We welcome Ella Frank to the Blog of Sid Love. Ms. Frank is well-known for her romance novels. She visits us today for an interview on her recently published book Try, book one in the Temptation series. This is her first gay romance publication.
Welcome Ella, and thank you for visiting our blog.
Ella Frank: Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be invited to stop by.
Sid Love: Your new publication, Try, is getting quite a buzz, in fact, there was a lot of excitement about it before publication. You’ve built your following with hetero romance, what made you decide to write a gay romance book? And why now?
EF: The best answer to this is, I love reading gay romance and I have for several years now. I have always thought about dipping my toes into this genre, but no character had really captured my attention, until Logan showed up.
SL: Logan certainly is a force to be reckoned with! How did you find writing ‘Try’ compared to your normal M/F romances? Was it harder, easier?
EF: I found it ‘different’. That’s not to say it was harder or easier, just a new POV, but all of my books are written from male and female POV’s. So it wasn’t too hard to slip into two male POV’s.
SL: What was the most challenging thing about it?
EF: Both genre’s M/F and M/M have their challenges, but I will say it was a change dealing with all of the same equipment, so to say, in each intimate scene. It was a challenge that I enjoyed taking.
SL: Logan has some great lines in the story (“Batter up! I want to play with some balls.” being one of our favorites.) Is he a fun character to write?
EL: Logan is a lot of fun to write. He presents a front for about 80% of this book. It’s cocky, confident and arrogant, but having said that he has a lot more going on behind that facade, and that will be discovered in book two.
Book one in their story was written exactly as it was described, and people going in thinking it will be anything other than a bisexual man, going after a straight man, will be dissapointed. This is two weeks, and two men who
discover they want one another, and THEN it will get into the hard choices they have to face after they have discovered that IS what they want.
SL: It will be great to see that development in the next book. Which character came to you the easiest, Logan or Tate?
EF: Logan. His personality, that bossy side and sarcasm he hides behind to mask his past, comes easy to me. Tate is still somewhat mysterious and unraveling him will be more difficult.
SL: Yeah, Tate is an enigma as we watch him uncover another side to his sexuality. Both guys are bisexual, which one would you want to date?
EF: Tate. I fell in love with him the minute I realized how honest and brave he was. He takes a while to come around, but once he does he never backs away from the feelings he is experiencing.
SL: Tate is our favorite too, he’s incredibly open-minded when you think about it… taking on sex with another man for the first time is no small thing. How did writing the sex scenes differ?
EF: I think I touched a little on it above, but he main difference when it came to the sexual scenes was the anatomy I was working with. I still went after them as I always do, I made them detailed, raw and as accurate as I could get them after discussing and reasearching. I wanted it sexually stimulating, and hot.
SL: Yeah, about that, ummm, any special research done for the man on man sex scenes you could share with us?
EF: LOL, I clocked up a lot of internet video time, Tate wasn’t the only one watching porn. I also made sure for certain scenes, to poll several gay male friends who were more than happy to help out in the research. Plus, I have read the genre and enjoyed it.
SL: Okay, that sounds like some fun research, LOL! I have to ask about the opening scene in the book, in the airplane… Isn’t it risky starting off a M/M book with a M/F (het) scene? What was your reasoning behind this?
EF: Why? This question is interesting to me, merely because if you read the back of the book, the blurb clearly states that Logan is a bisexual and Tate is a straight male. To me, this leads one to believe that there would be ‘some’ kind of het scene in the book.
I have read many discussions lately on a het scenes in M/M books. I understand that some are against this, but honestly there is no set formula for writing any book. I don’t think someone who reads a M/M book that has one or two het scenes in it and loves it, is less of a M/M lover because of it, and I don’t think a writer putting one in a book makes them less of a M/M author. Every book is different and this was how Logan’s (the bisexual) journey began.
SL: You make a good point. But the risk is implied because of the standard that hetero romance adheres to — if a M/F romance had started off with a scene featuring M/M sex… well, it would be very interesting to see how those fans would react to that… It’s a double standard that hasn’t been resolved as yet in the romance genre… A discussion for another time, perhaps.
Logan is a driven kind of guy — at least in the beginning he sees his interaction with Tate as a game (‘Oh hell. He had no chance of winning this game, and he knew it.’) Why is he so keen on ‘winning’?
EF: He’s a lawyer, he doesn’t like to loose. He is also the kind of man not use to being told no, so when Tate tells him no, it’s game on. He sees what he wants and he goes after it. It isn’t until he finally gets it, that he realizes that he wants to hang onto it.
SL: We were taken with Tate’s metamorphosis, it’s remarkable how quickly he falls for Logan. He’s only known Logan for about 2 weeks and he really has to play catch-up. What makes Tate so flexible?
EF: Tate is brave and honest in my mind, with everything he says and does. He holds himself responsible for his actions and doesn’t back down from his choices. He stands behind his decisions, once he makes up his mind, and does it.
