Guest Author Day with Kay Berrisford and a Contest

Contest Information: Leave Kay a comment or question in the comment part of the post and be entered to win a e-copy of Bound to the Beast. Contest will end April 27th & winner to be announced on this post in the comments. Please leave an email address with your comment in order to contact you in case you have won.

How long did it take to write the story? From the day you came up with the idea to the very last day of writing.

In the end, it took a year!  When I showed the early drafts of my first novel, Bound for the Forest, to a good friend, she suggested that my Greenwood universe was ripe for a cameo from Herne the Hunter. I was no expert on Herne, but a plethora of wonderful images of “the horned one” flashed through my mind, from the Celtic deity Cernunnos, through to your generic Viking warrior, worthy star of so many sexy stories. It soon became evident that Herne needed more than a cameo in Bound for the Forest. I was desperate to follow this brooding tortured antihero on his own quest for love, so he needed his own novel.

Fascinating as the research was, Herne’s complex back story and writing the fearsome Wild Hunt, made this the longest, hardest writing process of my life. Finishing the novel took over five months.

Tell us about your latest release/Upcoming release.

As explained above, Bound to the Beast is the tale of Herne the Hunter, a Greenwood legend whose origins can be traced to Norse and Anglo-Saxon myth and further back into the mists of time, to the horned gods of Iron Age religion. While often portrayed as a god of the forest or protector of the fair folk, Herne also has a dark side. He is leader of the Wild Hunt, an army of the undead (medieval zombies, if you like!) who were believed to sweep across England on the eve of great disasters, such the Norman Conquest or the Black Death. Dark, huh?


The novel is set in the Elizabethan period, 1588 to be precise. At this stage, my Herne, a spirit who shifts to sport the antlers of a stag when his passions are stirred, has already been roaming the Greenwood for well over fifteen hundred years. And he has a dilemma. The ships of the Spanish Armada are circling English shores, and invasion is threatened once more. When a fairy ritual goes wrong, Herne finds himself bonded to reluctant village lad, Tam, and they have five days to break the magic betrothal. Will Herne lead Wild Hunt again, letting England fall in their wake? Or will he help Tam and let his fifteen-hundred-year-old broken heart be healed, learning to love instead?

There’s also bondage, spanking, antler porn, dirty talking fairies, and plenty of kinky lovemaking.

What made you want to write?

I’ve always written!  I wrote my first story as soon as I learned, when I was about five. It was about a creature called Ogog who lived in a cave, and the narrative structure was exemplary. Honest!

I spend pretty up all my life making things up. I get kind of twitchy if I go without a day without writing and editing some of my fiction.

What authors do enjoy reading in your downtime?

I try to read as widely at as possible and keep an eye on the kinds of books that are selling well, although I always seem to be horribly behind on my reading list.  I’ve just started reading ‘Game of Thrones’ by GRR Martin, as I was interested in the hype and fancied a medieval-style romp.  Recently, I’ve been relaxing with the work of some of my fellow m/m writers, including Megan Derr, Tara Lain, and Melanie Tushmore.

How important is the beginning chapter - the opening - the first few lines?

Absolutely crucial.  Without doubt it’s the part of the novel I spend the most time on.  It took me about three weeks to draft the original first chapter of Bound to the Beast. Then I spent ages fiddling, before totally revamping when my editor (rightly) pointed out the book would benefit from a prologue.  It was worth every minute though.  If you can’t hook the reader in the first few lines, all hope is lost!

In what order do you write? For example starting beginning to end, combining parts, in random order or in development cycle?

Usually beginning to end, although more than once I’ve started the story in slightly the wrong place, so had to go back and add extra scenes. Whoops!

You are called upon, at a school, to tell those interested in becoming an author, all the ins and outs of good writing skills and getting published. What are the three important elements in writing, publishing and promoting that you would give them?

I’m pretty new to this world, so wouldn’t consider myself an expert. I once attended a lecture by the great Terry Pratchett entitled something like, ‘What are you doing sitting here listening to me when you should be at home writing.’  It’s the best advice you can give. So that’s my first element: write. Secondly, you must love it. If you love writing, you will persist through the hard parts when you want to chuck it all in, and there are a lot of those moments. If you love it, you will persist, naturally seek the help you need, so learn and improve. Thirdly: The rest (publishing/promoting) will follow, if you’re prepared to do a heck of a lot of hard work.

