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Dale Chase has been writing male erotica for 13 years and loves not only the subject matter but the writing community it brought her into. Her short stories have most recently appeared in Tented: Gay Erotic Tales From Under The Big Top (Lethe Press) and I Like To Watch (Cleis Press). Stories will appear in the upcoming Wings: Subversive Gay Angel Erotica (Bold Strokes Books), Hot Daddies (Cleis) and Hot Jocks (Cleis.) Dale's first story collection, If The Spirit Moves You: Ghostly Gay Erotica was published by Lethe Press in 2010. Her latest collection, The Company He Keeps: Victorian Gentlemen's Erotica is a brand new release from Bold Strokes Books. Chase lives near San Francisco and is at work on an erotic western novel. Check her out at dalechasestrokes.com

Hi Dale!  Thanks so much for agreeing to the interview.  Could you tell us a bit about your background?  Also, what experiences in childhood, or later, led you to want to be a writer? 

I grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs in a decidedly non-creative family so I'm not sure where I got this inventive bent. At age four I discovered my imagination and have spent a good deal of time there ever since. A love of words began guiding the make-believe onto paper in my teens and my first short story was published in a motorcycle magazine at age twenty-two. Eight years writing for those magazines followed, along with attempts at straight novels, detours into a couple marriages, and raising two children as a single parent. I've been writing all the while, wandering into gay erotica thirteen years ago and finding a home. It is not so much that I wanted to be a writer as that I evolved into one.

You identify as hetero, what do you find is the attraction of gay erotica for you? 

Gay erotica allows me expression of my strong male side. Always a tomboy, I have what I call a gender blur which I very much enjoy, one foot in each world so to speak. When I found gay erotica I fell in love with the genre as it turned loose the boy inside. Writing my first gay erotic story was one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life. Since I'm a straight woman who adores men, I feel most comfortable in the genre. In addition to the personal satisfaction is joy of being successful with my efforts and also at being accepted as a member of the gay writing community. I consider it an honor to be there.

Last year, you had a collection of ghost stories called If The Spirit Moves You, and I was impressed with the number of inventive angles you found to explore your theme.  How much of a challenge was it to make each story distinct? 

The ghost collection was somewhat a surprise to me as I'm not the least attuned toward spiritual or supernatural things. I collect titles and one, "Secondary Sprits," had been tucked away for some time. When a friend said something about all the energy inside a library, it sparked an idea for a library ghost story which was great fun to write. I then went back and made a story out of "Secondary Spirits" after which I realized I could do a collection. Pondering the subject, I focused on originality which is always my goal. It was amusing to explore various angles so there was really no challenge, just surprise at the various ways ghosts get up to things. A friend who is into the supernatural educated me on different types such as the residual ghost and those residing in objects. Who knew a ghost could inhabit a piece of furniture?

How did you get the idea to write a volume of Victorian male erotica?  Also, I understand the collection had an interesting journey toward publication.  What did you learn from that adventure?

Henry James is one of my favorite authors so I've read a great deal of his fiction and from there I moved to Trollope and Thackeray. For a time I devoured Victorian fiction, totally enthralled with that world. It was a line in a Henry James novel that sparked the first story and subsequent collection. In the James novel, "a very good thing" was applied to a young hetero couple about to be married. I thought, "what a great title" and then "what if it was two men?" Writing that first story unleashed a flood of them. I still have enough in the drawer for second book.

The stories were written eight years ago and it took three publishers to get them into print. The first, Starbooks Press, imploded for awhile and my book was a casualty. The second was Haworth Press who were sold and fiction contracts cancelled. The third, Bold Strokes Books, published the book, much to my delight. What I learned from the experience was more a confirmation of something I'd long believed: never give up. A writer must be prepared for adversity and overcome it by writing still more.

What, if anything, do you find more erotic about the language of the Victorian era than contemporary language?  Or are there aspects of that era, such as the added danger, you find more erotic in general?

I don't think it's so much that Victorian era language is more erotic than contemporary, it just appeals to me more. Language from another era is frozen in time but contemporary language is always evolving, just as are social mores, settings, fashions, music, etc. Victorian language is rich and elegant while contemporary language feels smooth and efficient. I don't really consider the repression of the era in terms of danger. For me it is fuel. It may have been repressed but the tradeoff is not having to deal with safe sex issues so it can be very hot. I am currently writing an erotic western novel which is very enjoyable as I love that period even more than Victorian. What is fascinating is that language in the old west was surprisingly formal.

What in particular draws you to westerns or historical fiction in general?

