Diary of a Gay Erotica Author: JP Barnaby

A while ago, I've had the pleasure of sitting down with JP Barnaby and having a conversation about her career and writing.

1. How did you get your start writing gay fiction and/or erotica? Please tell us a bit about your background and early beginnings.
I began writing gay romance sometime in 2008 with the idea for The Forbidden Room. In the beginning, I wrote heterosexual Twilight fanfiction. My stories are gay, straight, bisexual, light, dark, BDSM, sweet, whatever captures my interest for that particular set of characters. The Forbidden Room series is self-published, but for the more romantic contemporary series Little Boy Lost, I sought a publisher and found Dreamspinner Press.

Aside from a few general education college courses, I have no real training in creative writing. In fact, I was a physics major. But, I’ve found that writing is a great stress relief from my career of software development and has been a wonderful way to meet new friends.

(Nathan: I find that the arts is one of those careers where you don't need formal training to succeed in. Just look at Celine Dion, Stephenie Meyer and Nora Roberts. None of these fine artists has professional training, yet they are at the top of their game).

2. What inspires you?
One of my greatest sources of inspiration consists of taking two things that you wouldn’t normally associate with each other, and putting them together to make a story. For example, watching Star Trek and following the fight for gay marriage in New York. That combination sparked the idea for a novel I am working on which relates to Quantum Physics.

Something that greatly inspires me while I’m writing an erotic scene is sound. I tend to put on a gay adult video in the background and listen while I work.

3. What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?
It depends on the focus of the piece. In A House of Cards, for example, my goal centered around helping other people understand recovery from sexual trauma through the accepting or relinquishing control. In the Little Boy Lost series, I wanted people to look at Brian and Jamie, especially once they reunited, and see people. So many gay adult models are marginalized, reduced to what’s in their pants when they have so much more to offer.

(Nathan: I agree. Marginalization is so common).

4. If you had to choose, which one of your novels do you like the most and why?
My very favorite novel is A House of Cards because I know that it reaches people. I’ve received so many e-mails from fans of the series who tell me that reading about Ethan has helped them in their own lives. I find that to be very important.

5. If you had a message for your readers and fans, what would it be?
You are a light in my life, like stars on a clear night, showing me the path that I must take. Thank you for your guidance, and your unwavering support.

(Nathan: I feel the same way about my own fans).

This is JP Barnaby's latest book in the Little Boy Lost Series: