Is it just me, or is January one of those months that somehow seems to last forever, and yet manages to fly by without any regard whatsoever to a person’s sanity? And how, you might ask, can a month do both of those things? I can only answer you with an ‘I have no clue.’

I’ve been getting up every morning and glaring at the outside, wishing non-stop for this month to be over (snow is by no means my favorite thing, neither is the cold, and holy hell it’s been both), and I seem no closer to the at-least-somewhat-cheerier month of February, yet here it is the 20th already and I seem to have managed to get very little done.

So either I’m spending too much time online (doubtful these days), working too hard at the day-job (a strong likelihood), or investing a whole lot of time getting ready for my new release in February. (MOMENT OF SELF PIMPAGE: Road Trip, coming to Less Than Three Press, February 13!!). There is also the possibly that somewhere, for some reason, there’s a Time Lord having a whole pile of fun at my expense.

What to do then with my monthly author post? How will I ever find the time to get one together? I can’t let you, my amazing readers, down, and I certainly can’t let down Love Bytes, who have been far too kind to me for those kinds of shenanigans.

Luckily, my dear friend Kelly Wyre has offered to chat with me about writing and offer up some hints, recommendations, and maybe a secret or two.

Kelly, would I be correct in saying that you’ve been writing in this genre for some time now?

Kelly: I’m sorry, I’m still all caught up on the “Time Lord” statement up there. I have this bumper sticker on my car that says, “My Other Ride’s a Tardis.”

Focus, Kelly.

Kelly: Right. Focusing. So focused. Clearly it’s a miracle I can focus long enough to write a book because, yes, I have been writing in this genre for a while. The first novel in the New Amsterdam Series came out in, oh, 2011, I think? Since then there’s been a few novels, a novella, and a handful of short stories, both in that series and stand-alone.

Has the genre, in whole or in part, changed any since you started? If so, why do you think this is the case, and is it for the better or the worse?

Kelly: I think it’s gotten bigger. I have a wall where I hang inspiring art and various other things, and one of them is a framed article from Cosmo talking about the “new trend that’s turning women on.” There’s a picture from the HBO Series True Blood of two men making out. The magazine makes a point to say women are loving the whole man-on-man action, and now it’s showing up in “main stream.” That article came out in 2012. Bigger is better, as they say, but I’d also add the caveat that it’s all in how you use the size.

Because I believe the publishing industry as a whole – in this genre and every genre out there – is trying to figure out its new “Gold Standard.” The publishing industry is facing what the music industry faced in the days of NAPSTER (and for you kids too young to remember, that was the first “sharing” program that allowed you to gank music for free). It used to be in publishing, you got an agent, you got a contract, you got books in brick-and-mortar stores, and you went on book tours. That was how you knew you’d made it as an author, and, even more interestingly, that was how readers knew they were buying a solid investment. If you found a book at a bookstore, then it was likely worth a try. You might not like the story, but you knew it’d be clean of typos, well-executed, and attractive on the page. Readers took chances on what they thought would be a good bet.

While there are still major publishing houses, contracts, agents, and a steadily-dwindling number of bricks-and-mortar stores out there and plenty of authors who are given the chance to go that route, I think the landscape is changing. Thanks to Amazon, anyone can publish an ebook. And we saw that this phenomenon can become with the Shades of Gray fiasco. And yes, I say “fiasco” because the writing in that series is so profoundly terrible that it’s created an entire cultural phenomenon of people who want to buy it and read it simply because it’s bad. I think that’s a shame considering there are so many authors with well-written and beautifully executed prose who sit on the shelf because they don’t have the audacity factor going for them; they’re just great stories and the media doesn’t care about good. It cares about scandalous.

Now, I say all that, being all negative and dissing trends, but I also think it’s a fantastic thing that the world is opening up to so many authors who can write and publish their works in ways previously unavailable. Change ain’t all bad. Not in the least. I know I’ve found some incredible Indie authors thanks to Kindle, ebooks, and self-publishing routes. Just like in music when MySpace because a hunting ground for new and untapped talent, so too is the self-publishing world. And on the publishing side, I think more people have the chance to make their dreams of opening a publishing company come true, and tons of them are striving for high-quality writing and stories that are put out with an extremely high standard.

I think it’ll work out in the wash in the end, but we’ve all got to ride this wave to see the shore.

What is it about writing romance that you enjoy the most?

Kelly: Oh I love putting people who think they’ve got no chance of love together and showing them that no one is meant to be alone. I love the falling aspects of romance; the getting-to-know-you dances. I love the sensuality that’s possible and the boundary-pushing. In my latest release, I got to really play around with making sexuality an equal-opportunity-to-top-and-blow-your-partner’s-mind experience, and I loved every second of that. So yeah. Love, discovery, and sex. Getting to write intimate scenes with as much detail as Poe used to put into describing houses. That’s awesome.

