Questions about my debut novel? Ask them here!

[Kergan]

My debut novel, loosely inspired by a partner who died of AIDS, was a labor of love and took me over 12 years to write. Ask me anything you like about the novel, here!

[Nancy]

I read your book, and it was stunning. However, do feel that some of your scenes were just a little too descriptive for female readers? Do you wish you had modified or deleted such scenes?

[Kergan]

Great question, Nancy! (And I'm glad you liked the book.)

I think an author has to make a choice when telling their story: is their goal to sell as many books as possible, or tell the story the best way the story needs to be told? Both are valid approaches, but it is rare that a story falls into both camps at once.

For this story, about a damaged man attempting to rebuild his life, it was important to see just what happened to him. He continues to confuse love and sex, and that even veers into sometimes rough encounters. I felt, to accurately tell his story, there needed to be a real grittiness to it, which led to the descriptive sexual encounters.

The target audience for this was primarily gay men, and I felt that they would largely be okay with the depictions, but I fully realized that for other readers, there may be some discomfort. I also knew that I was giving up on certain audiences with not only the sex scenes, but also with a lead character so broken.

I was told more than once that I should make him happier and less sarcastic, but I felt that was key to his character and decided that I would rather be true to my character and story than in altering it to make it more appealing to a wider audience.

My next book is a collection of short stories, purposely aimed at a wider audience, and for that I've chosen a totally different tone.

Thanks again for the great question!

[Nancy]

Great response, and too many of us confuse love and sex. You did good, and I was greatly moved by your book.