Why Would You Want to Write That?
Jude Dunn explains the allure of writing gay romance and erotica.
One Thing Leads by Jude Dunn
Ah, the romance genre. Hearts and flowers, love lost and found, right? Oh yes, cotton candy and sunshine and flying unicorns that fart rainbows too—after The Breaker-Upper is defeated, of course.
Not what the genre is like at all, is it? Or at least it shouldn’t be. Jade wants to know what draws me to a corner of the literary world that is often put down, laughed at, and even abused by the elite. I answer her questions, but first here’s a synopsis to get you into my story. Below that you’ll find a short bio of yours truly and the requisite excerpt, freebies, and “buy me!” linkage. Click and enjoy.
Synopsis
What makes a young man go further than he ever thought he would?
Dion Bellamy is twenty-seven and studying social work at the University of Chicago. He has lived with Kenji Okamura, a construction worker, for a year and a half. Dion loves Kenji and passionately hopes Kenji feels the same, but he has never said the three big words. Then Grayson Sinclair, Dion’s schoolmate and a vivacious, oversexed playboy, comes between them.
One step at a time, barely aware where his steps are leading, Dion descends the slippery slope into a life of depravity. First, Grayson ensures Kenji is out of the way. Then he entices Dion to go clubbing with him, gets Dion drunk and high, and then takes him to a sex club, where he films Dion giving blow jobs to multiple men. He threatens to put the video online unless Dion signs a contract to work as a prostitute. Though he hardly understands how he reached this point, Dion must now figure out how to escape his fate and save himself.
Interview
JC: Why did you choose to write M/M stories?
JD: I started writing yaoi fanfiction when I finally came out to myself at age forty-nine. I had been seriously closeted, and my limited exposure to gay life consisted primarily of furtive looks at the trashy things I could find online back when the Internet was a baby and this thing called Google didn’t exist. Yes, I’m that old.
I’m an animation fan, always have been. One day I discovered anime, then yaoi, then mailing lists. I was blown away by the depiction of men in loving relationships. Yes, there are base fanfics that are just about sex, but here and there between the hormonal outbursts of frustrated writers are fics about men caring for each other in the midst of struggles.
So I started there. Eventually I grew brave enough to try my hand at original fiction and then to submit it. I do write in other genres, but I don’t know of anything better than telling stories of men overcoming obstacles to find love. Romance lit, like any other genre, can be well or poorly written. I do my best to be realistic and authentic in the tales I spin. I hope my readers think so too.
JC: Where do you find inspiration?
JD: Everywhere. On a commute to work some time ago, a pregnant woman clutched her chest and stumbled. I saw twenty strangers on the Chicago El rush to help her. Tell me there’s not a story there.
I see stories on the train, on the bus, at coffee shops and Target, in my doctor’s waiting room and while walking Michigan Avenue on my way to a meeting. In short, wherever I see people. My problem isn’t finding ideas, it’s choosing from the multi-dozens of them that jump off the street at me.
JC: When you start a book, do you already have the whole story in your head or is it built progressively?
JD: I’ve had to grow a lot in this area of the craft. I used to start with an idea and see where it goes. That can be fun, but it often led me to a dead end. I changed my ways after I discovered that Tolkien wrote himself into a corner and had start over on The Lord of the Rings no less than three times.
It’s quite frustrating, actually, to spend what seems like a great deal of time thinking about a story’s overall arc before I begin writing. Writing is the fun part; planning to write is not. But planning makes the writing go better.
This isn’t to say that I prepare an outline and stick to it. My characters still do things that scrap my careful planning, sending the story in new directions. But the initial work helps me create a focused path from which to depart.
JC: Do you pay attention to literary criticism?
JD: If you mean, do I read reviews, yes, I do. All of them. But I’ve learned to not take them to heart, both the good and the bad. I shrug my shoulders and smile at the ones that proclaim my writing is utter, worthless drivel, and I do the same with glowing reviews shouting that I’m brilliant. The difference is the later ones also give me a warm, grateful glow in my heart, but I know that’s as substantial as a soap bubble. I learned this attitude from my years of writing fanfiction and being on the web since the early Internet days. Haters gonna hate, flamers gonna flame. If you take them seriously, you’ll go nuts. And that’s my attitude toward reviews.
JC: How do you celebrate a new release?
JD: Dinner with friends! Hugs from my husband (kisses too)! A day off, smiling twice as much as usual and blogging for sweet people like Jade, of course, who let me crow about my book. Then I settle into my next story. That’s the best reward of all.
About Jude
I’m a southern boy who lives in Chicago and enjoys fine wine, dark chocolate, and plays jazz piano from time to time. Most of all, I love writing gay romance and erotica that will touch your heart and make you laugh.
Links
Buy One Thing Leads
More info about One Thing Leads
Site: http://www.judedunn.com/
Twitter: @jude_dunn
Pick up a free PDF or two of my unpublished stories: http://www.judedunn.com/stories
Tell me what you like, don’t like, and wish gay authors wrote about: http://www.judedunn.com/contact/
PRIZE GIVEAWAY:
Enter to win one of five copies of One Thing Leads.
TOUR DATES/STOPS:
October 20: Parker Williams
October 21: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
October 22: Sinfully Sexy
October 23: Cate Ashwood
October 24: Jade Crystal
October 27: Inked Rainbow Reads
October 28: Velvet Panic
October 29: Amanda C. Stone
October 30: Kimi-Chan
October 31: Fallen Angel Reviews
November 3: Emotion in Motion
November 4: Book Reviews, Rants, and Raves
November 5: EE Montgomery, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
November 6: Love Bytes
November 7: Iyana Jenna
November 10: Prism Book Alliance, My Fiction Nook
November 11: Multitasking Mommas, Wake Up Your Wild Side
November 12: BFD Book Blog
November 13: Cathy Brockman Romances
November 14: MM Good Book Reviews