He came out of a crappy marriage and hasn’t really ‘been’ with anyone since. When Logan appears, he pursues him relentlessly and Tate is flattered at first before confused and then finally shocked. Then he starts to come around and admit to himself, hey maybe there is more to this. I don’t think he falls too fast, there is no proclamation of love, it’s more a curiosity and lust that is first discovered and played out, then more starts to happen in his head..so yes, he is headed that way, but he’s not quite there yet, by any means.
SL: We only get the end of Tate’s marriage in the story and we really know nothing much about his ex, Diana, except that she comes from a fairly well-off family. What did he see in her in the first place? (Why did he marry her?)
EL: This will be explored in book two, their families and their past relationships all come into play. Book one was focusing solely on getting to know both men and their first two weeks and discovering one another, before families intervene.
SL: Why did Diana hate Tate’s bar-tending job?
EF: I would definitely say she didn’t like the hours, and the patrons hitting on her husband. Well now ex-husband. Not to mention, she does come from money, so somewhere in her head I am sure she thought the job wasn’t what she envisioned her husband doing.
SL: Women in gay romances are often not portrayed in a positive light, they come off as the shrew or the conniving bitch on one hand, or the close but often annoying friend on the other. What do you think about how women are often represented in slash romance?
EL: Well, I think each book is different. The ex-wife is never going to be happy with their husband falling for anyone, much less man, so that formula seems normal, especially in a GFY. As for Jill, who happens to be his sister, whether I had made Tate have a brother or a sister the reaction was going to be the same – but it’s a family dynamic not a ‘woman’ thing. Rachel, who is his brother Cole’s wife, is very accepting and will be in book two and I don’t find her to be a shrew or annoying in anyway, but I suppose I wouldn’t because I wrote her. I suppose it’s all how you read it.
SL: Would you call this a GFY romance? In his job, Tate is used to come-ons from both women and men so he’s had the opportunity both ways. Could he have fallen for anyone other than Logan?
EF: I would call this GFY yes. Tate falls for Logan, he’s not interested in anyone else, so yes. This is a GFY novel.
SL: Let’s find out a little about you… Who has influenced you the most in your writing?
EF: No one really. That seems odd to say, but I have written since I was a teen and was just encouraged to keep going. I read so many types of books nothing in particular has influenced me, except wonderful relationships. I love examining them. I find it fascinating to watch people fall in love. So anyone that tells a good love story and has a strong family dynamic usually is what influences me, and that can be an author, a director or my next door neighbor.
SL: Do you have a favorite M/M author? Book?
EF: I have several including, Marie Sexton, SJ Frost, LA Witt, Abigail Roux, Damon Suede, Josh Lanyon just to name a few, but there are so many that I have read and admired. I find it interesting that people are shocked to hear I have been reading the genre for awhile. I didn’t just wake up and decide to do this. I respect these authors and love their stories and their work and I am excited to now be in contact and talking to people in this part of the indie and published world.
SL: Well, we welcome you and your fans to this part of the romance world, and look forward to their also discovering all the great authors slash has to offer!
To close, can you give us any hints about your plans for Logan and Tate in the next book, Take? Oh, and have to ask… will there be any M/F sex in that one?
EF: Sure, Take will focus on their families and relationships from the past, and how they overcome the obstacles that will undoubtedly stand in their way if they plan to move forward.
No. I do not see any het scenes in book two, is that because of a reaction or two from book one? Not at all. But Logan and Tate are together now, and neither are interested in sharing.
SL: Good to know. Thank you for your time and letting us get to know you and Try better.
EF: Thank you for having me. Xx Ella
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TRY
BLURB: Try – verb: to make an attempt or effort to do something or in this case…someone.
Sex. Logan Mitchell loves it, and ever since he realized his raw sexual appeal at a young age, he has had no problem using it to his advantage. Men and women alike fall into his bed—after all, Logan is not one to discriminate. He lives by one motto—if something interests you, why not just take a chance and try?
And he wants to try Tate Morrison.
Just coming out of a four-year marriage with an ex-wife from hell, a relationship is the last thing on Tate’s mind. He’s starting fresh and trying to get back on his feet with a new job at an upscale bar in downtown Chicago.
The only problem is, Tate has caught the unwavering and unwelcome attention of Mr. Logan Mitchell – a regular at the bar and a man who always gets what he wants.
Night after night Tate fends off the persistent advances of the undeniably charismatic man, but after an explosive moment in the bar, all bets are off as he finds his body stirring with a different desire than his mind.
As arrogance, stubbornness and sexual tension sizzles between the two, it threatens to change the very course of their lives.
Logan doesn’t do relationships. Tate doesn’t do men. But what would happen if they both just gave in and…tried?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am the author of the Exquisite Series, including Exquisite, Entice and Edible. I also released my first Erotic Novel, Blind Obsession in March 2013.
I’m a happily married woman and mother to a crazy cat. I’ve been writing ever since I fell in love with falling in love, and I credit that to my Nan, who handed me my first romance novel.
Currently, I reside in the Southern portion of the United States.
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