National M/M Month - Interview with Barbara Elsborg

Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide. After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop. She writes in a variety of genres including MM, MMF and MM – contemporary, paranormal and sci fi romances. Her books feature quirky characters, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they are to write.

More about Barbara can be found on her website/blog – www.barbaraelsborg.com

1. Do you always include a HEA and is that type of ending important to you?

Yes, all my stories are HEA. I think they have to be in a romance. I don’t want to be cheated out of that when I read a romance and I wouldn’t do that in my stories. Life isn’t happy for a lot of people and reading about worlds where everything turns out all right is comforting. Doesn’t matter that it’s not realistic, it lets people dream that life can work out for them. I try not to leave readers needing to know what happens next but when they ask for follow up books, I hope that’s only because they’ve fallen in love with the characters.

2. Will you write follow ups to your books?

Likely not. I feel once I’ve reached the end of the story and left my guys happy, the only story I could write after would be if I broke them up again only to bring them back together. I don’t want to do that. It’s different if you’re writing a series with say – the guys as detectives together – because their next case will drive the story. But my stories are about the development of a relationship and once I’ve made them a pair, I want them to find their own way. BUT after my next MM called ‘Falling’ , I’ve written another called ‘Breaking’ that does follow up on one of the characters from ‘Falling’ and gives him his own story. I intend to write a third following up on a character from ‘Breaking’ – but haven’t started that yet. The idea is percolating though!

3. So what’s your next book out?

Not sure when but it’s ‘Falling’ and with Samhain. Here’s a rough blurb:

Harper has disaster written all over him. 

He’s aware the dark-haired young man beside him in the supermarket is checking him out, but his heart beats too rapidly for him to even meet the guy’s gaze. For the past decade, every decision has been made for him. He’s shut down emotions so deeply within, he’s beyond numb. While he may no longer be behind bars, it doesn’t feel like it and he fears he’ll never stop falling. 

Malachi has trouble written all over him. 

His escape from a long term relationship with a controlling and powerful man leaves him unemployed and struggling. He’s forced to live with his sister and her husband who thinks he’s a waste of oxygen. The only bright spot in Malachi’s day is the tall guy in the long gray coat he sees in the supermarket. Except the man’s unblinking concentration on shower gel is a touch alarming, and Malachi slips away before he falls from lust into hopeless infatuation with yet another man who obviously has issues. They have a chance to catch each other and stand strong against the outside world, but the price might be the cost of any future for them.

4. What do you feel is your strength as an author?

Zappy dialogue combined with strong characterization. I love writing dialogue more than anything else. I hope I create memorable characters. My weakness – though you didn’t ask – is in scene setting. Not ever happy doing that.

Bloodline

My first but not my last paranormal MM – about a faerie and a vampire – plus I threw in a talking horse and a zombie among other things.

Blurb

No one can tattoo better than Inigo, a two hundred year old vampire, who works on human and supernatural skins. But he’s never tattooed a faerie and when a bunch of them insist he comes with them to tattoo one of their kind, saying no proves not to be an option. His skin is Oberon, the faerie king, and Inigo fears this will be the last tattoo he’ll ever do.

The moment the faerie Micah lands in the faerie king’s bed chamber, he knows the guy is trouble. But if he’s to save his sister and his family, let alone the job he’s paid to do, he has to stay in Faerieland and endure Oberon’s sadism. When he’s thrown into a starving vampire’s cell, covered in blood, he fears this day will be his last. But Inigo finds Micah's blood too delicious to give it up by killing him. 

Pretty soon, he's feeling that way about Micah himself.