An interview with Tantalus, aka K.C. Wells….

I’m delighted to welcome Tantalus, also—or should I say, better—known as K.C. Wells to my blog today. Followers of my reviews will be aware that I’ve been a huge fan of the stories written by Tantalus so far, but I have to say the alter ego did arouse my curiosity. I’m over the moon to have all my questions answered today and to be able to share those answers with all of you.

So, without further ado:

1.   Okay, so I suppose the first question has to be… why did you feel there was a need to create an alter ago?

The simple answer is, I had ideas for books that I didn’t think readers of K.C. Wells’ books would be happy with. Take the Collars & Cuffs series as an example. The whole series is centered on the theme of Love. Yes, it’s a BDSM series, but the scenes are not hardcore, the couples are committed… and yes, there’s a lot of romance and lots of HEA’s. Some friends of mine have suggested that my books are… ‘fluffy’.

And then there’s Leather & Kink…

This is a series I’ve wanted to write for a long time. The idea came to me after reading Mr. Benson by John Preston. I wanted to write a BDSM book that was grittier, rawer, showing relationships that some readers wouldn’t be happy about. A book that got down and dirty, I suppose you could say.  And definitely NOT fluffy.

So… I created Tantalus for that purpose. Since then, I’ve had ideas for a lot more stories, some of them breaking taboos.

2.   At first you didn’t tell anyone you were Tantalus. Why not?

At the time, there was a plethora of authors coming out with ‘Hey, guess what? I’m not who you think I am’ statements. So I kept quiet. It wasn’t until I met with a bunch of MM authors that I broached the idea of ‘coming out’ as Tantalus. They all thought it would go down well. So in January, I ‘fessed up.

LOL. I’ve seen some reviews expressing the opinion that they hadn’t known K.C. Wells could be so dirty…. [blushes]

3.   I was going to ask about that… What has Tantalus written so far?

I started with a short erotic story, Summer Heat, about two neighbors who made a bet – and what happened when Pete lost to Damon. It was about 5.5K words, and absolutely nothing like my usual writing. This was Erotica.

As I got to the end, I realized it couldn’t stop there. So then came After, where Pete turns the tables on Damon.

When I wrote Summer Heat, I had no idea where it was going. You didn’t get to learn anything about Pete and Damon, apart from the fact that Pete is obviously submissive, and Damon is definitely Dominant. But in After, there was a hint about Damon’s past, and we learn that he was hurt by someone.

Consequences, the third instalment in the Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire series – yep, it’s now a series – was nothing like the first two. More about the characters, and an unexpected turn…

I’m writing the fourth instalment, Limits, at the moment.

4.   And what will Tantalus be writing in the future?

Well, the first book in the Leather & Kink series is already planned – Learning the Notes. There will be others, including one set in the late seventies, early eighties…

There’s a taboo story waiting patiently to be written, too.

Thank you for stopping by today. I’m guessing it’s fair to say that Tantalus is well and truly out of the closet now.

About the books:

Summer Heat (Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire #1)

Pete and his hunky bear of a neighbour, Damon, are always competing about something. So when Damon makes a bet on the outcome of their next poker game, Pete is up for it, even if the terms are a little…unusual.

If Damon wins, he gets to do Whatever. He. Wants.

Only thing is, Pete has no idea that Damon has a dark side…

Buy link:       Amazon

Review Link:  Summer Heat

After (Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire #2)

Damon hasn't had many curveballs thrown his way, and when life manages this, he can usually dodge them.

But not this one.

This one bites him - right in the rear end.

Someone should have warned him.

Payback is a bitch.

WARNING: hot man-on-man action and dubious consent

Buy link:       Amazon

Review link:  After

Consequences (Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire #3)

Pete knew there'd be payback and he's ready to take his punishment. But what Damon comes up with is so not what he expected...

Buy link:       Amazon

Review link:  Consequences

And…In the Tantalus pipeline:

Limits (Damon & Pete: Playing with Fire #4)

Pete finally gets to go to the Folsom Street Fair.

It's a weekend for exploring his limits.

But ultimately it's Damon's limits that are challenged....

Learning the Notes

Steven Torland is about to reach his fiftieth birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, his publicist decides it’s time someone wrote a biography of the famous composer and musician. When writer Kyle Mann is approached with the idea, he’s flattered and he leaps at the chance. It will be his first biography. The idea of spending six months getting to know Steven and researching his history excites him, but there is the added frisson that Steven is sexy as hell. Kyle has always had a thing for older men, and it’s no secret that Steven is gay. In his heart Kyle knows it’s just a fantasy, but he can still dream, right?

It doesn’t take Steven long to realize he wants Kyle in his bed, and Steven usually gets what he wants. But Kyle proves to be more than a convenient fuck. There’s something about him that leads Steven to think maybe it’s time to let Kyle see the real Steven Torland, the one who frequents San Francisco’s leather bars. Steven aims to take things nice and slow, because he doesn’t want this one to get away. He wants its all – a lover in his life and a boy in his bed – and he wants to see just how far he can push Kyle, and what Kyle is prepared to do to please him.

Kyle has no idea how his life is about to change….