Jack Brighton's Blog, page 4

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF AN ALPHA

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/   I'm having a minor crisis with my current book - 'two fags for Gus... The Alpha Sparky'. As you can guess from the title, it involves three characters - two fags and an Alpha Male. My difficulty is with the current structure. The Alpha is seen through the eyes of the fags, but we don't actually get to know him. We learn of the 'type' the Alpha Male via conversations and internet blogs, which is backed up by actions during sex - but this is the stereotype - I give nothing of his true personality. Perhaps that is best, because the Alpha characteristics are not particularly endearing - if I try to give him more depth then I might spoil the image by making him more human, more likeable.
At one point yesterday I was considering a complete revamp. I thought that the book could be extended into a trilogy, each of the three parts told from a different perspective - the final one being from the Alpha's point of view. It would be challenging, and perhaps very messy. And I think it would be wrong.
I have this tendency to make my characters likeable - or at least to excuse them for their bad actions, like Sparky Gus cheating on his wife. I did this recently in 'Christmas at The Wild Side' - I had to justify Paddy's action. I couldn't allow him to do what he does for pure gratification at the cost to some innocent party. But Paddy has depth and it would have been inconsistent to make him act otherwise - Alpha Sparky has little depth at present and I can do what I like with him.
But what to do?
I need to take a step back and think very carefully about which direction to go in now. Do I keep my Alpha Sparky as a shallow, selfish bastard... or do I break the Alpha stereotype, and in doing so make him less of an 'Alpha' but more of a human being?
Or should I take the view: 'It's a porn book, for goodness sake, stop worrying about personality and get to some rough sex!'
 Sorry - I can't do that last one. It might be porn, but it's still my work, and I wouldn't put my name to it if it lacked proper characterisation.

Jack

FAG TALK

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/index.html   I was doing a little more research yesterday, flicking through a Tumblr blog to get more insight into the Alpha Male mentality. To be honest I found it pretty tough reading, the views on the blog being way too extreme for my liking, and I despair if this is what people actually think represents an Alpha Male - supposedly the best that humanity has to offer in that sex.
But there was one posting that made me laugh. This one here. It's like that Eureka moment when realisation hits. As I say... real funny.

In case anyone was wondering, my Alpha Sparky will be a couple of evolutionary steps ahead of these fictional dumb wits... Sorry if that's going to disappoint.

Jack

THE BACK IS BACK

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  I had cause this morning to remember my back, and very pleasant it was as well. But why have I neglected it for so long, or more precisely - allowed it to be neglected. Just because it's back there and out of my sight doesn't mean I should forget about it.
It's easy to happen though. And I'm guilty of this neglect in both my private and writing life. The back features plenty of times in my books, but it is usually getting whipped, not worshiped. I always focus on other body parts for that. Perhaps it's because it has no obvious focal point. The rest of the body has things to zoom in on, and I'm sure I don't need to make a list of the erogenous parts of male anatomy to illustrate the point. The poor back is a blank canvas with no such obvious highlights, although that in itself makes it a thing of beauty. Think of the desert or the artic snow - they have a beauty in their uniformity, and a man's back can be such a pleasing thing to the eye. If time is taken, and it shouldn't be rushed, there can be so much pleasure applied to the back. The kiss of the whip is one aspect, but the lips can be used as well - although admittedly it might not make such good reading. Whatever - life isn't always a book, and it isn't always wham bang, over in a minutes. Worshipping the back can go on and on, hours of fun without risk of a pre-mature ending.
So those who worship and those who command - remember the back.
I certainly intend to!
The back is back.

Jack

AN UNUSUAL HIERARCHY - WHERE A REAL MAN PUTS HIS SEMEN!

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/   Recognise the little fellas?
Actually they form only a very small component of what this blog is about, but the most important part - the whole point of the stuff.
 In recent research for my latest book, it's not sperm, but the semen it is delivered in, had featured big time. Having a degree in Biology, and some acclaim as a writer of gay erotica, I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about semen (or spunk as I prefer to call it). But life is full of surprises.
In the Alpha Male blogs I've been flicking through to help me get into the mind set of these men, I have learned of the importance of semen. It is the means by which these 'superior beings' propagate the type, and as such it must be revered - never wasted - it is far too precious. With this in mind, apparently some Alpha Males have a hierarchy of where this precious fluid should be deposited. I'm going to use this in my book, and have naturally paraphrased what I found. Here is an extract from the draft which I personally think is hilarious, followed by my own slant on the list...

And then there was the thing about revering Alpha spunk. Some of the postings were quite comical, quoting hierarchies of where best to put it, or how it should be used. Here’s the order that one Alpha gave...

