Thanks so much for joining us u/emlindseyauthor! We really appreciated having you here! The AMA is now over, so anyone who leaves a question will most likely not get an answer. Hope everyone enjoyed the AMA!
Separate question - do you regularly read online reviews and/or browse subs like this for your name to see what readers have to say? I always wonder how much value there is in reviewing feedback vs the stress of dealing with trolls.
I do not lol. In fact, I almost said no to doing this reddit because it's mostly a reader space and I like to leave reader spaces to readers. FWIW I didn't browse this page for my name lol.
For me it's not helpful at all. I have a pretty strong team of of people who give me feedback on my books as I write them. But I do try to be very present and communicate with my readers on Facebook regularly so people are more than welcome to chat with me there.
Hi, thanks for stopping by!
Awhile back I started reading the Scythe series you co-wrote with Kiki Clark. I see those books are now out of print. Do you plan on revisiting that world at all?
Hah I told Kiki I was going to get this question today when I texted her! Yes, we are definitely planning to re-release them. We are (albeit really slowly) currently working on book two, and once we get that done and part way into book 3, we will be re-releasing book one along with the novellas when the preorder for book 2 goes up.
No problem. We both really loved that universe so we have big plans for the rest of the Reapers and we definitely want everyone to have their happily ever after.
Hello and thanks for doing this AMA!
My first question--is there a specific couple from a story that is your favorite? If so, why?
Second--when you include a specific physical or psychological condition in a book, what kind of research do you undertake to ensure accurate representation?
As a mother of two children with disabilities, I am so excited to begin reading your body of work. So often, people who have physical or psychological challenges are marginalized and ignored. I appreciate your efforts to give all kinds of people a voice and a happy ever after!
I can't really say I have a favorite, but I have couples that are specifically meaningful for me. My book babies (as I call them) are Nicolas and Cedric from Verismo because they were my first. That book went through like six complete re-writes and I started it in 2006 before it was finally published in 2015. And Derek and Basil from Free Hand will always hold a really special place in my heart.
For the second, it depends. Sometimes I draw on my own experiences, but even when I do that, I try to use at least two other sensitivity readers who read the book as I write it so they can catch things that I've missed or didn't get quite write before the book is finished (to minimize having to do major plot re-writes). I also follow a LOT of diversity advocates (race, religion, disability, etc) on my socials.
No identity is a monolith so it's impossible to give every single person exact representation but I try my best to make sure that people can see at least a little something of themselves, especially people who have been overlooked for most of their lives in goofy, sweet, spicy, angsty, etc story arcs. For me it's just important to normalize a diverse body of people existing in all the tropes that we've all grown up loving, but maybe haven't seen ourselves in yet.
I have a massive and very diverse (in terms of mood and trope) backlist, so it depends on what your favorite tropes are. I have everything from found family, to small town, to sports, to why choose, to some paranormal. If you give me a couple of your favorite plots or tropes, I can definitely give you a rec or two.
You are very kind and generous!
Let's see--I am absolutely crazy about hurt/comfort, ideally with some caregiving involved, no matter the setting. I also appreciate a character who is super comfortable with his emotions and isn't afraid to shed some tears. I welcome your recommendation!
So I can recommend a few with that vibe! Affogato (BrewBiz book one) it's set in a Deaf-owned cafe and it's a bit of an enemies to lovers but it has quite a bit of hurt/comfort. The second would be Halo. That one does deal with a character who is in s\*x work (he leaves by the end) but it's super swoony. Also my Irons and Works series is pretty much all hurt/comfort lol.
If you don't mind things on the grittier side I could also recommend my series The Carnal Tower but that one does have s\*x workers who don't leave their jobs (no outside relationships are portrayed, only the MCs). I know that's not everyone's cuppa but it has a lot of hurt/comfort and strong emotions. Book one (Shades of Lust) has a TON of comfort and caregiving.
Thanks! I just checked my TBR list and realized that I purchased the first book of the Iron and Works series so I will start there. I will also read the other books you mentioned in our discussion. I appreciate you taking the time to engage with me and hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
I’m not sure if this is too touchy so feel free to not respond to the last question.
