Hi there! My name is EJ Smyth and I write MM romance in all forms, from contemporary to fantastical. Today I’d like to talk about my new book Burning Fall and what inspired me to write this story.
Some months ago, I saw the image of a Colombian model, Alexander Masson. I was blown away. In particular, I loved the dreadlocks. And the muscles. And the jawline. And the muscles. It was easy to cast him as the free-wheeling, unconventional Yannik Engels, budding event manager, and one of the main characters of Burning Fall. In fact, as part of my writing process, I created Yannik as a 3D figure so that I could use him without running into licensing issues.
My second inspiration was the city I live in. Frankfurt is the banking center of Germany. It was bombed heavily in the second world war and rebuilt extensively. Much of the old architecture was destroyed. In the fifties and sixties, cheap, ugly buildings were thrown up to accommodate the rising demand of businesses and their workforce.
As a result, Frankfurt is not a pretty city like Heidelberg or Munich. What makes the city so impressive, however, is its energy. Frankfurt is incredibly multicultural. It’s a university town, has many museums, and hosts street parties every weekend. Frankfurt is as much a character as the people who live in it.
Finding Yannik’s love interest was easy. Damien Rathers is an uptight lawyer from New York who tries desperately to make his mark and impress his German colleagues. Pity he goes about it completely the wrong way.
I love writing about Frankfurt through the eyes of strangers to the German culture and people. Damien is finding it very hard to adjust. The following scene is something all Germans are familiar with: the rudeness and ruthless efficiency of discounter employees. I cut the scene because I literally had my American readers tell me, “This seems exaggerated.”
Let me assure you, it isn’t!
“Germans were so frigging rude, no two ways about it. Every single day since he’d arrived here, somebody snapped at him or treated him like he was stupid. Take the local discount supermarket, for example. He’d stood at the cash till and watched in fascination as the cashier had rung up his purchases at lightning speed. As she’d swiped the items, she’d pushed them towards him.
Damien had tried to keep up with her, but eventually, she’d pushed too hard, and a box of blueberries he’d been about to put in his trolley, had toppled over. The small child behind him had laughed as the little blue balls had jumped and rolled all over the aisle.
Man, had the cashier been pissed. She’d shouted—shouted—at Damien as if it’d been his fault, before getting a dustpan and brush. Then she’d shoved the items at him, obviously wanting him to clean up the blueberries, all the while jabbering at him as if he’d had the first clue what she’d been saying.
He’d gotten so upset he’d just left. Which was bad because the supermarket was his local shop. From then on, he always checked through the large window whether that woman was working or not. He sighed. As he walked past the place, he saw her dour face near the exit. It was six o’clock already, so she’d be there for the rest of the evening until they closed at eight. At least he’d gone shopping a few days earlier. Quickly, he mentally ran through the contents of his fridge. Another sigh—scrambled eggs with steamed broccoli it was.”
Over to you: what is your most embarrassing experience visiting another country? Don’t be shy—we’ve all been there!
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Length: 31,443 words.
Cover: EJ Smyth
Blurb
Opposites attract, but can they ever work together?
Damien is an ambitious young lawyer. After moving to Germany, he doesn’t expect to feel quite so out of his element. Apart from hating his job, a rumor spreads that he is a homophobe.
To redeem himself, he is put in charge of the firm’s signature event Burning Fall. He has no choice but to hire Yannik, a gorgeous yet unconventional event manager.
But from their first disastrous meeting, everything possible goes wrong.
Can the two men find a way to work together, or will Damien’s career, Yannik’s future, and the most important client event of the year go down in flames?
Find out in this steamy and fun short novel, the first book in Frankfurt Hot Seasons.
August 27 – The Blogger Girls, Xtreme Delusions, August 30 – Joyfully Jay, August 31 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, The Novel Approach, September 1 – Bayou Book Junkie, September 3 – Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Lelyana’s Reviews, September 4 – Love Bytes, September 5 – Book Review By Virginia Lee, September 6 – Gay Book Reviews
Hi there! My name is EJ Smyth, I live in Frankfurt, Germany and I’m passionate about romance. Not luffy-duffy romance, but stories with other elements mixed in. Paranormal romance, romantic thrillers, gay romance, if it’s got two difficult characters finding each other, I’m on board!
I write at my living room table, usually covered with folded laundry because I couldn’t be bothered to tidy before sitting down. And my kids are teenagers, so not much help there either <eye roll>. I do love having them around and I’ve gotten used to writing with a background noise of Grand Theft Auto and teenage histrionics. Maybe that’s why I prefer writing action scenes over descriptive settings! Except for the 18+ scenes which I have to write in a separate room, because, well, embarrassing…
I’m currently working on a series of short stories Keith is Awesome about a young man exploring his sexuality. Not something I’ve ever written before but the research alone was quite a bit of fun Check out my Pinterest account to see my inspiration. I love to talk to my readers, online and offline, so please feel free to drop me a line!
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