My friend K D Ellis stopped by to talk about her brand new MM romance. Have you read it yet? I highly recommend it. It's a sweet and spicy story that also manages to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller!
Blurb: Teddy's Truth
Book one in the Out in Austin series
Teddy De Luca thought being born into the wrong body was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Then he met Julian…
All Teddy De Luca wants is for his outside to match his inside—so badly that he takes a loan from a Mexican cartel. It’s not like he can borrow the money from his alcoholic mother. She got him into this mess in the first place when she poured his savings into bottles of Jack. He figures he’ll get his operation, pick up a second job, then pay the debt off quickly and put it all behind him. When the cartel raises the stakes, his plan falls apart and he’s left with a mounting debt and no way out.
Ian Romero is a second-generation Hispanic-American whose only goal is to live the American dream—finish college, find the perfect partner and settle down. His inappropriate crush on his brother’s best friend isn’t going to stop him. But when his troubled brother becomes another victim of the local cartel, his plans change. He can’t save his brother, but he can get his revenge.
After years apart, Teddy’s and Ian’s paths cross again, neither expecting the passion between them to re-ignite even hotter than before. Can Ian forgive Teddy’s role in his brother’s death to become the Daddy the younger man needs—or is their relationship destined to fail again?
Thank you so much for coming by! I’m excited to hear about your book!
Why did you choose to write a book about Teddy, a transgender man? What’s your favorite thing about him?
“Teddy’s Truth” came about by accident, really. I was writing about his best friend Shiloh, a femme trust-fund brat with a secret. I realized early on that Teddy was going to have his own story but I didn’t know much about him. The original draft, something just felt…off. It wasn’t until Teddy looked at an old picture of a girl on his dresser (a scene that never ended up in the final draft) that I started wondering who the girl was. After that, the whole story became crystal clear. The girl in the picture was Teddy, pre-transition.
Scene by scene, though, the more I wrote about Teddy, the more of myself that I put into him and his life. The dysphoria, the not quite fitting into your body, the still liking feminine things and wondering what on earth does that say about you? That’s all me.
My favorite thing about Teddy has to be that he goes after what he wants without fear of the consequences. He knows exactly who he’s meant to be and when things fall through, he finds a new way to get his surgery. Maybe not a better way, or a safer way, but the risks he’s willing to take are worth it for him. He’s not afraid to take risks if it means living his true life as his true self.
What’s your favorite scene in Teddy’s Truth?
Does it make me a terrible person to say that my favorite scenes are the ones that make me cry? But for real, though, I think my favorite scene has to be the birthday party. It was so much fun researching Bolivian customs and Hispanic-American culture to make it as true to life as possible, and there’s so much sweetness between Teddy and Ian and Ian’s family I almost got a toothache.
For the record, I love all the scenes in your novel that make me cry. Now, next question: what’s it like to write about a kink you don’t have?
It was interesting, though I have to admit that if I had a kink, this would be the one I have. I call myself asexual, though that’s only partly true part of the time. There’s something about Daddy kink that appeals to me, though. I think it’s that there’s someone there who wants the best for you, wants to make sure you’re happy and taken care of. That puts you and your needs first, even if all you need is someone to put bubbles in your bath after work. It was easy to put myself into Teddy’s shoes and imagine what kind of relationship he would thrive in.
Fair enough. Who doesn’t love a bubble bath?
This is a question that many of us who self-publish think about. What, for you, are the pros and cons of publishing traditionally versus self-publishing?
For me, this was an easy choice. All the things I hate most about being a writer, (and any author who tells you they love the entire process is selling you something…) are things that a traditional publishing house tends to handle. Marketing and formatting, to be precise. The benefit of going through a traditional publishing house is that you have a team of people who handle this. Self-publishing gives you more creative control, but it also requires more up-front cost and energy. I, personally, do better if I can concentrate on writing and editing and let someone else figure out how to make it sell. I think this is a very personal decision that each writer needs to make on their own, based on their own strengths and weaknesses.
Alright, so what can we expect from you in the future?
I’m actually working on a few things right now. The sequel to Teddy’s Truth is with the publisher, getting ready for the first round of edits. I can’t tell you much, but I can tell you it’s about Shiloh, Teddy’s best friend. He’s the son of billionaire CEO Anthony Beckett, who owns a tech company, and media darling. If, by darling, they mean punching bag. He has a new bodyguard, a dangerous stalker, and an old secret.
I’m also drafting Book Three, which I really can’t tell you about, and a Super-Secret New Project. I’m delving into the fun new world of M/M paranormal romance. Leviathan is a Bloodwraith, a blood demon, who needs a new feeder. He finds Eryn at a flesh market. Eryn is a wolf shifter who can’t shift, with nowhere to go. It’s still early, but I’m having a lot of fun with it and I hope readers will too!
I’d love to hear from readers, so feel free to come find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even TikTok! Or come join me on my website, www.kdellis.com.
And here's where to get "Teddy's Truth."
Thank you so much for letting me stop in and visit your blog!
Thank you for coming! It was fun, and I can't wait to see what happens in Shiloh's book!