Please welcome Kay Berrsford, whose first book, Bound for the Forest, just came out this month. Kay has some great words of writing wisdom for us, which I think will be familiar to any of you who have been students of mine. She and I definitely share the same philosophy.
CONTEST! Leave a comment with your email addy and you'll be entered to win a free copy of Bound for the Forest.
I’m a real newbie to this game. My first novel, ‘Bound for the Forest,’ an m/m fantasy romance, was released by Loose Id this month. ‘Bound’ was the second manuscript I ever the sent to a publisher. The first, an m/f Regency romance, offered to a major print publisher, was received back with a polite ‘thanks but no thanks’ at the end of last year.
I was disheartened, but my friends told me to stop trying to write what I believed publishers wanted and write instead what I wanted to read. So I did, throwing all notions of ever getting published out of my window. (They were pretty small notions. As I live in a ground floor flat, I scarcely heard the ‘bump’ when they landed.)
The result was ‘Bound,’ and it’s definitely my book. I tossed in all my favorite ingredients – m/m romance, sexy ex-soldiers, forest realms with faerie magic, al fresco sex, and a liberal dose of BDSM. The tree-shifters and orgiastic Wild Men took me by surprise, but writing is always most fun when the story takes on a life of its own. So I let everything unleash. Even the bondage with magic ivy.
With ‘Bound for the Forest,’ I did my publisher research after I’d completed, seeking places where my book might fit rather than molding my writing to spec. And, at least for me, it worked! I’m very grateful that Loose Id gave my story a home, and now my job is to persuade you all to share in my strange and sexy imaginings. Oh, and yell at all you great and aspiring writers out there exactly what my friends told me: write your book.
Thank you so much to Jessica Freely for letting me blog here today. It’s a real honor!
You are so welcome, Kay. It's been a pleasure. And thank you for sharing an excerpt from Bound with us!
Bound for the Forest is available now from Loose Id.
Blurb: Ex-soldier Brien forces Scarlet, a sexy young thief, to lead him into a forest realm of magic, sex, bondage and blood. Can they discover their true feelings for each other before the forest spirits enslave them both?
Excerpt:
Scarlet slammed his fist onto the counter, knuckles clenched white. The jars clinked out a warning, and the captain closed in at Scarlet’s side. Brien touched Scarlet’s shoulder; despite himself, Scarlet felt his anger wane a little. He screwed his eyes tight. Brien’s heavy breath rustled the hair on his brow.
“Listen, Scarlet. I’ll tell you what you are. I’ve known it for some time now.”
He shuddered only slightly as Brien’s thumb traced the line of his cheekbone. “When…when you first saw me, you told me I was a pixie. But you meant that…as something dirty.”
“Maybe I did back then, but I don’t think so anymore. You’re a beautiful man, and you’re strong too.”
Brien’s hand slipped down to cup his face, and Scarlet’s eyes flew wide. He closed his fingers on top of Brien’s, but he could not bring himself to push him away. It had to be that natural draw between them that Arya had told him about, and damn it, Brien’s touch sent a flash of fire through his veins. “I’m not strong,” he stuttered. “I’m not like you.”
“I never said you were like me,” whispered Brien. “But you are strong. You fight hard, you’re as stubborn as steel, and it’s not magic that makes you so damned irresistible.”
“Irresistible? But…but I thought you wanted Urhelda?”
“No. You know as well as I that there is nothing between me and that girl that can ever compare to this.”
With that, if nothing else, Scarlet could not bring himself to argue. Brien’s breath scorched against his lips, his large frame cocooning tighter about Scarlet’s by the heartbeat. He could feel his body surrendering—and, so much worse, his mind. He wanted this so badly.
“The spirits…are real.” Scarlet’s voice sounded strained. “How can you even question it? It is everything in this forest—and this thing between us. It’s…it’s the reason it’s so hard for me to fight this.”
“This is called attraction, Scarlet. This is about the pleasure of another person’s company, and about simply wanting to be together. This…is what’s real.”
Brien grasped him by the shoulders and shook him gently. Scarlet’s lips were already parted in a silent gasp when Brien plunged forward to claim them. The touch of his mouth was even more exhilarating than Scarlet recalled, his overpowering flavor spiced by the gin. Scarlet felt his senses lurch as he raised himself onto his toes, parting his lips wider and inviting Brien to intensify the kiss. Coarse stubble scraped his chin, and he dug his fingers into those broad, flexing shoulders. Yes, this is what they came here for.
For more info on Kay and her writing, visit her website or follow her on Twitter!
