Website - www.bawdybookwriter.wordpress.com
Twitter - @BawdyBookWriter
Facebook - www.facebook.com/people/Abigail-Graves-K-Sterling/100003675825937
Show All
Hide All
-
Why do you write?
I have so many people in my head. I need to express them so people can hear and feel them. I’ll picture a couple in a vignette and I’ll start building around it, trying to figure out what got them there and what happens next. I can’t stop until that’s resolved.
-
When did you start writing?
I published my first book in November of 2014. I can’t remember when I started writing it. The hero and heroine rattled around in my head for years. I finally began writing them a few months before publishing.
-
What genre(s) do you write?
I started in M/F erotica then fell in love with writing M/M erotica.
-
What does your writing routine consist of?
I have a really hectic life. I’m busy with the kids- running my girls around for school, clubs and sports related activities and I homeschool our disabled son. And there are dogs, a husband and meals to prepare. During the day, I’m working through dialog and plots in my head while I’m at the stoplight or making coffee. Once dinner and homework’s done, I’m typing like mad until 2 or 3 in the morning. If I have some down time during the day, I’m usually reading over the previous night’s work.
-
What do you feel are your strengths as a writer? How have you developed these qualities?
I think that’s very subjective. My “strengths” are what appeals to my readers. And those may not appeal to all readers in general. I think I make strong characters that “feel” real. I work hard to make them “talk” like real people. And I keep the angst to minimum. I don’t like writing convoluted plots or unreasonable conflict. I enjoy keeping the story about the chemistry and “the business”. I’m writing very direct erotica. I want there to be a good plot but at the end of the day, it’s about really fun sex.
-
Where do you find your inspiration? Do you put yourself in your stories?
All sorts of things inspire me. A dating column and blog started my current work in progress. Pushing Reset is loosely based on a straight romance I read a decade ago while pregnant. My son and his special needs peers inspired my favorite character, Aiden from Hide And Keep. My transition to M/M was inspired by my readers. I wrote a character in my M/F series that became very popular and before he had his own book, I got a lot of “Is Alistair gay?” from readers. I loved the idea of him being gay but I understood that much of my regency erotica audience might not appreciate it. So, I invented K. Sterling as a pen name for a new experiment and Waiting For Mr. Ashwell was born. There’s a bit of me in every character I write. The music they listen to and books they read come off of my shelves. They eat and cook what I love and wrinkle their noses at the things that make me squeamish. I have a fixation with the number 6 and the heavy presence of cocktails is pretty much right out of my life. There’s a lot of my husband in them as well. Some of their lines have come straight from his mouth.
-
Outliner or improviser? Fast or slow writer?
I don’t outline. That’s way too sensible and organized. As I said, there’s a vignette and I work outwards in my head. I may start the first few chapters chronologically but I’ll jump all over the place as I go along. Sometimes, the end and epilogues happen before 25% of the book is written. Then, I’ll start plugging in what I need to make it all cohesive. I write absurdly fast. I’ve published 50-70k a month for the last year. I don’t think I’d recommend that to anyone.
-
Tell us about your latest book.
Falling For Disaster is a cranky hate-myself-for-loving-you story about a poor guy that gets dumped in the worst way possible and tries to hide in a rural Missouri town. He falls for a gorgeous tattooed fellow that’s a member of a biker club. They have to keep their affair very secret. Because white supremacist bikers and rural Missouri. I went for the hard sell with Saint but I think that by the end of the book, most readers are in love with him.
-
Indie publishing or traditional publishing - and why?
Initially, I went with indie publishing because none of the traditional publishers were responding. Now, I appreciate the control I have and don’t think I’d be able to settle into the slower pace of a traditional publisher. I really love that I can give just about anything a try and will know almost right away if it worked based on reviews and sales. On the other hand, I’m lousy at editing and I complain the entire time. I’d go with a traditional publisher if it meant that I could present an even more polished and professional product for my readers.
-
Any other projects in the pipeline?
