One of the most prolific authors currently working, and definitely one of the most original thinkers, A.J. Llewellyn has established an international reputation as an author of unique romantic stories that combine mystery, magic, cross-cultural interaction, and even cuisine. Or to be more accurate, she writes original stories that combine elements of many genres, but focus on the human emotions. Oh, and she immediately took a brave step, in her first book, by centring the story on male-male romance.
A.J. kindly took a few minutes to satisfy my curiosity.
First, tell the readers a little about your background: where you came from, where you moved to and why.
Hi Scott, thanks for having me here. I moved to Los Angeles nearly 40 years ago to work for a group of Australian and British newspapers and magazines from here. I was born in Sydney but worked in Melbourne and London as well. Coming here was my dream come true. I had an amazing time and met some incredible people. As you know, the magazine and newspaper business has been shrinking ever since! I am grateful I started out very young (18) with a journalist cadetship. It was invaluable experience covering murder rounds, even shipping. Yep, I once had to compile shipping news reports – when I worked the night shift. I was also required to take shorthand classes. I was hopeless at shorthand! I regret it now because I have forgotten almost all of it.
How did you get into the writing game? When did you become a professional writer?
Well, like I said, I started young. I actually wrote my first book when I was eight. It featured my twin obsessions at the time, horses and death. Everybody died at the end. Even the horses! But I was published at the age of 13. I guess I was pretty fearless. I wrote to celebrities and told them I wanted to be a journalist and asked if they would they let me interview them. I have never told anybody this before, but I was lucky.
John Hargreaves, who was a major TV and movie star, and a lovely man, said yes. I don’t think he knew what to make of me! I acted older than I was. Over the years he became a dear friend, and I did many interviews with him. He even came to stay with me in 1986.
Looking back, I’m horrified I even had the nerve to invite him to stay because I had a horrible single apartment in a crappy neighborhood, Silverlake, which has since become gentrified. Back then it was bang-slap in the middle of gangland territory but my office was in Beverly Hills, and I was busy and happy. I was proud for him to see me doing well but he wasn’t doing so great.
He’d contracted AIDS. He was the first person I knew who had it, and he was secretly here meeting with doctors. He was able to live with it for 10 years before passing in 1996. His death affected me profoundly. I couldn’t get over it. I think that’s why I’ve always worked so hard and pushed myself.
Australia and indeed, the world lost a major, beautiful talent. John did not squander his gifts. I will not squander mine. I think this is why I just keep writing, writing, writing.
You’ve published over 300 different titles. I understand that you were contracted by a publisher. Tell us about your early history as a published author.
Well, I won a short story contest 17 years ago. First prize was a professional critique from a London literary agent. He raved about my writing but said I would never get published. I had been trying to sell screenplays and publish a novel and was unsuccessful. I actually wrote the agent a very nice, humble letter. I asked him what I could do to improve my chances. He wrote back such a lovely email. He said it was not the quality of my work but the book business in general. He said the short story genre was dead (boy was he wrong) and nobody was taking chances on new writers. Again, he was wrong. He also suggested the quality of my writing lent itself to romantic fiction. He said I should focus on that until my ship came in. He actually used those words. So I looked up romance publishers and the first one I found was Extasy Books and I read their criteria. They required the first three chapters or the first fifty pages. Whichever came first. So I quickly typed the opening chapters for a book I called My Hawaiian Song of Love, and emailed it to the publisher, who was in Canada. I took the dog for a walk, came back, and found a contract in my email inbox. I couldn’t believe it! Nothing like that had ever happened to me in my life. She happily signed me to a contract but told me that gay romance was the big thing. So I came up with Phantom Lover.
So I wrote three chapters and she contracted those immediately.
Big problem was that was all I had! I had to sit down and finish it. I wrote that book in three days. By the way, My Hawaiian Song of Love became a later book in the Phantom Lover series.
I am still so very grateful to my publisher, Tina Haveman, that she took a chance on me. I will always give her books and always steer new authors her way. By the way, she’s an Aussie just like me so it seemed serendipitous!
What was it like to write for Hollywood?
Funny you should ask. I tried for so long to get a screenplay produced. I got a few optioned, which means people paid me money for the rights to a couple of projects. I found the whole experience depressing, but then I was offered work doing coverage. That involves reading screenplays for studios. I worked for a few big ones. I still do. And I love it. It was slim pickings during COVID then nonexistent during the WGA/SAG strike but I am starting to get material again. So I read for Hollywood. That’s a very cool thing because I see the trends and style the production companies want. But I would encourage writers to write books. Screenplays end up being writing by committee. What you sell has no resemblance to what ends up on the screen.
When did you start writing romance? What attracted you to that genre?
Like I said, I took a lucky leap. I really mean that. I got to explore writing in different genres, experiment with styles and in the beginning it was very freeing. Now, the market is saturated but I still love it. I was attracted to romance because I read Mills and Boon – known as Harlequin here – for years. So I write the books I’d want to read.
