How I started writing Gay Romance

Hi everyone, Jaxx Steele here again.

This time I'd like to share how I started writing gay romance. As a kid I was surrounded by readers, both parents, aunts, baby sitters... Anyway, one day I was at the baby sitter's after school and she put her book down to make me something to eat and I picked it up. The rest as they say is history. I was hook! I read everything she had on her shelf. She had plenty of Danielle Steel and Barbara Cartland, but when I came to the one lonely Bertrice Small book and a Thea Devine book, there was no going back.

That was when I was 14, by the time I was 17 I knew girls were not in my future so the stories lost some of their luster. I loved the idea of the romance and the sex in Ms. Small and Ms. Devine's books and I wondered if there was anything like that for gay men. At the time there was no internet and I doubted if there was anything I was looking for in the library so I decided to write my own.

Thus began my journey into the writing world. In college I took elective courses to improve my writing and asked my English and writing teachers as much as I could without giving away what I was really doing. And then, lady luck smiled upon me. I ran into a gay teacher! He wasn't out of course, but you know your own, you know? Anyway, I gave him one of my stories and he loved it! With someone other than myself liking my work I kept writing. The internet blew up a few years later and saw that there was plenty of gay romance to go around out there! Knowing that encouraged to me to write even more and search for a publisher.

I graduated and went into my career. I am still friends today with that teacher and I have never forgotten what he taught me. He gave me 3 rules about writing. I would like to share them with you:

1) Find your voice and stay true to it.

2) Keep improving your skill as a writer.

3) Learn all you can from other authors who have been there and done that!

I still use these rules today. My stories have touched many genres, but they have all been romances. Here are a few of my favorites:

Care Package (Silver Publishing)

First Sergeant Dwayne Roman was asked to leave his life as a soldier. Reluctantly he did so and settled fitfully into civilian life. The law of the land and a military cover up separated him from the most important person in his life. After suffering three years with regret and loneliness, he had the chance to get back what an unjust law and self-serving people took from him.

Papa Knows Best

Dominick 'Papa' Pappas was a handsome, young photography teacher at Indiana University given to impulsive behavior and an overwhelming passion for his craft. Professor Bradley Louis taught philosophy at the college and had the reputation of being the sternest and most unsocial of all the teachers on campus. When Papa first laid eyes on Professor Louis it was love at first sight. Professor Louis was handsome, intelligent and twenty years his senior. Papa approached him, but the professor turned away from his advances claiming they had nothing in common and belonged to two different generations. Because of that he didn't think they had a chance to survive as a couple. Can Papa convince him of otherwise or will Professor Louis' theory on May-November relationships prevail?

Right Side of the Tracks

Faced with the consequences of one careless night, Russell Drake left his lover, James, to marry a woman he barely knew. It certainly wasn't what he planned, but one look at his son's tiny face convinced him that he'd do whatever was necessary to make his child happy— even if it cost him his own happiness. But fate has something else in mind for him, and an unforeseen accident once again sets off a cascade of change. Three years later, Russell no longer has to settle and exist for his son's sake. He has the chance to rediscover the life he'd wanted with James?

Jaxx is out!

www.jaxxsteele.com