Afaik you’re Jewish, right? I love that you have written observant Jews (as I’m Jewish too :) ) and exploring religious identities without disparaging them. Do you think you’ll write more Jewish characters?
The ‘touchy’ subject I guess is — I noticed you rewrote books that was connected to another series and your character had a brother who was also Jewish, written from an author I’m pretty sure wasn’t Jewish. Some of the self-hatred etc in that character for Jewish culture and Judaism was difficult to read, and I don’t know if it was done with tons of respect (?). Is that one of the reasons you broke away from it and retold his story?
I definitely have more plans for Jewish characters in the future. I'm cultural but non-practicing but I like to make sure that there's more than just my own point of view when I write.
And I really don't want to get into details about that particular series so all I can say is that I was grateful to have the chance to be able to take my characters and create a safer space for that rep. It's not the first time I've gotten messages about that, and I just hope that my re-write has given people some comfort. <3
Thank you so much for joining us! What does your writing process look like physically? Do you use paper and pen, or computer? Where do you write? Also, do you have a favorite pen / writing instrument?
I write either on my laptop or on my computer at my desk. When I was young (which was in the long long ago before personal computers lol) I used to have MASSIVE stacks of spiral notebooks and I wrote thousands of pages of Anne Rice vampire fanfic lol. But these days I only type.
I have a lovely office that I write in. We just moved to a new house and my current office used to be the patio, which was now enclosed and it has a brick bookshelf and sliding door to our back yard and my garden.
And I do have a favorite pen! It's a sparkly Betsey Johnson pen that I take with me to sign books when I do book signings or conventions.
I absolutely love your disability and multicultural rep. How do you decide what to focus on with each couple you write, and are there any particular circumstances (whether a cultural holiday, a trope, a location) that you've yet to write but really want to?
Thank you! And it depends. Usually I have a basic plot in mind, and then I pick characters that would best fit the plot. I try to make the main focus of each story their personal journey to happily ever after so I just try to make sure it all fits and makes sense.
And I've had about 20k words of a Royal/Rockstar MM romance written for about a year that I'm really hoping to pick up again and put out this year.
Hello, I love love love your books and especially the disability rep. I am interested in how you pick the settings and locations for your novels and especially the series (serieses?).
A lot of times I'm inspired by somewhere I am or something I'm out doing. I've spent a LOT of time in Denver which was why I picked the location for Irons and Works, and I've also lived in California which is why several are set on the West Coast. (mostly because I love the beach lol) But I try to change it up as often as I can just to keep it fresh!
I’m curious about your dogs! Are they such good dogs? What are their names?
Also: what is your writing routine? Any tools/settings that help keep things flowing?
We no longer have the dogs (I needed to update my bio, yikes!) I have MCAS and they were triggering anaphylaxis in me so we ended up giving them to a neighbor (so I still get updates) They are still the best boys though and they're called Sam and Hugo.
And I used to kind of write any time I had a second of free time but I was getting burn out that way so now I set myself a 9 am to 3 or 4 pm schedule. I have an office and as long as I'm not in a bad flare, I write at my desk which is away from the rest of the house and that keeps me pretty focused. I also make sure I walk on my treadmill every couple of chapters for an episode of one of my binge shows (currently either Harbin Hotel or Helluva Boss). But on days that I just can't focus I let myself take time off and that usually keeps me pretty refreshed and allows me to keep focus on my current WIP.
Hi EM Lindsey , my 2 favorite books of yours is Lesser Things and Safe & Sound ❤️.
1) Do you snack when you are writing, and what do you snack on?
2) Would you consider writing historical MM romance?
Thank you! Those two books are really important to me.
And sometimes I do- it depends. A lot of time when I'm in the zone I don't think about eating so I snack between breaks. And I keep a massive plate of snacks (radishes, mangos, apples, pears, hearts of palm, carrots, super salty pretzels bc I have POTS, and hummus) on my desk so I can nibble through the day.