What do you think sets your romances apart from the rest of the genre?
All I can say is, that writing romance novels, especially gay ones makes me very happy. I think my stories are all original and maybe offbeat to some people but I think what may set me apart from some other people is that I write from the heart. I never set out thinking, I want to be a millionaire. I set out wanting to make a living as a writer, sure, but my main goal was to tell stories. I love to tell stories.
Why did you begin writing male-male romances? What attracts you to that sub-genre?
Phantom Lover, my first book did so well and I loved writing it. Honestly it was so liberating. I found I took to writing those sex scenes very easily. Yet I don’t enjoy writing male-female ones. Now I am sick of writing sex, period. After 300 books, I’m running out of positions!
I notice that there are several women writing male-male erotica and erotic romance. What do you think women bring to this kind of story? How is the female author’s voice different from the male author’s?
These are good and valid questions. I was one of the first women to write MM although I wrote as a man, as suggested by my publisher. I was very comfortable writing MM because I know so many gay men and they would talk easily with me about their experiences, fantasies, etc. Phantom Lover was based on a friend’s actual life. He discovered he was gay later in life and was forced to give up everything to be with the man he loved. That was so heroic to me, and so utterly romantic.
I think women bring romance to these books. Having said that, I had an uncle who wrote Mills and Boone novels under women’s names for years. He was never outed. I was. At first it was devastating but ultimately I was pleased. I am me. I write with a pen. I write from my mind and heart, not an appendage.
There are male authors who bring emotion to the work too. I don’t think it should matter whether a romance writer has dangly bits. Or not.
Among the characters you’ve created, who’s your favourite?
I have to say, Kimo, from the Phantom Lover series. He is very real to me and has taught me that in life, be afraid, but still do it.
You’re re-publishing books now that were released by other publishing companies. Briefly, tell us why, and then tell us about the challenges that represents.
Good question. All the books I’ve re-released were books whose contracts had lapsed. Usually the publishing company went under and most of the time we authors were not paid. The challenge is to get your rights back – in writing. It’s called a Reversion of Rights letter, signed and dated by the publisher.
All book titles must be on it.
The next challenge is getting new covers. Authors do not own their covers. I have paid publishers for the use of covers I loved, but it’s actually a good idea to start fresh. The market has changed and so has cover art.
For example, if you look at my early books including the very first cover of Phantom Lover, all my men were headless torsos! Cover artists couldn’t find stock photos of men who were willing to be on gay covers. It’s much better now, but back then, boy, was it difficult!
Covers and edits are expensive, but worth it.
Next challenge is making sure all copies are no longer available online. I’ve had to engage intellectual property rights attorneys three times now because some publishers kept books up thinking I wouldn’t see them. Well, Amazon sees them and will block your book if they think you are not the copyright holder.
When you re-publish an older story, do you update it to mesh with current society?
Absolutely. You also have to re-edit because hopefully as an author you have improved and it’s illegal to republish a book using a previous publisher’s edit. I didn’t know that until I started re-publishing. Even if you change a few words, that’s legal.
I have an excellent editor and I pay her to make me look good! Some books will seem dated so they need to be altered, too.
Sometimes I look back on older books and can’t believe how bad they were, but some people loved them.
A lot has changed in recent decades, from technology and everything it allows, to greater acceptance of a greater range of sexual identities and gay culture. How does that affect your writing, or perhaps it’s re-writing process?
That’s another good question. I have never written the hot sub sub genres – such as m preg – where men get pregnant. Sorry. That’s not sexy to me. Or Adult Diaper Baby Love – where grown men wear diapers. Not. Sexy. I write love stories. They always have a happy ending.
And no diapers, unless a baby is involved in the storyline. As for acceptance, I still get tons of emails daily from women who hide their AJ Llewellyn books from their husbands and who think it’s a delightful taboo. Ooookay. What can I say? Love is love. At least they’re reading and that’s the thing that thrills me. In spite of all dire predictions, people still read. And that is a beautiful thing.
What’s next for AJ Llewellyn?
More books! I am finishing up a few books my late writing partner D.J. Manly and I started writing and I have plans for new titles, including expanding a short story I wrote for a charity anthology. It’s called Midnight at Paiko Lagoon and it involves the controversial Japanese culture of oyako Shinju – a ritual Japanese mother-child murder suicide.
Thanks so much for having me here Scott. Always lovely talking to you!
About A.J. Llewellyn
A.J. Llewellyn lives in California, but dreams of living in Hawaii. Frequent trips to the islands, bags of Kona coffee in the fridge and a healthy collection of Hawaiian records keep this writer refueled.
Her passion for the islands led to writing a play about the last ruling monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani, plus a non-erotic novel about the overthrow of her kingdom written in diary form from her maid’s point of view.
Where to connect with A.J.: