Yesterday, my crit partners and I were talking about torturing the poor heroes of our books. Some of us **fond look at Jet** hate having to hurt our boys. Others - okay, me - seem to kind of get off on it.
Now, I say “seem to” because I don’t actually enjoy being mean to my guys. Really, I don’t! I LOVE my boys. I want them to be happy. And to be perfectly fair to myself, my heroes always find True Love and Happily Ever After in the end. Even in the Bay City Paranormal Investigations series, which is only two books along (with the third in progress), each book ends on a positive note for our star-crossed lovers’ relationship, and of course they will get their ultimate HEA at the end of the series. The thing is, the more angst and pain my boys endure, the sweeter the happy ending becomes. At least, that’s what I think.
What do YOU think? Does the torture make the ending sweeter for you too, or am I really the perv my friends keep telling me I am? Help a girl out here! I don’t think I can fit therapy into my schedule O_O
Written by Ally Blue
Ally is a rich and famous author of hot gay manlove. She travels the world in her private jet, being waited on hand and foot by her team of pretty young men who bring her umbrella drinks and make out for her pleasure . . . Okay, so that's her dream life. Her novels of Manlove & Angst are mostly written in her living room, in between working at the Evil Day Job and doing Mom Stuff. Oh, the glamorous life of an author!
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Celia Kyle wrote,
I think a little torture along the path to boikin’ happiness is a small price to pay. And it tugs at your heart a smidge harder to see the hunky guy going through so much to get his HEA.
You don’t need therapy hon…unless of course there’s room there for two. :D
Link | May 22nd, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Zot wrote,
“Torture”? I think you misspelled “plot” there. :)
Seriously, that’s what it is — it’s plot. It’s what drives the story forward. What makes the characters move. What makes it *interesting*.
After all, without a plot you’ve just got characters fucking and, let’s be honest, that gets boring. (Or worse, when the plot goes missing two thirds of the way through and all you have is the sex, it’s annoyingly disappointing) Plus there’s more than enough text porn of various quality lurking on the internet that there’s not a whole lot of need to pay for it.
Yeah, sure, maybe you don’t have to go dragging the guys through hell, but if we’ve got any investment in the characters (regardless of whether we like them) that’s what keeps us involved, and makes us care about what happens next.
So, yeah, drag away. We may groan, and we may complain, but we’ll *care*. And that’s the important part, isn’t it?
Link | May 22nd, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
LOL Celia! We can’t both be pervs, now can we? Actually I guess we can, but so what if we are? It’s fun *g*
Zot, you hit the nail right on the head. If the characters are people I care about, I will follow them through anything at all, and the more they endure, the stronger they become! I’m with you, I like me some hot sex, but it gets old if there’s no plot supporting it :D
Y’all just remember that when Untamed Heart comes out in February and you see what I’ve done to the poor guys in THAT story O_O
Link | May 22nd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
latetocomics wrote,
I’m still trying to figure out what the draw is for me to read male/male erotica. Besides, the fact that you know, we’re talking about guys. Yeah, so I’m addicted. I think I like reading about the angst the guys go through to finding their happiness. But there’s nothing worse than an author telling about a story that we can’t get our hands on until 6 months later!!! ha. kidding. Agree with what Zot said, too.
thanks, Liz
Link | May 22nd, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Jet Mykles wrote,
*snort* your characters had BETTER get their HEA after the hell you put them through! You put them in actual physical danger. I usually just put them in tortuous emotional pain.
Okay, maybe not that tortuous *g*
Link | May 22nd, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Hahaha, Liz, I am a TEASE! Mwahahaha!
**twirls mustache**
Jet, hey, you KNOW my guys get the happiest of happy endings! And yeah, they really do earn it LOL
Link | May 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
L.M. Prieto wrote,
I think the more the characters have to struggle, the more I care about what happens to them. And if they’re being chased by vampires/zombies/werewolves/evil monsters from another dimension, then I’m hooked :)
Link | May 24th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Ally Blue wrote,
LOL! How did I just KNOW you were gonna say that?
You need to read my short story Love You To Pieces, up on my website…
[/shameless self-promotion]
Link | May 25th, 2007 at 2:17 pm