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John Valjean

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://johnvaljean.com/

Twitter

JValjeanAuthor

Genre

Gay and Lesbian, Fiction, Ebooks

Influences

Nifty.org, HandJobs Magazine, and Josman.

Member Since

December 2018

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There’s something deeply satisfying about a writer whose work readers don’t just enjoy once, but return to again and again—and that’s exactly the space John Valjean has carved out with his taboo erotica. Writing under his own name on Substack, John brings years of experience, discipline, and a genuine love for stories that linger long after the final line.

John began self-publishing in 2017, but the roots of his erotica career started earlier on Tumblr, where he paired kinky captions with pictures and gifs. What began as a sentence or two quickly grew into paragraphs, then full short pieces between 500 and 1,000 words. With encouragement from his husband, he turned those sparks into books, publishing his first two stories that same year.

From There’s something deeply satisfying about a writer whose work readers don’t just enjoy once, but return to again and again—and that’s exactly the space John Valjean has carved out with his taboo erotica. Writing under his own name on Substack, John brings years of experience, discipline, and a genuine love for stories that linger long after the final line.

John began self-publishing in 2017, but the roots of his erotica career started earlier on Tumblr, where he paired kinky captions with pictures and gifs. What began as a sentence or two quickly grew into paragraphs, then full short pieces between 500 and 1,000 words. With encouragement from his husband, he turned those sparks into books, publishing his first two stories that same year.

From there, the momentum only grew. By 2018, he was releasing multiple titles, eventually expanding into straight short stories and building a catalogue of around 60 books. He also ran his own subscription site for about a year, producing an astonishing 700,000 words before the site was accidentally lost by his web host. As painful as that was, John sees the experience as transformative—writing at that volume sharpened his voice and strengthened his craft in ways few things could.

What he most wants to be known for is simple and powerful: taboo erotica worth rereading. For John, the greatest compliment isn’t just praise, but hearing that a reader has gone back for a second, third, or fourth visit to one of his books. Those are the stories that truly stay with us.

His creative philosophy is beautifully captured by a lyric from Title of Show: “I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than one hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.” That idea of making something deeply meaningful for the right readers feels perfectly aligned with his work. He also finds inspiration in artists of every kind—film editors, bakers, poets, painters—anyone brave enough to share a piece of themselves with the world.

And when he’s not writing, John and his husband are immersed in another storytelling obsession: movies. Huge film buffs, they watch one film most weeknights and usually two on weekend evenings, a ritual that no doubt continues to feed the imagination of a writer so drawn to atmosphere, pacing, and emotional payoff. ...more

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John Valjean’s books

Average rating: 4.03 · 299 ratings · 102 reviews · 51 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Masterson Men 3.62 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Truth or Dare: Four Straight Jocks Go Gay! 4.17 avg rating — 24 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Confessions of a Bad Boy 4.42 avg rating — 19 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lust, Simon 4.10 avg rating — 20 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Uncle Nick Takes Us Camping: Five Teenage Jocks Get Tutored By a Daddy 4.13 avg rating — 15 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Home Invasion! 3.71 avg rating — 14 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sex on the Beach 3.64 avg rating — 14 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nailing the Prom King 3.92 avg rating — 13 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Nasty Neighbors 4.30 avg rating — 10 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Home Invasion 2! really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Valjean…

11 posts
John Valjean's Blog

Lust, Simon: The Story Continues

Of my 2019 books, I can tell you now that "Lust, Simon" has been my most successful. When I originally dreamt up the idea of a taboo-erotica parody of the similarly named 2018 film, I had no idea if it would be embraced. However, once I was halfway through with the book, I started receiving tweets and messages from folks telling me how excited they were for the book. That was both exciting and dau Read more of this blog post »

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Published on December 11, 2019 18:49 • Tags: erotica, gay-erotica

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John Valjean is now following Rainbow Reviewss's reviews
Apr 14, 2026 09:35PM · like
John Valjean answered Goodreads's question: How do you get inspired to write? Once I have an idea, I quickly bullet point story beats and dialogue. I let it sit for a while and allow it to stir in my noggin for a few weeks or months. I'll continue to throw ideas in. By the time I sit down to write the book, it comes more easil See Full Answer
Apr 09, 2026 09:09PM · like