The Professor's Assistant - Bren Christopher

Congratulations on your book! Why don’t you tell us a little about it?

Thanks, Rhonda. The Professor’s Assistant was just published by Liquid Silver Books. It’s a male/male romance with a lot of science fiction elements, but takes place in alternate universe Victorian London. It was a lot of fun to research and write in that era. But even though there are a lot of science fiction and adventure elements, it is still primarily a romance. I confess it’s written just the way I like to read my romances – with lots of hot sex to go along with the romance!

Did you find the love scenes difficult to write?

Not at all. I know that some writers are concerned they will become too mechanical because they have written so many love scenes. But I’m still a fairly new author, so I don’t see that as an issue; not yet anyway. The love scenes are all about the emotion, not the mechanics. If the characters are well developed and have distinct personalities, then that should help to make their love scenes unique. Who knows, though – I may change my tune after writing another dozen or so of those scenes.

What draws you to write erotic romance?

I’ve always read mysteries and science fiction. I tried to read some romances, but was never a big fan until I discovered erotic romance. I didn’t want to stop at the bedroom door. Sex is a very important part of any intimate relationship and I always felt as if I were missing part of the story.

Are you working on another book?

I’ve just submitted a male/male contemporary romantic suspense, so I’m waiting with fingers crossed to hear back about that one. In the meantime, I’ve started two different books. One is a contemporary romance and the other is a romance in a futuristic science fiction setting. I have to sit down and decide which one to work on. I know some writers who work on several projects at once, but I find I really need to be able to concentrate on one. That doesn’t mean I’m not constantly jotting down ideas for other stories all the time. If I don’t write an idea down when I think of it, then it’s just gone out of my head – a very frustrating feeling. But I can really only focus on writing one novel at a time.

Do you have any tips for new writers?

Just don’t give up. That first rejection letter can be very discouraging, especially when it’s one of those form rejection letters with no explanation for the rejection. If you get a rejection, the odds are you submitted that piece a couple of months ago and it took that long for the publisher to review your work and give you the rejection. So what did you do during the time you were waiting to hear back? Hopefully writing some more, reading books on writing, maybe taking some workshops. Take what you’ve learned, do some editing, and send the manuscript off to a different publisher. You may be surprised at the result.

Where can your readers reach you?

I would love to chat with folks on my blog at brenchristopher.com, or drop by my Facebook page.

Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share?

Here is a little more detail, along with a link to the full Chapter One excerpt. I hope you enjoy it!

The Professor’s Assistant

Lured by rumors of a momentous invention, Agent Julian Blake steps into the New York Gate and emerges outside London.
It is the same year, 1885, but an earth parallel to his own. The two timelines are almost identical, but the slight variation is enough to threaten his mission as it includes an attitude toward same-sex attraction that is less than accepting.
He never expected that difference to pose a problem. Julian has an important mission to complete; a mission with far-reaching consequences not only across the alternate earths, but into their pasts. For the momentous invention is a working time machine.
And the inventor’s assistant is a beautiful, auburn-haired young man named Daniel who causes Julian to disregard the Department rules he has lived by for so long.
But there are others interested in the professor’s new invention, and when tragedy strikes, the professor’s lovely assistant might just be the only person left with the knowledge to recreate the device.
Now Daniel is a target, and Julian is in a race to protect him and retrieve the knowledge of the time machine from those who would misuse it.

Note: Explicit male/male sex. Read Chapter One