Elin Gregory

My guest today is Charlie Cochrane, no stranger at all to those of us who love LGBT historicals, and especially the cosy mystery type stories featuring her academic sleuths, Jonty and Orlando.

Hello Charlie, awfully glad you could make it! Speaking of which – would you like to tell us a bit about your latest release?

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“Awfully Glad” was inspired by the preface to Max Arthur’s brilliant book “When this Bloody War is Over”. I knew about the concert parties of WWII (who else remembers “It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum?”) but I didn’t realise they’d existed in WWI. Nor had I realised (although isn’t it obvious it would happen and no, I hadn’t seen the relevant Blackadder episode) that they’d have female impersonators. But they did, and some of them were real lookers.

The more I re-read that preface, the more I was intrigued by quotes like, “…a lot of those young British officers wanted to make a date with Marjorie. She was so good that they couldn’t be convinced she was a female impersonator.” Well, looking at that picture of Marjorie, from The Dumbells, you can see how they could have been surprised to find she was a chap.

The Pedlars had a “gal”, too who “had the unusual experience of being ogled amorously by his own Colonel”. I can’t find a picture of this femme fatale, but admire the pins on display here. Very shapely.

So popular were some of these “gals” that they were kidnapped—physically—before being reassigned to the regiment who wanted them for their own concert troupe. The 51st division acquired a soldier called Connel in this way, made him one of their gunners and benefited from his performances as Isabelle de Hotstuff. (If anybody find a picture of “her”, please let me know.)

With all those plot bunny generators, I was bound to have to explore the story for myself. How would the troops react to Madeleine (my version of a Marjorie type)? How could Sam, who is Madeleine when she takes off her stays, react if she fancied one of the officers ogling her? What would life be like for him after the war? Would Madeleine ever be got out of her make-up box again or would she be discarded?

The story had the capacity to become almost farcical, a sort of “Carry On Lieutenant”. I didn’t want that. I was deeply moved by reading about the real Marjorie – Ross Hamilton – who was quietly discharged from the army by a medical board later in his career, “for reasons other than medical”. I didn’t want Sam to end up in disgrace, but I didn’t want to minimize the threat to him, his good name, and his liberty. This was a dangerous era for gay men, who relied on their own networks – like the one that centred on Robbie Ross – but they were still at risk of blackmail or exploitation by unscrupulous renters.

I hope I’ve managed to do justice to that idea.

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I’ve read the book and it certainly worked for me! So get your copy of Awfully Glad, links below, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Awfully Glad

WWI hero Sam Hines is used to wearing a face that isn’t his own. When he’s not in the trenches, he’s the most popular female impersonator on the front, but a mysterious note from an anonymous admirer leaves him worried. Everyone realizes—eventually—that Sam’s not a woman, but has somebody also worked out that he also prefers his lovers to be male?

When Sam meets—and falls for—fellow officer Johnny Browne after the war, he wonders whether he could be the man who wrote the note. If so, is he the answer to Sam’s dreams or just another predatory blackmailer, ready to profit from a love that dare not speak its name?
Bold Strokes Books
Amazon US
Amazon UK

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My guest today is Lucy Felthouse, a fellow Brit from Derbyshire in the UK and a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over eighty publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati.
This interview is part of a blog hop in celebration of her latest release – a m/m erotic romance novella, Illicit Relations, which is part of the Boys Will Do Boys series from Ellora’s Cave. At the bottom of the post is a link to a Rafflecopter giveaway so don’t forget to comment and click the link.
Welcome, Lucy.

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Elin : Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?

Click on the image to go to other stops on the blog tour.

Lucy : I do have a day job, but I’m very lucky in as much as I’m self-employed and run my own business, Writer Marketing Services, http://www.writermarketing.co.uk. So basically I pretty much eat, sleep and breathe books, and I can fit my writing in around my work, and vice versa when I’m on deadline.

Elin : When you aren’t writing, is there any other creative activity you enjoy? Have you ever written about it?

Lucy : I’ve recently taken up knitting. It was just to make a Christmas present for someone originally, but I’ve ended up getting addicted to it! Now I’ve made wrist warmers, teddies, phone and Kindle cases, and probably by the time this post goes live, I’ll have made a start on a jumper dress. I haven’t written about it in fiction. I’ve done a blog post about it, but haven’t yet written it into a story. Who knows, it could be a good topic!

Elin : What are you reading? Fiction or non-fiction? Can you recommend something that you wished you’d written yourself?

