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So You Wanna Write M/M …. by A.J. Llewellyn

Guest Bloggers, Polls 70

Despite many publishers’ predictions, this ‘niche’ genre isn’t dwindling. In fact, more and more M/M titles are flooding the market with varying degrees of quality…andaj PHOTO success.

I get emails daily from female authors who want to cash in on the M/M wave. That’s right, I said, cash in. Why else would many of them ask me how to authenticate their gay sex scenes – then act squeamish about actually watching gay sex? They ask what they should read or watch and I provide them with lengthy info. I’m astonished when they say, “I can’t watch gay porn. My husband would hate it.”

Mainstream authors don’t expect their spouses to be involved in their literary research, so why should M/M be different? Use your computer! There’s a world of free info out there. However, if you really can’t stand the thought of watching two men together, please consider writing something else.  It will show in your work.

1. Read some good M/M authors. Victor J. Banis is our reigning sovereign. In fact, you should read the Holy Trinity: Banis, William Maltese and Rick R. Reed.

2. If these three men procreated and produced a brilliant love child, he would be Josh Lanyon. He’s a must-read, too.

3. Research your chosen market. I highly recommend Josh’s definitive study, “Man oh Man! Writing M/M for Kinks and Cash”
http://www.joshlanyon.com/man_oh_man.html

4. Women Who Write M/M. There are some great ones and I hate to single anyone out since many are my friends so I am going to say read the ones who are multi-published such as Carol Lynne. Check out the top 10 lists of any publishing house. You’ll see the same names again and again. There are so many great writers for you to read!!

4 (b).  Watch good quality gay porn. All gay porn is not created equal. Skip the really nasty vomiting, fisting, underground torture

5. For the timid, watch mainstream gay movies like “Shelter” and the TV series “Dante’s Cove” and “Queer as Folk.”
AJ erik2Watch stuff – remember you are writing EROTIC ROMANCE. Opt for high quality sizzle.

If you are meant to write M/M, you will discover fetish aspects that you enjoy. However, remember that extreme BDSM such as fisting, water sports, rape, defecating, incest and child rape are not accepted by most erotic publishers. They also don’t sell well according to most publishers.

6. WHAT to watch?  I love “Bedroom Eyes,” a fantastic DVD featuring an amazing scene with Francois Sagat, one of the sexiest, busiest bottoms in gay porn. You can’taj bedroom eyes 2 go wrong with ANYTHING Sagat is in EXCEPT his fisting movies which he denounces. Erik Rhodes is in such obvious discomfort in their new movie for Falcon, that it’s not arousing. Sagat has an awesome website he recently wrangled back in a lawsuit and he doesn’t blog so much as post weird and wonderful Youtube vids and scorching pics. www.francoissagat.com

7. FREE STUFF. Sagat’s kissing video with former lover Francesco D’Macho is still the hottest thing I’ve ever seen and all they do is kiss! View it for free here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP4xgKafCIY.  Sagat has extensive material on Youtube. Some are gorgeous. The scene where he is kissing a woman proves he is the sexiest kisser alive. Some, where he looks high and lip-syncs Britney Spears or the one where he bitch-slaps a trannie are well, freaky.

8. AJ’S FAVES: I’m a whore for Kristen Bjorn’s movies. I’m surprised how few gay porn aficionados know this Swedish filmmaker’s work. His “Fire Dance” is still my go-to movie. It has tons of explosive, hot sex and visual imagery that you won’t forget. Bjorn’s movies are famous for beautiful guys who really connect. He scours the world for men with gorgeous faces and cocks lovingly shot – a nice addition to the incredibly erotic sex. Bjorn’s trademark is exquisite cinematography, stunning locations and sensational, plentiful cum shots. I think his gift is that he was a porn star who now directs. He understands his performers and draws the best from them. He made a very good video interviewing some of his stars called “Kristen Bjorn’s World of Men.” It’s a real eye-opener. He shows how carefully staged even basic sex scenes are. He also interviews many of his stars who talk about the difficulty of being in a sustained relationship whilst indulging in their need for lots of random sex. 

