Gwen Leonhard

Sapphic fiction, spicy scenes, and heartbreak

Hey everyone,

I am writing up this interview from my sickbed so please know that any mistakes made are likely to be mine and do not belong to the creator being interviewed! This interview is with Gwen Leonhard, an author based in Germany who writes character and emotion-driven sapphic fiction with drama and a whole lot of spice!

(CWs: Naturally, this interview talks about sex and representing sex. If this is something uncomfortable to you, read at your own discretion. Consent is a priority throughout)

Chaos Gays: So, I've actually SEEN some things about your work and was fascinated, but people reading may not have... So for anyone reading, could you tell me a little about your writing, just so everyone knows what we're talking about today?

GL: Sure thing! And thank you so much! I always enjoy hearing people like what I produce!

I call myself lovingly a Sapphiction Author, as you can expect there to be a huge amount of sapphic content in all of my books. The current 'In Cold Embrace' --- or for short ICE --- Series is an Urban Fantasy with a Trans POV lead, a lot of spice, and some massive Worldbuilding with the upcoming books! You can also expect some wildly different types of characters. From the shy nun to the brash butch and the manipulative boss-bitch. We got them all!

I am currently working on a couple of short stories, most of them gay and spicy.

Right now I tend to Heartbreak stories, so while Romance is heavily featured, don't expect a HEA or HFN if it's not stated clearly that you can expect this!

One thing that is very important to me, especially in the context of sex, is consent and the way it can be used to progress characters and stories. I rarely write any spicy scene that is nothing but horny - as valid as they are!

Chaos Gays: I mean, much love for sapphic content, always! For now, I have so many deeper things to talk about, but specifically for the In Cold Embrace series... what was it that actually made you write this? Was there a gap you were trying to fill, some personal inspiration you had, something that you wanted to see in fiction?

GL: ICE has a bit of a complicated history for which I have to delve into my personal life.

A couple of years ago I had a really bad burnout in my current job. That I theoretically loved but just couldn't cope with. Reasons for that, as I later learned, were undiagnosed ADHD, Depression, and me being an egg.

As you can imagine I was in a pretty bad place.

A couple of years later, I was in a much better place, but still not in a position where I could face the challenges of a regular working force. So I set some goals and a project I wanted to write.

The idea was a spicy ongoing story released chapter by chapter with the support of Patreons—we all need to eat, after all. This should help in the form of small projects that I could finish quickly.

That is why the first book is such a short novella. It was written with the intent of weekly released chapters.

But as soon as I started working on the second part—Prey For The Devil—I realized that I wanted a lot more of that series: deeper characters, more difficult relationships, and more time to work on everything. So, I decided to scrap the Patreon part and release the books instead.

The characters take a lot of inspiration from me. I'm a lesbian-leaning Bi-Sexual polyamorous trans woman with deep seeded parental issues, doubt about my self-worth, and some anger issues.

If you look at the books through that lens, it's easy to see why I write what I write. It's what I know. I basically write through a bunch of my own issues. That's why character growth is such a big part of my stories. I want them to start at a bad place and end in a good one—at least at some point.

I can't even really say where my inspiration for the City of Herzkirch came from.

I wanted to use a familiar culture - German culture in this case - and write an interesting concept into the world. Having everything be heart themed is mostly because I thought it to be funny, I guess. (edited)

There is so much more I could point to, like the way how the transness is reflected in the stealthing part of the Blendlings (Half-Monsters) or the fear of religious retribution in society.

But if I started working all that through, we'd be here all day for that question alone. And I enjoy the idea of my readers finding their own ideas and reflections in my stories!

Chaos Gays: I love that you've taken such a big, personal thing and made it into art. You mentioned in the first question and I'd love to draw attention to this - butch rep! This is very much a 'my interest specifically' question, but I love the fact that there is more space for sapphic presentation to be something OTHER than the popular media depiction. Can you talk about what it’s like and your motivations for offering non-standard rep in sapphic fiction?

GL: Okay, the Butch rep is a bit funny.

Freyja was always a tomboyish character. I wouldn't say her character has changed much from her initial conception. What has changed, though, is her design.

I am in the incredibly lucky position of working on these stories with a good friend of mine (Twitter Handle: @maleyevaaa). She does the art, and I do the writing. I try to give her as much room as possible for the details of the covers.

The fact that Freyja was this very thin big breasted woman was... well, it was supposed to be porn. Isn't that how porn is supposed to look like?

It was kinda cheap on purpose. But, like I said, and then it got more.

