Welcome, Storm! Thanks for joining me to talk about your first published novel—GYM DANDY, a gay tale of seduction and denial, humor and sweat.

 

Storm, you spent years writing fanfiction. What made you decide to write an original novel?

 

Modern fanfiction started in the 60s with Star Trek. People wanted more than one story a week, so they wrote their own. The intense relationship between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, followed not long after by the epic love story of Starsky and Hutch, spawned the first gay or “slash” stories that led to my own interest in gay romance.

 

I began reading fanfic in 1997. In 1999, I penned my first story, a pun-filled mess featuring Jim/Blair from the TV show The Sentinel. Needless to say I got better.

 

Having discovered fanfic, I abandoned commercial fiction for nearly a decade. One day I forced myself to read a few bestsellers and couldn’t believe they’d been published. I figured I could write as well (or as poorly) as some of these authors, and so my professional writing career began.

 

True to Storm’s tagline, Gym Dandy is indeed a very witty book—starting with the Table of Contents. As a Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three kind of writer, I spent several minutes smiling at the ingenuity behind such chapter headings as, Thai Me Up, Thai Me Down, The Plot Sickens, and Paradise Tossed.

 

I love puns. People say they’re the lowest form of humour, but I can’t agree. They’re clever and witty and always get a reaction. I chose them as chapter titles to show that the book, although it does deal with serious subjects, is overall funny.

 

Set in Toronto, most of the action takes place at a fitness club. So, Storm, did you become a gym rat yourself to research Victor’s job?

 

A gay man in love with a self-proclaimed straight man was the story I wanted to tell, but I needed a venue for it. I’d been a 5-day-a-week gym rat for most of the 80s, living and breathing the bodybuilding scene. (My husband’s first words to me were, “Can I work in?”)

 

In a small way, Gym Dandy is doing a public service by shooting down all those fitness myths that make the rounds at health clubs and gyms.

 

The story is told from the point of view of personal trainer Victor Brighton—a not-so-dumb jock. Storm, why did you choose to stay inside Victor’s head?

 

I can only see the world through my own eyes, and that’s how I like to read a book. Unless my character is psychic, he shouldn’t be able to see inside another character’s head and neither should the reader.

 

Having said that, I’m giving serious consideration to adding a second POV to my current WIP. In Shift Happens, the love interest is shape-shifted to teach him a lesson. His thoughts would start out human, but the longer he wears the jaguar form, the more he’d be reduced to “eat, sleep, protect, mate”. Might work. Waddya think?

 

Well, as long as your protagonist doesn’t want to eat his mate, you might be on to something. J

 

Now back to Gym Dandy because, from the moment Victor meets his 4 o’clock, Douglas Newkirk, an out of shape forensic accountant, he’s interested. Storm, you do a great job of delineating Doug’s character through his speech patterns, which are so much more formal than Victor’s earthy comments. How else did you make sure Doug’s personal story was revealed to the reader?

 

Raised by grandparents in isolated areas, Doug is two generations out of step with the times. That comes across in his speech, manner, wardrobe, and beliefs. It also frees him from many of today’s social conventions and contrasts sharply with Victor’s constant need to be “cool”.

 

Initially, Doug blushes at Victor’s language, but over time, he becomes desensitized and a little less formal. Victor, too, changes, improving his vocabulary and putting aside some of his man-o’-the-streets affectations. By the end of the book, some time has passed and we see how each has grown to be a little more like the other.

 

Doug’s backstory is revealed through conversation and conflict. At one point, the guys run into a friend from Doug’s youth who shares a shocking revelation!

 

Despite the apparent lightness of tone, Gym Dandy doesn’t shy away from some tough topics. Storm, how do you handle the balance between serious and humorous in your storytelling?

 

My stories straddle the comedy/tragedy line—the portmanteau “dramedy” describes them well. Nothing I write is ever an unmitigated angst-fest; nor are my books silly fluff lacking emotional depth. I like to think I’ve achieved a nice balance appropriate for the subject.

 

I first heard the term “dramedy” applied to M.A.S.H., although Wikipedia mentions Room 222 and One Day at a Time. More recent dramedies are Gilmore Girls and Boston Legal. These are the types of shows I like to watch, the kinds of books I like to read, and like to write.

 

My first m/f (believe it or not!) releases mid-February. Techno Thrall is a futuristic, rather distopian tale, asking some hard questions. It’s much more serious in tone, but not without it’s funny moments.

 

Congratulations, Storm, on the release of your first full-length novel!

 

Thank you!

 

Learn more about Storm Grant, who writes fiction that’s pretty, witty, straight and gay. GYM DANDY is now available from MLR Press.

Tags: Gym Dandy, Storm Grant

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