The Perv Pack's Smut Shack: Author Interview: DefinatelyStaying and PurdueLiz

Questions for DefinatelyStaying:

PL: How did you get sucked into Twi?
DS: Just after Breaking Dawn was released, my then 15 year old cousin kept insisting that I should read the series. She was aware of my love for Harry Potter, and said that Twilight was better. So, I downloaded the audiobook for Twilight, and by the end of the week I'd read all four books.

PL: Why fanfic?
DS: I waited for four books to see what sex with a vampire would be like, and those details were completely glossed over. Having heard about FanFiction from the Harry Potter podcast that I would listen to, I decided to search for Twilight Fanfiction. I wanted to see if anyone had come up with their own ideas about what happened on Esme's Island. I was stunned by the sheer volume and quality of the stories that I found.

The first story I ever read was Midnight Desire, and I was hooked.

PL: Where do you come up with your ideas?
DS: It's different with every story. Next Weekend started as kind of a joke. I was astonished by the number of reviews I received asking me to continue the one shot - so it just became a collection of sexual fantasies. The Forbidden Room came about because I had read The Submissive by Tara Sue Me, and wanted to do something a little different. Fractured came about from a tweet that I sent to AngstGoddess003 that sparked something in my head. My stories generally start out as a What If? What if Jasper and Edward were switched at birth? (Unthinkable) What if Edward were a prince and fell in love with Jasper knowing they could never be together? (Duty) What if Edward had not been able to stop drinking from Bella in the ballet studio? (God of War)

Or, the best one of all - what if two teenage boys in the deep south found that they had feelings for each other that they had to hide from the whole world? How far would they go to protect their love? (Little Boy Lost)

PL: How often do you write? And what is it like when you do? (ie, music, quiet, etc)
DS: I write all the time. I carry an index card file with me wherever I go, and when I get an idea for a current or future story, I write it down and file it - no matter where I am. Then, every night, I work on at least one of my stories.

My writing environment depends on what I'm writing. The music generally reflects the tenor of the scene, and since I have a netbook in addition to my regular desktop I can write anywhere - famiy parties, getting my oil changed, wherever.

PL: You write a fair bit of slash, how did you decide to start writing it? What about it draws you to it?
DS: There are two main reasons that I write slash - first and foremost the thought of two beautiful men making love turns me on. A man allowing himself to transcend his vulerability and open himself up to being taken by another man is just erotic to me. Second, I write slash because I want the people that read my stories to come away with a different understanding of homosexuality than they have learned in church, or from their parents. How would you feel if you could not marry someone that you loved because the constitution, the one that says that all men are equal, doesn't afford you that right?

PL: What made you decide to publish TFR and LBL?
DS: I had never had any intention of publishing anything. The more time I spent talking to people, especially people that read and loved the TFR series, the more they wanted to see if on their shelves. They wanted to hold it in their hands, and make sure they had it even if I took it off of the internet. For me, I'm not married, I don't have kids, I don't have a college degree - this was the one goal that I could set and accomplish. It's an achievement that I am rather proud of.

I decided to publish Little Boy Lost without putting it on Fanfiction because the characters aren't Twilight characters. Deep down Brian and Jamie are their own people, they are deep and complex characters that would not have been able to find their voice in that medium. It will be a six book series (pocket books) and will follow Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield through their trials and their triumphs, and through their love and their heartache.

Even if no one else wanted to read it, I would still put it out there because I am so in love with the story, and with these two beautiful boys.

PL: When do you expect to see them out to the public?
DS: The Forbidden Room is in its second proof, and should be out within the next two weeks.

Little Boy Lost should be out by the end of January.

PL: Tell me about Twi Me Up.
DS: Twi Me Up is a weekly column on the TwiSlash blog where I answer questions from the fandom, generally about BDSM or other sexually explicit topics. After I had been writing The Forbidden Room for a while, it became fairly well known that I have some experience with the subject matter, so I got a lot of PM'd and emailed questions. After talking to Whitlock's Girl from TwiSlash, we decided to form a sort of partnership for the blog.

