The Book Nympho: #AADSAV Author Cat Grant Talks M/M Romance

Thank you for stopping by The Book Nympho today to talk about the M/M Romance genre.

I’ve recently started reading M/M and I must say I’m really enjoying it. What draws you to the genre as an author?

I enjoy the dynamics of having two male characters in a romantic relationship. Men in our modern society are taught that showing any kind of vulnerability equals weakness. And yet vulnerability - or showing emotion of any kind, IMO - is what makes a man sexy. So writing a story with two men being forced to show their vulnerabilities turns my crank on every possible level.

As a woman writing M/M how do you get into the mind of your male characters when it comes to the sex scenes? What type of research do you do to describe the sensations that your male characters have during sex?

I’m more interested in exploring my characters’ emotions than their physical sensations.

As many romance readers know there are just so many adjectives that can be used to describe an erect penis. What is one of the most usual adjective you have used? And do you find it hard (no pun intended) to find new ways of describing a sex scene whether it’s M/M or any other sex scene.

I usually just use “cock” or “dick.” (Although I have come across some pretty hilarious descriptions for male genitalia in my day - “purple-helmeted soldier of love,” for one. I nearly fell off the couch when I read that!)

And yes, writing sex scenes gets harder (no pun intended!) the more of them you write. Writing books, period, gets harder the more you write. There’s the constant pressure to do better than you did last time, to not repeat yourself, etc. IMO, your first book is the easiest, because no one knows who you are at that point, or expects much from you.

It seems like M/M is becoming more mainstream with romance readers. Any ideas as to why? Cuz really if you look at M/M is just a vag vag away from being a menage.

I credit fan fiction. In fact, many m/m authors (myself included) came out of writing slash fan fiction. Then the e-publishing revolution came along, and made it possible for m/m romance to become a genre in its own right. I wouldn’t be published today if not for e-publishing.

Ok enough about the sex aspects of M/M. Let talk about the relationship between two male characters. In most of your romance genres the male character is usually an alpha type character. What kind of challenges to you run into when creating your male characters? Can you have two alpha males in a relationship?

I don’t really think in terms of alpha or beta when I’m writing my characters. Alpha vs. beta is the kind of dynamic that tends toward cliche, which is something I try to avoid.

I’m more likely to write the kind of story that turns the alpha/beta dynamic on its ear, like I did with my Courtland Chronicles series. You’d expect big, muscular football player Nick to be the alpha, but no, it’s the smaller, blonder Eric. In fact, I think of Eric as an intellectual alpha. He’s sexy and charismatic - you want him to have his way.

Speaking of vag vags, your up coming release, Complications, is a story on about a M/M couple that breaks up and then one of the male characters ends up marrying a woman the his ex-male lover comes back into the picture. Do you set out to write M/M or menage when you start a book or does that three character just happens during the writing process?

When I first started writing the Courtland books, I had no idea it was going to become a series, so they were released out of order. The fourth book, The Arrangement, which depicts Eric, Nick and Ally as a full-fledged menage, was written first, then I went back and wrote the 3 prequels (By Chance, Strictly Business and Complications). So, yes, by the time I wrote Complications I knew this series was headed toward menage territory. My ultimate goal was to show these three characters weaving in and out of each others’ lives for ten years before they became a menage, and make it clear that they were destined to come together this way. Then the final book in the series, Triad, skips ahead ten years and shows how their relationship has grown and matured.

As a reader, who are a few of your favorite M/M authors?

Oh, gawd, there are two many to name - and if I try, I’m sure to leave someone out. Suffice it to say I’m in awe of pretty much everyone writing in my genre. :)

Thanks again for stopping by today. After sitting in on a couple of the panels you were on during AADNOLA in 2012 I can’t wait to see you again at AADSAV.

Congratulations to Cat for her 2012 EPIC Award win in the Erotica category!

EPIC Award-winning author Cat Grant lives by the sea in beautiful Monterey, California, with one persnickety feline and entirely too many books and DVDs. When she's not writing, she sings along (badly!) to whatever's on her iPod shuffle, watches lots of movies, and fantasizes about kinky sex with Michael Fassbender.