Hello, my name is Jessica Freely, and I am an M/M addict

I’m thrilled that my first story for Loose Id, Virgin, is available today. Click here for more info on the book. So far it’s been delightful working with all the LI staff and I hope to get feedback from readers too. Don’t hesitate to drop me a line at jessicafreely@gmail.com, or stop by my own blog, friskbiskit.com.

I discovered m/m romance about eight years ago, in the form of slash fanfiction, and I’ve been writing and reading it in one form or another (slash, yaoi, m/m) ever since. I adore this genre. I’ve done a lot of thinking about its specific appeal for me and my reasons are myriad and complex, so I’m just going to focus on one of my favorite aspects today: the emotional interplay between the male leads.

In the absence of a male/female power dynamic, we have the opportunity to see two characters interact in a neutral milieu. Though power imbalance may be a part of the relationship, it is not inherent. The default setting is a partnership of equals. It’s the perfect stage upon which to enact a drama of contrasting character traits. There are no prescribed roles to reject or embrace, just two people with problems.

One of the things I love best in m/m is when the two heroes have strengths and insecurities that balance one another, and which enable each man to help the other overcome his challenges. That’s why in Virgin, Blake, a hustler, is the perfect match for Joam, a virgin.

At the start of the story, Joam’s desperation over when and if he will ever have the opportunity to express his sexuality takes center stage. Of course at the time, he has no idea that larger issues are at stake, but you’ll have to read the story to find out about those. *grin*

Having a character who is a virgin, but doesn’t want to be, is an enormous boon to an author, by the way. There is so much tension built into every encounter with the love interest. Does he like me? Is he gay? Will I finally get to have sex with a real life man? In Virgin, Joam watches Blake like a hawk, scrutinizing every nuance of body language for answers to these questions. And of course he’s nervous about getting it right, not to mention burdened with self-consciousness and concerns about his attractiveness.

In contrast, Blake has plenty of confidence in his sexual skills, but he’s forgotten what it feels like to make love with someone who cares about him, and that’s Joam’s gift to him. All of this is played out across a backdrop of sorcery in a small rural town. Between the two of them, Joam and Blake are able to prevail against evil, whereas on their own, it seems unlikely either of them would have survived.

If Virgin had been about a man and a woman, the emphasis of the emotional issues would be different. Whether the female character was the virgin or the whore, there would be a cultural weight to that fact that would have to be dealt with, if only to be rejected. I’m not knocking heterosexual romance. I think m/m and het each do their own thing very well. Obviously, there are a lot of stories of importance and profound emotional impact that can only be enacted between a woman and a man. As a matter of taste, I tend to be more interested in the ones that can’t.

What do you think?