THOM WOLF An Interview by Kevin Killian

Part One

In this exclusive interview Thom and Kevin Killian discuss the stories that make up Thom’s long awaited collection of erotic fiction Bedtime Stories.

White Sheets

Kevin: Mr. Wolf, the boy in the story looks to my mind just like the model on the cover of your book. He's adorable. Which came first? Did you write the story, then find the model, or find the model, then write the story around him. Either way there's something magical about your writing, like a spell is being cast.

Thom: White Sheets was the last story I wrote for the book. I had pretty much made the final selection of stories and thought I was finished when I began to look for a cover image which would represent the theme of Bedtime Stories. I considered a lot of different pictures and models, all of which would have made incredible artwork, but when I discovered the boy who now adorns the cover it was love at first sight. I always knew that photo would be the cover.

But once I had this glorious cover I began to think differently about the content of the book. I'm one of those people who gets quite irate when a movie poster, or a book or dvd cover doesn't represent the product you're buying. A good example is the poster for the 1976 remake of King Kong. There's Kong, straddling the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre and tearing helicopters down from the sky; which doesn't happen in the film. Or the shark on the poster for Jaws represents a beast about 200 feet long, compared to the 25 foot creature in the film. So in order to keep myself happy, I wanted a story that could be a reflection of the cover.

That boy was a very easy Muse. He's so handsome and fresh faced. I have another picture of him which is a glorious close up of his face that just makes me melt. I carried around copies of his pictures in my note book for a couple of days and the character began to grow from there. The opening story is a piece of pure fantasy and wishful thinking on my part. It was a delight to write and it felt like a great beginning to the book. I love it.

Kevin: How did you create the character of Henry, the man approaching middle age who has sort of given up on sex—even though he has a huge cock, the kind guys get hooked on—until he encounters the springtime freshness of Josh?

Henry is more of an autobiographical character (minus the Kong cock). I've been in a relationship for 16 years, unlike Henry, but I'm in my late thirties. When I was younger and used to go out with my husband a lot, we were a couple of hot young things who always got plenty of attention. Then something terrible seemed to happen around the age of 33 and we vanished off the radar. Nobody looks at guys our age in a sexual way. At the gym, on holiday, in bars - we ceased to exist. I've never really understood that because I've always been attracted to older men. The mid thirties are a funny time for a gay man; I'm no longer a twink, but neither am I mature enough to pass for a daddy. And then a third voice is telling me I shouldn't have to define myself by such labels anyway.

That's really where the character of Henry is too. He can't be bothered with the chase anymore and wasting time on guys who aren't worth the effort. He shares a lot of my middle-aged angst, though because of his massive tool he'll never be short of attention at the gym.

A lot of the stories in this book feature intergenerational sex in one way or another. That's not something I intentionally set out to deal with, but it's a theme that runs though my recent writing. Daddy Fuller, the story which bookends this collection with White Sheets, explores another older/younger relationship but this time from the perspective of the boy.

Story 2:    Man of The Hour

Kevin:  In "The Man of the Hour," we meet Oliver, a gay thrillseeker who cruises for married straight men at christenings. In the US, I've been to many christenings but have never met anyone that way. He winds up with the godfather and has sex with him outside the windows of the catering hall where the party is taking place. I have to ask, is there something extra thrilling about sex in consecrated places?

Thom: I suppose for some people there must be, but with this story I was exploring the motivation that some gay men have for wanting to have sex with "straight" men. I've known several guys who fixate on married men to the exclusion of any other kind of relationship. As if the "straightness" of the married man makes him a far more worthy sexual partner. The ideal for the christening angle came about earlier this year when I was attending a christening in York. I was bored out of my mind as we launched into the third lengthy hymn. As I looked around the church, from one handsome man to another - all dressed up in their best suits - my dirty mind began to wander.

Kevin:  Oliver goes on to have an hour-at-a-time affair with married Jonathyn. But we detect something sort of sad about him, as though he had always been chary of emotional commitment, and now he's developing a bit of a crush on a married man. You're married yourself, Thom, are you any harder to get than Jonathyn? Are you a heartbreaker like he is?

Thom:  I'm extremely hard to get; completely out of reach for a predator like Oliver. I've been in the same relationship for over 16 years. I'm actually quite old fashioned in my thinking towards marriage - it's the biggest commitment someone can make to another person, and it shouldn't be entered into lightly. Jonathyn and Oliver are fantasy figures, though they are both grounded in reality and inspired by real people, but the reality of situations like this is that people get hurt. Playing with other peoples emotions for a thrill is not something I would ever contemplate in real life. Originally the story was actually quite a bit longer than this, with a couple of none sex scenes in the middle where Oliver questioned his motivations further. I cut them because they didn't really add to the story and I just wanted to get on with the sex.  That’s what we’re here for.

Part Two of this exclusive interview coming soon.

BEDTIME STORIES will be available as an e-book from Amazon from 14th November 2011