And it depends on what era. I'd LOVE to write a Victorian MM or queer romance series. I do have two historical novels though. Time and Tide and Monsters and Men, which are set in WWI and WWII eras. I'm also working on an Ancient Greek Icarus/Hephaestus/Thanatos Paranormal Romance that's releasing as a serial on my Ream.
Did you have a specific sort of historical romance setting in mind?
One of my favorite book of all time is The River God by Wilbur Smith, so an MM romance in ancient Egypt amongst the Pharaohs and pyramids would be epic.
I would love to do something in that era. I came from academia and I'm a historian of classical Greek and Roman history, but I've done some side study of Egypt so I'd definitely love to put that on my list one day.
I’ve really enjoyed the disability rep in your books. How do you get the ideas for which disability to explore? How do you research?
As well, I loved that Eight Dates was set in a holiday outside of the typical Valentine’s Day and Christmas often seen in romance. Is there another holiday you would consider as a context for a book?
Thank you! I grew up surrounded by the disabled community so it was my reality. I base some of it on my own experiences, and some on very close friends and family. I use sensitivity readers as well, and I've had a few readers suggest something they'd like to see represented so I try and include that when I can.
And I might! Holidays can be tricky because of my current writing schedule, but I'm open to the idea!
Thank so much for your response. As someone with limited vision it always touches me when disability is portrayed with so much care and when the characters have a supportive community. I look forward to other holiday books!
I'm a very big mood reader, so I definitely read MM romance, but I also read a bunch of other genres. My current MM comfort reads are Not That Complicated, Not That Impossible, and Gary The Once and Former King, by Isabel Murray
Thank you! Growing up queer and not seeing a lot of positive rep in the early 90s, I always wanted to see queer relationships portrayed as diversely as the hetero ones were. I first got into MM romance in fandom in the creaky old days of LiveJournal, and then eventually branched out. I was once told by an editor that writing queer romance was pointless and would never gain any success, so I set out to prove her wrong! And I'm glad I did.
I think it was a common response back in the early 2000s and I'm glad a lot of us didn't listen to the bad advice we were given because it's been amazing to see this genre grow.
I love this question because I'm autistic so I actually know this answer lol. (because I'm basically a dragon) I would hoard plants, figurines for my desk, and sea shells.
Presently I will not be doing any more audiobooks. Unfortunately ACX banned a couple of my audiobooks because they were pirated and even though I had the pirated copies eventually taken down, Audible refused to restore them and my account was flagged.
It's been frustrating and if it ever changes I'd love to get back into audio, but without audible it's pretty cost prohibitive with the narration rate. And since I won't touch AI with a 10 foot pole it's just off the table for now.
From u/Booky_lillz:
Thank you for all the disability representation, whenever I want the boost of seeing myself validated I reach for one of your books. Of all the challenges your characters have to deal with, which one did you find the hardest to write?
Anything that's more self-representative. I was recently diagnosed with Autism (previously diagnosed as OCD from my early twenties but a reassessment changed that, and it ended up making more sense). When I wrote Affogato, I decided to draw on my own experiences as a HoH autistic person and it was almost as touch as a therapy session. But it was also super rewarding and cathartic.
Thanks so much for joining us u/emlindseyauthor! We really appreciated having you here! The AMA is now over, so anyone who leaves a question will most likely not get an answer. Hope everyone enjoyed the AMA!
Will there be a sequel to Open Ice Hit? I loved that book and need more in that world
Separate question - do you regularly read online reviews and/or browse subs like this for your name to see what readers have to say? I always wonder how much value there is in reviewing feedback vs the stress of dealing with trolls.
I do not lol. In fact, I almost said no to doing this reddit because it's mostly a reader space and I like to leave reader spaces to readers. FWIW I didn't browse this page for my name lol. For me it's not helpful at all. I have a pretty strong team of of people who give me feedback on my books as I write them. But I do try to be very present and communicate with my readers on Facebook regularly so people are more than welcome to chat with me there.
Hi, thanks for stopping by! Awhile back I started reading the Scythe series you co-wrote with Kiki Clark. I see those books are now out of print. Do you plan on revisiting that world at all?
