Why Did This Chicky Cross The Road? by Seymour James

To get to the LBGTQ side of course!

I have been asked many times what path has brought me to writing m/m fiction.  Truthfully?  I love romance and I love men.  Put the two together and voila!  I’m as happy as a pig in poo. With the exception of a couple of m/f romance writers, I predominately read gay fiction now.  From the moment I read Tere Michaels “Faith & Fidelity” back in 2009 I have not looked back.  I love her and thank her every day for instigating this obsession.  My need to read man-on-man love has been insatiable.   I no longer watch TV, I no longer cook for, or feed my family, and my husband has a cardboard cut out of me lying next to him in bed while I am sitting in my reading chair basking in the glow of the teeny weeny kindle light visualising my man-on-man action.

I find the physicality of two men together extremely hot, so when I embarked on this writing journey I decided that it was probably going to be easiest to tell stories based on the lusty visions I was conjuring up in my mind…along with what I saw on the gay porn sites J. The m/f action I can get at home.

My first venture into writing in the world of m/m fiction is in the sub genre of Time Travel.  Currently I have plans for four in the series, with the first nearing completion.  Whether I will be able to hit the submit button when the time comes, is another thing.  I can imagine needing a small army of gay pixies trying to wrestle my pointer finger over to the “enter” button.  What if it turns out to be total crapola, I hear you ask?  Then I drag myself back to my desk, watch more gay porn and see if I can develop something else.  If creativity is not my forte, then determination is.

What I have seen over the past two years is the steady rise in the popularity of the LBGTQ genre.  I am truly buoyed (or boyed as the case may be), as opposed to being deterred, by the apparent saturation of gay fiction in the market place.  The emergence of extremely talented new writers who are producing incredibly wonderful reads has only inspired me further to become a part of this community.  And speaking of community, never have I been part of such a supportive group of people, both writers and readers.  It seems like everyone is available to offer help, guidance and advice.  So whether I succeed at this or not, I will always be truly thankful and appreciative of the friends I have made in this process.

When mentioning to my family and friends that this was the genre I had chosen to focus on, the initial reaction was…akin to the deer in headlights look.  They really couldn’t understand the choice I had made.  Twelve months down the track, after hearing me incessantly talk about my ideas and plots with my men, they are now curious and eager to read the finished product.  So, you see, even if I never get published, I consider this to be a major score on my part.  If gay fiction can inspire readers to believing that a gay relationship is part of the “norm” then as far as I am concerned, it adds much needed support to the fight for LBGTQ equality in our society.

I recently had one friend question my ability to think like a male in a man-on -man sexual encounter.  Firstly, I watch gay porn (have I mentioned that already); secondly, I bleed a lot of my own characteristics into my male characters.  The humor, the sarcasm, the need for passion and love, these are not only mine, but universal qualities which I hope to bring to the page.  And lastly, I make it up as I go along and then have a gay friend read it for plausibility.  I really don’t want to suck at this, and I guess that’s why it’s taking me so long to get this right.  The bottom line is, that even if I fail, even if my stories don’t get picked up, even if I never get published…I have had a truckload of fun and am having the time of my life.

Thanks for listening.

Seymour James

Bio:

Seymour James is a proud Aussie who splits her time between taking care of her sexy French husband and three beautiful boys, working with kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and reading or writing gay fiction.  She is currently working on her first m/m series of four time travel stories entitled The Tempus Tours.

A crazy addicted social networker, you can always find her online at:

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/seymourjamespage

Twitter:           https://twitter.com/SeyJames1

Goodreads:     http://goodreads.com/seymourjames

Tumblr:            http://seynomore.tumblr.com/

Email:              www.seymourjames@hotmail.com.au