My favorite scenes are the ’rape’ scene in the dining room between a master and his servant and random ones such as a milk man pouring milk all over two hot guys on a roof (both from “Fire Dance”). The leather bar sequence in “Bone Island” is hot. In fact my fave porn actor (now retired) Juan Jimenez stars in both. www.kristenbjorn.com  Juan Jimenez AKA also made movies as Antonio Marquez. See if you can catch his masturbation sequence as “Antonio” for Men at Play:AJ Antonio_MP www.menatplay.com
It is still one of their most popular videos. He’s as sexy as hell. Also former gay power couple Pedro Andreas and Daniel Marvin have an awesome scene there. Falcon Studios (for which my “Massive Studio Series” partner John Bruno directs movies) has a fantastic selection of movies for any palate. They too, pick the sexiest guys and John has an eye for talent. www.falconstudios.com/
It’s amazing how many guys drift in and out of gay porn. It has a certain cache with guys who love to fuck – gay or straight.

Performers are paid more for gay than straight, but not by much. They mostly all have day jobs.

This brings me to another point: Gay porn is embraced and revered by its own community in a way that straight porn is not. There are many reasons for this. I find it a fascinating subject and could go on at length, but I won’t. Because of this acceptance, fans – and I include authors in this group – have closer access now more than ever to gay porn stars. Many of them are nice and love their female fans. The smart ones know that more and more women are watching their movies. There are some who don’t care and really resent their manly world invaded by a bunch of women.

The Smart Girl’s Guide to Navigating Gay Porn.

1. You can download scenes for under $20 from most good porn sites such as www.falcon.com and www.ragingstallion.com but I’d suggest using that some money to invest in a pay site such http://www.worldofmen.com/ a fantastic site created by porn star Collin O’Neal. He has sexy scenes galore with tons of free snippets and extensive notes on each couple in his gallery. He keeps threatening to quit producing, but is still currently active. I recommend his site because you get a bunch of others along with it for free.

AJ francesco and damien wedding2. For a look at a totally wild married gay porn star couple, check out www.staghomme.com (about $23 a month). Francesco D’ Macho and Damien Crosse have cutting-edge, contemporary gay porn that runs the gamut from hot romance (Rosso Blu) to controversial (Damien Crosse’s auto-erotic asphyxiation scene.) Their vids are frankly hit and miss.  “Just 18” is disturbing because the model (way older than 18) is quite clearly stoned out of his gourd.
 Their behind-scenes Stag TV episodes however, are unparalleled elsewhere on the web. They are hysterical and hot!

3. Follow the men! They almost all tweet, FB and blog. However, be careful who you tweet, befriend, email and text. Damien Crosse discovered some wanker on Twitter used his name to open an account. The imposter fooled everybody, even models who know the gay porn superstar. Damien was forced to take action. The imposter’s account now says NOTDamien Crosse. The real Damien’s account is Damien_Crosse.

4. Don’t demand constant contact and don’t demand free stuff.  Remember these are all PERFORMERS…many with a short shelf life. They get in the biz under one name, they chop and change…and then vanish. Some, like Michael “The Monster” Brandon develop severe life problems with drugs and legal issues.  For an absolutely first-rate but disturbing portrait of a gay porn star read the San Francisco Weekly’s article: http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-10-01/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-monster/1
Respect their privacy. Some stars are VERY honest about life issues, such as the recently retired Jake Dakota who recently quit the biz citing his day job layoff as being the reason: http://jakedakota.com/

5. Use your smarts. A reader emailed me that she befriended a gay porn star on Twitter and everything was peachy until she declined to wire him money. It is unlikely a reputable performer will hit you up for cash. Report such activity to appropriate authorities. However, if you ask stars for photos, DVDs, used jockey straps, cum-soaked socks etc. expect to pay. Almost all of them have their own websites with reasonable prices for these items. Remember the line from the Fleetwood Mac song, “Players only love you when they’re playing.” It is absolutely true. These are performers who are paid to entertain.

6. Gay porn performers are often rent boys, escorts, etc. R.J. Danvers http://rjdanversxxx.blogspot.com/ and Erik Rhodes http://erikrhodes.blogspot.com/ forAJ eric rhodes example, blog openly about this. Read them and learn! I still laugh out loud about Erik’s bemusement that a trick paid him three grand to suck his toes! He also blogged recently that a street hooker tried to speak to him and he was outraged until, “I remembered, hey, I’m a hooker too!” R.J. is one of the youngest porn stars on the scene and only just turned 21. He’s a sweet guy and his posts feature lots of free clips.