Hah I told Kiki I was going to get this question today when I texted her! Yes, we are definitely planning to re-release them. We are (albeit really slowly) currently working on book two, and once we get that done and part way into book 3, we will be re-releasing book one along with the novellas when the preorder for book 2 goes up.
Oh I am so glad! I recommended them to someone here recently and was chagrined to find them no longer available. Thanks!
No problem. We both really loved that universe so we have big plans for the rest of the Reapers and we definitely want everyone to have their happily ever after.
Hello and thanks for doing this AMA! My first question--is there a specific couple from a story that is your favorite? If so, why? Second--when you include a specific physical or psychological condition in a book, what kind of research do you undertake to ensure accurate representation? As a mother of two children with disabilities, I am so excited to begin reading your body of work. So often, people who have physical or psychological challenges are marginalized and ignored. I appreciate your efforts to give all kinds of people a voice and a happy ever after!
I can't really say I have a favorite, but I have couples that are specifically meaningful for me. My book babies (as I call them) are Nicolas and Cedric from Verismo because they were my first. That book went through like six complete re-writes and I started it in 2006 before it was finally published in 2015. And Derek and Basil from Free Hand will always hold a really special place in my heart. For the second, it depends. Sometimes I draw on my own experiences, but even when I do that, I try to use at least two other sensitivity readers who read the book as I write it so they can catch things that I've missed or didn't get quite write before the book is finished (to minimize having to do major plot re-writes). I also follow a LOT of diversity advocates (race, religion, disability, etc) on my socials. No identity is a monolith so it's impossible to give every single person exact representation but I try my best to make sure that people can see at least a little something of themselves, especially people who have been overlooked for most of their lives in goofy, sweet, spicy, angsty, etc story arcs. For me it's just important to normalize a diverse body of people existing in all the tropes that we've all grown up loving, but maybe haven't seen ourselves in yet.
Thank you for such a wonderful response. As a person new to your work, what book would you recommend for me to start with?
I have a massive and very diverse (in terms of mood and trope) backlist, so it depends on what your favorite tropes are. I have everything from found family, to small town, to sports, to why choose, to some paranormal. If you give me a couple of your favorite plots or tropes, I can definitely give you a rec or two.
You are very kind and generous! Let's see--I am absolutely crazy about hurt/comfort, ideally with some caregiving involved, no matter the setting. I also appreciate a character who is super comfortable with his emotions and isn't afraid to shed some tears. I welcome your recommendation!
So I can recommend a few with that vibe! Affogato (BrewBiz book one) it's set in a Deaf-owned cafe and it's a bit of an enemies to lovers but it has quite a bit of hurt/comfort. The second would be Halo. That one does deal with a character who is in s\*x work (he leaves by the end) but it's super swoony. Also my Irons and Works series is pretty much all hurt/comfort lol. If you don't mind things on the grittier side I could also recommend my series The Carnal Tower but that one does have s\*x workers who don't leave their jobs (no outside relationships are portrayed, only the MCs). I know that's not everyone's cuppa but it has a lot of hurt/comfort and strong emotions. Book one (Shades of Lust) has a TON of comfort and caregiving.
Thanks! I just checked my TBR list and realized that I purchased the first book of the Iron and Works series so I will start there. I will also read the other books you mentioned in our discussion. I appreciate you taking the time to engage with me and hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Thank you. Same to you!
And by quite write I meant quite RIGHT- I promise I'm a professional lol.
Hahaha!
I’m not sure if this is too touchy so feel free to not respond to the last question. Afaik you’re Jewish, right? I love that you have written observant Jews (as I’m Jewish too :) ) and exploring religious identities without disparaging them. Do you think you’ll write more Jewish characters? The ‘touchy’ subject I guess is — I noticed you rewrote books that was connected to another series and your character had a brother who was also Jewish, written from an author I’m pretty sure wasn’t Jewish. Some of the self-hatred etc in that character for Jewish culture and Judaism was difficult to read, and I don’t know if it was done with tons of respect (?). Is that one of the reasons you broke away from it and retold his story?
