RELEASE TOUR: Brighter Than The Sun by Kit Erikson
Length: 112,000 words
Series: San Francisco Sex Gods, Book 2
Prior Reading: recommended but not essential (book one is also available)
Genre: Contemporary
Tropes: Opposites attract, found family
Trigger/Content Warnings: n/a
Designer: 100covers
Blake is used to showing off his body. Baring his soul? That’s another story.
By day, Blake’s a mild-mannered bartender. By night, he’s porn legend Dirk Slocum, heating up the runway as an exotic dancer at The Firehouse, San Francisco’s hottest club. When a developer threatens to gut the building and erase everything he loves, Blake makes a daring counteroffer: he’ll take over the lease and transform The Firehouse into the burlesque club of his dreams.
There’s only one catch – Blake can sell a fantasy, but he has no idea how to run a business.
Enter Ethan: a brainy business student with boy-next-door charm who has no idea who he just asked out. Ethan likes taking things slow – cuddling on a blanket under the stars slow – the kind of sweet, get-to-know-you romance Blake hasn’t had in a long time.
As they throw themselves into saving The Firehouse, their business partnership deepens into something more. Blake wants to come clean about his past, but the truth might cost him the first man who’s seen him as more than a hot body and a pretty face.
Can he risk losing the love he never thought he’d get to have?
Brighter Than The Sun is a spicy, opposites-attract romance about found family, big dreams, and the kind of love that asks you to step into the light… even when you’re afraid of what it will reveal.
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
The idea for the sex gods was inspired by a TED talk from a young man who had overcome a pornography addiction. To make up for lost time, he decided to transform himself into a sex god. I thought that a character who identified as a sex god would be a fascinating protagonist, and then thought it would be even cooler if there were four friends who identified as sex gods.
For this story in particular, I wanted to explore the experience of being a porn star and adult entertainer, in an affirmative and sex-positive way. It’s a theme I’ve explored in a previous book as well (Holding Holden), and will explore again. The characters from Holding Holden will star in my next series: The Ballsy Boyz.
Q: Did one of the characters speak to you louder than the other?
I have more in common with Ethan (as a writer and horror lover), but Blake spoke to me the loudest. I enjoyed creating his blend of confidence and vulnerability. It’s also very fun embodying a hypersexual character, and imagining all the scenarios he’d gotten himself into over the years.
Q: How did you select the names of your main characters?
Blake is named after a well-known porn star from the early 2000’s, Blake Harper. I knew I wanted to name his mother Lena (the name means “shining” or “bright”), so looked for names that worked with both Lena and Blake, and liked the sound of Larsen.
I’m not sure how I came up with Ethan’s name. I remember writing his introductory scene in Better Than Sex before I realized he was going to be Blake’s love interest in Book 2 (I had figured it out by the end of the first draft, though, so went back and laid the groundwork for their relationship in Book 1). I did intentionally pick “Whet” for his last name. I just thought it would be hilarious for a porn star to be dating someone whose name sounded like “wet”.
Q: What was your writing process like for this book?
This was a tough one to pull together. Since half of it happens concurrently with Better Than Sex, I had calendars and flowcharts all over my desk to ensure that I didn’t create a continuity error. After writing the first draft, I was feeling pretty good about it, but my editor pointed out some issues and suggested I re-write the second half of the book, which of course meant I had to re-write a lot of the first part of the book as well. Not going to lie – it hurt a little, but I trust him. So I went back to the drawing board and re-conceptualized the entire story. It was worth it, because this version of the story is so much stronger than the original. It might be my favorite book that I’ve written.
Celebrating love between men, with sweet and steamy stories where true love wins in the end!
Although Kit’s been writing stories since he was a teenager, it wasn’t until 2020 that he stumbled upon the world of M/M romance. Obsessed with the love story between David and Patrick on Schitt’s Creek, he longed to experience more stories about relatable men in healthy, loving, same-sex relationships. Imagine his delight when he discovered that M/M romance is a thriving niche!
Kit loves crafting sexy, funny, and heart-warming stories about men that feel like they could be your best friends (or boyfriends).
He’s a tailor by trade – and yes, someday he will write a romance about a tailor – and lives in Portland, Oregon. When he’s not reading or writing, he’s watching scary movies, putting together miniature kits, or listening to episodes of The Why Files on YouTube while he sews.
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