Erik Rhodes is the most beautiful, yet most miserable SOB in the biz. Some love his blog posts, some hate them. We’ve corresponded and he is a gifted writer – probably the smartest of the gay porn star bloggers – but he can be a pain in the ass when he trashes everybody, including himself. He threatens suicide often and once posted a pic on his blog drinking GHB. Erik wanted to fuck Francois Sagat for a long time and when Falcon flew the two stars to Prague, he bitched about it in his blog [beautifully]. He posted about his unpleasant fisting sequence with Sagat. Who knew there’d be no lube in Prague?

This is a key point too. These small details are good to know if you’re going to use these “extreme” scenes in your books. It’s not all fun and raging orgasms.

7. One of the most open, informative and safety-conscious performer is Steve Cruz. Being a performer/director, he gets great interviews with other porn stars and blogs about his productions day by day. You’ll feel like you are there.  www.stevecruzxxx.com.  Steve also discusses his search for love – an interesting glimpse into a gay man’s mind.

AJ erik8. Non-performer gay porn blogs. There are many, but a lot of these “gank” endless nude pics from one another and from gay porn sites and don’t really offer a lot of insight into the biz. However www.smutjunkies.com has a comprehensive list of links and also hot pics.  Some blogs/sites feature good interviews. Here’s one I love with newcomer Rocco Giovanni: http://nyac.connexion.org/rssitem.cfm?feedid=572&feedtype=1&rssfavsub=0&q=&p=048&id=135252

http://www.gaypornblog.com/ is a good starting point too with links to Naked Sword and a host of other sites.
 
9. Fan girl Blogs:

One of the oldest blogs by a female fan of gay porn is: http://gaypornforgirls.blogspot.com/  She doesn’t update often but her material is hot and she has links for women fans of gay porn BY women fans of gay porn!

Fairview Sue is also a fantastic blog by a woman. She has unbeatable links to blogs all over the world: http://fairviewsue.wordpress.com/

“Guiltily Pleasured” is another straight woman who blogs about gay porn. She is a total fan girl and features lots of pics and her view of different releases: http://gpcrush.com/guiltilypleasured/

Now…get busy and WRITE!

Aloha oe,

A.J.

To help the budding M/M writer, or even if you’re not interested in a writing career, A.J. is providing a free guest membership for two weeks at Massive Studios to a lucky blogger. This membership allows you to see all current material on the site and the first episode of Bad Cops, the webisode version of his best-selling book. www.massivestudio.com

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70 comments

  • Wow A.J., Thanks for all the awesome links. I am always on the lookout for the best there is in gay porn. I’ve come across some pretty crappy videos and I find that the more you pay the better the quality of the scenes and porn stars tend to be. Not that there aren’t some reasonable prices out there. I never considered following a porn star on twitter or the like, but I just might. It would be interesting to get an insider’s perspective about the lifestyle and even how their careers influence their lives.

    I agree 100% that if you find yourself repulsed at the thought of watching gay porn then you most definitely shouldn’t get into writing m/m erotica. Not that I’m saying watching gay porn is a requirement.

    I am quite saddened by folks that want to hop on the ‘band-wagon’ because they think it will net them dollars. It’s like becoming a social worker when you hate working with people.

    • Hi Sage,
      I love your work so I don’t think you need to worry about your research however I totally agree about the quality of free porn vs paid. Most porn stars who have their own sites and the big companies have enough free snippets to give you an idea of what’s inside the box…I could spend hours doing “research”…lol

  • This is a great post, A.J. Very informative and eye-opening, thank you! I have to be annoyingly honest here, it irritates me to have people trying to write gay romance just to “cash in” on the trend. Mostly because, unless they are the rare breed of person who has the talent to write beautifully whether they feel it or not, it’s painfully obvious that they have no real passion for the genre and are just chasing dollar signs. It reflects badly on everyone else writing in the genre in a way that poor writing in straight romance does NOT reflect on the entire genre, because we are still working toward mainstream acceptance. So, yeah. It is, as my girl-child would say, irksome.
    *
    And on that same subject, I am also puzzled as to how anyone expects to write about gay men having sex if they can’t bring themselves to watch it o_O I don’t watch produced porn myself, because I usually laugh and I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to. (Maybe I just haven’t found the right films; I’ll have to check out some of your suggestions!) But I’ll go on X-tube and watch the amateur stuff all the time. The guys may not have model-perfect bods, but they are REALLY into each other, obviously turned on and sometimes obviously in love, and I find that real-life passion extremely compelling. And as long as they have a decent camera angle, I can still get the mechanics of whatever I’m trying to look at *g*