Do you plot out each chapter? Or are you a seat of the pants writer?

I usually have a strong idea what’s going to happen and do a bit of planning in a notebook, usually concerning character goals and conflicts.   But I love how the writing process becomes organic once you start typing, and unexpected elements always flow in.  You can never completely control how you want your characters to behave.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so what are your favorites Artists and or albums?

Eeeeeep, no, never!  I know a lot of writers find music hugely inspirational when they work, but I have to have silence to concentrate.  Kinda dull, but that’s the way I work.

Out of all your characters which one do you identify the most with and why?

There’s a character called Ann in ‘Bound to the Beast,’ who comes across as quite downtrodden at first, but underneath, she’s got some bite.  Out of all the characters I’ve written, she’s probably the most like me, although her life has been much harder.  I think Tam has a few of my characteristics too.  He talks a lot!

Out of all your books, do you have a favorite book/character(s)? What is it about that particular book/character that you enjoy so much?

I can’t take responsibility for inventing him completely, but I do adore Herne.  A brooding, tortured hero with antlers.  What’s not to love?

Do you have a book that you you just cringe? If so, which one is it, and why?

I’ve only two books out and they feel like my babies still, so I couldn’t cringe at either of them.  There’s some fanfic I’ve written in my dim and distant past that I’d rather forget though.

What are your writing goals for the future?

Just keeping writing!  I’ve just contracted my third book, Catching Kit, which is my first contemporary paranormal, with Loose Id.  My next two projects are an angsty sci-fi shifter m/m and the third Greenwood novel. I hope to get those done before the end of the year, and that’s about as far ahead as I can think.

Now a few fun questions:

How would you describe yourself using only five words? 

Lucky, friendly, anxious, untidy, ambitious.

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? 

As an author: TREE PORN AND KINKY ANTLER SEX AHEAD.

As a person: Sorry but I might get on your nerves by apologizing too much.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? 

Oh plenty.  I enjoy fangirling my favorite bands and TV shows.  Last year, I went to 16 Take That concerts, travelling to 5 different UK cities.

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you. 

Despite the fact I write about love and romance, my husband and I forgot our wedding anniversary this year!

If you could go any place in the world and to any time period, what place or time period would you choose to visit?

The 60s looked pretty damn cool. I’d like to go to a few swinging London parties back then, wearing some cute boots and a very short miniskirt.  As a historian, I wouldn’t want to go too much further back.  The two world wars fascinate me, but would have been terrifying - much like all pre-20^th-century hygiene and medical care.

What is your favorite super power and why do you want it?

Is being able to write faster a super power? If so, I want that one.  Otherwise, I’m not too fussed.  I’d rather leave saving the world to those better qualified for glory.

Bound to the Beast by Kay Berrisford

Genres: m/m, Historical, Fantasy, Paranormal, BDSM.
Art work by Anne Cain


Blurb: England, 1588. When a fairy betrothal ritual goes wrong, village lad Tam is bonded to Herne the Hunter. Warrior, legend, and Greenwood spirit, Herne once led the terrifying Wild Hunt, an army of the undead who rode as harbingers of doom. When his passions are stirred and his blood is up, Herne sports the antlers of a mighty stag.


Herne could be the lover Tam secretly craves, but Herne’s past makes him fear the brooding warrior will enslave or kill him. While Herne admires Tam’s toughness and humor, he has rejected love—as he has sworn off leading the Wild Hunt—and wishes only for solitude. To break their betrothal, they must travel into the Greenwood, a realm of magic and bondage where their desires for each other grow dangerously irresistible, and the Wild Hunt bays for their blood.


As the threat rises, Herne’s mastery and compassion realize Tam’s darkest sexual fantasies. Soon he’s no longer fighting for his freedom, wishing to be bound to this beast forever. But can Herne’s tortured heart be reawakened? And if so, will their love destroy them both or prove Herne the Hunter’s greatest weapon?

Buy it now: http://www.loose-id.com/The-Greenwood-Bound-to-the-Beast.aspx

More info: http://kayberrisford.com/bound-to-the-beast/