For the fifth stop on our Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven tour, we’re here at the home of writer Kissa Starling, with featured author EM Lynley.
One of EM’s books, “Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells” got the Coffee Time Recommended Read Award “above and beyond a 5-cup rating.” It was also a Talking TwoLips Reviewer’s choice, so make sure to check out the excerpt below! EM will kick off today’s post with her answer to the question of the day:How did you get started writing m/m (or erotica, depending on your genres)?
EM Lynley: Like a lot of other m/m writers, I first discovered m/m or slash by way of online fan fiction and marveled at how so many of the stories were as good as published works. There were also plenty of not-so-well-written stories and during a conversation about some of them with a couple of good friends, I threw out what seemed like a completely far-fetched premise for a story. My friends immediately dared me to write it, and it turned out to be about 80,000 words by the time I’d finished! I’d been posting online chapter-by-chapter and gotten so many wonderful comments and compliments and I was hooked on writing! I had such a great time writing and sharing my stories for about a year and half when eventually a few close friends supported my decision to try and get published, and the rest, as they say, is history! Here’s what the rest of the Ornery Eleven have to say about their start writing erotica!
Jamaica Layne: I started writing erotica sort of by accident, when I realized that a lot of my non-erotic work had a lot of sexual undertones. Since I was a longtime fan of the genre (dating back to my teen years) it seemed like a natural fit.
Lisa Lane: When writing my erotic scenes, I close my eyes and take in as many senses as I can. I like my erotica to be sensual, as well as arousing, and so I ask myself: What is the feel to the room? What smells/tastes are there to experience? Is it warm? Soft? Dim? What are my characters feeling?
Isabel Roman: After reading many romance novels, I came to the realization there wasn’t enough sex in them. So it’s my mission to correct that flaw J.
Neve Black: I just sat down one day and started writing. I submitted the story and voila! I was published.
Inara LaVey: I wrote a short story for my boyfriend and submitted it to Ravenous a few years later. The rest, as they say, is history. Or will be a few years from now.
C. Margery Kempe: It’s something I’ve always written, although usually for a select audience. When Lori announced the founding of Ravenous at Necon last year, I suddenly thought “hey! I could make some money with this.”Savannah Chase: I was always writing love stories. I started in music writing lyrics and that was my way to express myself and my feelings. I would write songs that were mini love stories. Those songs turned into actual stories between two characters that would get longer and hotter.
Angela Cameron: My husband actually pushed me to start writing erotica, as a personal challenge. After I sold to a few pay sites, things evolved until I started writing erotic romance. Now, even the published horror novella that I have features some steamy sex scenes.
Elle Amery: I wanted to write romance, but found that many of my storylines involved sex in a way that couldn’t be extricated from the storyline; for example, in Grace on Fire, Grace Muscat thought she needed sex lessons to banish the fear of men her abusive ex-husband had instilled in her. Plus, as I wrote, all the romantic scenes ended up lengthy and highly descriptive. I was faced with the choice of toning the stories down, or ramping them up a bit – and as you can see, I chose the latter!
Sèphera Girón: I first got my feet wet in erotica when Nancy Kilpatrick asked me to co-ghost write a couple of her Darker Passions books. I really enjoyed it and have been doing it ever since. I did dabble in erotica a bit before that but knew nothing about fetish and bdsm until then.
And now for an excerpt from Em’s best-selling novel “Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells.”“So, what’s it like?” Jaxon asked, obviously feeling more relaxed from the effects of the alcohol.“What’s what like?” Kieran asked, clueless about what Jaxon was getting at.“Kissing a guy?”“Huh?”“What’s it like to kiss a guy? Jesus, you hard of hearing or something?” Jaxon was leaning in close to Kieran and speaking softly, clearly aware that this wasn’t a conversation either of them would want overheard. No one was seated near enough to them to be a concern, but Kieran certainly didn’t mind when Jaxon closed the space between them.“No, it’s just a strange question, that’s all.”“Why?”“Fuck, you ask more questions than I do, and I get paid for it.” Kieran grinned.“You’re obviously not very good at your job, are you?” Jaxon laughed. “So, answer!”“I don’t think of it the way you do, that’s why it’s hard to answer. I think about kissing someone I’m attracted to, and kissing someone that gets you hot is great.”“Hmm. So what kind of guy attracts you? What about that guy?” Jaxon pointed to a nice looking, well-built blonde sitting across the room at a table with two other men.“Don’t point at people!” Kieran said, grabbing Jaxon’s arm. “Fuck, didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” But he was laughing, both at Jaxon’s pointing and at his apparently insatiable curiosity about Kieran’s sex life.“Aha, that guy must be your type, or you wouldn’t make such a fuss,” Jaxon teased.“He’s not actually,” Kieran replied. He didn’t realize he still had his hand on Jaxon’s arm. Suddenly, Kieran was very aware, and he could feel the heat radiating through the thin cotton of Jaxon’s sleeve though Jaxon didn’t seem to even notice that Kieran was still touching him. Reluctantly, Kieran pulled his hand back, feeling somewhat embarrassed about the thoughts about Jaxon that were now racing through his head and traveling rapidly in the direction of his cock. He shifted in his seat as his jeans began to feel uncomfortably tight.“Oh, you can’t fool me, Kieran,” Jaxon went on in a taunting tone that only exacerbated the growing problem in Kieran’s pants. “Looks like you’re kinda shy and blushing over there. Maybe I’m right after all, huh?”“Fuck off!” Kieran responded, wondering what the fuck his body was telling him.“Anyone else here you’re attracted to?” Jaxon asked with a sly smile. Was it Kieran’s imagination or did Jaxon just get a lot closer to him? Their legs weren’t just brushing together; now Jaxon’s leg was brushing up against Kieran’s, sending more pleasurable shockwaves to his cock. And Kieran was enjoying that entirely too much. Was Jaxon doing this on purpose? Kieran wondered.