Always! I’m about half way through my next book that I’m planning to publish around the end of November. I have most of a short featuring Aiden and Lane for Christmas and am researching for my January book.
-
What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?
Aside from financial security through doing something I love? I want M/M to become as mainstream as M/F. I think it’s an excellent platform to challenge the wider population’s perception of what Love is. Most of my readers are straight, middle-aged women and my characters are their first and sometimes only exposure to gay men and gay relationships. It’s so important to me that they fall in love with my guys and want them to live happily ever after. I want them to see positive, strong gay relationships and healthy, super intense sex lives. I think I’m presenting mostly realistic relationships and while the sex has to have a fantasy element, I steer away from the cliches and stereotypes. My men are mature and uber hot. They fall head over heels in love (most of the time) and there’s a lot that readers can relate to about their relationships, inside and outside of the bedroom.
-
What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever been given?
Read everything. Learn from the other writers in your genre and your favorites. Pay attention to the elements that make a book good for you. Also, read the books you think are “bad” and learn what doesn’t work. I forgot everything I ever learned about writing and have been getting it all back slowly with each book I write. If I’m not writing, I’m reading.
Tell us about your books.
|
Waiting For Mr. Ashwell will always occupy a very special place in my heart. This was me, dipping my toe into M/M erotica. Ned and Ash are soul mates and their love is so timeless. And they are adorable. Ned is impish, passionate and completely devoted to Ash. Ash is restrained, battle-scarred and endlessly patient. Unfortunately, they exist in a time and place where their love is quite taboo.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
After Waiting For Mr. Ashwell, I was completely smitten with M/M erotica. I decided to take a chance and write something contemporary and it ended up being more fun than I ever imagined. I haven’t looked back since. I imagined a hot guy, living in New York and lusting after his gorgeous neighbor. Mason doesn’t know his crush’s name but he knows he’s in love.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
Hide And Keep is still my favorite, among all of my books. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to top Aiden Sharp. He’s very complex and poor Lane doesn’t know what to make of him, or what to do with him. Aiden knows exactly what he’d like to do with Lane. Hide And Keep is also my readers’ favorite and I have plans for a short featuring Aiden and Lane at the end of December, as a holiday Thank You for the amazing support I’ve received this year.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
What happens when you drag a reluctant man, kicking and screaming, into love? Carter has been burned so many times and he’s just not ready to be hurt again. Fortunately, Reid knows what he wants and he doesn’t give up.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
Courage In Love is a more personal book for me. I grew up moving from state to state and country to country because my father was in the Army. Then, I went into the Army and met and married a boy that was also in the Army. I’ve been a soldier and an Army wife. Some of the places, conversations and experiences are from my own life and there are similarities between Ross and Parker’s courtship and my personal love story. Unlike Ross and Parker’s, dating apps weren’t around when I met my hero so I decided to see what would happen if you actually found love on Grindr.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
Love isn’t always easy and you don’t always like the person you love. The reaction to The Hard Fall has been interesting. Readers either love or hate Camden. I created him to be really hard to like and slowly let readers warm up to him. Some people are assholes. That’s life. I thought it would be fun to pair him with the sweetest, most romantic cowboy I could imagine. But even gentle, animal loving hunks have their limits. Thankfully, with enough patience, the hardest heart can be softened.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
At the heart of Pushing Reset is the idea that families can be made of very different pieces. It begins with a man that has his already fragile world turned upside down by tragedy. Brandon has lost his wife to depression and suicide and is left to raise his toddler son on his own. Fortunately, we have Jude. Jude has been in love with Brandon since they were children and vows to help Brandon, no matter what it costs him. Jude keeps his feelings for Brandon safely tucked away and they settle into being an unorthodox little family.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
|
What happens when you fall for someone you can’t have? What do you do when you can’t stop yourself even though you really, really dislike everything about him? No matter what Saint does, he can’t leave Finn alone and Finn hates himself after every explosive encounter with Saint. Once again, I created a character that was really hard to like but in the end, it’s all worth it.
View the Excerpt Buy from Amazon |
