Love Affair with a Lover Affair

There’s a love affair that occurs between a romance writer and their story, and it echoes the romance itself. I’m at that point with my current writing project, Song of the Lonesome Cowboy, where I’m fully emotionally invested in the characters and the trials they endure. Even when I’m at work, running errands, or trying to sleep, part of me is still living there, in the book. I’m inside the skin of the characters and can’t quite disengage when I’m expected to.

It’s intoxicating and kind of a mind fuck, like when you first fall for someone. They’re all you can think about, fuel for daydreams and distraction. No one else quite understands why you’re acting so crazy, either, because they don’t see how wonderful the object of your affection is. The writer’s passion goes beyond the investments a reader places in characters they love, because the writer has the power to lessen or magnify the pain or pleasure of these fictional humans under their control, whereas the reader is forced to take things as they come, whether they like it or not. But, the catch is when you torment your MC, you’re also tormenting yourself. Sure, you get to play God and conjure a little universe all your own, but that universe is inside you. Destroy it and you’re the only one who gets hit with the shrapnel.

Writers are cruel lovers when it comes to their creations. There would be no story if we didn’t torture the ones we love, at least a little bit. When our characters are least expecting it, we push them right into the middle of their biggest nightmare. Then it’s our job to get them back out, somehow. It makes sense, then, that we’d be uneasy when forced to walk away, attending to real life for a while if, in the meantime, our inner world is in chaos, our fictional lovers trapped in a hell of our own making.

For me, the hardest part comes when the story is almost finished. It’s slipped from your hands, given over to proofreaders and a production team to be packaged, polished, and made ready to be given away. It feels like the ultimate betrayal as we break up with our temporary obsessions. I’m still struggling with the ability to completely let the characters go when I’m expected to. There’s always a piece of me in there, left behind, lost in the love affair. To give up control, let others claim the characters for their own, then pass judgment on them, can be heartbreaking in the same way as seeing an ex with a new lover, or letting your children go off into a world which you know will hurt them.

I mostly write in the 3rd person tense, from multiple points of view. That’s just what’s worked for me. With Song of the Lonesome Cowboy, I’m writing in 1st person from one character’s point of view. Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like it’s been even harder this time around. The main character, Tucker, whose voice I’m speaking with and whose most personal, awful, wonderful moments I’m making less sacred by displaying them to the world, haunts me. He’s a gay country music star who’s expected to perform and sell himself in a certain way to the crowds through his music. He’s a poet and a sensitive soul, but his journey is all about violations of trust, coercion and learning how to be himself while under scrutiny by prejudiced people whose instincts are to scorn him. It’s made me so protective of him. Sometimes he surprises me, too, by indulging in moments of bravery when my heart would have him take a safer route.

I’m definitely in love with Tucker. I’m doing my best to do him justice and hopefully, soon, when it’s time to let him go, there will be nothing in my heart but bittersweet pride in how far he’s come, and hope that others will treat him with respect and love him too, just as much as I do.

NEW RELEASES: Divine Surrender & Antidote

DivineSurrender_CvrMEDDivine Surrender and Antidote have just been released! Divine Surrender (novella) is a prequel to Deliver Us about how Ben and Kyle first met, and became Master and slave.

Divine Surrender link to buy, read an excerpt, check out content labels, or find links to all of the other works in the Deliver Us series and Society of Masters >>

Blurb: When Ben Knox discovers a clean-cut, blond, apparently-straight teenager named Kyle Roth in his office, looking for a professional Dominant, instinct draws him in. Since the exceedingly particular Kyle has already passed on fellow Dominants-for-hire, Gabriel and Trace, Ben digs down beneath first impressions to expose Kyle’s true motivations. Reassured by Ben’s straightforward approach, Kyle demonstrates his willingness to obey and, quickly, their contract is signed. But, skillful as Kyle is at masquerading as the person the world expects him to be out of self-preservation, Ben has plenty of experience dealing with bruised souls. Kyle’s bruises, though, go deep and the vulnerable darkness that Kyle tries to hide lures Ben in and takes them both farther than either is prepared to go. (M/M)

Antidote_CvrMEDAntidote is NOW AVAILABLE! Jack L. Pyke’s brilliant sequel to Don’t… is ready for the taking. Forgive Us weaves into Antidote‘s story, following Jack, Gray and Jan tale before and after their visit to the U.S. It’s not for the faint of heart but, as a lover of dark and emotional stories, I can safely say it has left a deeper impact on me than most books I’ve read. The characters live and breathe and you’ll be fighting for them every step of the way.

Antidote links to buy, read an excerpt, check out content labels, or find links to all of the works in the Society of Masters shared world >>

As a disclaimer, Ms. Pyke and I receive no financial gain from the sale of each other’s books. We are merely lending characters to one another in order to create a more decadent merged world.

Blurb: Videos of Jack having sex with a man who mutilated teenagers for fun should have stayed dead and buried, just like the man who filmed them. Yet when footage of Jack’s past starts appearing on Internet porn sites, Jack’s whole world is again turned on its head.

At first, the videos merely unsettle Jack’s fire and ice world of Gray Raoul’s BDSM kink and Jan Richards’ gentle, vanilla touch. But when the videos get more extreme, even Gray turns his back on Jack, isolating him from the full protection of the Masters’ Circle. Jack soon finds himself at the mercy of a group of men set on altering Jack’s perceptions of BDSM— and himself—as brutally as possible.

