Kay_Derwydd

Okay. Yes. I suck. I'm really going to try my best to keep up with this forum. Keep getting sidetracked by other things, but I'm trying. I swear I am. LOL Updates? My first novel, The Legacy (vampire erotic romance), was accepted by the e-publisher Chippewa Publishing. I've had several acceptances from them (including one already up for purchase download--"Novel Visions" (short story in single-title DL and the Vamprotica 2005 anthology). I've also had several stories published at Ruthie's Club, and in Forbidden Fruit ezine. Plus I have one story published at Clean Sheets. Other than publications, I've been working on TONS of stuff, both under Kay Derwydd (single-authored) and Mychael Black (single- and co-authored). Really been trying to get Mychael's name out there. Anyhow, enough of that. I'm going to try my best to keep up with Gay Authors. LOL ~Kay/Mychael (pick one; I answer to both. LOL)

Hmm, gather clothes for my kids, then go get them out of bed. Once they're up and terrorizing the house, I get on the comp and start working, whether it's forum admin stuff or writing. ~Kay

This is just a call to any writers of male/male erotic romance (or similar) out there. We're getting the new edition of Forbidden Fruit ready to go live in early September, and although we have a great range of stories and non-fiction, we still have a gap for one more story. It would need to be around 2,000 to 10,000 words long, in pretty much any genre with the exception of bdsm. If you need any further info please check out our submission guidelines at http://www.forbiddenfruitzine.com/subs.htm or drop us a line at fiona.glassATblueyonder.co.uk or iasomieautumnwindATyahoo.com. Thanks and we look forward to reading your stories! (PS if we get more than one and we like them, we'll let you decide if you want to hold them over for our next issue in January.)

Thank you! No, I've never heard of it, to be honest. I started out writing porn (and still write it), but erotica is still my love. I fall in love with the men I write about, so I always want them to have long, fully-involved stories. Speaking of which, I should be sending The Legacy out by next week to Chippewa Publishing, who have said they're interested in reading it. *dances and cross fingers*

Tootsie Pottyshorts (if I go by my legal name) Dinky Chickendoodle with the pen name. *shakes head* I think I'll stick with Dinky. *chuckles*

Exactly, hun. Don't let her get you down; that's the most important thing to remember. And I think it's wonderful that your father is supportive! From what I've personally noticed, it tends to be the other way around... -Kay

Kat: Thank you! I've put all the novellas (La Chambre, Taliesin's, and Verdant) on the backburner to work on Blessed Sacrament, but I really need to pull them out and start back on them. If there's a place to post snippets, I'd be glad to. Kitty: Heh, if you mean my short stories, I'm going to clean them up a bit and then I'll be happy to. I do have a few that I might go ahead and post; they were going to be part of an art-theme, single author antho I was going to put together, but I simply don't have the time yet. So I might start posting those soon. Thanks all! -Kay

Amen to that! It's always a great feeling when your characters become so real that they take on a virtual existence. LOL

As a writer, I treasure constructive criticism. I love feedback, and have been blessed not to have received anything negative (yet) other than the typical 'not quite what we're looking for' response from editors. I love to read/hear about how my characters have remained with a reader long after the story is done. I experienced that a lot on Literotica, and now with those few who have read The Legacy in its entirety. (Everyone seems to be in love with one of the main characters--Mychael.) I also love to know what exactly doesn't work, what does work, and what could be better in any given story, whether it's setting, mood, language, character development, etc. As a reader, I try my best to give the same back to the author. -Kay

Mark is right; gender roles are becoming a lot less rigid than they were. Yet they still exist, unfortunately, but mostly in the minds of those still stuck in the past. My ex-mother-in-law was like that. It's quite funny really, to see how roles have shifted. In heterosexual couples with children, it's not uncommon now to see the fathers stay at home while the mothers work. In homosexual couples (and transgendered couples), the roles seem to be more relaxed either way. I know this isn't always the case, but it seems to be the norm. Stick to what you both enjoy and are individually good at, and don't let the opinions of others outside of your relationship get to you too much. I learned a long time ago to filter out the unwanted junk. I know it's not easy, especially when one of those people is a parent. My mother knows about me and my partner, but my father would flip; he doesn't know. In fact, I learned a long time ago to avoid any discussion involving politics, religion (I'm pagan), and sexuality with him. It's not worth the headache. Hang in there, hun. As long as you love each other and are happy, then that's all that matters. -Kay

In all honesty, most of the writers that I know think of their characters in that exact way. There are times when our characters will behave and not give us any trouble, and then there are times when they run away with our muse in a direction that we never intended for the story. My Leather novella came out of one of those moments when the two protagonists of The Legacy wanted to get into things that I didn't think fit the story. So I fashioned the protagonists of La Chambre Sure loosely after them and let them have at it. Sometimes those odd moments lead to extra scenes, and sometimes they lead to scenes that don't need to be added. I know it all probably makes most writers, who think of their characters as living, breathing beings with minds of their own, look to be completely insane, but then again, sanity is a questionable term at times. LOL -Kay

Thank you I'm going to do my best not to be a lurker too much here. After a weekend of being out of town, I'm trying to get back into work mode; so far, my guys (my characters, that is) are cooperating nicely. (Although they aren't always known for that... )

Thank you, Kitty! I think I recognize PiscesRising from one of the Yahoo groups I'm on. It's great to see a familiar face here. The Legacy (in its entirety) is up in the files section of both Yahoo groups (SlashandHack and Erotic_Romancers). I'll post some excerpts soon here as well, if anyone is interested. Thanks again, and I look forward to chatting with you (and everyone else)! -Kay

Good afternoon! I joined the webring associated with this site a while back, and am just now getting to the forums. *whistles innocently* As I've already made a response to another post, I figured I'd better make some sort of introduction. My name is Kay Derwydd and I'm an addict... err... writer of gay erotica. I'm omnigendered (read: FtM transgendered, but possibly non-op), queer as a football bat, and I live in Delaware, USA, with my MtF partner Alana and our two toddlers. (I have an older child who lives in another state.) I started writing gay fiction several years ago, and have recently completed my first novel titled 'The Legacy' and hope to sub it out this summer. (It's in the proofing stage now.) I'm also working on its sequel, Blessed Sacrament, and book 3 in the same series. (I swear that it was never supposed to become so huge a project.) I also have three novellas in the works: La Chambre Sure - Leather/BDSM novella Taliesin's Grove - archaeology-based novella Verdant Illumination - medieval-era fantasy I have one short story published at Forbidden Fruit zine, titled "The Holly King". I also have another short story coming out soon from Ruthie's Club, titled "Opposites Attract". I did have all my older stories up on both Literotica.com and my personal website, but I pulled them down from both places in order to rework them and hopefully sub them out. Other than that, there isn't much to tell. More personal information about me (favorites, etc) can be found on my website. I'm also one of three admins for an erotic romance writers' forum that can be found via the links on my website and my writing journal (which is also linked on my site). Anyhow, I look forward to chatting with many (if not all) of you! -Kay Derwydd

I'm also of the mind that the biggest difference is the amount of emotion that is written into the story in question. I'm an author of gay erotica (read: erotic romance between men), but I started by writing porn (read: sex without much plot). My porn included gay men who might or might not be 'in love', but they were most certainly 'in lust'. I still write it on occasion. My erotica is primarily centered around the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual connections between the men in the stories. The men are most definitely 'in love' (well, the protagonists are), but the lust is most certainly still there, and quite graphic, hence the label 'erotic romance'. I think each genre has a function, and I personally don't consider one superior to the other. Just my 2 cents. (I'll be posting my real intro here in a sec.) -Kay Derwydd