Remember to leave a comment; it automatically enters you to win a copy of Sex, Lies, & Wedding Bells. We’ll also be giving away three $5.00 gift certificates for Ravenous on three random stops. You won’t know which ones until the tour is over, so visit as many as you can! And if you leave a comment on every stop in the RR Ornery Eleven BBT, you’re eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Ravenous Romance!
Thanks so much for stopping by and thank you, Kissa, for hosting us!
Please visit The Countess for another question of the day and our featured author Jamaica Layne!
Kissa recommends you visit the Ravenous Romance Blog at http://www.rrauthors.blogspot.com
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Hi Em,
I wish you much success with your writng . Love Kieran and Jax.
I ‘ve been reading little snippets and excerpts about this book for awhile now. I love it so far and will definitely be buying it to finish it.
Carol L.
I loved the excerpt from “Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells”, it sounds like it will be a good read. I have added it to my list.
Wow — has Ravenous got some hot books or what? I spend so much time writing that I haven’t had enough time to read all my colleagues and I am clearly missing out! I love hearing all the different ways people came to this genre. Just goes to show you don’t know the path you’re on until your feet are already walking it.
Great post! On with the tour!
Hi Kissa, nice website. Clean, easy to navigate and my comments are being eaten alive (that’s not in the good way).
E.M., First of all, congratulations on all your kudos and great reviews for your novel. That’s awesome! I really enjoy the M/M genre. I think it’s fascinating. Hmmm…that’ll teach your friends to dare you, huh? lol.
What are you working on now?
And another day of our tour begins!
I’m in the middle reading Em’s book. I’ve read one of her shorter works and loved it – she’s my first foray into M/M and gotta say, the characters and their relationships are so well written and believable that the transition from traditional m/f wasn’t hard at all.
Kissa, your website is lovely!
Kissa, thanks so very much for hosting us and featuring my book today! You have such a lovely site, I can see myself spending a lot of time here reading around!
Carol & Becky: welcome to our tour and thank you so much for the lovely comments about the excerpt
I hope you’ll enjoy the book!
–EM
Margery & Neve: it’s such a great compliment to hear you both liked this excerpt and that I might get at least one more person to give m/m romance a shot! I’m sure you’ll be hooked once you start reading it, just the way I was . One of the things I love best about m/m is that in every book you get at least TWO hot guys to fall for, rather than just one. And trust me, these characters might be gay but you will fall for them!
What a beautiful blog, Kissa! You ladies are lookin’ goooooood! Dont forget to stop for a drink here and there!
Keep the cards and letters comin’
Rachel
Oh, Em, you’re such a tease – just as things were getting interesting… (Yes, I know I’m straight, but big perv that I am, I love a good m/m sex scene, too – clearly I’ve been hanging around Em too long!) Great stuff.
Loved hearing how everyone got into this racket; Savannah, what a wonderful way to get into writing erotica! I also loved Lisa’s comment on her process (nice!)- but I think the wrong one got posted today. Lisa, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a genre like this?
BTW, sorry I’m late today – Don’t tell Dana, but it’s all C. Margery’s fault, wicked minx – she kept me in bed all morning, her and her friend Chastity Flame. I just couldn’t get enough of those two! Even though I had things to do and places to go, I just couldn’t say no to them, and frolicked with them for hours. I told myself “Just one chapter this a.m. Oh, wait, that was TWO chapters. Well, just one MORE chapter. Okay, just one more AND THAT’S IT, PERIOD. Then I just had to re-read chapter Four one more time (Rrrower!) and now here I am… No, Margery! I have things to do today!