  • People actually ask for cum-soaked socks? I feel a bit queezy now. 😛
    *
    Great advice AJ. I’m sure lots of budding authors out there will take your advice to heart. I always picture a scene in my head and if one guy is on top and licking the other guy’s belly button at the same time, unless he’s in Cirque du Soleil, someone didn’t figure out that the human body doesn’t bend that way. Seems to make sense to watch two guys (or even a guy and a girl) and see what body parts can touch/reach others while in certain positions. I think for height as well. I’ve read some stories where one partner is significantly shorter and having been with a man who was 6’2″ to my 5’3″, I know there are certain things that just don’t work. So seems that finding a video with two guys about the same size as your characters shouldn’t be that hard. And think of all the fun you’ll have searching. 🙂
    *
    So my advice from a reader’s perspective is please don’t leave me thinking the guy is a yoga guru after a sex scene (unless he is). Make sure the body parts, bend, reach, behave in such a way. I’ll spend more time focusing on the story and less time staring into space and wondering if you could really reach a guy’s nipple while in that position.

    • Hi Tam, thanks for the comment…however gay male porn stars are unusually er…bendy, especially Francois Sagat. In Bedroom Eyes, his partner manages to have him bent over double, sucking him and fucking him at the same time. You have to see it to believe it. It doesn’t look uncomfortable eithe, judging by the way Sagat’s dick stays hard!

      • But the trick is to write your sex scene appropriately. If your hero is a porn star or acrobat, then he could be a bendy boy, if he’s an accountant or english prof, probably not so much and it would make go “yeah right” rather than “woah hot”. 🙂

        • You know Tam I totally get what you are saying. I have often done a mental double take. stopping and starring off into space and thinking that is just not humanly possible Or is it? To put it bluntly. How does a guy give his partner a BJ while he is on top, inside, and they are face to face. I would love to meet the guy on the bottom. Because wow where would he hide that bad boy…lol

  • Excellent post, A.J. and brilliant point. If the act makes you embarrassed or squeamish then you shouldn’t be writing the bloody stuff. If you can’t be out and proud about writing it, too – and can’t say “I write gay romance/erotica” (whatever you write,) then you shouldn’t be writing it. I can generally tell when I read a book whether the author has the love for the genre, or they are just someone who’s jumped on the bandwagon because it’s the Thing.
    –
    I started out by looking at stills – http://www.freegaypix.com/ – when I wrote Standish I would stop and think… “hang on – this is actually doable?” and then find a still which confirmed it was – and now watch porn when I can find it – and it varies in quality!
    –
    Are there any historical porn dramas? I’d pay good money for men in costumes – and out of ’em.
    –
    strike that – if I had the money, I’d be MAKING them.

    • Hi Erastes,

      How nice to see you here. Thank you for a very interesting comment. I think you SHOULD make historical gay porn. The closest I have come to seeing anything of the kind is Kristen Bjorn’s movies because of his crumbling castles and his gorgeous film-making. Fire Dance and Spanish Uprising are good examples of how you feel you’ve almost stepped back in time.

    • Erastes,
      I know of a video that would be exactly what you’re looking for…though it’s just porn not drama. There’s no talking, they basically come back after a wild night partying and go at it. They’ve got the feathered hats and with the knee breeches and fluffy peasant shirts. The best part is what they do with the long johns. Mmm. That was a good scene.
      *
      Anyway, it’s UKNakedMen’s Libertines staring Daniel Marvin and Pedro Andreas. When the vid was made I believe they were a couple, though I heard they broke up earlier this year.

  • If I ever wanted to start writing I will know were to look.

    I agree with you AJ, if you can’t stand to look at it how can you write properly about it? I think we as the readers will pick that up.

  • Well, AJ, what can I say? Plenty, I suppose, but I shall limit it to admitting that it’s always a pleasure to read anything by you (or about you), this blog no exception. And, of course, that has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that you mentioned my name (well, okay, that DOES provide you with SOME additional brownie points). So, thanks for the plug (in the blog, not elsewhere), and now I have to get back to proofing I, DEBAUCHEE, first in my “I” series m/m novels for MLR Press. –See ya hangin’ ten on the surfboard! Aloha!