What I like best about historical fiction is the escape to another era. There's a lot going on in the present but to me the past is richer and more textured. The Victorian period had elegance, dignity, and formality which is great contrast when writing sex. The old west was intensely masculine and quite lawless at times, thus a perfect setting for hot sex. I also have a lifelong love of cowboys and writing about the old west feels like coming home. The little girl who loved watching westerns on television is having a blast.

I seem to have several friends who must have majored in Pointing Out Anachronisms in Historical Fiction, and I imagine if I attempted to write historical, they would drive me bats.   How important do you find authenticity to be?  What kind of research did you have to do and is that kind of research enjoyable to you? 

I hate research and do as little of it as possible. Reading so many Victorian novels gave me a good feel for the period and language and when something required research, I either looked it up or avoided it altogether. As for authenticity, it is fiction after all so I can do what I want while making an effort to portray the period. I tend not to be highly descriptive so it works. My writing is character driven and I believe readers are more caught up in the people than how things look. If someone objects to some detail, I respect that but I'd venture most readers will not quibble. Working on my western novel is different as it portrays real people, thus I'm following history but loosening the reins enough to allow fictional sex scenes and whatever else is needed to move the story along. I've done lots of reading about these characters but it is all biography which is most entertaining and does not feel like research.

A lot of times, erotica authors are asked to write a story around a specific theme such as construction workers or police officers, so it makes sense that a story might form around a specific fantasy instead of first focusing on character development.   How easy or difficult do you find it to write unique characters, especially when writing for a theme you didn’t choose?  Are there characters you’ve created that you love most?

My work is character driven and when I write for a specific theme that I didn't choose, I begin by inventing strong people to fuel the story. It is my favorite part of writing and because I've done it for so long it is quite easy and most pleasurable. Inhabiting the men I invent is very rewarding. I never impose any specific fantasy in a story, preferring to go where the characters lead me. Staying within a specific theme is no problem although sometimes when the theme is well worn (daddies, jocks, hard hats) it becomes a challenge to write something fresh. Other times when the theme is new and original (circus erotica, train erotica) I'm totally jazzed and have a grand time. As for characters I love most, there are lots. I fall in love with my characters quite often and when that happens, the story is better for it.

I was actually a fan of yours before we met, so when we did meet, my reaction was something like “Holy Cow!  It’s Dale Chase!” and it seemed like you were thinking ‘Wow.  How neat that I rate a ‘Holy Cow.’” What have been your favorite fan or reader reactions?   Are there other memories or events that you consider the best moments of your career so far? 

I'm always pleased when someone tells me they like my work but I went a long time before I knew any reader reaction. For the many years I wrote for magazines such as Men, Freshmen, In Touch, and Indulge and while those were read worldwide, I had no idea of people's opinions of the stories. This was not a problem as I simply don't spend time dwelling on such things. I like that people read my work, but my focus is on the writing which, to me, is like breathing—not optional. My most memorable event was when I was writing for the magazines and an editor told me another writer wanted to collaborate with me on a story and that the editor had broken the news to him that I wasn't a guy. When I emailed the writer he was still in shock, his email to me shouting (the caps were his): "YOU'RE A CHICK? YOU'RE A CHICK? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE A CHICK!" Apparently he'd had some fantasy about this guy Dale. He'll never realize what a great compliment he paid me. More substantial best moments of my career are seeing my two books in print and meeting gay writers who have become very close friends.

What do you think was the best advice you ever got from another writer?

As a fiercely independent person, I don't seem to elicit advice from anyone, probably because people realize I wouldn't listen. I am self taught, the process entirely internal, thus I have never looked for guidance from the outside. I wrote for many years before getting into gay erotica without knowing another writer so I'm used to being on my own and it seems to have worked out fine. Of course, I now enjoy talking with fellow writers about every facet of our work but that's more an exchange of ideas than advice.

What are your hopes and plans for the next few years?    

My immediate goal is to finish my erotic western novel and see it published. Next would be following that with other novels while continuing to write for the anthologies. I'll never give up short fiction but I do like it that characters in a novel move in with you while those in short stories are more weekend guests. Novel characters sit across from you at the breakfast table, follow you to the post office, even kick back at the hairdresser's. I love that constant feeling. It is also fun to look forward to the growth that every writer experiences with new work. The thought that there are ides yet to hatch is very exciting and, as I was fortunate enough to retire from the day job this year, I can now stay immersed in novel writing. It is pure heaven—at long last.

Thanks so much, Dale!