Ten Things About... Wendy Rathbone - An Author Interview

One of the things I love about starting this blog is that I've been able to meet so many new to me authors and find out more about them... today I'm getting to know Wendy Rathbone better and I hope you'll also enjoy learning 10 things about her:

Indie or Traditionally published? - Tell us how this works for you…

I am indie published. Indie works best for me with the gay romance genre. With big publishers, LGBT romance is still not properly on their radar (of course there are exceptions). With the invention of ebooks, being able to publish the kinds of books I love to write opened up wide. No longer feeling constrained or intimidated by the gatekeepers of the twisted world of publishers and agents that also takes FOREVER to put out a single book, I was able to thrive in indie publishing. It’s hard work because I have to handle all the things that go into putting a book out there myself, but it’s so worth it!

Plot or Pants? Do you pre-plot your books, use an outline, fly by the seat of your pants or some combination of things? How do you keep track of characters in a series? Do you keep a journal of your characters statistics, such as hair and eye color, relatives, hometown, etc.

I pants. I love the empty page and exploring into the unknown. Into the dark. It does not scare me. In fact, it makes my muse puff up with all possibility. Then I simply daydream my way into the story. Sometimes I do make notes just to keep track of names, ages, hair color, etc. Sometimes I discuss plot points with others. (Fellow author Jackie North is a great brainstormer!) Sometimes my daydream gets ahead of me and I need to note an upcoming event so I don’t forget it. But outlines kill my creative energy, so they are not for me.

Tell us about your first… published gay fiction/romance

My first published gay romance is The Foundling Trilogy. Book 1 was my first. Before that I had written a ton of romance fanfic shipping male characters from TV series.

I also wrote for years in the scifi/fantasy/horror field, mostly short stories and poetry. In much of my older stuff, LGBT characters appear, but those original stories were not romances.

Thus, it is fair to say The Foundling Book 1, Rescue Me, was my first. It is a story of billionaire rescue and amnesia. The trilogy exposes human trafficking and is a huge hurt/comfort-rescue-erotic romance that left me breathless when the three books were finally completed.

and then your most recent one..

Cold is my most recent release, and part of my new omegaverse non-shifter series, Captive Alphas. Alphas comprise 5% of the population and are locked up and forced into breeding programs. It’s so much fun!

Do you write full time or part-time?

I was part-time until Covid. Now I am full-time.

Something people would be surprised to know about you

I am an award-winning poet.

Which character still pops into your mind to visit from time to time?

Usually I am obsessed with current characters whose stories I am writing. But from my past books I think often and obsessively about Vanni from Lord Vampyre.

What are your writing goals for the next year? The future?

My writing goals for next year are HUGE. I want to write a book a month. I had a hard year this year and could not manage that speed. But next year should be better. I want to continue my Captive Alphas series, as well as maybe start a new series. My mind wants it to be set in some sort of academy, and I love the Alpha/Omega dynamic, so it will also be omegaverse and mpreg. I also want to write at least 2 holiday books.

What’s the hardest part about writing M/M romance or erotica?

Stopping is the hardest part. I love writing erotica. More than the practical physical side to things, it’s the emotional intimacy I love. I love writing about the tension and consequences that are going on during sex. What is being gained? What is the potential loss? Also, imperfect sex is hot. When things aren’t always easy, it’s fun to see the characters overcome that. I can easily write a 5k word sex scene that is integral to the story so you don’t even realize it’s that long when reading. I love writing plots about the sex, too. Thus, omegaverse with its heats and ruts is perfect for my tastes. I throw in chattel farms and breeding programs and then I’m all set.

How can we connect with you?

Please visit my Amazon author page to find more mm romance by me.

Readers are very welcome to come hang out with me on Facebook where I share about my works in progress, sexy teasers and humorous details about my writing process at Wendyland.

You can also join my newsletter (subscribepage.com/c7y0t5) for updates on Captive Alphas and other series.