Jack’s sex life is now on camera for a whole new audience. (M/M+)

Check out Jack’s interview with FFP for a chance to win a free copy of Don’t or Antidote >>

Check out my interview with FFP for a chance to win a free copy of your choice of one of my books >>

NEW RELEASES: Forgive Us & Pleasures of Paradise

Forgive Us by Lynn KellingForgive Us and Pleasures of Paradise have been released! Follow the buy link below to read an excerpt, check out content labels, and find links to all of the other works in the Deliver Us series and Society of Masters…

Title: Forgive Us
Series: Deliver Us: Book 3
Also part of: The Society of Masters
Genre: M/M+ BDSM Contemporary
Length: Novel
Buy Link: Fantastic Fiction
Publisher: Forbidden Fiction

** FOUR STARS FROM BOYS IN OUR BOOKS **

“I really loved this book… I know I’ll be reading this again, just as I have all the other books in the series. I love these boys and I’ll probably never get enough.”

— Kristie, Boys in our Books

Pre-release review & giveaway here…


**TRACE AND GRAY INTERROGATE LYNN KELLING & JACK L. PYKE**

I’m not sure how something can be so much fun and so terrifying at the same time, but hopefully you guys will enjoy getting a taste of how Gray and Trace are making sure we’re treating their boys right. Many thanks to Sinfully Sexy for hosting us!!

Read this can’t-miss interview & enter the giveaway at Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews…

PleasuresofParadise_CvrPDF-260x400Title: Pleasures of Paradise
Series: Deliver Us: Interlude
Also part of: The Society of Masters
Genre: M/M BDSM Contemporary
Length: 9000 words
Buy Link: Fantastic Fiction
Publisher: Forbidden Fiction

Pleasures of Paradise has also been released today and is available EXCLUSIVELY through Fantastic Fiction, so stop by FFP and grab all of the Deliver Us prequels while you’re there. Expected Lies and Never Happened are both on sale, as well as a Trio Bundle of all the Deliver Us novels!

Coming next Tuesday: Antidote by Jack L. Pyke and Divine Surrender. Pre-order both now and save money! And don’t miss my interview with FFP – leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of any of my books for FREE!

Author Interviews & FREE eBook Drawings

KellingInterview

So many books being released, so many chances to win FREE BOOKS! To celebrate the release of Forgive Us, Antidote, Pleasures of Paradise and Divine Surrender, FFP has interviewed me and Jack L. Pyke. For multiple chances to win a free ebook, just check out the interviews and leave a comment. It’s as easy as that! I actually just won a free ebook by commenting on an interview with the talented J.A. Jaken, and another drawing is being held on the interview with author Kailin Morgan, who just had a delicious, romantic werewolf novel, His Highland Wold, released.

Lynn Kelling author interview with FFP & free ebook drawing >>
Jack L. Pyke author interview with FFP & free ebook drawing >>

All of these stories are available for pre-order NOW and tons of amazing stories are on sale now at Fantastic Fiction!

NEW – Pleasures of Paradise & Divine Surrender – Pre-order NOW!

PleasuresofParadise_CvrPDF-260x400Pleasures of Paradise will be released MAY 6 – the same day as Forgive Us! Divine Surrender will be released MAY 13, the same day as Antidote by Jack L. Pyke!

Pre-order Pleasures of Paradise here NOW to earn bonus points >>
Pre-order Divine Surrender here NOW to earn bonus points >>

Pleasures of Paradise is an interlude from Deliver Us.
Blurb: To celebrate their two year anniversary, Gabriel Hunter and Darrek Grealey escape to a tropical island in the Florida Keys catering only to Masters and slaves of the BDSM community. The types of gifts Darrek and Gabriel give each other during the trip are vastly different, testing them both even as they fall deeper in love, rediscovering the pleasures of the power dynamic which first caused them to fall in love. As the end of their trip draws near, Gabriel plans a surprise for Darrek unlike anything he’s previously faced. Darrek is forced to choose between his instinct to doubt himself and the chance to trust Gabriel in ways he’s never dreamed possible. (M/M, 9000 words)

Divine Surrender is a prequel to Deliver Us.
Blurb: When Ben Knox discovers a clean-cut, blond, apparently-straight teenager named Kyle Roth in his office, looking for a professional Dominant, instinct draws him in. Since the exceedingly particular Kyle has already passed on fellow Dominants-for-hire, Gabriel and Trace, Ben digs down beneath first impressions to expose Kyle’s true motivations. Reassured by Ben’s straightforward approach, Kyle demonstrates his willingness to obey and, quickly, their contract is signed. But, skillful as Kyle is at masquerading as the person the world expects him to be out of self-preservation, Ben has plenty of experience dealing with bruised souls. Kyle’s bruises, though, go deep and the vulnerable darkness that Kyle tries to hide lures Ben in and takes them both farther than either is prepared to go. (M/M+, 20,000 words)

Pre-order Forgive Us NOW and earn bonus points >>
Pre-order Antidote NOW and earn bonus points >>

The other prequels to Deliver Us, Never Happened and Expected Lies are ON SALE NOW only at FFP!

Remember, every purchase from and review posted on Fantastic Fictions’s website earns bonus points which are good for discounts or FREE books! Purchasing ebooks through the publisher directly means more of the royalties from each purchase go to the authors instead of corporations, plus there’s no chance of a book being banned due to censorship.

Thanks for reading!