Guest Post & Giveaway with Michael Mandrake

I have Sharita Lira aka Michael Mandrake on the blog today, sharing a very exciting post. Help me in welcoming Sharita to Pants Off.

Why I Love Writing M/M

Sharita Lira 

Greetings readers! My post is a bit of an update from the first few posts I made about the same subject. Since I’ve been around the past year I’ve learned a lot and I wanted to restate the reasons I love it!

In the beginning, it was about it being taboo, it made me hot, etc but now, it’s more about the fact I love writing romance. I discover with every story I write, I’m putting a little bit of myself in every character, whether it’s my snarky side, my long winded, my love for the overdramatic. Notice I said, overdramatic, doesn’t make me a drama queen! *snicker* I do love the tension but occasionally, I love a story without all the heartache. I like the fluff as my favorite fellow writer put it.

Ever since I was a teen, I loved reading stories about romance and two people falling for one another. It started with the cutesy Harlequins or my grandma’s Barbara Cortland novels and then I wanted to know more about the steamy with Fern Michaels and Jackie Collins. In many people’s eyes, those writers put together smut but hey, it had a romantic element, or tried to. *grins* The bottom line is, it opened the door for what we know now as erotic romance.

Then I started getting into Anne Rice and much later, Zane, who writes erotica as well. The common thread? In those stories there was something about two people connecting, finding a common ground, and maybe love somewhere along the way. Perhaps it wasn’t clearly stated, but reading between the lines, you saw something in those characters that made you enjoy that book.

And so, that spurred me into wanting to write my own but it wasn’t until I gained the confidence through encouragement from friends and the fanfic community did I get the courage to publish. It took me a while but here I am. Now, just like the writers before me, I enjoy writing about two people connecting. Most of the time, I just like them to be two men. Other than the genitalia, what’s the big difference? Men have feelings, desires; they have their ultimate partner just like women do. They have hang-ups, fears, some express their feelings openly, some do not. Why should writing m/m be singled out?

Sure, a lot of men might fit what society calls a “real man” but in Shar’s world, the characters may not always fit that mold. They’re unique, most of the time imperfect, not always what America considers as everyday males. They debunk stereotypes, cross over boundaries, they’re human to me and they connect. I love that the most and as much as I am a feminist, I love writing about the opposite sex.

So my ideas are better defined. Yeah it still makes me hot, I love the taboo, but most important, I just love writing romance and the fact that it’s between two men, shouldn’t be a big deal. It is after all about human interaction. I enjoy it, and God willing, I’ll continue to do to for years to come.

Thanks for listening

This book blurb and excerpt is by my most successful pseudo, Michael Mandrake 

Booktrailer

Buylink 


After losing his lover to mental disorder, Dr. Hayden Curry throws himself into work, silently wishing he could experience something extraordinary in love. He finds his match in David, a creature Hayden revives after discovering him and hauling him back to his lab. Upon awakening, David asks Dr. Hayden’s help in discovering more about himself. Hayden agrees but senses secrets in David. Will he get to the bottom of things and be able to continue the special relationship he and David have, or will the secrets that come forward tear them apart?


Before I went to my haven, I glanced outside my window. Outside, the rainfall reduced to a drizzle, coupled by slow moving clouds over the moonlight. The trees blew after only a few gusts of winds, ripped the leaves off and made quite a mess on the grass underneath.
      These would be the nights I would cherish with him most. After relishing in the afterglows of new inventions and glasses of wine, there were mind blowing affections to follow.
      Such a good lover… 
      Once I got to my place of work, I immediately began searching for the vials I had for the latest concoction. When I did not see them, I lost my head rather quickly.
      “Where on God’s green earth,” I screamed and walked from one end of my laboratory to the other. "Where are those samples I just had? Libertina!"
     Immediately, the pale and slim maiden with dark hair ran to my aid.
     "Yes sir, have you lost something again, sir?"
     "I have Libertina. The tubes I examined the night before. They seemed to…oh."
     Within moments, my dearest uncovered the missing necessities I searched for, right underneath my novel, The Bounded Scientist.
      I shrunk back and smiled wryly. "Thank you Libertina, ahem, that will be all my sweet."
      "Yes sir, if there is anything you need, I'll be tending to your clothes, sir." Quickly, she curtsied and scurried off, closing the door behind her.
       Ah, what a fine young maiden I have. If I were more attracted to the ladies, then I might give her go, but only gentlemen tickled my fancy these days.
       I could not be that upset even in this pitiful state. Not that many people understood me when they came to know me. Throughout the years, many thought they should have thrown me in the local mental ward because of the ideas I'd had.
      Nevertheless, my determination and visions had made me one of the most recognizable names in London, apart from the fact I inherited my father's large fortune.
      Still, even with all the money and notoriety, I had always felt something was missing from my life. I longed for something new to happen. Whether it was a new discovery or invention it had to be different from what I had already seen.
      I looked at the experiment I had been working on for seemingly weeks in disgust. Things hadn’t been the same anyway since Lawrence departed but I was determined to move on with my life’s work despite what happened to him. I had to hold on to the hope he would return.
      After around the fifteenth trial of not receiving my desired result, I retreated to my bedroom to sleep. Unlike times before, I decided not to read before bed but instead lay there until my eyes got too heavy.
      I hoped the nightmares would not start again since after they occurred I stayed awake staring at the ceilings of my room, often needing a drink of the alcoholic variety to put me to rest. I felt myself becoming rather dependent on the beverages. Certainly, doing this sort of thing would cloud my senses and not allow me to function properly. Many men of science I knew had become like this and I refused to become one of them.
      I’ll never.
      I always reassured myself that I wouldn’t continue to down this dangerous path, however, everyday, being alone with only yourself to talk with could be a detriment to one’s mental state.
      Although fully capable of doing everyday things, I’d come to accept that I was different. After all, for one, I wasn’t attracted to women. Two, I enjoyed reading more than being outside playing in games.
      In fact my mom would frequently say that she wished I’d be like “normal” boys and go play ball instead of reading. This from the same woman who didn’t know how to read until after she birthed me. With the help of my caregiver, I taught myself how to read the written word thus showed my mum in the process. Still, even afterwards, she didn’t consider it as an important skill. “I’ve always had people to do things like read for me,” she said, giving illiteracy credence. Totally absurd but true.
      If I wasn’t able to read and learn I might die. 
      Such is true of me, Doctor Hayden Curry. I preferred to have my mind stimulated before anything else. This isn’t saying that I didn’t enjoy the sins of the flesh because I did, but, books were like gold to me, more important than any penny I owned. I’d inherited most of it which allowed me to live the lavish lifestyle and work on experiments instead of seeing patients to cure their ailments. I wasn’t interested in short term solutions anyway. I wanted results that could change the world and mankind forever.




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