Lyn's Licks & Laughs...with alter egos Bobbie Cole & Sunny

How To Write A M/M Romance

I’ve been asked (often) how to write a male/male romance. I must confess that setting the mood is imperative for me. First, I slept late – didn’t get up until 7 instead of 5 or 6 am. Coffee was next—yesterday (Monday), for instance, it was Scooterdoodle, a Snickerdoodle flavored coffee from my favorite coffee shop, Scooter’s. Here’s their home link.

Next came personal business, including popping a couple of personal letters into the mail. After checking email and doing everything but writing (did laundry, piddled around the kitchen, cleaning, took the dogs out for a bit once the rain let up), I finally prepared brunch. The meal consisted of a Spinach Potato Frittata with fruit on the side. The recipes can be found at Lyn’s Licks & Laughs Recipes.

A phone call from my favorite gay male helped inspire me. First, he sent photos of one of our favorite drag queens. Then he phoned and told me of his last two trips, one to the Azores, Portugal, and the other to Phoenix. We discussed architecture (Bungalows, to be precise), allergies, wine, the drag queens, and my next visit to DC before we rang off. Then I began edits on Knights & White Satin, which debuts with Ellora’s Cave some time in early 2008 *I think*.

Back to the drag queens. February, 2006, I met Robby. We attended our first ever drag show together. He was tall enough yet diminutive, a hairy, smart-mouthed mix of Hungarian, Puerto Rican, Black, French, and something I can’t remember. Trust me—all male but definitely all gay male. At the show, we were both open-mouthed and delighted, and I kept ribbing him. “You need to do this—just look at your cheekbones! You’d be gorgeous!”

***Robby is the guy in jeans, big cheesy grin, sitting upper left with his arm around one of the queens that night.***

That was February, 2006.

Now look at her. She recently competed in her first contest, Miss Turn About, and she won!

Lipstick & Paint Make A Man What He Ain’t.

If you’re in the DC area and care to visit any of the gala festivities, here’s the link to view their calendar.

I’m sure by now that you’ve begun questioning my sanity. HOW to write a m/m book doesn’t have anything to do with spinach frittatas to most people. You’ll just have to take my word for it as for how it works for me. But then, fruit and cheese and cracker trays, glasses of wine, and even a platter of tater tots can do the trick. Ambiance just helps.

I won’t cheat you, though. There are some definite tips for writing this sub-genre. The primary one is to write it as you would anything else…with passion, style, and honesty, and write in your own, rather than a borrowed, voice. Treat each character as if they matter, because they do. Give them an interesting plot line and make them come alive as people.

If you’re a male writer, guess what? About a third of the men you meet these days are gay. They may wear shorts and sandals in freezing weather, leather in summer, or jeans and tee shirts all year round. They may shave or not, have B.O. or not, be bald, hairy, scary, or no different (or just the same) as you. Write what you know, and if you don’t know any gay men, that’s to your disadvantage, of course, but you can still write about what you like in women (men have some of the same characteristics, you know) or about what you like in other men.

If you’re female, draw on what you like in another female as well as the characteristics you appreciate in men. Remember that it’s a romance, most likely, so sex comes with the territory if your characters engage in more than hugs and kisses. Eeew? Ick factor? Then perhaps you’re better off sticking to virginal books rather than something that pushes your buttons.

And Another One Bites The Dust

Thursday was one of ‘those days’ with lots of delays, workers traipsing in and out of the house. Drains had to be snaked, doors had to be fixed so they’d close properly, and dinner was mucho late. We wound up ordering Chinese sometime around 8:00 pm. The tempura shrimp was a bit undercooked for me (I like it like I do my bacon, crispy), but other than that it was probably the best Chinese food I’ve had in ages. Absolutely loved the Moo Goo Gai Pan and the egg rolls. (And I just had to post a pic of the pumpkins on my front porch - they have absolutely nothing to do with the post - I just liked 'em.)

Why I Like Fridays

Maybe it's because around here it's garbage pick-up day. There's something to be said for actually getting rid of what stinks - lol.

I couldn't sleep this morning, was up at 3 then every hour after that, so by 6, I finally thought screw it and stayed up. Sacked trash and took it to the curb, even got rid of some newspapers I'd been saving (I'm a clipper).

Earlier this week I cooked a nice breakfast for one (Spinach Potato Frittata + sliced fresh fruit with a cream cheese dip), but today it was slap on the sausage patties, toss in a tray of biscuits, and boil water for hot tea. Nothing fancy, in other words.

The Girl’s birthday shoes arrived. Aren’t they cute? Today is payday, and she wants to live recklessly, so we’re each taking $10 (whoo hoo) and going to a casino. We play the penny slots, so that piddly amount of money should last us quite a while – lol. Big gamblers we’re not.

Since I didn’t cook yesterday, I’m assuming that I’m not off of the hook for tonight. I couldn’t be that lucky, so we’ll have to return in plenty of time for me to whip something up at the last minute.