Interview with Rosana Briel

Spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com offers the reader an interview with “Como un torrente” author Rosana Briel (Barcelona, 1966). Universal topics such as love, sex, masculinity, literary creation, the art of narration, or the role of the author are discussed in Briel’s amusing, enjoyable conversation. Sure the reader will think so.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: When did you write “Como un torrente”? Do you remember what led you to write a story of love and sex between two men?

ROSANA BRIEL: I remember this perfectly: a challenge. This must be 7 or 8 years ago, and I was discussing with a couple of friends whether a novel series author would make up her mind and tell the homosexual story that she was suggesting in every novel; then one of my friends (a very nice one indeed) defied me with the typical challenge: Would you dare?…The truth is that I just cannot be bothered with this kind of challenges, but this one attracted me right away, so I wrote the first line the very next day, and then, for whatever reason, all the rest sprang forth just the way you can read it. I think that this is the fastest piece I have ever produced; Seth and James were born just in two days.

SGF: Did you write the story with intent to post it on a literature forum or blog? The reaction of the readers in those media is immediate. What was the response?

RB: As I said before, I wrote it for my friends, just for fun; but one day the same friend who defied me—hi, sweetie! I love you lots!! [laughs]— encouraged me to post it on the romance fiction forum we belonged to, claiming that I was selfish if I did not share the babes—as she called them—, that I needed to show all the others my writing, and bla-bla-bla…In short, I followed her suggestion and posted it, and guess what…I was really shocked by their response: They loved it all!

SGF: Although nowhere specified throughout the story, the names of the characters (Seth, Aidan, James) suggest an English-speaking environment. Why did a Spanish writer want to impose that foreign touch to her story? May it be a nod to the American M/M erotic literature written by female heterosexual romantic authors, very popular in the USA, as a model for your story?

RB: What you say about American literature is true, but there is nothing about it in this case. I chose Seth because I like it, I love its taste; Aidan, just because I loved it alongside Seth, and my friend chose James. All of them were chosen with no specific location, origin or whatever else in mind—just the feeling that they were the proper names for them.

SGF: The feature which might make “Como un torrente” so unique is that the main character, Seth, is constantly attracting his muses' attention. Besides the fact that this is a direct, enjoyable technique to get the reader’s complicity, did you have in mind that women would be, mainly or solely, the target audience when you wrote it? To what extent can be said that “Como un torrente” is a story about gay men for a straight female audience?

RB: I guess Seth somehow wanted to involve my friends at first. Later, when the story was published, it turned out that the character’s calling attention spread out to each and every reader, making them Seth’s mates. And of course, this was aimed at a female audience; after all, women are the main audience in romance fiction.

SGF: The description of Seth as a lonely man, a kind of rough, with uncertain background and a long dark hair, reminds me of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. What was your source of inspiration for Seth? Would you say that he represents the physical description of your ideal man, tattoo and shaved skin included?

RB: To be honest, and at the expense of seeming a kind of nuts, sometimes I also wonder where some characters come from, since I am positive that I really do not know where Seth does come from. He just did it, period. And I love the way he is—By the way, I also love Heathcliff, he is an extraordinary character.

SGF: In the story there is a funny comment about the fake six-pack abs that the actors of a popular film about Spartans exhibit thanks to the magic of cinema.[1] Seth also describes himself as well-built with no need for gym workout. And, according to the description, it could be said that Seth’s and James’s clothes are very basic, simple and traditionally masculine. Can your story be understood as a defense of the natural, genuine man, far from false impressions, affectation or up-to-date fashion trends?

RB: They themselves decided the way they are; if they feel easy in jeans and T-shirts, I will not be the one who opposes.

SGF: There is a moment in the story in which Seth notes about James: “It is curious that there is so much tenderness concealed behind such a masculine man.” Is masculinity a synonym for tough self-sufficiency lacking of tenderness as for Rosana Briel too?

RB: Rosana Briel is pissed off at macho men acting thug, so she was pleased when she realized that Seth felt that about James as something positive. He shows that masculinity does not need to be at odds with tenderness.

SGF: It was Aidan who instilled in Seth the notion of being strong and independent, as nobody would care about him; and it is James the man who eventually gives him affection, tenderness, and love. Could it be said that, as for Rosana Briel, Aidan added to James equals the formula of the perfect man, that “toughness + tenderness” pattern of the previous question?

RB: This worked with Seth and James, so it must be a good combination. [laughs]

SGF: Regarding Seth’s melodramatic past, did you need that his story with James were something more than a one-night stand, as a way to redeem him and mend his broken heart? Just as if something deep inside made you give your character a happy ending?

