Greetings, all, and welcome to the Colors of the Rainbow Blog Hop!

After considering what to write for today’s post, I decided that I wanted to do something different than just post an excerpt and buy link for my latest release Side Effects. I’m going to talk a little about a recurring setting in my stories—and its background, so I’m calling this:

Location, location, location

Side Effects is set in the small Iowa college town of Grandville. A number of my stories take place at Grandville College, and I attribute that to the fact that I attended a small, midwestern college myself—and enjoyed every year of it! Much more so than the time I spent at a large, urban university for my graduate work.

If you’ve read at least two of my Grandville stories, you may notice that the characters often have sex in at least one less-than-typical locale! For those who haven’t read any yet, here’s the evidence:

In Summer Stock, Jeff and Robert hook up in a storage room backstage of their Oklahoma! production;

Noah and Jerry (who have a cameo in Side Effects) get to know each other really well in the middle of the Life Drawing Lab in their story, The Pick Up Game;

Gus from All I Am For (appearing in Shane Allison’s Steambath anthology) explores a bathhouse;

and, of course, in Side Effects, Max and Damien do more than study in the library!

So why do I like to use these types of locations? They’re often dirty, not necessarily that comfortable, and sometimes not all that private either! Well…

‘Cause they’re fun to write!

Not only can there be unusual props—a purple fainting couch for Robert and Jeff, or a wrought iron king-sized bed for Jerry and Noah—but also some other element to spice things up—the danger of discovery, for example. These are the things that make for a better than run-of-the-mill love scene.

Hopefully, they are fun to read, as well.

Now, some of you may be thinking, “That’s all well and good, but nobody really does that sort of thing.” Au contraire, mes amis! I’ve done the research! Okay, that’s what I’m calling it. 😉

While attending the above-mentioned college, I had two roommates and a narrow, single bed—the same situation my boyfriend was in. This lack of privacy forced some creativity in terms of where to have some fun—and we weren’t picky! The auditorium stage, a chemistry lecture hall, the roof of the library—just to name a few! All of them added a little something extra to our times together.

So, just as with real estate, an important element of romance is location, location, location!

C.C. Williams Giveaway

Leave a comment below with your most memorable location—personal or fictional—to be entered into a drawing for an ebook from my backlist. Be sure to include your valid email address as the winner will be notified by email following the end of the blog hop.

MFRW Giveaway

Free to everyone — No entry needed.

Download your favorite format of the exclusive Marketing for Romance Writers Rainbow Excerpts Book, with 60 pages of gay romance excerpts and samples from some of our authors. Right click on the links and select “Save Target As…”

Kindle  |  Nook / ePub  |  Adobe PDF

Enjoy the hop!

‘Til next time!