  • Happy Friday to you Wave and AJ! Great post AJ! I can’t understand why some women would want to write m/m if they are squeamish or scared or whatever, to WATCH or learn about gay sex….I enjoy a good STORY, period! Most of what I read today are m/m romance/erotica, however you wanna label them. I agree with Cynthia, anyone who wants to learn about m/m relationships (NOT just sex) they need to read your books. I hope the woman who thought to “cash-in” on the m/m genre really does some research, because it is true there are a lot of BAD books out there, but thankfully there are authors, both male and female who are writing GREAT books for the RIGHT reasons. I literally read hundreds of books each year, and I have some that I re-read constantly, and some I couldn’t wait to finish and never see again. As obvious in this post, I am not a writer, but I can appreciate a truly good story! And, I also enjoy a good sex scene, cause I may be a woman, but I am NOT dead, and good sex is good sex, no matter what combination of chromosomes are involved 😉

    • Hi Elaine,

      What you said is absolutely true. I think there are good and bad books in every genre but had to address the M/M genre since it’s the hot one right now…two years ago when I started writing it, people kept saying, ‘it won’t last’ and now it’s bigger than Gunga Din! 🙂

    • Hi Sue, I know you do. But you also do great interviews. You still have one of the best interviews I ever read with Francois Sagat, plus you’re the only woman I know who was at Francesco and Damien’s wedding and posted such a great pic gallery!

  • Great blog, AJ! As someone who writes both M/F and M/M, I found myself nodding with so many or your comments. I write gay erotica because I love it, not because I want to make money. Nothing thrills me more than to take two strong men and to bring them together, all the while, exploring every facet of their personalities and love for one another. Nothing annoys me more than to see someone just throw together a book and not respect the genre, just so they can make quick buck.

    • My Stephani, you are an awesome author of M/M novels, one of the reasons I emailed you and asked you to partner up with me. It was a joy to have my highest sales ever last month with “Tall, Mean and Darkly” which I think was a wonderful collaboration for us. I look forward to writing the sequel and many more with you!

  • Great post AJ!

    “I can’t watch gay porn my husband will hate it.” I’m still laughing at the one on your blog about “biting is balls” “I can’t ask my husband he’s not gay.” this is one writer I hope I never get to read. 😉

    I don’t know if you can answer this but will we ever get to see the car wash scene from your book Laid on film?

    • Hi Elayne,
      Thanks for the comment! I can’t wait until we do the sex scenes from Laid for Massive Studio. I know John is worried about the expense of all that water and yet he thinks it’s a hot scene and he’s always wanted to shoot at a car wash. We’ll shoot the scene…not sure when, but we’re determined guys!

  • Sagat’s haircut or whatever that is bothers me. Great body but what the hell is that on his head.

    I’m a huge Colt fan myself. Topshelf! Body hair… Imagine That!

    • Hi Teddypig…I will be honest. I think Sagat is totally sexy but the tattooed head is weird and when he speaks he is SO gay but he is still hot to watch! Thanks for stopping by! And Colt is good…love their calendars!

      • OMG! That bitch is so freaking vain he has to tattoo a dang wig on his head? Oh, that is just.. So! Wrong!

        If you are bald, be bald. If you have a problem with being bald then I think you need to learn to love yourself because until you do that little thing then you probably don’t know how to love anyone else.

  • Hey AJ!

    Wonderful post!

    I too can not understand how someone would want to write M/M without watching first. I for one don’t view it as being any different than straight porn, except, well, no boobies. LOL!!!!

    But I do have one question for you, should the M/M story come first and the sex come second or should you build the story around the sex? Also are there any cliches we should stay away from while writing M/M romances??

    Oh and yeah you hit the nail on the head when you said Victor is one of the best…he is a very sweet man.

    Hugs,
    Amanda

    • Hi Amanda, very very interesting question. My stories always start with the story and the sex is built in. However, when I undertook the Massive Studio series with director John Bruno, our second work together “Bad Cops” was the first time I ever wrote a book around the sex scenes. That was because he shot six sex scenes and I wrote my book (with the same characters from our first book, Laid), around those scenes.
      I found it difficult actually to write that way but I think the end result is a gritty, fast-paced book. I had to come up with clever reasons why the character ‘Lucky’ wasn’t in any of the scenes when he was a major character in the first book. Of course, that’s where I used the romance angle. I sent him on a trip!
      Writing this way benefitted by my having created the characters already in the first book, Laid, but the Bad Cops Diaries have been a fantastic experience and one I look forward to continuing.
      I still in my own books write the way I always do, story first, building in the best sex scenes possible. The sex scenes come to me like little movies, so that is always fun, lol

  • Gosh, as a reigning sovereign, I hardly know what to say. Actually, I’m still relishing the thought of William, Rick and I producing a love child. Maybe I’ll write a story…

    Very fun and informative piece. Thanks, A.J.

