Sunday 10 April 2016

MEN IN LOVE Edited by Jerry Wheeler

Men in Love edited by Jerry Wheeler is out this week.  It features my story Love in Portofino.  Check it out



BLURB:
Spring approaches with the promise of new beginnings, fresh adventures, and the thrill of romance rekindled or discovered. Hot, sexy guys abound-meeting on the ball fields or the boardroom, at the theater or the classroom-falling in love and lust for the first time or celebrating a lifetime. Come join the rites of spring and indulge yourself in the passion and pleasures of our luscious men in love. Stories from some of today's popular m/m romance authors explore the many faces of men in love: gay for you, seductions, weddings and more.



The official publication date for UK readers is 12th April.
Check it out here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1626397368

Wednesday 6 April 2016

A FEW THINGS ABOUT ME

JUST FOR FUN....


One thing I enjoy:

1: Writing. Creating characters and telling their stories. Without it I would probably go mad. If I’m not working on a story, or am stuck with one that’s not going well, I can get very moody.

Two names I am known by:

1: Thom Collins – M/M romantic fiction
2: Thom Wolf – Gay erotica

Three places I have worked:

1: In a hospital.  As a trainee nurse in my late teens. The wrong job for me.
2: Durham Passport Office. Not as interesting as I thought.
3: National Probation Service.

Four things I love to watch:

1: Cookery shows. Bake Off, Masterchef, Nigella Lawson – I love them all.
2: Horror movies – the more scary and intense the better. Nothing worse than bland and boring.
3: Documentaries – especially anything sea related.
4: Live theatre – musicals, plays, ballet, opera

Five things I am looking forward to:

1: My next holiday – a two week cruise
2: The summer – time to spend outdoors
3: Writing my next book. The second in a trilogy – book one is already written.
4: Getting a new kitchen. This can’t come soon enough. It’s the only room in the house I haven’t renovated since moving in 6 years ago and I hate it.
5: The publication of Closer by Morning – summer 2016

Six Favourite Films:

1. Basic Instinct (1992) – my all time favourite.
2. Halloween (1978) - October 31st is my birthday so I’ve always had a soft spot for this one.
3. The Strangers (2008) – one of the best modern horror films. Very scary.
4. Piranha (1978) I love a killer fish movie.
5. King Kong (1976) – guaranteed to make me cry.
6. Showgirls (1995) the ultimate guilty pleasure.

Seven Favourite Books

1. The Bridges of Maddison County – Robert James Waller
2. Lovers and Gamblers – Jackie Collins
3. Maybe the Moon – Armistead Maupin
4. Jaws – Peter Benchley
5. The Rats – James Herbert
6. Valley of the Dolls – Jacqueline Susann
7. Hollywood Wives – Jackie Collins

Eight Favourite Places:

1. Blackpool, England. – favourite place for a fun weekend
2. Malaga, Spain.
3. Portofino, Italy.
4. Ibiza, Spain.
5. Rome, Italy.
6. Puerto De La Cruz, Tenerfie.
7. Durham, England.
8. Whitby, England.

Nine things I couldn’t live without:

1. My husband
2. My family
3. My writing
4. Books
5. My I-pod classic (I accept music downloads but will never take to streaming)
6. Good wine.
7. Holidays – they make work worthwhile.
8. Sex – need I say more.
9. Pizza – spicy chicken is my favourite.


Friday 1 April 2016

HOW I CAME TO WRITE M/M FICTION


How I came to write M/M fiction.

I’ve always been into genre fiction, as both a reader and writer. I love thrillers, horror, erotica, spy novels, crime fiction and romance. My first erotic story was published back in 1993 (I was very young – honestly) and I’ve written hundreds of short stories, three novels and several novellas in that time. But I never thought of myself as a M/M author. The term didn’t even exist when I started. Stories about gay men falling in love and having sex were confided to gay magazines and literary publishers. There was no “mainstream” market for these stories back then.

I must have become aware of the term M/M about 3 or 4 years ago. For a while I resisted it. In my ignorance I thought these were just “woman’s books”: gay stories written by women for female readers. I was narrow minded and continued to write my “gay erotica” believing M/M was not for me. Over time as I began to read M/M fiction I realised that it was not so different to the stories I was writing. Over time the focus of my stories had changed anyway, focusing as much on the relationships between my characters as the sex. I was writing M/M fiction at the more explicit end of the market.

Closer by Morning is my first proper M/M novel. From the very beginning I knew this wasn’t going to be one of my usual sex books. There’s sex in it but it’s not the main thrust of things. The book is many things – a love story, a thriller, a mystery, a bonkbuster – but it’s not a porn novel. I like to think of it as a gay romance with shades of Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins. I started writing it as a challenge to myself. After a 20 plus years could I even write a book that wasn’t 80% sex?

The answer was definitely yes. Not only could it write it, it poured out of me. It was the easiest book I’d ever written, it came so naturally. I was a M/M author after all. I loved the book when I finished it, but wasn’t 100% convinced it would find a home. A lot of the M/M novels I read were filled with angsty characters and miserable situations and that’s just not me or my book. There are dark situations within the story and the characters are put through a devastating ordeal, but they aren’t the kind of men who wallow in misery or bicker over the tiniest thing.  They stand up for themselves and fight.

I was delighted when Pride Publishing picked up the book. The doubts I had about the content of the book and whether it fit into the M/M genre, vanished.

Closer by Morning is scheduled for publication this summer. I can’t wait for people to read it. I’ll provide more information nearer the time.