Personally, I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that everyone coming to read a romance novel is looking for the fantasy. I’ve heard that for seven years since I started writing. If that were the case, I’d never sell a single book—because I don’t write fantasy. Not my style. If I want to write about something, from porn stars to rape recovery to gay relationships to leather, I make sure I have my facts straight. For example, fire-flogging is done with Iso-propyl alchohol, a spotter wipes the excess alcohol from the skin between strikes. How do I know that? I asked. I got a run down from guys who have actually done fire flogging. I watched fire flogging take place. I did my homework. To the lifestyle players who read my book, Painting Fire on the Air, it’s home, it’s familiar, it’s accurate.
When I read books by other authors and what they’re writing about is inaccurate—from porn to BDSM to physics, it bothers me. It’s like they’re marginalizing the people they’re writing about by not taking them seriously. If you can’t get into the head of your character, see what they see, feel what they feel—you’re not going to have realistic, three-dimensional characters. And I’m not going to finish the book.
When I read about a guy’s tongue hitting another guy’s prostate—it bugs me. Unless you’re Gene Simmons? Not gonna happen. Sorry. Sit down and talk to guys about rimming. I have. Rimming after a hike in the woods? Again, not gonna happen—they’re gonna shower first, or at the very least douche. I realize douche is like a four-letter word in our genre, but it happens, frequently. You know how it happens? What kinds of things different guys use to douche? I do, because I asked. Porn scene shot in an hour? Nope, try four to eight, sometimes longer – oh and the bottoms don’t eat before a shoot. Rentboys don’t escort because they have no other marketable skills – generally, they schedule around their day jobs. Some have in call rates, usually they just have out call rates. Good rentboys will screen prospective clients via email/phone/text before meeting and generally know when someone is going to flake.
It’s all about interpersonal connections and research.
If you’re going to write crime fiction, you’d sit down with a cop (I hope). If you’re going to write a culinary masterpiece, you’d sit down with a chef. If you’re going to write gay relationships, sit down with a couple of guys and talk about it. It’s not even about sex. Ask questions. You need to know how gay men interact with each other, what their lives are like, who their friends are. Ninety percent of my friends are gay men; I spend most of my time with them. I write about them because I can do it justice. I can’t write heterosexual romance because I don’t get the interactions between men and women. I just don’t—probably why I’ll be perpetually single.
The point is, always try to do your subject matter justice. It makes for a better book that you’ll be proud of. Your readers deserve your best work. They gave you their hard earned money in exchange for it. You want them to be dazzled and amazed, and come back for more. The devil is in the details.
Oh, and by the way – ALL chaps are assless.