Kilt Kilpatrick: The David Bowie of Erotica

Céad míle fáilte romhat, a Kilt!

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PREVIEW

So maybe you can help me with my dilemma - how do you label a writer when all their stories are so different from each other? 

Take my very good friend Kilt Kilpatrick, the author of the new Ravenous Romance anthology UNDER THE KILT. Kilt is a literary chameleon who has written first time gay male erotica, naughty romps of a college co-ed, touching lesbian love stories, and even the occasional straight coupling (or tripling...). And though I have it on good authority that Kilt is a straight male, he certainly has been mistaken for some other sex and /or sexual orientation by readers who’ve assumed that only a gay man, a lesbian, a naughty co-ed, etc., could have written the story in question.

If that weren't enough tomfoolery already, when he’s not gender-bending, he’s genre-bending. I don’t normally look for spicy erotica in my historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, steampunk or horror stories, but damn if Kilt isn't part alchemist and somehow manages to blend the most unlikely ingredients into wickedly delish literary cocktails. Come see what I mean:

A few of the twelve stories in UNDER THE KILT are perfectly contemporary; albeit very hot - but they’re arranged alongside other sneakier stories that seem buttoned down, ordinary and respectable until they quickly slant into the paranormal like a werewolf at that time of the month. Then there are lush historical tales with settings so richly detailed they’re like stepping into another world.  And you’ll also wander through stories set in the strange and scary surreal estate of fantasy, science fiction and horror (Yes, horror - who knew?) The Tiger's Tale is a historical fantasy set in the British Raj, featuring romance, intrigue, danger, tigers and gods in Victorian India.

A feisty Berkeley grad student says Later Days, Saints when two Mormon missionaries come knocking on her door with surprising results.  Next is Handsome and Grateful, a fractured fairytale take on the classic Brothers Grimm story of Hansel and Gretel, complete with a celebrity narrator, a slightly more mature Hansel and Gretel, a wicked witch, and a heroic woodsman – or are they? When the zombie apocalypse hits in Last Times at Ridgemont High, is it a nightmare come to life or a surprisingly sexy dream come true for our high school hero? Maybe a little of both...

What, two zombie stories in an erotica collection? A Zombacalypse horror story is an odd place to have a tender romance, but Kilt’s readers have especially liked the touching, haunting Love Bites: A Survival Guide. A Seattle fireman thinks he may be the last man on Earth after zombies overrun the world – until a mysterious woman appears. But is she real, or just his imagination, or something even worse? Don’t let the title of Humahumanukunukuapua’a scare you. It’s actually a charming story of a mainland girl in Hawaii having to cope with her increasingly powerful girlcrush on her best friend.

For the m/m fans, there are three more treats: Reach Out and Touch Someone is the "lost chapter" of Kilt’s debut novel, The Manny Diaries; in fact it’s the original opening to the book, but it was so hot the publishers decided to make it a stand-alone story. That Afternoon reads like a stand-alone story of a young man’s first time with another man, but it’s actually an excerpt from TMD, as is the sweet and spicy Christmas story Santa Claus is Coming.

Three truly fantastical stories round out the collection, including two never before published: Mutated States Of America is a post-apocalyptic romance-adventure set in a bizarre, savage but strangely beautiful near-future earth changed almost beyond recognition. Lady Cassiopeia’s Amaranthine Palace; or, the Aerial Xanadu is a quirky, baroque little Steampunk tale with a twist, a high-tech Tolkienesque fantasy set in the wild, wild, west of a techno-magical America that never was. Last is a novella, The Blue Morpheus Inn, a magical collaboration between Kilt and another popular Ravenous Romance author, the fabulous Inara Lavey (the bold, brilliant, wicked woman who rocks his world on a regular basis). Three college students heading home for the holidays are forced to spend the night at a mysterious motel where dreams come true, like it or not...

Though set in different times and places, and even different worlds, with varying degrees of fun and seriousness, these dozen Kilty pleasures all share the spicy romance elements that Ravenous readers have come to love. Some are wicked, some are sweet, some feature M/F action, some M/M, some F/F, or varying combinations of hot ménages; something for everyone, really. But make no mistake - these stories aren’t for everybody. Just you.

And btw, true confessions time... As you may have guessed by now, I’m not just an acquaintance who sure knows an awful lot about his very good friend’s anthology: I am Kilt Kilpatrick... and I truly hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed writing them for you!

Kilt Kilpatrick is the pen name of an Irish author sometimes called "the Ferris Bueller of San Francisco." When he's not writing sexy stories for Ravenous he is a nonfiction writer, public speaker, Bay Area event organizer, and somewhat oxymoronically, a biblical historian and atheist activist.

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)

You can find Kilt: Ravenous Romance and Facebook

Interview With Kilt Kilpatrick, The Manny Diaries

My guest, Kilt Kilpatrick, is a fine Celtic swordsman who happens to write erotic romance. His debut novel, published by Ravenous Romance, is The Manny Diaries.

 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.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

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

Buy: Amazon  Ravenous Romance

 

Kilt Kilpatrick is the pen name of an Irish author sometimes called "the Ferris Bueller of San Francisco." When he's not writing sexy stories for Ravenous he is a nonfiction writer, public speaker, Bay Area event organizer, and somewhat oxymoronically, a biblical historian and atheist activist.


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)