The Wedding of the Wolf
I talked to the editor at Samhain who gave me such good feedback on 'The Rose of the Winds' and with her permission have now sent off 'The Wedding of the Wolf'. This is not (despite how it sounds) a where-tale, but a much lighter hearted novel about a woman planning a society wedding in Italy. I'll be interested to see what she says, because obviously the Rose of the Winds goes a bit far, which is a shame, as it was my baby!

Keeping my fingers crossed. Samhain obviously liked your overall style.

Not sure my writing qualifies as 'really black'. :) But I have written dark/noir/gritty things before and the key is choosing your market. It's best not to send stuff like that to a publisher who prefers pink, fluffy romance, or even the pinker, fluffier side of erotica. :D I find gay men's magazines such as Velvet Mafia, and the anthologies put out by Suspect Thoughts, a better fit for really dark stuff, or anything with gallows humour.

And there are plenty of different markets out there - just because one, or even two or three, publisher doesn't like it doesn't mean they'll all think the same.

Yes, but the trouble is, it wasn't a gay story, not m/m. It's a straightforward adventure story with a strong m/f romance running through it in which the male protagonist, in a guerrilla camp in Laos, is raped. It's not a big deal, but it's the cause of a major plot shift. Oh, and in which a katoey is also assaulted by a number of men. Okay, so now I write it down, it doesn't look good. But it did fit in with the story and it wasn't gratuitious. But I don't know who would be interested in something that's a lot stronger that a romance. It's not that it's pornographic, I think. Well, I hope not. It's something to do with context.

Ah, right, sorry - I hadn't realised. In that case, the indie print publishers might be your best bet. They routinely seem to take more, er, challenging material than anyone else.... especially here in the UK.

I think most publishers of romance, of m/f romance, have a problem with the 'hero' being raped. I can't say I blame them. It's MY problem that the sort of thing I write doesn't fit neatly into any of the genre pigeon holes.

Well, quite and I'm with you on that one. But don't lose heart. Take a look at some of the indie books (as opposed to mainstream romance publishers) in your local library and you'll see that there's some pretty eyebrow raising stuff being published.

I think Tav's right about that. I think you should. It *is* really disheartening when it seems that readers don't "get" something which one feels quite strongly about - or, as you say, you just like. What is a katoey?

I feel your pain. I write the dark stuff too, and I bottle it up much of the time, because I know no one else wants to read it. If you find a publisher who likes the dark m/f stuff, please let me know.

I feel I should have known that word. Yes, I see exactly - but I think publishing is opening up all the time, both print and e-publishing. There could well be a publisher out there for you.

Have you tried, I guess, glossing the rape? There's one in Lord Carabas of the main character. And while it's graphic (there's no doubt of what's happening) the sex itself is not at the fore. So far no one has had a problem with it. Course it hasn't sold that scene has passed without comment. I'll throw it in Jules & Co and you can see if it differs.

i would argue that male rape in mf is mainstream. i have read two genre romances that include it. One is a vampire regency -- the other was an early time travel romance by whatsername... um, I forget. i could probably find them if you want to know the publishers.