Sizzling July Interview with Leigh Jarrett!

Sizzling July Interviews continues my lovelies! 

Let me introduce to you, Leigh Jarrett!

Welcome to My Twisted & Kinky World!

Let's start off by telling everyone a little bit about you!

Not much to tell. I'm a Canadian author of m/m contemporary and erotic romance. I grew up in Vancouver, BC, and spent a lot of time on Davie Street in the West End as a teen, and in the clubs, dancing, drinking and having far more sex than recommended in the user manual.

*laughs* That can't be a bad thing!

I've moved around a bit over the years since my misspent youth and am currently doing a stint in Kelowna, BC, while raising three very eccentric and gifted teenagers. It's been interesting living in a beach resort town, but I can't wait to go home to Vancouver again.

So, I know when I sit on writer panels I am always asked this question. When did you start writing?

I probably started writing stories (in my head) from the time I was a small child; creating characters and scenarios, and running the ideas through my mind in great detail until the story unfolded the way I wanted it to. (I was an incorrigible daydreamer.) By the time I was eight, most of my stories revolved around my imaginary childhood friend, Sebastian, and the people he shared his life with. My fascination with him continued through my teenaged years (I even named a cat after him), so I started making some notes and then two years ago, I began writing his story.

Very cool.

The first book of Sebastian's story is titled CircleTrilogy – Book 1 – Age of Mycea and will be published July 2012. It is the first book I wrote, but interestingly enough it will be the tenth book I've published. I'm having a bit of trouble cutting the apron strings. "Book 2 – Age of Cardin" will be coming out October 2012 and "Book 3 – Age of Truth" has no release date as of yet. (Shh… I haven't actually started writing it.)

What made you decide to write erotica?

It was all Sebastian's fault really. I knew from early on he liked one of the other male characters, Meshia, and as I got older, Sebastian became very visual as to what he and Meshia were up to behind closed doors. Exploring that side of their relationship, and finally writing about it, was a lot of fun (and extremely educational) so I kept writing gay erotic fiction. There's something very appealing about men's raw sexual energy towards each other. And the potential for a shifting power dynamic is author orgasm material.

Oh so true on both accounts! I think this is why there is a huge fan base and why we authors love bringing these characters to live on the pages!

How would you classify your erotic writing?

My books are all m/m, sometimes m/m/m, falling mostly into the contemporary romance and erotic romance genres, but I also have one book Callum ofDrakkar Coven which is about a vampire, so definitely fantasy, and the "Circle Trilogy" is based in another star system with plenty of interplanetary conflict, space travel and interspecies romance. I feel comfortable calling it sci-fi gay erotic romance.

Excellent book, by the way *smiles*

Do you have a specific writing style?

When I write straight up erotica, I write in first person, but most of my other books are written in third person limited narrative with what I like to call omnipresent tendencies.

'Omnipresent tendencies'… humm I may have to steal that phrase!

What is the process you use for writing?

I try to work from an outline, but sometimes my characters run amuck and start making their own decisions and having conversations about things I'd never intended them to talk about. These events explicably lead to changes in the outline. There are days my job feels more like character wrangling than writing.

Chasing the characters… I know how that feels!

Is there a message in your novel(s) that you want your readers to grasp?

Yes! Absolutely yes! My primary message and motivation for writing gay erotic romance is that "Love is Love" and I hope that someday books like mine will be listed simply in the 'romantic fiction' section without the 'gay' segregation. If I can get that one message across, I will be perpetually ecstatic.

Yes, it is sad that there has to be such segregation and we can't just have a good love story between two people with out it being labeled. Maybe someday…

If you had to name one character you have written that was the most like you, which character in which book would that be?

I would have to say Attila Luka in SimplyMarvellous which is odd because I'm not a confused, cross-gender, teenaged boy, and I didn't particularly like Attila as a person, but there's something about his pain and vulnerability that spoke to me.

Are there certain characters or stories you would like to go back to?

I think Timothy and Oleander from Callum of Drakkar Coven will be getting their own book by early next year. Oleander's endearing romantic gestures and Timothy's reluctance to fall for them make them a couple I'd like to play with further.

Sounds like my kind of story! Let me know when it comes out and I'll have you back to talk more about it. *smiles*

What is your latest release and where can readers find it?

Two Nights A Week is my latest release. More information about this book and others can be found on my blog.

Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Thank you so much and please keep the positive emails coming. Writing in the gay erotic romance genre can draw a lot of negative criticism, so it's encouraging to hear when someone actually likes what I'm doing, and it makes my day to read that you, as a reader, have been inspired or touched in some way by something I've written.

Thanks for dropping by My Twisted & Kinky World!

*waves goodbye to Leigh*

Leigh can also be found on Facebook & Twitter.

Don't forget to check out these other Sizzling July Interviews!

Amara - July 1-3

Evan J. Xaiver - July 4-6

S.L. Armstrong - July 7-9

Brita Addams - July 10-12

Leigh Ellwood - July 13-15

Blaine Arden - July 16-18

Leigh Jarrett- July 19-24

A.D. Cooper - July 22-24

Giselle London - July 25-27

Rachel Haimowitz - July 28-30
Aleksandr Voinov - July 31-Aug. 3


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