I had a great time getting to know Wyatt O’Brian Evans during our recent chat. Wyatt’s a radio host and a powerful voice in the LGBTQ+ community (you can check out his show on YouTube as well). He’s the author of the Nothing Can Tear Us Apart series, which explores the deep complexities of romance, resilience, and survival among same-gender-loving men of color. Since his brand-new erotic psychological thriller, Ruthless!, had just dropped, we were ready to dive into
His main characters Wes (an African American media mogul) and ‘Tonio (Wes’ fiercely protective Puerto Rican soulmate)
Why he intentionally wrote a "slow burn" scenario to show them falling into love rather than just lust.
The reason he wanted them in a rock-solid, monogamous relationship
How E. Lynn Harris’ books in the ‘90s paved the way for Black same-gender-loving storylines (and how different it is now)
The self-care and healing that Wyatt does to handle his own trauma as a survivor and when he’s writing
How he approaches writing sex scenes, including a very steamy threesome in Ruthless!
I was also curious about this sexy cover of the book that he’s shared…
Wyatt made sure to mention how happy he was about the blurb he received from James Earl Hardy, author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series:
“Nothing Can Tear Us Apart: RUTHLESS! is one “ju-say”—aka juicy in Wyatt speak—spicy bowl of gumbo, seamlessly mixing melodrama, erotica, suspense, and thrills. Wyatt delivers the laughs, the emotional gut-punches, the sexual heat, and the make-you-do-a-double-take/jaw-on-the-floor moments. Literature that is LIT—that’s my kinda page turner!”
I’m very curious about how, in queer relationships, there is often a false assumption that because partners share the same gender, the power dynamics are inherently equal. And I was curious how Wyatt’s book addresses that myth.
That got us on to the topic of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) within the LGBTQ+ community, a topic that Wyatt is well-versed on. In fact, you can read more about it on his Substack and website, and this is a good place to begin.
As Wyatt stated:
“Stigma is the driving force as to why IPVA incidences are so under-dramatically reported, particularly with us men. Because let's face it, no man wants it known that another man is whooping his ass. It's the whole self-esteem, the machismo, the masculinity—whatever you want to call it. Stigma is such a powerful thing.”
Did you know that each year, between at least 100,000 lesbians and 500,000 gay/SGL men are battered, and about one in four LGBTQ+ relationships/ partnerships are abusive in some way?
I’ll let you listen in to the rest of our lively conversation to learn more.
And if you were curious, the erotica author that Wyatt mentioned loving is Zane (the pen name of Kristina Laferne Roberts). She became a dominant force in African American literature, and her immense popularity led her to partner with Simon & Schuster, turning her independent publishing venture, Strebor Books International, into a major corporate imprint.
I did a little sleuthing, and her most notable novels include Addicted, The Sex Chronicles, Nervous and Afterburn. (There’s an ebook collection of several available here.)
Thank you Clint Collide, Rande Iaboni, and many others for tuning into my live video with WYATT! Out Loud!
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