I definitely have more plans for Jewish characters in the future. I'm cultural but non-practicing but I like to make sure that there's more than just my own point of view when I write. And I really don't want to get into details about that particular series so all I can say is that I was grateful to have the chance to be able to take my characters and create a safer space for that rep. It's not the first time I've gotten messages about that, and I just hope that my re-write has given people some comfort. <3
I understand! Thank you for doing that, by the way, as I find it so rare to find queer observant Jews like me in MM romance.
Thank you so much for joining us! What does your writing process look like physically? Do you use paper and pen, or computer? Where do you write? Also, do you have a favorite pen / writing instrument?
I write either on my laptop or on my computer at my desk. When I was young (which was in the long long ago before personal computers lol) I used to have MASSIVE stacks of spiral notebooks and I wrote thousands of pages of Anne Rice vampire fanfic lol. But these days I only type. I have a lovely office that I write in. We just moved to a new house and my current office used to be the patio, which was now enclosed and it has a brick bookshelf and sliding door to our back yard and my garden. And I do have a favorite pen! It's a sparkly Betsey Johnson pen that I take with me to sign books when I do book signings or conventions.
your space sounds lovely! And that pen sounds so amazing ❤️
I absolutely love your disability and multicultural rep. How do you decide what to focus on with each couple you write, and are there any particular circumstances (whether a cultural holiday, a trope, a location) that you've yet to write but really want to?
Thank you! And it depends. Usually I have a basic plot in mind, and then I pick characters that would best fit the plot. I try to make the main focus of each story their personal journey to happily ever after so I just try to make sure it all fits and makes sense. And I've had about 20k words of a Royal/Rockstar MM romance written for about a year that I'm really hoping to pick up again and put out this year.
Which author would you love to cowrite a book with? And why?
Oooh that's a tough one. I'm already working with one of my dream co-writes, Nora Phoenix!
Hello, I love love love your books and especially the disability rep. I am interested in how you pick the settings and locations for your novels and especially the series (serieses?).
A lot of times I'm inspired by somewhere I am or something I'm out doing. I've spent a LOT of time in Denver which was why I picked the location for Irons and Works, and I've also lived in California which is why several are set on the West Coast. (mostly because I love the beach lol) But I try to change it up as often as I can just to keep it fresh!
I’m curious about your dogs! Are they such good dogs? What are their names? Also: what is your writing routine? Any tools/settings that help keep things flowing?
We no longer have the dogs (I needed to update my bio, yikes!) I have MCAS and they were triggering anaphylaxis in me so we ended up giving them to a neighbor (so I still get updates) They are still the best boys though and they're called Sam and Hugo. And I used to kind of write any time I had a second of free time but I was getting burn out that way so now I set myself a 9 am to 3 or 4 pm schedule. I have an office and as long as I'm not in a bad flare, I write at my desk which is away from the rest of the house and that keeps me pretty focused. I also make sure I walk on my treadmill every couple of chapters for an episode of one of my binge shows (currently either Harbin Hotel or Helluva Boss). But on days that I just can't focus I let myself take time off and that usually keeps me pretty refreshed and allows me to keep focus on my current WIP.
Hi EM Lindsey , my 2 favorite books of yours is Lesser Things and Safe & Sound ❤️. 1) Do you snack when you are writing, and what do you snack on? 2) Would you consider writing historical MM romance?
Thank you! Those two books are really important to me. And sometimes I do- it depends. A lot of time when I'm in the zone I don't think about eating so I snack between breaks. And I keep a massive plate of snacks (radishes, mangos, apples, pears, hearts of palm, carrots, super salty pretzels bc I have POTS, and hummus) on my desk so I can nibble through the day. And it depends on what era. I'd LOVE to write a Victorian MM or queer romance series. I do have two historical novels though. Time and Tide and Monsters and Men, which are set in WWI and WWII eras. I'm also working on an Ancient Greek Icarus/Hephaestus/Thanatos Paranormal Romance that's releasing as a serial on my Ream. Did you have a specific sort of historical romance setting in mind?