-D
Em! Want some coffee?
NOTE! The link to EM’s website is currently incorrect: it’s http://www.emlynley.com. We’re working with our host to get that fixed.
Tour Management
EM, nice: two hot guys to fall for. How could anyone not love that set up? I’m raising my hand.
David, LOL. “…loved hearing how everyone got into this racket….” Boy, you’re not kidding. It can feel like that sometimes.
EM, what hot two or maybe three studs are you working on now? Care to share? Please (begging). haha.
Also from Tour Management – the giveaway today is a copy of EM’s book, Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells! So insert THAT giveaway here!
For anyone who’s interested in getting a copy of Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells, here’s the link:
http://www.ravenousromance.com/panamour/sex-lies-and-wedding-bells.php
Since Neve asked: I’m currently working on another novel for Ravenous: Rarer than Rubies, another m/m story with action, adventure and lots of hot manly love, inspired by “Romancing the Stone,” but set in Thailand. I also have a couple of shorts I’m working on, one of which will come out from Ravenous soon and another for a BDSM antho!
Thanks for asking!
Em, I bought this a while back and still haven’t had the chance to read it. It will be the first m/m story I’ve read because it’s something I’ve never thought I’d be interested in. I’m a little nervous about that, but the excerpts are hot. Even to a m/m virgin.
Great answers. It’s interesting how we all came to this. Different, but alike in so many ways.
Angela,
that’s a great compliment that you chose my book as your first! It’s actually a great choice since it’s much more romance than erotica, though the sex scenes are hot. Since one of the characters thinks he’s straight and finds out he isn’t, I think it’s a great way to expand readers’ ideas of love and sex as well.
David — you are a HOOT! (irony? my anti-spam word was “laugh”!) What can I say but “always agree!” I’m glad Chas is keeping you occupied. Such a minx! Chapter Four, eh? I see you lot the hot F/F action. Well, it helps to know how to play to the audience.
Em — I love M/M stories! My story in Experimental is a M/M 50s SF movie pastiche. I’m working on an M/M historical now. It is great playing with two hot male bodies at once, eh?
Dana – Mutant and Asylum, it is! LOL.
Phew! Back up here! I couldn’t get onto the site for the last hour. I’m hoping that’s ’cause traffic is hopping!
I’d like to know what EM and the rest of you writers/readers thinks it is about M/M fiction that women find so attractive!
Margery, Dave is indeed a hoot and he was indeed engrossed in Chastity Flame this morning when I left, to the dismay of our felines, who were expecting breakfast. I woke up late, so it was Daddy duty today! So I told them to blame their Auntie Margery.
Asylum, paging Mutant!
SEX, LIES, AND WEDDING BELLS is in my TBR list. It looks fantastic. I have gotten terribly behind on reading, despite my desire to plow through every Ravenous title released. Who’s got the whip?
I’ve got a whip, Lisa, but I’ll need someone to use it on me to get my WIP finished! SO tempted by reading…
A repeat announcement here because it’s important:
NOTE! The link to EM’s website is currently incorrect: it’s http://www.emlynley.com. We’re working with our host to get that fixed.
Tour Management
Mutant here!
Elle had problems posting. Unless something changed, she’s at RT She says:
“Can’t seemto post to kissa’s blog…Let her and EM know I’ve tried to stop by, and tell them hi and how much I enjoyed the blog post today.”
Hey, Mutant! Thanks for giving us Elle’s message – I had some trouble getting onto the post and/or posting comments earlier. If anyone else reports this, let me know so we can redirect to Zhadi’s Den for an emergency secondary stop. I put up the correct website info for EM, plus the sell link there and if people leave comments there instead, I’ll count them towards the giveaway!
I love to read, and anything except shoot-em-up westerns works for me. I love romance, whether its m/f, m/m, f/f, or a combination there of, not that important. As long as the romance is there, and the steamy scenes are still tasteful as well as steamy (not just gratuitous) I’m happy.
Nancy G aka joshgranny
Kissa, I bet you’re off at RT about now! We’re all seething with envy, doncha know…
Interesting!
adding this book to my “to read” list too – the tour is stacking that list daily so far
I can’t believe how hard-working you ornery 11 are! Cheers to another great blog post!
Not much I can add to what the other authors have said. So I’ll just wish you all the best success you can achieve. Just keep at it and the sky is the limit. LOL.
Nancy, it’s great to see you at every stop! And you too, Sheina, Jack and now Jess! We Ornery Eleven are hard-working…and…and ornery! Glad to see people making it here and able to leave comments!
I think we need to come up with a nickname for the Nancy, Jess, Sheina…and the ones who show up daily. Hmmm.
The Faithful Ones? Ravenous Junkies?
