By day, Kilt is a serious non-fiction writer, but by night all his wickedness comes out in his erotic romance. Actually, Kilt is a fascinating person, very intelligent (his bio makes me dizzy), and he has a wonderful sense of humor, which permeates his fiction.
Kilt was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.
Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Kilt!
- Tell me a bit about Kilt. I know you have a gorgeous woman in your life. She won you in a wicked sword fight, right?
I really do! And you know, you’re not far off… Inara and I did meet through sword fighting, and we’ve had some wicked sword fights ourselves, too. I have the scars to prove it… (And did you know she’s a former Hollywood stuntwoman? Among other roles, she was a fight captain for the cult classic Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness)
I did, Kilt. She shared a few pictures. My son about fell out of his chair when he saw her in her costume, lol!
- Seriously, are you a swordsman? Where did you learn? Is this fencing with foils or if you were whisk back and time would you be able to handle swords or rapiers?
That’s a big ole yes. I started fencing with foils, eppes and sabers in college twenty-seven years ago, but then I got into Florentine style – which is where you have a real sword in one hand and a real dagger in the other. Very fun! I've also been working with cloak-and-dagger, and on a style of my own using two shortswords. And no mask or jacket, just a padded vest, so I’m ready for my time machine trip…
Hmmm, I have a few things to say about sans mask, Mr. Kilpatrick, but at least you wear a vest.
- As you know I have a penchant for men in kilts, oo-la-la, and I know you’re Celtic. Do you actually wear a kilt or is it something worn for special occasions?
I love wearing my kilts. I have four of them, including a big ole Braveheart style Feilidh-Mór great kilt. It’s basically just 5 yards of Scottish tartan wool that I have to spread out on the floor, painstakingly fold all the pleats, and roll myself in it like a big burrito.
For more ordinary occasions, I wear one of my beloved Utilikilts or my all-Ireland tartan kilt.
Oh, I know all about *pleating*, my brothers have, what they will proudly tell you, are *real* kilts, lolol! I will admit I’m pretty good at unrolling the kilts too. ;-)
- I’m thinking storytelling comes natural to some Celts, but when did you start telling and writing stories?
It must be in the blood – I’ve been writing stories as long as I can remember, and even when I was a kid, I always thought I would be an author – though I always thought I’d be a science fiction writer!
- What made you want to write romance and in particular, erotic romance? I know very few men who do.
A totally unexpected twist of fate. I’ve actually been primarily focused on a nonfiction biblical history project for the last ten years, a critical examination of the historical evidence for Jesus. But then one day Inara and I each wrote a sexy short story for one another. Her story was “Champagne,” which became the novel of the same name and is still my favorite of hers. Unknown to me, she also submitted my story to Ravenous Romance.com; they liked the way I write, and the rest is history. And I have to say; I’m totally loving writing erotic romance! I love how many different genres you can explore with it, and let’s face it, I love being able to put all that sex, lust and steaminess in the writing.
- You possess a good sense of humor, Kilt, and from what I’ve seen of your book; you utilize that sense of humor with Evan. What do you like about Evan?
Thanks, Sia! I tried to give Evan as much of my sense of humor as I could. I like that Evan is smart and funny, and still at heart a vulnerable guy who’s trying to find true love and keep going despite setbacks and the general weirdness of life.
- Now comes the tough questions; what made you pick this particular story to tell?
Honestly, I didn’t think I could write a full-blown romance novel, let alone a m/m novel; it was Lori Perkins who twisted my arm and said she knew I could do it. And once the cast of characters came together and I fell in love with them, that’s when it really did come together.
It sounds like a story that made you stretch as a writer. Not a bad thing.
- I have to tell you most stories with gay characters are *coming out* stories. And frankly, they get old after awhile. How would you classify this one?
This is the story that happens after you come out of the closet. There’s no long hand-wringing, agonizing over “Oh, oh, am I gay, or am I straight?” Instead, it’s “Okay. I’m gay. Now what do I do about it?”
- Good for you! My opinion is, people are people. We're hardwired to want to find love and happily ever after. That's true regardless of our sexual orientation.
Incidentally, there is a lost first chapter that tells the coming–out story that Trini and Evan hint at in the opening of the book. Watch out for that coming as a stand-alone short story from Ravenous…
- What’s the difference between a sexy (and they have some pretty hot sex scenes) romance story and an erotic romance?
I think “erotic” can cover a multitude of sins that you wouldn’t generally find in a straight-up romance; and I’m a big fan of sin…
Ahem...is this where I admit to a very cool black tank top that says, "I feel sin coming on...?" LOL!
- What’s next for you, Kilt?
At the moment I’m getting the 2nd annual Atheist Film Festival together in San Francisco, and finally getting that historical Jesus book published. Then there’s some new RR anthologies coming I’m excited about – and I promised Lori to write another m/m novel; I’m thinking of doing a paranormal... It’s going to be a busy year!
It certainly sounds like it Kilt. I wish you the best, my friend. Thank you for taking the time to chat a bit with me.
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The Manny Diaries back cover Blurb:
Young art student Evan Ross falls out of the closet and into the fire when an unexpected sexual encounter with a friend changes his life forever. His rocky - and surprisingly hot - search for true love and a real job (not necessarily in that order) takes him on a series of romantic adventures and misadventures, from the lofty hills to the seedy streets of San Francisco.
When he lands a job as a male nanny for a precocious 8-year old, his career and romance paths start to converge - and he finds himself falling for a dead-ringer of his dream man, Clive Owen. The only problem? It's the girl's straight father.
Can he land his dream job and his dream man? THE MANNY DIARIES is sexy, warm and hilarious novel with a supporting cast of quirky, lovable characters, a fun pace, and a true-to-life setting.
Excerpt
He is linguistically promiscuous; he is conversant in Irish Gaelic and bits and pieces of about two dozen other languages, including Welsh, Breton, Hungarian, Japanese, Arabic, American Sign Language, Cherokee, Klingon and Elvish. He loves reading, movies, dancing, sex, and has been a saber fencer for over 25 years.
He lives in San Francisco with his steady girlfriend and # 1 fencing partner Inara Lavey; who is also a Ravenous Romance writer. And yes, he does wear kilts. If you know anybody like that, it's probably him.
Titles by this author: The Manny Diaries, Bedknobs & Beanstalks: Anthology of Gay Erotic Fairy Tales (Contributor), Hungry for Your Love (Contributor), I Kissed a Girl: A Virgin Lesbian Anthology (Contributor), I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus (Contributer), Threesomes: An Erotic Anthology (Contributor)