RB: Well, romance genre structure somehow comes into play here, which means: a happy ending, no matter what. However, they went their way. I just watched them and, though it might seem a bit weird that a feeling could just come out of nowhere, that is what really happened. As far as I know, they still do well together. [laughs]

SGF: The way these two strangers who have just met fall in love is while having sexual intercourse, what seems to be their starting point as a couple. I find this a very romantic idea but, do you think that such a thing can come true in fiction only, or in real life as well? Let me be a bit nosy: this situation, has Rosana Briel herself experienced it?

RB: No, Rosana herself has not experienced it, but I do think that this can actually happen in real life. Love just shows up without notice or permission, and in spite of your shortcomings many times.

SGF: Why did you remember Casablanca at the end of the story? Do you feel there is a gay subtext in the fact that Bogart lets Ingrid Bergman fly away and stays beside the gendarme with mustache instead?

RB: No, the final scene in Casablanca is perfect, nobody change it! I just tried to introduce a touch of fun at the end of the story and that sentence seems spectacular to me, so I allowed myself to use it regarding Seth’s love for movies by the way.

SGF: Now let me criticize the characters...I do not understand why Seth and James use a condom when playing anal...if they ejaculate in each other’s mouth when playing oral. In this age of prevention of sexually transmitted diseases campaigns, I invite you to use this opportunity to defend your artistic choice.

RB: Oral sex undoubtedly implies certain risks at different levels, and I believe fiction can also be another way of education and information but, as this is fiction and at the risk of being simplistic—Should I have denied such a very intimate moment to Seth and James?

SGF: In my review of “Como un torrente” I praised your narrative art, as you are constantly playing with the reader expectations. There are so many tone changes that seems to be several stories within the story, making it a rich, varied, and entertaining read. Is this a recurring feature in the rest of your work?

RB: Every time I face up to a new story it seems as if everything previous does not exist. I start over, and just the very story and its characters trace the path that I try to follow. This is like a very sane insanity.

SGF: Concerning your only novel so far, Sin remisión (“Hopeless”), this seems to be an erotic novel peppered with BDSM elements. It was published in 2010, just one year before Fifty Shades of Grey. Could it be said that you were on the cutting edge earlier than E.L. James? Or, including BDSM elements in romance books, was it usual before the Fifty Shades trilogy super-hit?

RB: When Sin remisión was born in my mind I had no idea about how this was going to flow out; I was just moved by the stimulus to tell the story of two people who find love in a BDSM background. The only thing that I know is that I needed to write it whatever happened, with all the flaws, achievements, uncertainty, inexperience, emotions—It was awesome to get in touch with people from that world and find out their trait, being well aware that it would be impossible to reflect just the slightest part of what this entails, and in the frame of romance fiction by a long shot.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your most immediate projects?

RB: My head is plenty of people that I try to keep at bay in order that they grow up and think over along with me, though sometimes I have no idea where things spring from—That is nonsense, isn’t it? Every story is different. I need time and so do they—the last thing I have produced has took me two years of research as my knowledge on the topic was very superficial and I had to find out many things, from simple (people’s treatment) to complex (an eye drops recipe)—, so I go step by step. There will soon be news, but I still cannot speak about it.

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[1] If you still have not guessed the name of the film, do not worry. In the meanwhile, you can keep yourself entertained by trying to solve the following arithmetic operation: [(7 + 8) / 5] x [(49 - 24) + (15 x 5)] = …

The Lonely Heart Is a Hungry Hunter

On Rosana Briel’s “Como un torrente” (“Like a Torrent”)

Months ago, during an interview with Bésame y vente conmigo author Olivia Ardey, she stated that one of her favorite Spanish M/M romance fictions is this short story by Rosana Briel. Once you have read it you can surely agree.

Seth, an orphan, self-sufficient guy on his 28^th birthday, recalls his life so far. Very wild in his teens, his past can be summed up as a constant moving from foster families back to orphanage over and over again. He only could find peace in his sole friend Aidan, another orphan. Painfully, a lethal leukemia took him away from his side too soon. Aidan was not only the love of his life, but also his big brother, his mate, the one who taught him the most important lesson: Nobody cares about you, so do it yourself.

Years went by and Seth could make his living. Now he is a successful professional illustrator, as well as a 6’3”, long wavy dark-haired, amazing green-eyed lone wolf who is sure of one thing: he will never ever love again—

This unsatisfying exposition could make the reader feel we are dealing with a sad story…By no means! From this moment on, Seth is keeping a conversation throughout the story with a group of women (his “muses,” as he calls them) that he is agitating, teasing, joking with..., while they—together with the reader—are playing the role of witnesses in his vivid account of his birthday celebration. A hot celebration, indeed.