Lucy : I’m currently reading a short story called Chantilly Lace by Em Woods. It’s a gay erotic romance. As for the third part of the question – too many books to list!

Elin : In that crucial inspiration stage of a new story which comes first? Plot, situation or character?

Lucy : It varies from story to story. Sometimes I get a place, a character, a plot, a situation. Other times it can be something as seemingly irrelevant as an item! But I don’t mind – as long as my brain keeps supplying ideas, I’m happy!

Elin : Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them?

Lucy : Mostly they develop as I work with them. In a short story there’s no so much room for development anyway. But when I’m writing novella length or longer, my characters often surprise me. They’ll do or say something I wasn’t expecting, then I have to make sure it fits or gives a reason for it. It’s all good fun, it keeps me on my toes!

Elin : Do you have a crisp mental picture of them or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

Lucy : It depends. A great deal of my male characters have uncanny likenesses to my favourite celebrity crushes. In those cases, yes I definitely have a crisp mental picture of them. But if I don’t have a particular Muse in mind, then they’re more a thought and a feeling, unless I have a specific reason to describe them in great detail.

Elin : Villains are incredibly important in fiction since they challenge the main protagonists and give them something to contend with beyond the tension of a developing relationship. The cruel sea. The serial killer. The bigotted society. What sort of villains do you prize?

Lucy : In terms of reading, I like all kinds of villains. But most especially the ones that aren’t obvious. Perhaps they’re “normal” on the surface, but are doing all these evil things in the background.

In terms of writing, I haven’t really written many villains at all, as the conflict in many of my stories is more to do with relationships than outside factors. Having said that, the novel I’m working on at the moment most definitely has a villain. It’s my first thriller – but it’s still got romance and lots of hot sex, so isn’t a massive leap from my other work. It’s been fun so far and a challenge, which is fantastic. The villain is one that I don’t think anyone will suspect – readers and fellow characters alike. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what my beta readers think!

Elin : What are you working on at the moment? Can you discuss it or do you prefer to keep it a secret until it’s finished.

The lovely village of Eyam

Lucy : I’ve covered this a little bit above. I’m writing a paranormal erotic romance thriller, which is rather a mouthful! It’s called The Persecution of the Wolves, and is set in a real village in the Peak District in Derbyshire, UK. The village, Eyam, is famous because back in 1665, the plague came to the village, and the villagers cut themselves off from the outside world to stop it spreading. That’s the very short version of the story, but I’ve been fascinated with the story and the village since I was a child, so I guess it was only a matter of time before it found its way into my work. My book is about werewolves that have lived in the village since before the plague, and how this has impacted on them and their lives, and the modern day village. It’s pretty complex, but I’m having real fun with it.

Elin : Could we please have an excerpt of something?

Lucy : Of course. Here’s a snippet from my just-released m/m erotic romance novella, Illicit Relations, from Ellora’s Cave.

Excerpt:

