Gay Wolves Changed My Life

I like writing about gay characters. I'm not sure if it's my long and torrid love affair with slash fan fiction (more on that later) or what, but several characters in my mainstream books have been gay.

So when I stared this indie writing thing, I discovered a gold mine: gay romance/ gay erotic romance. It was like a fangirl's dream come true. Original fiction written about hot guys falling in love and getting it on with each other. What could be better?

I know. Writing my own! Score!

So I did. I got nice reviews and some fan mail, but not a huge influx of sales. Well, I didn't have a huge number of titles, and in this business volume matters. I just wrote more.

But since I usually stare at a computer screen all day I need some kind of human interaction. Forums are a place where we writers gather to hang out and exchange info. It was on a forum that I learned a wonderful truth: gay wolves (gay werewolves) are publishing magic.

I'm not sure what it is about rough alpha males fighting for pack dominance that makes ladies (and men) love them, but it's true. At least for me.

The first gay wolf story I wrote hit the Amazon hot new releases chart back in late May early June and stayed there for a whole month. It also peeked at #4 on the All Romance site wide bestseller list and hit several iTunes bestseller lists.

It made me a lot of money and opened a door for several sequels.

It gave me a loyal following of rabid gay wolf loving fans. That's the best part because if a fan likes one gay wolf story, they will buy more gay wolf stories. And I have a lot of gay wolf stories to offer my hungry base.

Gay wolves also gave me the confidence to quit grad school and do this weird erotic romance thing full time.

There is a lesson to be learned here: if something works, writing wise, then do more of it. If something doesn't work, try it one more time. If you fail again, try something new until you find that magic formula.

I can't really say why my gay wolf story took off -- it was a perfect storm of timing, blurb, cover and story all mixed into one. Luck played a big part too. Do I hold a special gay wolf secret? No. But I do like writing about werewolves, and pack politics and gay men falling in love with each other under those conditions.


Even when I take a break from gay wolves to work on a BBW romance or a gay contemporary romance, I still thank those howling beasts for their help.

I wouldn't be here without them.