Instead of a pleasant party with friends (if any), our stand-alone hero plans to club tonight to have some fun, probably to wipe away those sad memories from the past. That is why he turns down an invitation from a mild guy who looks like an absent-minded teacher. No way. Tonight he really needs an extra-challenging stimulation. And Seth the hunter will eventually find it close to the bar.

There, an irresistible wave of Davidoff’s “Cool Water” invades his nostrils. A picture of the scented prey, you ask? Dark eyes. Thick lips. Short hazel hair. Strong arms. Powerful thighs in tight blue jeans. A hunky trunk wrapped up in a raw lumberjack shirt. The name: James. Or, the perfect chance for a sex & drugs & alcohol night in a hotel room.

By now, you are presumably expecting a swinging series of meticulously described sex sessions starred by this charming pair who do not believe in underclothing. Well, you are truly right—and will be overwhelmingly satisfied! Anyway, what the reader might not imagine is that tonight will turn crucial in Seth’s destiny.

Like Scheherazade in Arabian Nights, we find unarguably true that Rosana Briel is an amazingly skillful storyteller. Reading “Como un torrente” is like being on a rollercoaster: The first paragraphs make us think of a weepy, heartbreaking narration; all of a sudden, the whole thing becomes a light ironic comedy—until the plot slides into the realms of eroticism…But Briel has kept an ace up her sleeve, and what could be another witty-but-idle story about two horny beefcakes enjoying a big time turns into something deeper. Love at first (torrential) ejaculation, could be said? Paraphrasing Warner Bros. all-time screen classic Casablanca, though changing the last word (as Briel does at the end of her story): “This is the beginning of a beautiful love.”

You can read the original text in Spanish here.

Interview with Olivia Ardey

The nice, gentle author of Bésame y vente conmigo, Olivia Ardey, has talked to spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com. We have discussed interesting issues such as romance fiction, the role of social networks in the current literary world, or gay characters in chick lit by straight female authors. Hope this appealing author will not leave LGBT themes behind in her future projects.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: Was Bésame y vente conmigo your first approach to LGBT themes in your fiction? What attracted you to this issue?

OLIVIA ARDEY: Until then, I had noticed—especially in American narrative, where homoerotic fiction is very appealing—that there were gay romance novels and straight romance novels. And in the latter, if there was a gay boy, he always was the main protagonist’s funny friend, but his love story was rarely told. Then I said to myself, “If in real life we are all together, why not in the novels?”

SGF: What is the difference between Nico and other gay minor characters in romance fiction?

OA: The only difference between Nico and Álvaro, the male lead, is that the one likes men and the other likes women. Nico’s somewhat divo personality arises from his TV stardom as a popular cook, and not his sexual condition.

SGF: Have you ever met any Nico? Or, is he rather an idealized mental projection? Where did Nico arise from?

OA: Yes, I have met more than one. Men who are the way they are with absolute easiness, with neither secrecy nor fuss. This character grew out of my imagination. I imagined a handsome, famous chef. I found funny he could drive women crazy when he was into men.

SGF: What do you think the recurrent presence of gay minor characters in straight romance fiction is due to? Is it just a nod to the homosexual reader?

OA: In contemporary comedy, I feel it is somewhat a reflection of films and TV comedies. I do not think that this is just a nod. As I said before, when I read several novels with gay guys, I got bored as they were always in the same roles of the girl’s confidants, perfect friends.

SGF: What has been the response of gay readers to Bésame y vente conmigo? Do you have many followers from LGBT groups?

OA: The truth is they have never got in contact with me. Romance male readers are a minority.

SGF: Regarding the impressive development of homoerotic literature by heterosexual writers and for heterosexual readers in the English-language narrative, would you say that Spanish literature is light years away in comparison? Or, are there already many examples in the current Spanish literature?

OA: It takes years to reach the levels of publication and audience reception of the homoerotic romance genre in the USA today. I do not know many Spanish writers devoted to this. As for Spanish publishers, I also know very few.

SGF: In the group of Spanish female authors who write homoerotic fiction, who are your favorites? Would you highlight any work in particular?

OA: I have read very few examples of homoerotic fiction, and even less written in Spanish. Mi favorite is Aeren Iniesta and her novella Segundas oportunidades (“Second Chances”). I was also fascinated by Rosana Briel’s story “Como un torrente” (“Like a Torrent”).

