Monday, November 21, 2011

Riptide Day Two - Bryl Tyne



Good morning! Day Two finds us interviewing Bryl Tyne. Please enjoy this wonderful interview.


How long have you been writing? 3.5 Years.

What made you decide that you wanted to put yourself out there to publish? I thought about publishing the first time I wrote something after 28 years of not writing at all. I read over it, and decided this is what I want to do in life. This is what I should've been doing all along.

I’m of the opinion that erotica doesn’t have to be real all the time to make a good story, what are your thoughts? Uhm… I think that's why it's called fiction, yah? All joking aside, if you're talking shifters or ghosts or tentacles, then yes, I agree, the characters don't have to be "real." I think writing fiction, erotic or not, is about capturing the humanness, the emotions, the plight of existence…the awkward moments… and putting all that into characters who are entertaining. If that means an author's characters happen to be ogres or Vikings, as long as the author can make them convincingly real, then more power to him or her. Where I have a problem with the "real" is the slew of authors falling into "let's see how many of the strange and the odd we can put into this one story" thinking that is what readers are looking for when it is not.

When creating your characters, do you have models in mind or are they totally fictional? I usually have quips and quotes in mind of the things I've heard lately from any number of people I interact with each day. I'd have to say mostly fictional, but they have very real personalities that I draw from life.

If you write gay romance or erotica, just how descriptive are you in their sex scenes? I've been told my sex scenes are visceral. Each one if different, though. I've set out to write some steamy shorts that ended up having no open door sex in them at all, but the story was still great. It all depends on where the story leads me.

What is your opinion as to why publishers only want to group all manlove stories under erotica? Do you feel this is a hindrance to our genre? To lump all stories of gay love under erotica is ludicrous. That is my opinion. Unless a story is specifically written to be erotic or has a heavy concentration of erotic elements, as in erotic romance, it should be grouped under the specific genre that it was written, i.e. Mystery, Sci-Fi, Horror. The biggest hindrance is referring to gay fiction as a "genre" to begin with when it's simply a category. Not all gay fiction has explicit sex, and none of it should be marketed falsely. All the publishers are doing is pissing off the consumers.

Do you think it’s time for publishers to begin calling gay fiction/erotica what it is instead of m/m? Why or why not? I do believe that publishers should be more specific in categorizing their books. I would like to know whether I'm purchasing a m/m erotic romance or gay fiction. When I pick up a book labeled m/m, for example, I expect to find angst, high emotional content, the focus on a monogamous relationship, and most likely a happy ending. When I pick up gay fiction, I expect more realistic scenarios, maybe literary content, loads more sexual encounters, not simply with one partner or necessarily all that erotic, and the ending is never assumed for fear I may be disappointed. Not to say that I don't like reading gay fiction, in fact lately, I prefer it.

Recently, a writer sabotaged her career by answering a bad review on a blog. How would you have handled this and do you think authors should answer their reviews? Word of advice to new authors: never, ever get into a pissing contest online. Simply thank the reviewer for taking the time to read and review your book and leave it at that.

What is the major difference between male and female writers? Genitalia? (Is that a valid answer?)

I read a blog about gay fiction writer’s losing their imagination because they are writing the same subjects repeatedly, what are your thoughts? http//www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/?p=42883
While there's nothing new under the sun, relying on the same tropes over and over while simply changing up characters' names and a situation or two leads to boring stories. There are quite a few writers out there who I refuse to read because their ideas are not fresh, and their stories are nothing more than recycled stories from not only their own past writings but also from others!
What is it about gay fiction and or romance that pleasures you to write it? Oh. It's the fiction that pleasures me? Wow, my writing must be a talented impersonator then, because I could've sworn she told me her name was Rosy just before she introduced me to her four sisters.

Riptide specific questions
Tell me what made you decide to hop on board with this brand new publisher? Seriously? First, I didn't hop. I had a door opened up to me and I was greeted with respect and invited in. I looked around, saw Aleks Voinov, Rachel Haimowitz, Kari Gregg, and a slew of authors whose work I think if fabulous, and it felt like home. I decided to stay a while.

What is your release that you have coming out with them? DIVINITY (my vampire/witch rom com) which came out on Nov 7th, and I'm working on the first story, DEVOUR, in a collection of Horror novellas titled ANGUISH.

