Theresa asked Marie Sexton:

How did you get into writing mm erotica? Read a few of yours and love your writing by the way! =)

Marie Sexton Honestly, it's the only thing I've ever really felt compelled to try my hand at.

Back in about 2008, I'd stumbled into the m/m genre and read a few books. I wasn't really aware of ebooks or of the m/m community at the time. I was just scouring Amazon and local book shops for paperbacks. Anyway, then in December of that year, I quit my job of eleven years to be a stay-at-home mom. The plan was for me to go back to work once my daughter started school. But, a few months later, I had a dream about two men in a hallway, one of them very conflicted and tied in emotional knots, and the other one head-over-heels in love. It felt very real and sort of heart-wrenching.

I spent the morning debating if I should try to write it, because I'd never written anything before. I mean, yeah, there was some bad poetry back in high school, but in the intervening years, the only things I'd written were college term papers, and then memos and emails at the office. I'd never even tried to write a book. But at some point, I worked up my nerve and sat down at the computer. Once I started, it became sort of an obsession, piecing that story together. I'd get so caught up in writing I'd forget to pick up my kid, or to feed her. (Bad mom!)

I tried to hide it from my husband at first, because I was embarrassed -- not so much about the subject matter as because I'd never tried to write a book before and I felt like a fraud. Eventually, he asked if I was having an online affair, because I was spending so much time on the computer, so I confessed, and he was very supportive.

Well, that story grew and developed and eventually became Promises. Once Dreamspinner picked it up, my husband said, "Forget going back to work. Just write more books." And although I sometimes I think I should try my hand at another genre, I never seem to have any ideas that don't involve two men falling in love. :-)

Thanks very much for the question!

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