PL: I've heard a rumor about something called the "Hot Tub Chat"?
DS: The Hot Tub Chat is held on gChat, and is open to anyone in the fandom. With the volume of stories that I have posted, and the open projects that I have, it became increasingly difficult to keep up with the different story threads on Twilighted. I really like being accessible to people that want to talk to me about my work. So, I've invited fans to come and talk on IM about any story, or anything they'd normally discuss on the thread.

The Hot Tub chat is every Sunday at noon EST on gChat.
My IM is DefinatelyStaying@gmail.com

PL: Do you have time for other reading and what do you like to read?
DS: Most of what I read is on audiobook, because driving down the Dan Ryan is the one place I can't really write effectively. On my iPod you will find kids books by J. K. Rowling, horror by Stephen King, mystery by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, quantum mechanics lectures from MIT, programming geeks from DotNetRocks, sexually explicit novels by Anne Rice, and any number of other works.

PL: What is on your iPod that you think would surprise people?
DS: I am a total Beatlemaniac, so I have all of the Beatles CDs - the Anthologies, everything indexed with about 20 different playlists.

PL: Will you be at Comic Con this year?
DS: I will be attending Comic Con, but not as a part of the panel. I'm just going to hang out with friends, and meet up with the people that I have been talking with online.

Questions from around the fandom:

From Camoozle:
You convey a very balanced portrayal of the emotional and physical aspects of the BDSM relationship. How do you research this lifestyle?
DS: I live the lifestyle, so my research is generally from my own experience. Every relationship is different however, some relationships have a more emotional tenor than exemplified in my stories, some have less.

It seems everyone is writing slash now. What do you think of everyone jumping on the slashwagon?
DS: I think that rather than it being a 'slashwagon', it's a more realistic representation of society. In real life, it's not just Edward and Bella, or Emmett and Rose - it's Edward and Jasper or Bella and Alice. Sometimes, it's Edward and Jasper and Bella and Alice. I think that people, specifically teenagers, coming on to read Fanfiction, those that are now forging their own sexual identities, will see that they don't have to mold themselves to fit any certain societal expectation.

What would it say if there were no slash? That it's wrong to be gay, and it's not.

New fic with dead Bella??? And killed by Edward?? Be still, my heart!!! What inspired you to write this new AU story minus one of the key characters?
DS: I have always thought that given Edward's predisposition to the scent of Bella's blood that it was unrealistic for him to be able to stop. That idea has been in the back of my head for some time. Then, when I had the flu, I watched an X-Men marathon followed closely by Twilight, and that sparked the idea for God of War. Killing Bella in the ballet studio seemed like a great way to start it.

From seamonkologist:
Quick question to those who enjoy/write m/m slash...when did you first realize it was something that was a turn on? And did you ever feel the need to hide that it turned you on?
DS: When I was a teenager and my best friend told me he was gay, and no I've never found the need to hide any of my proclivities.

Standard Questions from the Perv Pack:

Do you have any tattoos?
DS: Nope - penetrated, yes. Punctured? Not so much.

What is your favorite sexual position?
DS: Bound over a sturdy piece of furniture, like the back of a sofa.

Hardest part about writing ff?
DS: Not allowing myself to be caught up in all of the things that have nothing to do with the fiction.

If I looked under your bed right now what would I find?
DS: You wouldn't find my toy box, if that's what you're asking - that's in the closet. So, all you would find under my bed is the notebook and pen that I use when I get an idea right before I fall asleep.

For those of you that use 'toys', which is your favorite?
DS: My rabbit followed closely by my clamps.

Do people in RL know you do it? (write?)
DS: Pretty soon, everyone on earth is going to know that I do it - so yes.

If they could be in a relationship...would it be the same characters that you'd want to bone, or is there someone else they find more relationship worthy?
DS: I'm not interested in any relationship, much less one with a fictional character. :)

For PurdueLiz:
DS: Tell us about the Edward you carry around in your purse...
PL: Heh. He normally hangs out on my bedside table. He only goes in my purse for special occasions. Twicon was one. Seeing New Moon with you and Paige, Trish, was another.

That's all for this time folks. Tune in next Thursday for Kassiah and Kristen_Nicole.