In Which I Have No Idea What is Going On

It seemed like a good idea at the time; the three of us doing a blog together. After all, Patricia Logan, Lisa Worrall and I (Sue Brown) spend a lot of time rambling together. Yep, well that’s it. Patti, Liss and me – we ramble. Talking sensibly is not really on our things to do list. So when Lee reminded me that we had booked this blog, the shrieks of “OMG, what the hell are we going to talk about?” reverberated around our little patch of Facebook.

We managed to boil it down to a few questions. Of course, we didn’t stick to the questions. Have you ever tried to get Lisa and Patti to stick to anything? *ducks head*

Question 1:

Lisa: So who came up with the idea of Masquerade?

Sue: It wasn’t me. You two approached me.

Patti: It was Lisa.

At this point, we descend into an argument about which of us is middle-aged. We had been discussing the joys of older men. Yes, Lisa, you are younger than us. Oh, and then apparently I want to marry Lisa’s chest.

Moving on swiftly…

Question 2:

Patti: Why did we work together again after Chasing the Dream.

Sue: Right, I worked with Patti and Lisa because they asked me to *g*

Lisa: I worked with Patti and Sue because Patti made me.

Sue: LOL. Way to go with the ego crushing Lisa!

Patti: I worked with Lisa and Sue because I can't get enough of the Britishisms *rolls eyes*

Have you ever discussed the spelling of bollocks? Patti and Lisa had a moment on that discussion which ended up with me yelling lick my Ox Balls. It’s all Patti’s fault. She thinks that’s fanfic for either Ferdinand the Bull or Babe. Oh and apparently coming from Essex means you can spell bollocks. Coming from Essex counts for a great deal!

Question 3:

Lisa: Why did I pick contemporary? Probably because I found the idea of historical too terrifying. How easy did you find Regency?

Sue: Really difficult but there is a wealth of information out there. Regency Romance is a big deal. We have a lot to thank Jane Austen. There are so many societies out there.

We were waiting for Patti to come back and started a conversation about how my Edwin (the lamb in the Regency) would cope if he met Patti’s pirate or Lisa’s contemporary guys. Lisa thought Edwin would think all his birthdays and Christmases were rolled up in one.

Patti: So, here's a question for you, Lisa. This is your first mixed race book. Was it different and why did you choose to write mixed race?

Lisa: I don't know is the honest answer. But when I was describing Tom, Gabe was so ethereally beautiful, all blond hair and green eyes, and pale skinned... I just had a vision of how gorgeous his skin would look against much darker hands.

Patti:  I had the same idea when I wrote slave. Francois is so white and blond and Anthony, though blue eyed, has that swarthy pirate look. I have the same contrast in The Cowboy Queen. I like it.

Patti: I wanted to do a really good BDSM and I've always wanted to do a pirate book. I also have one big guy and one little guy. I went the twink route with Slave and that's the first time I'd done that. Most always, my guys have been hulking and tall. But the more I read, the more I think I like the sexy little guy sometimes. I come from the 1970's romance era where every man was a mountain and every woman was a tiny thing. So, when I started writing M/M, all my men were mountains.

So this led back to the idea of older men in stories. Patti was worried about erectile dysfunction (typical!), and Lisa seemed to be planning her book empire for the next ten years. Me? I had a cup of coffee.

The Masquerade Trilogy is published by Silver Publishing.

The Layered Mask
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Threatened by his father with disinheritance, Lord Edwin Nash arrives in London for one season to find a wife. While there, Nash discovers he is the lamb, the sacrifice of the society matrons, to be shackled to one of the girls by the end of the season.

During a masquerade ball, Nash hides from the ladies vying for his attention. He is discovered by Lord Thomas Downe, the Duke of Lynwood. Nash is horrified when Thomas calmly tells him that he knows the secret that Nash had hidden for years and that he sees through the mask that Edwin presents to the rest of the world.

What will happen when the time comes for Edwin to return home with a suitable bride?

Sue’s Bio: Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn't following their orders, she can be found at university listening to lecturers discuss long-dead theologians. In her head, however, she's plotting how to get her cowboys into bed together; she just hopes the lecturer doesn't ask her any questions.

Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she's made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

The Slave's Mask
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Infamous American blackguard and blockade runner, Captain Anthony Charles, has made a fortune in gold, running contraband between England and the Confederate States at the height of the Civil War in 1863. Anthony knows good brandy and fine cigars and his English clients appreciate him for it, but the captain also craves young submissive men. When he wins a young prostitute at an auction, Francois becomes his slave for seven days.

Francois has turned to prostitution to survive, but he is more than a whore. While most men who enjoy his favors treat him cruelly, he is stunned by this temporary owner's kindness. Being a slave to this blue-eyed Master is no difficult task. Both men find that love may not be as elusive as they thought. Will the separation of oceans and time test their love or bring pain beyond bearing?

Patricia’s bio: I am a mother of four children and four pets. I am a wife to a very strange man that has managed to put up with me for over 26 years.

During the day and sometimes at night, you will find me with a laptop on my....well..., on my lap and with it I will often be writing novels. I am an author of gay erotic fiction. Why do I write about men who love men? Because I believe that if one man is good two are even better. Besides that, I believe stongly that anyone should be able to love whomever they want to love and I believe that since God made us this way, he doesn't make mistakes.

I love to laugh even more than life itself. Please make me laugh and I'll do my best to reciprocate.

Behind the Mask
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The Downe's Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball has been an annual event for over a hundred years and where, four years ago, Gabe met Mike.

It's been over six months since Mike's death and Mike thinks that Gabe is ready to move on. How does Gabe know this? He receives a letter and a ticket to the ball, from Mike. Gabe isn't sure he'll ever be ready to move on, but in deference to Mike's memory, he attends the ball.

What Gabe doesn't know, is that his best friend, Tom, the one constant in his life since college, has also received a letter from Mike. Will Gabe be able to move forward and remember a long forgotten love, or will his world come crumbling down around his ears, again?

Lisa’s Bio:  

I was born in Romford, Essex, but am now living in Leigh on Sea, ten minutes away from the seaside town of Southend on Sea, which boasts the longest pier in the world. My claim to fame! I am having a total ball creating stories for the characters clamoring in my head for attention. And I am totally amazed by the support they've received and hope to give them voice for as long as people want to hear what they have to say.

On a personal note, I am the single mother of two children, aged eight and six, which makes for some interesting conversations, which sometimes end up in my stories! As if that wasn't enough to make me prematurely gray, we also have acquired a puppy called Winnie, named after my biggest vice... the Winchester brothers in Supernatural.