Wow — a lot of people are showing up for these things, even while a huge conference in our area is going on. Good to see you all here for the ride!
EM, I love your characters and your writing style in Sex, Lie, and Wedding Bells. I can see why the reviewers raved about it. Rarer Than Rubies sounds very intriguing–great title, great setting. Good luck with it.
And thanks, fellow RR writers, for lots of insightful commentary. Hope you’re enjoying the tour as much as I’m enjoying following along.
Just stopping back again to say, hi. I re-read my earlier comment: “EM, nice: two hot guys to fall for. How could anyone not love that set up? I’m raising my hand.”
I’m a dork. I meant, I’m raising my hand saying, Oooooh, ooooh, please pick me!
It’s great to see such a wonderful turn out.
p.s. your new writing adventure sounds wonderful.
Ravenous Junkies. Sounds like there should be a twelve step program for that. I like it!
Yes, but the 12 Step program will make people want to buy MORE Ravenous Books… heheheheh…
Sorry everyone that I’m so late! What is classes at my college most of the day and didn’t have a chance to stop by until now. Today’s answers were very interesting and I see everyone has been chatting like crazy today.
Hi, Phoebe! You’re not late ’cause any time is the right time to visit the tour!
I wish I were at RT!!! No such luck. I’m so happy to have EM on my blog today. Yes, all mine, hahaha.
Here’s my answer to the “how did you get started writing erotic” question. (Great question, EM!)
I happened upon a site where I enjoyed reading erotica and submitted something of my own to them- and to my astonishment they published it. After that I saw a call for submissions for a Christmas contest and entered. They didn’t publish my story but offered great tips on revisions. Once I was hooked there was no going back…
Kissa! Did we mention how much we liked the design of your website? The color scheme et al is perfect! Thanks for hosting us and yes, EM is yours for the day. A nice consolation prize if you aren’t at RT!
I admit to being a little behind on the tour, it’s been a rough few days, but I’ve jumped on the bus now and am ready to go! Em, great excerpt!
Isabel, my angel and fellow Sharpe junkie! So glad you made it! Have a drink! And btw, your new cover looks SHARP!!! I think it’s my favorite of your covers yet!
Thanks, Inara! This is a great idea to get the word out there about the fabulous books that Ravenous Romance is releasing. And I’m having an Absolut screwdriver now and signing off…let the mayhem commence! : )
Ooh, Absolut screwdriver… Mayhem… yes, these two things go together!
Hey EM , Kissa, The Rest The of The Ornery Elevena and My Fellow Blog Hoppers!!!
I love knowing how everyone started writting in there genres, and as long as you keep writting I’ll keep reading.
Thanks!!
~Afshan
Afshan522@aol.com
I so love this cover and the book is just soo good. If you get the chance do read this book…you will love it
I just got back from work to see my excerpt is now unreadable so no one can get a chance to read it here. I made a special page on my website with this excerpt, which is posted here for the first time. I usually use other excerpts, but today is special!
http://emlynley.com/excerpt_bbt.html
Trying to catch up with all the comments and that’s going to be impossible!
Thanks to all who enjoyed what they could read of the excerpt, and all the lovely comments of people who put me on the TBR pile! I’m so happy to get a few new people introduced to m/m romance!
I enjoyed reading how everyone came to writer erotic romance. Me? I discovered erotic fiction in the mid-90s (well, not counting what girlfriends found in their fathers/brothers drawers & sharing w/ me long, long ago) and enjoyed it so that I decided I could join the women’s erotic movement.
Over time, I discovered my short fiction was veering away from strictly stroke to something more: Explicit erotic that included some facet of human psychology and need, and how need impacted the sexual interaction and relationships of the protagonists.
So when erotic romance emerged, I was already writing short fiction that paralleled it. And when Ravenous came along, the rest was history!
Em, great excerpt!
Ashfan, you made it! Savannah and Debra, glad you caught the bus too! I love hearing all these details from fellow authors, Debra!
EM, even with the formatting issues, your excerpt is great and your writing stands out. You be hot, woman!
Debra,
I loved writing these boys getting to know each other, each thinking they knew what what was what in their lives, and both getting a surprise. Honestly was sorry the story ended 
that’s how much I loved these characters!
Thank you so much for slogging through the excerpt
And one last thank you to Kissa for hosting us!!
Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells sounds great and I love the cover!
Hi Em and Ravenous authors! I do enjoy reading menages and thats how I found some m/m authors. I haven’t read alot but I have read those of paranormals in historicals and loved them. Enjoyed that excerpt!!
Videos and pics of porn on their cellphones,2 of them …more understandable but their all women.weird? they dont even deny that they like it … Its not weird…we like dirty stuff just as much as guys…sometimes more!!
online dating games