David Avery
Write for yourself, not other people. I have been writing my whole adult life with an eye towards what I thought the market wanted. I never got it quite right and nothing I wrote really electrified me. Until now. When I sat down to write my new book, MY BARE NAKED HEART, which I am releasing in paperback and on Kindle in 2 days, I asked myself: What book would you most be interested in reading and what elements would it have?
I like prep school and all male environments and stories about the friendships that arise both in those settings and during difficult times. I also like reading gay fiction that is both literary and erotic (e.g,. Alan Hollinghurst and Paul Russell). I'm also a sucker for sexy gay love stories, particularly during an era of self discovery. Unlike my earlier efforts when I was writing for the market and not for me, MY BARE NAKED HEART came together so easily and the words spilled out as quickly as I could write them (unlike my earlier efforts, when I had to pull them out of me rather than letting them flow). I don't think there's a very big commercial market for sexy gay love stories, but I am so proud of MY BARE NAKED HEART and am so glad I was able to write the book I most would want to read.
I like prep school and all male environments and stories about the friendships that arise both in those settings and during difficult times. I also like reading gay fiction that is both literary and erotic (e.g,. Alan Hollinghurst and Paul Russell). I'm also a sucker for sexy gay love stories, particularly during an era of self discovery. Unlike my earlier efforts when I was writing for the market and not for me, MY BARE NAKED HEART came together so easily and the words spilled out as quickly as I could write them (unlike my earlier efforts, when I had to pull them out of me rather than letting them flow). I don't think there's a very big commercial market for sexy gay love stories, but I am so proud of MY BARE NAKED HEART and am so glad I was able to write the book I most would want to read.
More Answered Questions
Paul Manytravels
asked
David Avery:
As an author, you must read widely yourself. Sometimes, you may come across books that you feel are not as well written as they could be. Other times, perhaps, you read something that impresses your deeply. What two or three books have you read in your lifetime impressed you the most and perhaps even influenced you as a writer?
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