 1 – In some weak cuckold’s wife, preferably with him watching as you breed her. It is the Alpha Male’s duty to impregnate at will.
2 – In your own wife or girlfriend’s pussy.
3 – In your wife of girlfriend’s mouth.
4 – In your own mouth. That’s right! It should never be wasted and it helps to grow serious muscle.
5 – In food you eat. Again, don’t waste the protein.
6 – On jockstraps or other items for sale or auction.
7 – Then as a last resort, your lowly faggot’s mouth as the ultimate reward for subservience.

LOL!
Thankfully Gus didn’t subscribe to all that crap. From the sound of things, the Alpha
Sparky dumped most of his baby batter into Rory’s ass at the moment – a place
that didn’t even merit a mention in the list. I told you I had to take all this
with a large pinch of salt!

Jack

THE ALPHA SPARKY

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/   It's a bit busy. Probably too busy for a book cover so it will no doubt get changed, but I wanted to test a few ideas out and this was the one I liked the best. It certainly has sparkle, which is now part of the title.
Do people outside of Britain (or even in Britain) know what a sparky is though? I mention it in early in the book - it's an electrician. That doesn't come across on that book cover, so perhaps people will be confused as to what it's about.
And as for a fag - well that's well known globally. But in Britain it is also a cigarette, and for the first time I am making a principal character a smoker. That doesn't come across either, and probably it shouldn't. I know that in some countries positive images of smoking are banned, so I don't want to risk more censorship over something really daft like that. But what about the other fags - the two young lads who will serve the sparky - where are they? Should I have them there somewhere on the cover, or does it not matter?  The book cover is meant to grab attention not tell the story - read the blurb and the book for that.
You know - the more I look at it, the more I like it. Perhaps it will stay, at least for a short time whilst I write the book, which is about half complete now. I'll put it on the website to advertise the work...Another little job for today.

Jack

PEN NAMES

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/index.html 
I was left a little disappointed this morning, and somewhat confused. The first couple of days with ARe have been going really well. It took two days to get all the Jack Brighton titles loaded onto their site, but the effort has been rewarded with quite a few sales - more than I had expected to be honest.
Then yesterday the Tom Farrell collection was added along with about half the Fergie Boy books. And this morning I find there has been no take up whatsoever of books under either pen name.
Strange!
Early days, and I'm sure it will get sorted. It can take time for a 'new author' to be discovered by a new group of potential readers. I do find this though - but not always in Jack's favour - that certain retail sites seem to perform better with one particular pen name.
It has given me cause to wonder about the latest book I'm working on. I have my Tom Farrell hat on, and am using his style - but it is still me who is writing it, so if Jack is the more popular author, should I not put it out under his name.
Oh, the lure of commercialism!
But I must resist. It is an experimental work, and better not to confuse the Jack Brighton brand with something the core readership might not like. I will stick with Tom even if it means less sales.
It would be nice if some came through though!

Jack

THE IMPORTANCE OF TITLE

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/index.html   Yesterday I was thinking about the title for my new book. Currently it's 'Two Fags for Alpha Gus' which is okay I suppose. It kind of tells you what the book is about. But I don't think it's catchy enough or represents what it's about as well as I would like.
For one thing there is capitalisation where perhaps it should be left out. I notice this when I am reading other people's work, that there is a convention that has capitalisation for the Dom and lower case for the sub, as I have just demonstrated in this sentence. I have never adhered to this in the past. If I write a simple "Yes, sir!" then I use lower case. Does that annoy people I wonder, who expect the dom to be Dom?
Answers in a comment please - I'm interested.
Anyway, I have used capitals in the new book when the Dom is being addressed, but in this piece I think it appropriate. So taking it to the book title I think it should therefore be 'two fags for...' at the beginning and capitals thereafter.
But what about Gus? That's the name of the character and I'm keeping it, but in the book he has a cyber name which is 'Alpha Jock' (yeah I know, another Scotsman - bit it's a kind of trademark, and I do identify, so I have no intention of breaking the mould). I think Alpha Jock sounds better, and to emphasise his superiority right from the outset, I reckon the book title should be, and presented as such:
two fags for...
THE ALPHA JOCK
Or does that sound like I'm taking the piss?

