Guest Post: Absolutely Erica Pike

Author Erica Pike is my guest today on Friskbiskit. Please give her a warm welcome!

 

Gay Players: Sexual Liberty

 

So, gay players. No, not sports players - man players. Or gamers? Whatever you like to call them. Truth is that a lot of gay men like to have casual sex, just like a lot of heterosexual men like to have casual sex. Gay men are men, simple as that. Gay men liking sex is not me with some stereotypical idealism in my head; this is something gay men have told me and one even wrote me mail thanking me for acknowledging this in a field of literature where everything seems to be going sweet and cuddly. I’m not saying that all gay men enjoy casual sex and don’t like cuddling. I’m not even saying that there’s anything wrong with sweet and cuddly (I enjoy reading and - yes - writing those, too). Not at all. But there are gay men out there who enjoy their sexual freedom and don’t want a steady partner. I don’t think men like that (gay or straight) are bad men. I don’t think they are - as often displayed - messed up characters who have an attitude problem. They’re just men who enjoy casual sex and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and no one should be made to feel ashamed for going out and enjoying casual sex (well, unless if they’re in a monogamous relationship).

I tend to write books where at least one of the main characters has a very liberal sex life. Why? I don’t know, maybe because I live in Iceland and people here think about sex very differently from the majority of the world. Sex doesn’t have to be a commitment - not even to women. Sex is something to enjoy, to satisfy an urge, and if something more comes of it then something more comes of it. One man told me that for men, it’s very often sex first and then a possible relationship second. However, when I write this in my books, I get criticized for it. I also get criticized for allowing my characters to enjoy casual sex and I’ve even been told by a (according to the profile name) male reader that all I think gay men are about is sex. Comments like that really throw me, because how can someone state that after reading a single story by me - a short story that is written as a scenario - a story that is marked as an erotic romance.

Besides that, my character Eric, in Absolutely Eric, jokes about a lot of things he believes gay men are and aren’t. Whatever his idealism is, it isn’t mine! It’s my character’s. If they all had the same idealisms as me, I wouldn’t be able to create diverse characters and my books would become uneventful and boring.

Yes, I like to write gay players who find their true love and end up stop playing. I like that scenario, that challenge, that urge to be with someone that you’re willing to change your whole lifestyle to be with that one person.

Back to Eric. He’s a sex player who’s never had a boyfriend. After witnessing the love between his two friends, he decides that he wants a boyfriend too. He’s young, inexperienced and naive in his search. He ends up choosing a guy based on looks rather than character. Of course, he realizes his mistake, but I like to drag my characters through hell before they find their happy ending, so it’s not an easy path.

 

I’d like to thank Jessica for having me over. I was totally star struck when she sent me an invitation to write a guest post for her blog ˆ.ˆ Dharma Café is a story that’s still very fresh in my mind - talk about unique!

 

Erica Pike

http://www.ericapike.com

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEricaPike

https://twitter.com/EricaPike

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5433276.Erica_Pike

 

Absolutely Eric at All Romance eBooks:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-absolutelyeric-825347-145.html

 

Blurb:

Eric Wesley is short and snazzy, hot and happy. Or that's what he thought. After three years of living on the wild side he's tired of being a playboy and wants to find love.

Eric, however, has never been in love before and doesn't see that the guy who's been gazing at him all summer might be Mr. Right. Alexander Centauri isn't only style-less and clumsy, but also terribly awkward. After a miserable date, Eric plants Alex on another guy's lap and goes after Mr. Wrong…who looks so right.

When Eric realizes his mistake, it might be too late.

 

Excerpt:

(Eric and Alex meet in a bookshop and Alex just offered Eric a job. As you can see from this snippet, they’re very different characters, Eric being a player and Alex preferring relationships. This is where Eric’s already discovered his mistake in boyfriend choice and is falling for Alex).

I can’t stop grinning. I’m feeling all gleeful about the prospects of being a real editor. And a chief editor at that.

“Want to talk specifics over coffee?” Alex asks.

Study for a test or have coffee with Alex? Why did I even hesitate?

We stroll through the park by the mall. The weather is surprisingly good for this time of year, and I even zip down my coat when the heat is too much. My body sways a little with the good beat of dance music playing somewhere close by, which has Alex smiling whenever he looks at me. Especially when I start humming along with it.

“So, that ex of yours. He’s totally different from Terry. I mean, he’s even shorter than I am, and that’s saying a lot at only five-six.”

Alex shrugs. “What can I say? Small guys usually catch my eye.”

I kick a loose rock ahead of me as we walk. “But why? Do you have a Tom Cruise fetish or something?”

“No,” Alex chuckles. “I guess I just find them more attractive, and they’re the perfect cuddle size.”

I smile. “But Terry isn’t short or a cuddler. I know that for a fact.”

Alex ducks a low tree branch while I sail right under.

“He makes up for that by being nice, thoughtful, and considerate. And very, very understanding,” says Alex.

I guess that means Terry forgave Alex for the make out incident at Clash last Friday.

“Plus he’s got a hot body,” I say with a tight smile.

Alex nods. “Yes, he does.”

I skip up on one of the many benches along the path and jump back down at the end of it.

“But I really prefer short and sweet over tall and buff,” he continues. “It’s always been like that.”

I get ready to jump onto the next bench.

“Plus, when I’m with someone as tall as Terry I can’t do this.” He yanks the fluffy hat off my head and holds it high in the air.

“Hey!” I protest, trying to look indignant while suppressing the giggles. “I may be small, but I make up for it in other ways.”

“Yeah? Like how?”

He dangles the hat just above my head, trying to bait me into making a grab for it.

“Like this!” I jump onto the bench and fling myself at Alex spider-monkey style. He instinctively drops the hat and catches me. As I sit in his arms with my legs on either side of his waist, I manage to grab the hat as it falls through the air. My shades hang askew so I remove them and stuff ’em into my pocket.

“See? I have a sixth sense for people’s weaknesses, and I don’t hesitate to use it against them.”

“You think you’re my weakness?” he asks, his face so close to mine. I can see that he’s freshly shaven and his usual smell of cologne and soap has my nostrils flaring as I inhale.

 

 

Comments

[Erica Pike]

Thanks for having me, Jessica :)

[Jessica Freely]

Hi Erica. Thanks for being my guest today!