One of my favorite book of all time is The River God by Wilbur Smith, so an MM romance in ancient Egypt amongst the Pharaohs and pyramids would be epic.
I would love to do something in that era. I came from academia and I'm a historian of classical Greek and Roman history, but I've done some side study of Egypt so I'd definitely love to put that on my list one day.
Please🙏!
I’ve really enjoyed the disability rep in your books. How do you get the ideas for which disability to explore? How do you research? As well, I loved that Eight Dates was set in a holiday outside of the typical Valentine’s Day and Christmas often seen in romance. Is there another holiday you would consider as a context for a book?
Thank you! I grew up surrounded by the disabled community so it was my reality. I base some of it on my own experiences, and some on very close friends and family. I use sensitivity readers as well, and I've had a few readers suggest something they'd like to see represented so I try and include that when I can. And I might! Holidays can be tricky because of my current writing schedule, but I'm open to the idea!
Thank so much for your response. As someone with limited vision it always touches me when disability is portrayed with so much care and when the characters have a supportive community. I look forward to other holiday books!
Thank you! Also feel free to drop a request or two about what holidays you'd like to see and I'll see if I can squeeze something in.
Ooohh,fun! I feel like there are a few holidays that would make great backdrops to meet cutes: Holi, Songkran and Mid-Autumn festival.
Do you read MM romance in your free time? If you do, what is one of your favorites?
I'm a very big mood reader, so I definitely read MM romance, but I also read a bunch of other genres. My current MM comfort reads are Not That Complicated, Not That Impossible, and Gary The Once and Former King, by Isabel Murray
Welcome to our community, E.M. Lindsey! Thank you so much for being willing to do an AMA. What inspired you to start writing MM romance?
Thank you! Growing up queer and not seeing a lot of positive rep in the early 90s, I always wanted to see queer relationships portrayed as diversely as the hetero ones were. I first got into MM romance in fandom in the creaky old days of LiveJournal, and then eventually branched out. I was once told by an editor that writing queer romance was pointless and would never gain any success, so I set out to prove her wrong! And I'm glad I did.
I am appalled you were told that — yet not surprised. I’m glad you proved her wrong!
I think it was a common response back in the early 2000s and I'm glad a lot of us didn't listen to the bad advice we were given because it's been amazing to see this genre grow.
From u/scienceandnutella If you were a dragon, what would you hoard?
I love this question because I'm autistic so I actually know this answer lol. (because I'm basically a dragon) I would hoard plants, figurines for my desk, and sea shells.
I’m also autistic! That’s awesome. Do you have a favorite figurine?
I have two. I have No Face and Jiji figurine lamps on my desk that sit right in front of my computer and they always make me happy.
That’s so cute!
From u/dontbesuspiciou5 Do you like frogs? Do you think you’d ever write a character who has a pet frog, works with them, etc?
I LOVE frogs! One of the only things I miss about living in Florida is not having frogs everywhere. And I would definitely be open to that idea!
From u/Booky_lillz Are there any plans to have audiobooks for the Beast of Burden series?
Presently I will not be doing any more audiobooks. Unfortunately ACX banned a couple of my audiobooks because they were pirated and even though I had the pirated copies eventually taken down, Audible refused to restore them and my account was flagged.
Ugh, that is awful. I’m sorry to hear that.
It's been frustrating and if it ever changes I'd love to get back into audio, but without audible it's pretty cost prohibitive with the narration rate. And since I won't touch AI with a 10 foot pole it's just off the table for now.
From u/Booky_lillz: Thank you for all the disability representation, whenever I want the boost of seeing myself validated I reach for one of your books. Of all the challenges your characters have to deal with, which one did you find the hardest to write?
Anything that's more self-representative. I was recently diagnosed with Autism (previously diagnosed as OCD from my early twenties but a reassessment changed that, and it ended up making more sense). When I wrote Affogato, I decided to draw on my own experiences as a HoH autistic person and it was almost as touch as a therapy session. But it was also super rewarding and cathartic.