Terry deliberately averted his gaze as Justin tugged off his T-shirt and dove into the pool. The last thing he needed was to see him topless. His libido was already in overdrive and he was having trouble not jumping Justin’s bones. In fact, the only thing that held him back was the fact that Justin was his second cousin. They hadn’t been brought up particularly closely, so it wasn’t as if he were lusting after someone he considered to be a brother, but still. They were related and it was weird. Or it would be weird if anything happened between them, which it wouldn’t, of course. It would be wrong and they both knew it.
Terry assumed that was the reason Justin was avoiding him, anyway. They got on well and there was an obvious spark between them, but nothing inappropriate had ever taken place. For the most part, they acted as cousins should. Every now and again, though, he’d catch Justin looking at him. Equally, Terry would drink his fill of his cousin when no one else was looking. Apparently it was getting increasingly difficult for Justin, too.
Right now, at the annual summer get together at Terry’s grandparents’ massive house in rural Warwickshire, the tension between them had never been higher.
What made the whole thing ten times worse was that neither of them had come out. So ending up together would be a double whammy for their families. He could see it now. Hey, everyone! I’m gay—and so is he. We’re together. Now as you were.
He didn’t know whether the reaction would be favorable or not.
He also knew that part of his frustration about the situation was because he hadn’t yet seen any point in coming out. His feelings for Justin ran deeper than he cared to admit, and for that reason he hadn’t been in a relationship with anyone—ever. Not a homosexual relationship, anyway. He’d had girlfriends back in the days when he hadn’t realized what his urges meant, but since then he’d been by himself and remained a virgin. He was surprised, actually, that no one in his family had asked whether he was gay. He could only assume that because he was so private generally, they thought he would only introduce them to someone when he felt it was absolutely right. That was his plan, in fact. To come out and introduce his partner at the same time. But until he got over this damn infatuation with Justin, he was never going to be any farther forward.
His thoughts ran on for several minutes until he was interrupted—and startled—by droplets of cold water falling onto his bare shoulder. He turned. Justin stood there, shaking his blond head and sending the droplets flying around. Apparently he wasn’t avoiding Terry anymore.
It was hot and he was wearing casual clothes, so Terry wasn’t bothered about getting wet, but for some reason, he snapped at Justin. “For fuck’s sake, do you have to do that here?”
Immediately Justin stopped and stared at him. They’d never had a cross word between them, not even when they were children. “Sorry, mate. I was just messing around. I didn’t think it would piss you off.”
His blue eyes were wide and Terry felt his irritation dissipating rapidly. He continued to rake his gaze down Justin’s half-naked form. His broad shoulders and wide chest, which was sprinkled with a handful of pale hairs. His toned stomach, the six-pack nicely defined but not too body-builderish. His arms were thickly muscled but suited his athletic frame. Deep-blue swimming trunks hid the area he most wanted to see but he relied on the glimpses he’d had over the years and his overripe imagination.
Thick thighs and calves and, unbelievably, nice feet—he didn’t generally like feet—finished off the package of perfection and Terry was suddenly extremely glad he had a book in his lap, because his cock was beginning to swell and press against the inside of his swimming shorts. He realized that a dip in the pool would be a pretty good antidote—the chilly water should take the heat from his cock. And if not, at least no one would be able to see the bulge unless they swam underwater.
It was stupid, really, trying to hide his erection from Justin. They both knew there was something between them, and he wanted to bury his hard cock inside Justin’s mouth or arse, not hide it beneath a fucking book.
He began to wonder whether they should just get together, and to hell with the consequences. It wasn’t illegal.
Justin sat down on the sun bed next to Terry and flashed him a smile. “Am I forgiven, then? I haven’t got your book wet, have I?” He reached out to grab the book, presumably to try to dry it, but Terry slammed his hand down quickly, catching Justin’s fingers beneath his in the process, not to mention giving his cock a bit of a smack.
“No,” he ground out, wondering how he’d managed to get even a single word to fall from his lips. As soon as their fingers had touched he’d felt a spark that had run straight up his arm and multiplied throughout his entire body. His ebbing erection had immediately jumped back to attention, lifting the book slightly. He hoped against all hope that Justin hadn’t noticed but he had no such luck.
The blond’s gaze dropped to their still-touching fingers and, presumably, to the book and the thing beneath it that had caused the movement. He stared for a few seconds that felt like hours, then looked back up at Terry’s face. He opened his mouth then closed it again. For the first time ever, it seemed Justin was speechless.
A huge splash and a series of laughs from the pool broke the spell between them. Justin snatched his hand back and raked it through his hair. He opened and closed his mouth again, but for the second time nothing came out. He let out a heavy sigh and stood up looking dazed. He appeared to have trouble putting one foot in front of the other, as though he were drunk or had just woken from a very deep sleep. Of course, only the two of them knew the real reason for Justin’s behavior.
Finally Justin got his limbs to cooperate, and he made his way across to the table that held food and drinks, sheltered from the bright sunlight by a large, green gazebo.
Terry watched him go, a tumult of emotions running through his brain. Disappointment, confusion, anger, lust…they all assaulted him, though admittedly the last was screaming the loudest, a fact certainly not helped by Justin’s damp and topless state.
Now a feeling of despair took hold of him. What the fuck was he going to do?

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Illicit Relations
Blurb:
Terry’s had a crush on his second cousin Justin for what seems like forever. He’s hidden it as well as possible, knowing that the other man is out of bounds, forbidden fruit. Second cousins getting together isn’t actually illegal, but for Justin the relationship is too close—he just can’t contemplate them being together.
But when some new information comes to light about Terry’s birth and his place in the family, the whole game changes. Suddenly the relationship isn’t so impossible, and things soon begin to get hot and heavy.

Available from: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/illicit-relations/
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18741652-illicit-relations
*****
Many thanks, Lucy, for answering the questions so fully.
To find out more go to http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

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