    Victor

    • Dear Dear Victor J, you honor me with your comment. We all love you, I hope you know that sincerely. Glad you are tickled at the notion of a love child. Write it and I’ll buy it!
      Thanks for stopping by. YOU RULE!!

  • Wow. What a hugely informative post, AJ. Should provide lots of help for aspiring writers — and old hands.
    .
    And thanks for the kind words. I’m going to hit my legendary parental units up for child support.

    • ROFLMAO Josh…glad you liked it. William emailed me privately and said he liked the idea that he, Rick and Victor could have produced you…so you have some grounds for proof here. LOL…

  • Great post, AJ! Thanks for the recs. I was a fan of het and lesbian porn for years and never understood why I, as a woman, wasn’t supposed to actually endorse or enjoy porn. Now that I’m firmly entrenched on the m/m side of things, my guilty pleasure would be the barely legal Candy Spookie crew. Not only are those boys HOT, (what can I say, I’m nearing midlife and going through my twink phase) but producer/star Kyros Christian’s entrepreneurial spirit is most inspiring to see in a young man. I also admire the no-apology stance of up-and-coming actors like Jason Pitt, who are open to their friends and families and say hey, this what I do, people like it, so what’s the problem? I’ll have to check out the blogs by women who love gay porn!

  • Hold it, hold everything! Are you telling me that cad William emailed you privately about having babies with Rick and me? He’s ashamed of us? And when I think what we did for him in the throes of, well, our throws…l’uomo e bestia (freely translated, men are beasts) That’s the last love child he’ll get from me. And he can pay Josh the child support, too.

    Victor

    • Victor
      No worries. You’ll be able to get back at William because he’s blogging here on Monday. I’ll send you a link to his post. 😀

      *

      I’m not sure that Rick can be one of the parents though, unless Josh is a lot younger that I thought. 🙂

      • Age has nothing to do with it when a love child is involved, Wave. I still stand by my comment. LOL…Victor as sovereign could order my execution or something however, so I’ll quite talking now…

  • Fantastic blog AJ, but that’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to you and writing anything… IMHO. 😀
    As a reader I shudder to think that anyone is looking to write m/m just for the sake of ‘cashing in’.
    I’ve been reading for ever and when a writer is just churning out the stories without being personally involved in the writing it shows and I, for one, won’t get on their wagon.

    I need the stories that I read ~ and like Elyane I read hundreds of books a year ~ to say something and to be real. Not necessarily *real* as in a real-life sense, but there has to be heart in a story and I have to be able to connect in some way with the characters and the story.
    If a writer is just writing to cash in, there won’t be anything to grab onto and I sure won’t spend my money on it. Silly people. :eyeroll:

    • Thank you Kathy, you’re so sweet. I know you read a lot of books so I am always interested in your viewpoint. I agree that stories need to have a ‘story’ and I am certain you can tell the difference when somehone is writing with their wallet and not their heart in mind…

  • I don’t buy gay porn DVDs because I don’t want to inflict them on my husband, but I also think that’s why God gave us broadband and big hard drives… And even back in the days when a 56k modem was bleeding edge technology, there was alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.gaymen 🙂 I still have a couple of CDs worth of downloads from there from when I was trying to find some reference material for an artist friend who could find lots of artist reference books with female nudes, but only one with male reference nudes. One of the Manimation clips resulted in “Oh my. So that *is* physically possible, and that’s how. [rings writing partner] I have a story idea…”

  • Great post AJ! Let me take a moment to thank you for joining us today, and sharing your experience and perspective.
    ~
    I do want to say, not everyone who prefers movies like ‘Shelter’, ‘Queer As Folk’, etc is timid. Personally, I just prefer my video with plot, and the men to connect to each other. That’s the only thing I have against commercial porn. I have to agree with Ally who stated that the stuff on X-tube is better because the guys really seemed to connect. It’s the same reason I read m/m, the connection. Thank you for the suggestions for good commercial porn. I’ll check them out.
    ~
    I won’t even comment on the ‘so-called’ authors who contact you. It wouldn’t be polite, but I will say, you are right when you say it will show in their work.