In your opinion, what is the difference between Riptide and any other publisher that has just started? I'm not aware of any other pubs that have "just started." If you're talking the difference between Riptide compared to other E-pubs when they first started, I can tell you that Riptide is one of less than a handful I would call professional, and one of two I would say has a focus on quality over quantity.

Where do you see the publisher in the next 5 to 10 years? Standing. Respected. Tried. And stronger for it all.

Fun questions pick at least 3

Do you feel that celebs who are gay or bi should come out the closet? You hit a sore spot with this one. From politicians to celebs, today's social media climate calls for those in the spotlight to be more open with their audience, to get personal with them, interact more. I think this is an injustice on a base level. I don't think those in the public eye should be 'forced' to let us into their lives to begin with, and knowing someone's sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with knowing them. So to answer your question, "should" they come out of the closet: Not if they do not want to. Now, if you're talking coming out "for the cause" i.e. to show those still closeted that it is "okay", in other words, to set an example—and I think that is a noble thing to do—still, my answer would be the same: it's their choice. I think we tend to forget celebs are human.

For the men in your books, commando or underwear? Most have had undies on, though I do prefer commando… there's got to be some Freudian something or other in that answer.

The character you identify with? My Private Dick, J.T. Wolfe (yet unpublished, but maybe 2012 will be his year). Jesse comes from extremely dysfunctional stock. He's got a huge heart when it comes to helping others—maybe too big sometimes, but… (there's always that damned 'but') Jesse's got a huge flaw—he sees everyone else's flaws far clearer than he sees his own. Yeah. Enough said on that one.

If you’ve watched gay porn, tell me your favorite movie and or star. I'm expected to remember names? Let's just say, my fave is anyone willing to take it like a pro.
Here's the blurb from Divinity, as well as the buy link:

Martin Hayes has found the perfect job for a 200-year-old vampire. As the late-shift security guard for Spire, he works and hunts by night and sleeps by day, hidden away in the unused cellar. Life is all so easy—nights bleeding away, weeks and months passing . . . until a new janitor disturbs the peace. Martin finds himself obsessed with memories (or are they?) of red hair, freckled skin, and men on their knees.
Dylan Mesmer isn’t just a hot, freckled, red-haired janitor. He’s altogether too composed around Martin and never surprised by Martin’s supernatural abilities. In fact, he seems to have a few of his own. And why does he keep feeding Martin orange lollipops?
A healthy vampire has no use for candy, yet Martin cannot resist the lure. He’s being baited and knows it, but for what end? And what about those visions that assail him whenever he thinks of Dylan? Their story is centuries old, but this time around, Dylan’s playing for nothing less than immortality. Eternal life—and eternal love—is within his reach, but can he convince Martin to change his ways and commit? If not, he’ll remain trapped in time beside his lover, always together but forever apart.
Purchase Divinity at Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/divinity

Website URL: http://bryltyne.com
My Way column at The Pagan and The Pen:


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Day 2 Commenter wins - Bryl
- Choice of Pull, At Day’s End, Beneath Me, Rite of Passage, Behind Blue Eyes, Tough Guy, Best Unspoken, Coin Operated Boy, Trey #3, The Secret Ingredient, and the Zagzagel Diaries.

TY Bryl for a fascinating interview!

7 comments:

Debby said...

Interesting statements about publishers. Especially in view of the loss, maybe of another epub.
Great post
debby236 at gmail dot com

booklover0226 said...

Great interview; I really enjoyed reading it. It was quite informative.

Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com

Bookwyrm369 said...

Very thought-provoking post. Thanks for sharing :-)

smaccall AT comcast.net

Aija said...

Loved this interview! Good questions and, as Bookwyrm said, thought-provoking answers. Thank you! :)

japoki at inbox dot lv

Sarah said...

Great interview really looking forward to divinity

Sarah S

Sarahs7836(at)gmail.com

The Scarf Princess said...

Great interview and responses. I agree with you about the rut in m/m storylines. I do see a lot of repetition and it's creating a rut. I'm excited by Riptide and what they've put out so far.

joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

-Maria- said...

Great interview. I agree with you, Riptide has more quality than others publishers.