BelindaPalooza Day 2: An Uncommon Way to Compose

When I began to write for publication, my first contract was for a bi-menage called 'Imperative: Missing You.' I still adore that lovely little story and its still for sale over at Changeling Press. Anyhow, I started with a m/m/f story because in my RL world, I have a lot of bisexual friends and they often feel that they're kind of the red-headed stepchild...not gay, not straight and generally not taken seriously. (Its a phase, you're in denial, you're still in the closet...etc) So when I started writing, I wasn't unfamiliar with writing manlove. I also wasn't really planning to write m/m. In fact, I was reluctant to because it was the hot new thing and many writers were jumping on it for a quick buck. I vowed not to write it because I didn't want to be perceived as someone who would do that. 

Well, I make a lot of vows...no werewolves, no vampires...we can see how that worked out. Bottom line is, I'm a writer and I write the story that's aching to be told. The gender of my characters is relevant only within the context of the story. If my hero is gay, he's gay and I will tell his story the best I can. Otherwise, I am not happy within my writing.

So one summer, I decided to hone my skills writing first person and I'm busy with this little story I'd been playing with. My heroine is a spoiled priestess/princess and her hero is a one-eyed, one-balled rapscallion with a lot of secrets. The thing was, this hero was supposed to be a bit snarky and talkative, but when I'd write from his POV, he just clammed up. And when I tried to write from the heroine's POV, she babbled. It wasn't pretty.

Instead of abandoning the whole thing, I took the "turn it upside down" approach to writing and decided to shake up the story. I turned the princess into a prince. The first line that hit the paper was,

"A Whore is a whore is a whore. Unless he's something else completely."

And Helios Dayspring was born.
And Griffin Hawke was very happy. 
And I'd just written my first m/m romance.

I can honestly say, I've never written a character who spoke so easily, and took over the story so completely as Helios. I just gave him the reins and went with it, stepping in only to nudge him in the direction of a plot. Griffin was a more challenging character because things are always more complicated with him...my humorous rapscallion was really a dark, rather tragic character and is the anchor of the story. They were a beautiful pair of opposites and no sooner had I written "The End" than I was working on the next book because I knew their story was much bigger than the simple "Boy meets Boy" scenario in the first book.

In case you're wondering...yes, they'll be back.

Today's BelindaPalooza drawing is for two PL Nunn Uncommon posters! (signed by me) Leave me a comment and you will be entered in the drawing. 

Happy Tails!

Belinda