What is the strongest advice you can give to someone who hopes to be published in the romance field?

Kelly: Well, several things really, and not just for romance but any fiction:

1. Write what you love. Forget about writing what you know. If you don’t know, that’s what research is for.
2. Write for the love of the words. Don’t write for money, fame, to prove something, because you said you would, or for any other reason. Write for your own love of the craft, and for heaven’s sake, do it for yourself and never, ever for anyone else. Therein is the road to madness, depression, and anxiety. 
3. Respect the craft: learn about grammar and remember the rules. Always be willing to level-up your writing game. Writing is like having sex: you never completely perfect your craft, and about the time you think you’ve got it, you have to change dancing partners.
4. It’s okay to be afraid of your stories or your characters. Being afraid means you respect them and want to get the story right. Be afraid, be concerned, but never let those fears rule you. Remember that the stories and the characters chose YOU for a reason; they thought you could do it. They believe in you. Don’t let them down.
5. Just write. Even if you think it sucks, even if you’re tired, even if you can’t remember why you ever wanted to put words on paper in the first place – just write. The only blocks out there are the ones you give yourself. Destroy them with prejudice and JUST WRITE.

Is there anything you can recommend to writers that are having a hard time staying focused?

Kelly: Please see number five in the Writing Advice section of this blog post. *laughs* But seriously, if you’re having a hard time focusing (and Lord knows THIS author has been known to have those – OH LOOK SHINY!), just write. Even if you think it’s crap. Smack yourself into submission and put words on the page.

Recently you released a novel that strayed outside your usual publications or, to be more exact, outside of what we, the readers, usually see from you. Was there any particular reason for this? Will you be going back to writing M/M?

Kelly: You know, I tried really, really hard to convince Hydee (Hyacinth Silver Fox of Meet Me at the Gates fame) to be a dude. I sat her down, and I was like, “Look, honey, I love you, but there’s this problem with your vagina.” And she was like – with big green eyes sparking in amusement and lavender hair shining in the damned sun – “I don’t have a problem at all, and I suggest you get over yours.”

I explained to her I’d never had much of a desire to write het, and she calmly said, “You’ve had the desire to write stories about love and connection, and that’s what I’m giving you.” I explained that while I own the parts, I’m rusty on writing about how to use them, and she said, “You’ll remember. Trust me.”

And in the end, she was so blasted calm and reassuring and likeable that I buckled down and wrote the dickens out of her and Theo Monk. I absolutely love this book. I think we all suffer at some point in our lives from anxiety and I think we all meet people at some point in our lives who help us find our path when we’ve lost our way. I adored getting to write that kind of intersection. To say nothing about how it’s happened for eons for these two in particular.

But have no fear: I have ever plan of continuing to write in the male/male genre. I have at least three m/m books in the works and no plans for het again any time soon. Hydee did school me, though: it’s not about writing what you’re “expected” to write. It’s about writing what you need to write. And for that reminder, I am eternally grateful to her.

Now, just in case you thought you were going to get off easy… Can you tell the readers one (great big, juicy, steamy hot) secret about yourself or your writing, as a thanks for reading?

Kelly: Oh man… Okay, how about this… The plotline for Meet Me at the Gates came to me thanks to a crisis of the faith, direct signs from the Universe, a Raven, a Japanese folk tale, and a friendship with a well-known member of the sex industry. How’s that for juicy? I can’t go in to all the details here because it’d take years and yards of computer screen, but you can read all about it in upcoming blog posts I’m doing on my website (kellywyre.com) for my WE ARE INFINITE contest.

You have a pretty strong social media presence. Can you let the readers know where they can find you?

Kelly: Absolutely. I love meeting and chatting with people. Here’s the list:

Twitter: @kelly_wyre
Facebook
Fan Page 
Tumblr (NSFW!) 
Google Plus
Goodreads
Amazon Author Profile

 

My huge thanks to Kelly for taking up the slack whilst I slave away. Kelly, you are a life saver.

Kelly: Anything for you, darlin’. *winks*

As for all you amazing readers, I look forward to seeing you again in February, and sincerely hope that you’ll join me on the upcoming blog tour.

Love you all!

AF Henley <3
Henley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica. A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly publishing with Less Than Three Press since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

Henley’s newest release, “Road Trip” will hit the market on February 11th and is available at a discounted rate through LT3 Press.

For more information please stop by for a visit at afhenley.com.