SGF: The ending of this novel would have been impossible ten years ago in this country…

OA: If you said eleven, I would say so. But just ten years ago the Spanish regulation handed this ending to me on a silver platter.[1]

SGF: Keeping with modern times, what importance do you assign to social networks and other digital platforms in the current literature and, more specifically, romantic fiction or chick lit?

OA: Loads of romance novels are published…In some months, there are 70 new releases. Romance readers are truly faithful and read a lot. For writers like me, the presence in networks is essential to be in the spotlight. This is an excellent way to put yourself on the map, and that helps daily communication with readers, interaction, and word-of-mouth.

SGF: May fans support become an imposition? Are you afraid that, if you were riskier as for themes, you could lose your readers’ support?

OA: I am so fortunate that I have the support of readers, whether I write historical romance or contemporary comedy. They eagerly welcome a novel set in Italy, New York or Teruel[2] in the same way, and that allows me not to be pigeonholed but write freely.

SGF: As far back as I can remember, I have always heard that two women having sex is one of the heterosexual men’s typical fantasies. Interestingly, many romance female novelists are showing that two men making love is a very recurrent erotic fantasy for heterosexual women. To what extent do you think that romance fiction by women has been relevant to develop, conform and give social visibility to female sexuality, so obscured and repressed over history?

OA: I think that this has at least been useful to speak about sex and our likings naturally. Many prejudices have fallen. Years ago, readers wrapped up the covers of romance novels. Today, romance books are recommended, discussed, and can be the main subject in conversation.

SGF: I am not the only one that sees in Jane Austen the unintentional founder of our times’ chick lit. Virginia Woolf said through one of her fictional characters that Austen was the author she liked most as she never tried to hide the fact that her narrations were written by a woman. What importance do you give to classic authors as influence and inspiration for your novels?

OA: Thanks to the 18^th and 19^th pioneer female authors, there is a current narrative of emotions told in a female way. I am not particularly crazy about Jane Austen, but that is just a matter of taste. Anyway, I think I made up my mind and write romance novels given how much I loved Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre in my youth. It is still my favorite novel.

SGF: In my view, the ultimate aim romance novelists are seeking is making your readers live, through your works, great love stories. And it is more than likely that, in many cases, these stories will happen only in their imagination. In that sense, romance literature makes people feel less lonely. It has a therapeutic value. Do you agree with me?

OA: The value of romance novel lies, in my opinion, in the happy ending. The good times you enjoy while reading help get away from daily concerns. The satisfaction you feel when closing the book with a smile and a sigh is just great.

SGF: Concerning the previous question, romance authors usually depict relationships so idealized that they can lead to think, “This only happens in romance novels.” To what extent do these unreal aspects get romance fiction connected to fantasy fiction, or even considered as a subgenre within fantasy fiction?

OA: You would be surprised if you heard the real stories that readers tell us—they are really stranger than the fiction we write. Even I have asked for permission to include some wonderful moments that they personally told me in some of my novels.

SGF: The evolution of our society, a relaxation of censorship…Many elements have led to the current situation in which romance fiction and erotic fiction (even pornographic, sometimes) may walk hand in hand. In Bésame y vente conmigo, your descriptions of sex between Celia and Álvaro are explicit and detailed. However, when it comes to Max and Nico, you seem more restrained. I have the feeling that Olivia Ardey is a straightforward author who does not mince her words. What prevented you from being more descriptive in homosexual sex?

OA: First reason, Nico and Max are not the main couple. The love story between Álvaro and Celia is the central aspect of the plot and I just wanted to focus on this. In fact, there is another straight couple, Susana and Javier, and their sex scenes are as less explicit as the boys’. We can see in both cases the before and after…I saved the during for the protagonists.

The second reason is that I wanted to transmit the fidelity of feelings, the unique love that remains despite time and difficulties. And to achieve this, I considered I could reach the readers’ hearts more deeply by showing the emotions in the reencounter. I needed to bare Nico’s and Max’s souls. Sex was secondary.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your most immediate projects?

OA: I am working on the last corrections of the novel that Ediciones Versátil[3] will publish in February. Set between London and Scotland, it is a contemporary comedy, full of both laughter and tears as life itself. And soon I will embark upon my next story, which takes place in New York and Boston in the 1920’s.

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[1] Just to remind the reader, same-sex marriage was approved in Spain on June 30, 2005.

[2] This is the Spanish region were Olivia Ardey sets the fictional village of Tarabán in Bésame y vente conmigo. A charming way to remind us all that Teruel exists.

[3] A Spanish publisher devoted to romance fiction mainly.