I would definitely say you started off with a bang :) Great book, look forward to what you publish next ^__^
Posted by: Amasour | September 30, 2011 at 08:39 AM
*hugs* - thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to read. Now I guess I'd better seize some momentum and wrestle one of these WIPs into shape ;)
Posted by: Kay Beresford | September 30, 2011 at 09:12 AM
Kay, congratulations on your first published novel - it's seems throwing out notions worked for you! I'm a long time fantasy reader so Bound for the Forest sounds pretty good to me. :) I hope that your writing career goes well for you in the future.
Posted by: SueM | September 30, 2011 at 09:33 AM
Thanks so much, Sue! I'm struggling to polish off my second novel at the moment so well wishes are hugely appreciated and I do hope you enjoy Bound if you decide to read :)
Posted by: Kay Beresford | September 30, 2011 at 10:22 AM
I have a friend, an NYT best-selling author, who tells me "don't write what you know, write what you love". Both you and i, Kay, have profited greatly from that idea! Love the idea of the book and can't wait to read it. : ) Tara
Posted by: Tara Lain | September 30, 2011 at 11:11 AM
*hugs* - thanks Tara, you're awesome :) In some ways I think it's scarier putting your book into the world when you're so close to it...I never felt so nervous about my previous effort ;) But I hope you enjoy when you get a chance to read :)
Posted by: Kay Beresford | September 30, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Congrats on your first published novel it sounds great
Sarahs7836(at)gmail(dot)com
Posted by: Sarah S | September 30, 2011 at 01:39 PM
I love it when they take me by surprise!
Congrats on your first (hey, we had our first within two weeks of each other! *newbie high five*), and on writing what you love. There's nothing like it.
Also, I totally need a copy of this book. kate (at) kateyhawthorne (dot) com.
PS: I am also all about the Regency Romance. It is love.
Posted by: Www | September 30, 2011 at 02:04 PM
Hi Karey and Sarah - thanks so much for commenting and the congrats :) I really hope you like the book if you decide to read :D
*high five* back to Katey - I'm pretty keen to read yours too :D Hardly read anything this month compared to usual, but lots of nice catching up to do soon...and yay for Regency. Nice to meet another fan ;)
Posted by: Kay Beresford | September 30, 2011 at 02:21 PM
Congratulations on your first release! And I do think an author's natural talent arises when he/she writes for themselves. (My English prof used to make us write for ourselves. Take risks and all that.) So glad that you decided to do so. :)
I'd love to be entered in the giveaway. This sounds like a fantastic read!
Beatrice
beatrice.g.tan [at] gmail [dot] com
Posted by: Beatrice | September 30, 2011 at 03:36 PM
Oh this sounds really good! The cover is gorgeous, congrats on your first novel!
[email protected]
Posted by: Gabrielle J. | September 30, 2011 at 03:58 PM
What an awesome turnout!
Everyone always says the key to commercial success is knowing your audience. I think part of what makes writing for yourself so effective is that once you find that genre niche that you just love, you understand your audience perfectly because they're just like you.
Posted by: Jessica Freely | September 30, 2011 at 04:17 PM
*hugs* - thanks Jessica. I think I'm only just finding where I fit in this world, but my good friend Diana said my readers were out there somewhere and they would find me. I'm going to trust you both on this one -- it's so much fun meeting people so far :)
Thanks so much Gabrielle and Beatrice. I do hope you enjoy Bound if you decide to read :)
Posted by: Kay Beresford | September 30, 2011 at 04:29 PM
This book looks wonderful! Congratulations!
beyerlein at sbcglobal dot net
Posted by: Amanda Beyerlein | September 30, 2011 at 09:33 PM
Congrats on your first book! I have this on my to-be-read list. ;)
Posted by: Amaranth Eden | September 30, 2011 at 10:58 PM
Congratulations on your first published book! And that cover is fabulous!
[email protected]
Posted by: Maya | October 01, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Ooo-hoo is that a hot excerpt or what! Answer: it's smoking.
Best of luck to you, Kay. I'd say you're on fire right out of the gate.
Posted by: Amanda Jeanette | October 01, 2011 at 03:00 PM
Thanks so much Maya, Amaranth and Amanda :) So excited you dropped by and I hope you enjoy Bound if you decide to read :D k x
Posted by: Kay Beresford | October 01, 2011 at 04:21 PM
Great interview. This one sounds right up my street.
Posted by: angela plowman | October 02, 2011 at 05:41 AM
Congrats on getting published! This sounds good, tree-shifters and all. :D
Posted by: Rain | October 06, 2011 at 10:03 AM