The Vancouver Island-based queer author talks gay narratives, writing sex scenes, and Ilya Rozanov.
Image courtesy of Leigh Jarrett.
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Can you tell me a little bit about your work, and specifically about your series, the Salish Sea Society?
Generally, I’ve been writing in the MM [male/male romance] genre for 16 years now…. I wrote [the Salish Sea Society] with the idea in mind that … there was these four friends that knew each other from high school, that created a support group for each other and met once a week from the time they were in high school, and they just kept it up into their adulthood … and what their lives would look like as each one of them fell in love, and that all unfolded. And I decided to base it here because why wouldn’t I? It’s beautiful here.
I’m curious what you think is special about Vancouver Island, and if you have anything more to say about why you chose it as the setting for these books?
I wanted to set it in Vancouver Island … because there’s a very natural, organic feel to living on the island, and I wanted these guys to be, like, really authentic, earthbound kind of men.
What draws you to writing MM stories?
It’s just such a different dynamic that I find really intriguing to dive into.… It’s a completely different dynamic than a hetero-type relationship…. It’s just intriguing. And gay male relationships are so misunderstood…. I want to show a different side of the community, the real side of the community, where these are real loving, deep relationships. And I just want to spread the word and have more people understand that love really is love.
I’m curious how you landed on queer romance as your thing?
I was partially bedridden for a while, about … 18 years ago. And I was bored. So I started writing this story that had kind of been in my head…. From the time I was a kid, I always had stories floating around in my head. So I decided I was going to write this one down. And it had been in my head for years, but as I started writing it, I noticed that two of the male characters seemed to be really attracted to each other. And I was like, oh, this is something interesting. Maybe I should explore this. And that’s how it started. It was just these two characters [that] liked each other. So off we went.
I like how you made it sound like the characters had a life of their own within the story you were writing.
Oh, they do. And sometimes you get into arguments with them. It’s like, no, I want you to say this. They’re like, no, no. We’re going this way.
I’m assuming that there’s a lot of really spicy stuff in the work that you write, and I’m curious how you’re able to write lots and lots of content and keep it feeling fresh both for you and for your readers.
That is difficult. When you’re writing, you see yourself using some of the same phrases, every once in a while, and I’ll catch myself, and I’ll change it up. I’m constantly doing that. But I have to not be so hard on myself either.… People are not going to pick up on the same things that I’m picking up on.
And as for story ideas, you just get these — what they call plot bunnies — you see something, or you hear something, or some line comes up on a movie, and it just clicks this thing that starts unrolling this whole story…. It’s the ‘what if,’ you know?
It sounds like you get a lot of your inspiration just from living life with your eye trained to pick up on interesting moments. I’m curious, if you don’t mind sharing, how do you get inspiration for the sexier stuff?
You want the real answer?
If you’re comfortable sharing on the record.
Yeah, no, it’s fine…. you’ve got the mechanical side of things. I am not a man. I don’t know what it’s like to have sex with another man. So it’s a combination of watching the gay porn type stuff, and talking to gay men …. and then Googling things.
I write gay erotica as well, so I’m already versed in that type of writing. I got a really good compliment the other day — one of the guys in my [writing] group, he says, … “I usually can tell when a woman has written the gay sex. But I had no idea you were a woman.” So I was like, yay!
What are you working on now?
I am working on my Substack publication [where] I’m doing short stories. I think that’s going to be my 2026…. I can make so much more money doing that. And it’s fun.
Have you seen Heated Rivalry?
Yes.
Shane Hollander or Ilya Rosanov?
Oh God. I don’t know. I like the edginess of Ilya. He would be a more interesting character to write, for sure.
