Garret’s eyes flickered. “You realize that a lot of what you think and feel bleeds out to me now,” he murmured. “Despite your natural shielding.”

Holden sucked in a breath. “If you know what I’m thinking then just do it, Garret, ‘cause the gods know I can’t yet,” he said in a shaky voice, feeling his heart begin to race.

Garret took the three steps needed to bring their bodies within inches of each other. Holden began to shake a little with fear and anticipation. The first kiss had been a surprise and filled with anger on both sides. This would be their first real kiss. They both acknowledged that they were mates, and that they felt some emotion pulling at them along with a steadily growing attraction. Regardless of the previous kiss, Holden didn’t know what to expect and when Garret’s hand came up to wrap around the back of his neck, he stiffened a little at first. Then fire licked through his veins at the feel of Garret’s warm palm on his bare skin. He shook harder.

“Don’t be afraid, Holden. It’s just a kiss.”

Garret’s soft whisper accompanied the press of his thumb against the underside of Holden’s jaw. Reflexively, he tilted his chin up and Garret’s mouth came down on his. Lust swept through his body as Garret expertly parted his lips. Holden gasped a little opening his mouth wider as Garret’s tongue glided easily against his own, the wet heat sending lightning bolts of desire shooting through him. This time when Garret’s hips brushed his, he didn’t move, letting the man press his growing erection against him. His own cock started to respond, twitching inside his shorts.

Just as Holden was about to let go and kiss Garret back, the British man broke off the kiss on a long shuddering sigh. “I think we need to go downstairs before I forget that you’ve never been with a man before, Holden,” he said in a shaken voice.

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