>
Hi everyone, today I am very excited to welcome Brita Addams, author of Suprises, the first book in the new Romeo Club series.
Brita, thank you so much for stopping by Joyfully Jay. I am super excited to have you here visiting my blog!
Thank you so much for having me, and congratulations on your new blog. It’s lovely.
<blushes> Aw, thanks!
You have recently released a new book, Surprises, which is the first of the Romeo Club series. I really enjoyed this story and reviewed it here earlier this week. To start us off, would you like to tell my readers a little bit about the book from your perspective?
Sure. Romeo Club is ostensibly a dating service for gay men of distinction. It’s upscale and caters to an exclusive clientele. Aaron, the blond cutie who works the front desk, and a few other things along the way, has an eye for the special guys, and when he senses that certain quality, he brings the man to the attention of Blake, who owns the club.
In walks Don, who is sick of the club scene and wants something more and we have the set up for Surprises.
The Romeo Club series will be a set of vignettes, each with a different client and that person’s particular kink. They’re short stories, so by definition, they get to the meat of the vignette rather quickly. There won’t be any romances involved, as these are pure erotica, meant to get the reader all warm and excited.
Surprises focus on the activities of a private BDSM club. You also have a historical series that takes place in a similar type of club. As an author, what is it that draws you to this type of setting?
First, let me say that Romeo’s isn’t a private BDSM club. [Oops, thanks for the correction!] It’s a private club that caters to the sexual kinks of its clientele. BDSM is just one of those kinks.
Historically, I don’t know for a certainty that such clubs existed, but sex certainly did. Hence, I created the Sapphire Club and treated the happenings there in terms of the time in which it existed. The kinks ran the gamut, within the strictures of technology and invention.
With respect to the Romeo Club, what fascinates me, overall, is the fact that people really do go to such clubs, motivated by their desires to get the most out of their sex lives. To explore beyond that which is universally considered the norm, and dig deep within themselves to find that one element that will satisfy their inner most desires and needs.
Creating a modern day Sapphire Club seemed a given to me. I often pay tribute in my writing to that series, which has been very good to me. However, that is where the two diverge. With each of the Sapphire Club stories, there was an involved story woven, with the club as the backdrop.
In the Romeo Club series, we’ll explore a different fantasy, a different kink with each installment. Not all will be BDSM, as a matter of fact, the second in the series, Rubbed the Right Way, explores erotic massage. [mmm, nice. I need one of those!]
The stories are only 5-6,000 words each, and are thoroughly erotica, which focuses on the fantasy/need/desire rather than delving into the deep reasons why.
My intention with Romeo Club is to give the reader a hot read either over their lunch hour or at bedtime, when time is at a premium. Each story is self-contained and will only have the carry-over characters of Aaron and Blake in most every one, though not all.
The second story, Rubbed the Right Way, is coming out on December 5. What can you tell us about the rest of this series?
As I said above, Blake and Aaron are carry-over characters and the depth of their association will be revealed slowly as time goes on. Don may or may not appear again, but he definitely won’t be a major player again.
Each story will have a new main character, around which the fantasy or kink will revolve. It’s all about what their desire is and how the Romeo Club can fulfill it.
I have three written, and my intention is to write twelve to fifteen, which if accepted by the editors at Riptide, will be published over a course of time. I’ve proposed several and the editors are receptive, but acceptance is subject to the quality of each story.
I read on your website about the process you use for choosing character names and how you look at things like early census records and your family tree. Did you have any special inspiration for the character names in this story?
Jay, you do your homework! Well played. As a matter of fact, the answer is no to that question. I don’t know any Aarons, Blakes or Dons. This story and another recent release, A Minute After Midnight, are the only two that don’t have characters named for someone I either know or who are in my family tree.
You have quite a big backlist so obviously you spend a lot of time writing. What else do you like to do to keep you busy?
Ah, well, I, ah, write. That’s the truth of it. I spent many years playing at it, raising my family, and putting creative writing on the back burner. Now, it is one of my driving forces. I spend as much as eight hours a day writing, revising, and editing, but always something to do with the craft.
In the evening, I watch a couple hours of television with my husband and daughter, then retreat to read for an hour or two before I go to sleep.
I’m never at a loss for something to do and I positively loathe the word “bored.” My children knew never to say that word in my presence because they knew I could always find something for them do. I often joke that if I’m ever bored, it’s by design. But, alas, I can honestly say, I’m never bored—quite the contrary. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do all I want to do.
Do you find you like to read similar books to what you write? What genre do you most enjoy reading?
I love historical, het or m/m, though sadly, there aren’t a lot of m/m that are worth reading in that sub-genre. I’m picky, I suppose. I’m very drawn to m/m these days and have been for quite sometime, starting with my reading of everything in Aleksandr Voinov’s bag of tricks. He’s damn brilliant and I simply love his work. I love biographies, just about anything historical in just about any genre. I read a little contemporary romance, but not much. I’m not much for the “Hey, baby, wanna f**k,” bar line and I find that all too often in the contemporaries I’ve read or shall I say, attempted to read. The guys don’t have to work for it, if you know what I’m saying, and that doesn’t appeal particularly. Romeo Club, you’ll notice, aren’t romances. The purpose of the visit to RC is to satisfy a sexual need. However, in a romance, I want some romance and not just excuses to get it on.
I am extraordinarily grateful for Riptide and their attention to detail. I’m looking forward to reading my fellow author’s work. If the experience I had is indicative of what everyone goes through in the editing process, (and I’ve heard from the other authors that indeed it is harrowing, but satisfying), Riptide is about to turn the m/m, gay fiction genre on its ear.
None too soon, from my standpoint. Sad to say, I have more “I Couldn’t Finish,” books in that file on my Kindle than I have in the “Read” one. I crave quality, good editing, and believable characters.
It seems I’m everywhere. Here’s all my haunts:
Email address: britaaddams@gmail.com
Website URL: http://www.britaaddams.com
Blog URL: http://www.britaaddams.com
Twitter: @britaaddams
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/britaaddams
Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4093476.Brita_Addams
Thank you so much for coming! You are welcome back any time!