    • Hi Lynn, Thanks so much…believe it or not, many authors who want to write M/M were even ‘funny’ about watching a movie like Shelter which is one of my favorite movies – gay or straight. I think there are so many awesome movies and TV shows for them to watch and it was hard to single out a few.

      • OMG! If they can’t handle Shelter, please don’t ever let them near m/m!
        ~
        Likewise, it’s one of my favorites, too. I keep thinking how can anyone have a problem with that movie? You know, I thought having a degree in Anthropology would stop people from surprising me anymore, but no, they still do. *head/desk*

  • Excellent post, AJ. I already thought gaypornforgirls.blogspot.com was awesome, so I’ll try your other recs too. Not for writing though. XD

  • Great post, AJ! And thanks for the mention (and the very kind words)…although I don’t know if I’ve heard my name and “holy” mentioned in the same breath ever before.

  • A.J,

    Thank you for the links as always i knew i would learn something from you.. its nice to know that i am at the very least heading in the right direction. i personally havent struggled too much with writing my sex scenes in the M/M book however i dont think of it as any different then M/F. The only Difference is body parts and names.. the feelings the emotions are different sex is sex. There is nothing Dirtier about 2 men having sex then a man and a woman.. then again there is nothing normal about me anyways thank you again for more wonderful information that i hope will make me half as wonderful a writer as you are. You my dear are one of the best.

    love and admiration always

    silver
    oxoxox

  • Great article!
    ~
    I’m probably on the “timid” end of the explicitness of what I’ll watch. But I certainly like to watch it. I definitely can’t see the point of trying to write a m/m romance if you’re actually turned off by it. I suppose it’s the same as all those snooty types who think “oh anyone can write a category romance. I’ll knock one off next week and just watch the royalties roll in.” And the publishers can spot them coming a mile off. They reek of cynicism, I suppose.
    ~
    The “my husband would hate it” thing made me laugh. Is he the boss of you? Get with the 21st century, ladies!

  • If we want to talk about Husbands.. Mine asks before he walks into any room me and the laptop are he asks what i am watching before he even comes over.. then there are the times he points and laughs.. Mine doesnt care one way or the other and just leaves me to my work..

  • Thanks AJ! I’m cracking up over the holy trinity and their love child. And woo hoo! for lot’s of yummy porn links (Steve Cruz!), although I have a tough time with Erik Rhodes. Beautiful, but too much self loathing…
    *
    And my husband’s thoughts on all this? He comes into the room, smiles and asks, “So, you gonna show me what the boys taught you today?”

  • Great info, AJ. And really have to agree with you about Bjorn. I’m addicted to Men at Play which I found because I’d seen some other Bjorn work and Googled him. He’s my fave really. What an eye for what’s hot.

    Oh, and my DH? He sees what’s on my computer, laughs, and as he’s leaving the room tells me, call me when you’re horny… or when the big royalty checks are here. 😉

  • Hey AJ-
    Awesome post, as usual. And very informative. Although, not to make fun of anyone, I had to laugh about the females who want to write M/M but can’t look at gay porn. I am not understanding that one. Just my opinion. Also, Kristen Bjorn is awesome. I’ve never heard of anyone ever mention him before other than myself and my friend Scott. Josh is great also.

    You forgot to mention yourself though among some of the must read great authors. I have only been following your work since this year but you are great too. And on my auto-buy. You have a pure essence to your work- if that makes any sense-lol. Your work is refreshing and real. I always feel good after reading one of your books. I look forward to reading many more from you.

    Jess- your blog is awesome, thanks.

    Dani

  • On the historical gay porn front, “Gladiators of Rome” was pretty hot.
    *
    Never had any trouble getting a fisting scene past the editors. Of course, I write them as “more! More!” “You sure?” “MORE!” and not harsh.
    *
    Next time one of the hack writers wants advice on writing gay sex, say “Try it out. You can do a handjob or blow job. You can bottom for anal. And Mr. I-would-hate-gay-porn will LOVE that research.” Watch ’em run.
    *
    Watch porn. Read widely. Good stuff and bad. Gay, straight, no sex at all, genre and literary. Learn what works for you in terms of story, in terms of characters. Learn what doesn’t so you don’t find yourself 30K words into something and realize you hate it and everyone in it.

  • Many thanks, A.J. (and Wave). This has got to be one of the most informative posts I’ve seen here. My Internet porn cruises have been haphazard; now I have destinations! 😉

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