Jack

A MAN OF MANY TALENTS

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/ 
Don't you just love Ben Cohen!
He's a man of many talents. Even if you are not British and know about Ben, you can see one of them straight away - he looks stunning.
I'm a big fan. Not only does he look gorgeous, he plays a mean game of rugby, capped 57 times for England and part of their Wold Cup winning side. (Yes I did support them and was delighted they won - it's a myth that all Scots are Anglophobes)
Anyway, apart from his physical and sporting prowess, Ben is currently demonstrating to the nation that he can dance - the brightest star of Strictly by far, even if some of the women are technically better. And of course he is an established gay icon - married with kids but very supportive, happy to appear shirtless on the cover of gay magazines. He even donated a signed jockstrap which was sold at auction, the proceeds going to a gay health awareness foundation. On top of that there is The Ben Cohen Stand Up Foundation which targets the horror of bullying. As I say, a man of many talents, partially deaf as well I understand, so not someone who lets his disability get in the way of achieving admirable goals. An all round great bloke and superb role model.
And what has any of this to do with Jack Brighton, other than me having some self-indulgent hero worship? Well, I'm a man of many talents as well, or need to be in my work life. Being a self publishing author involves a lot more that writing. That was certainly hammered home yesterday when the first books were loaded onto All Romance eBooks! It's a demanding process and will take many days to complete. Fortunately I have all the material needed, but things like book covers need to be reformatted to suit ARe's requirements, so it's not that straight forward. Even more fortunately I have a partner who is happy to help out, so he is doing the brunt of the work. Which means that today I might get to do some writing.
Of course things like that always come at a price, so no doubt I'll have to reward him in some creative way later on. As I say - I'm a man of many talents, and I'm sure I'll rise to the occasion.

Jack

A NEW OUTLET

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/index.html   I have a new outlet for my work!
All Romance eBooks - or ARe for short.
I have to say I was aware of them for some time but didn't think the Firm Hand Books catalogue would be suitable. But on looking at their site again at the suggestion of a friend, I changed my mind and am delighted to say they have accepted my application.
So a busy day ahead uploading material.
It will be interesting to see how the relationship works out. I hope it's a success and that ARe survive in an aggressive market. Sadly two of my outlets have closed over the past year or so - eErotica last year and now Rainbow Books is winding down. I know others are finding it difficult which is such a shame, but the competition from the big players is tough. ARe have been around for some time though, and romance is such a popular genre, so hopefully they can survive as a specialist niche player, and help me to survive as a niche writer.
Good luck to us both.

Jack 

THE ULTIMATE ALPHA MALE

http://jackbrighton.weebly.com/
  I'm having a ball of a time with my new piece of work. Having started out as a short story, it's now well on its way to being a full book on its own. And quite rightly so, as one of the lead characters lays claim to being an Alpha Male, and they shouldn't be relegated to part of a collection. They are superior - or so they say - and deserve a book to themselves.
Now if you have read my earlier blog 'My Sparky' you will have seen the original muse. That's him there, and physically he is what I still have in mind, but his character is changing from what was originally intended - for one thing I've given him a wife! Alpha Males are straight apparently - or so my research would have me believe.
But is that really the case? Can't Alpha Males be totally gay? I think they can. Angus McCloud is an Alpha to me, and he's never even sniffed after a woman. But my sparky Gus doesn't see himself as gay - he just uses fags because they are convenient and can be treated like dirt.
 Actually there is lot more involved in my book. There's a twist to the story, which is narrated by a would be fag. Gus has been subtly manipulated into becoming another character's fantasy of what a real Alpha Male would be. So I obviously have cause to wonder what would my idea of an Alpha Male be.
A quick trawl through my stock of hunky images brought me to Ted Colunga. I think Ted's great. I mean just look at him - all man from head to toe, with the most amazing equipment under those jeans! But can he be an Alpha? Probably not, because if you are familiar at all with Ted's work then you will know that in his porn flicks he doesn't often use that incredible equipment - it's Ted who is usually the passive one. That makes him doubly hot for me, but not an equal in the eyes of an Alpha, because only a fag would take it up the ass! An odd view of the world, but that's Alpha's for you.
So who are these men?
To be honest I don't know. I have a problem with the reality of it - straight guys who fuck men aren't totally straight in my opinion, but in fantasy fiction I can make them what I like. My Sparky Gus works in construction, so that's a good image to start with. Alpha Males have proper jobs don't they - construction workers, police, soldiers, firemen. Oh, and cowboys as well! I don't do cowboys, but I love the image. A cowboy is an excellent platform for being an Alpha Male.
He's cute this one. Fabulous look and very popular on the internet - a much used image. And he might be an Alpha - it's hard to say - but I'd sooner have Ted any day.
Okay, so we have the right job, the right hunky build, the right sexual orientation (totally straight but enjoys screwing fags). What else does he need. Well my research would suggest an unusually high libido, a selfish nature and almost Nazi like view of their superiority over lesser men. That's the stereotype anyway, or what I can gleam. It's an image that a lot of gay guys are attracted to, although I don't include myself in their ranks - not by a long chalk, I can assure you.
For me a real Alpha Male is like Angus McCloud - dominant, but considerate, nurturing the men he cares for, and having someone like Paddy McGuire to love and serve him. But I suppose we all have different views.
So other than my own creation, who is the ultimate Alpha male?
Easy - if we are going to get arrogant about it, then sorry all you cowboys, you just don't measure up. The ultimate Alpha has to be Scottish, or at least in my blog he does! In which case there can be only one winner... Sean Connery of course, playing James Bond. That's the ultimate Alpha for me.

Jack