And I devoured the Locked Tomb series --- if you haven't heard about it: Necromantic Space lesbians. It's great! --- and the main character of the first book is fully butch. Like the butchies butch you can find. I thought Gideon to be so incredibly cool and thought that this look would suit Freyja much more, that I reached out to Maleyeva and asked her to change the design.

We actually reworked the Prey For The Devil to fit her new style onto the cover!

The same goes a bit with Emilia, the nun Sidekick and Crush from Freyja. She is much slimmer in the art than she is supposed to be in the books. I hope to rectify that with the third book, as I feel bad about reaching out to Maleyeva again.

My current WIP plans to include at least one more trans Character, maybe two. I am not sure about the second one yet.

There are so many beautiful people out there who don't have a voice in stories, and I'd like to contribute to changing that.

This includes body types, sexualities, and whatever else I feel I can comfortably represent.

TBH, I wish I had the guts to make the cast of ICE even more diverse in the form of POC representation, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes by doing it badly.

I know how it is to grow up and be assumed to be a foreigner, but in the end, I am a German-born person with German parents in Germany. It's hard to write POC stories well without the background. And since it's such a spicy genre I am dabbling in, I don't want to fall into the trap of sexualizing someone.

The character of Satori is a very careful step into that direction.

Chaos Gays: A bunch of different characters, all presentations, body types, etc, ARE attractive but media rarely shows that, so writing these characters to me feels like a wonderful thing to draw attention to. Have readers been excited to see characters like them? Have you found ways to represent people you find attractive, partners or loved ones even when media tries to tell them they're not? Do you enjoy the space to talk about attraction as a complex thing unique to a person?

GL: The short answer: I'm a horny little gremlin, and I like when my characters are horny!

The longer answer: Sex can be a wonderful thing. When done right: It's intimate, it's casual, it's fun. And it's always a conversation.

I love writing conversations, and having characters sleep with each other allows me to expand this communication into a new kind of direction, which is wonderful.

The sudden connection Freyja and Veerle build in A Huntress Of The Night, their careful back-and-forth in realizing what the other wants, shows so much about both characters, I think. There is a reason why the scene stops after the foreplay: Their communication ended at that point, and I'm not interested in writing Sex for sex's sake.

The Sex scene, which I don't want to spoil, in Prey for the Devil is much more focused on exploring the relation to a third character not even present in the scene itself. And for one of the participants about her own sexual desires.

If I may toot my own horn here for a second --- I'm really proud of this scene and got one of my favorite ARC feedbacks on it:

“One more thing I'd like to say, the experience [Person A] has with [Person B] was nothing like I've read before. That was a hell of a unique book!”

My husband says that everyone is horny for everyone in ICE, and that isn't quite untrue. I like the idea that everyone is desirable for a lot of people. And when someone isn't, it's mostly an issue of character, not build.

Emanuela and Emilia could never hook up. They don't gel, and neither would pursue the other—not because they aren't attractive, but because they aren't attracted.

Veerle and Emilia do find their attraction in the current WIP with Emilia changing fundamentally away from her upbringing.

Sadly, I do not have enough readers yet to get much feedback on representation. But I would love to hear someone be happy that they found themselves in my book and enjoyed it.

Chaos Gays: I feel like representing sex is as character-building as any other emotional scene, and can reveal so much about people and the way they interact! You said you haven't got a huge amount of readers at the moment, but we'll try and get you some! Is there anything that you've found hindered you with that? Either while writing or trying to find the audience that really connects with your books? What sort of people (if anyone in particular) did you write for/who do you think might love what you're working on?

GL: And I can't tell you how thankful I am for your efforts!

It's just hard to get the word out.

I already told you about my depression, and I really have to be diligent in what I put my energy into. And trying to build an audience via social media is... difficult in the best of times. It feels a bit like screaming into the void.

And when I realized that my Original account was permanently shadowbanned and I had to switch to my much smaller German one... well, that hurt.

I can't really reach out to agents, as I know how soul-crushing the querying process is, and right now, I simply won't be able to withstand that. So I self-publish and hope to get someone to read it who likes to spread the word.

I reached out to some bloggers for ARCs but haven't gotten any answers yet. So, well, screaming into the void it is until then.

I mostly write what I myself want to read. I just started Aurora's Angel and am going livid about the barely hidden lust of these useless lesbians (affectionately) in the first half of the book, which is a huge inspiration for getting back into writing romance myself again.

I love myself some hurt, but damn, a good happy ending can be so cathartic!

And, let's be honest: Sapphic Trans Heartbreak Erotica is... a niche. I kinda have to get my foot in, but I can't expect the average romance reader to enjoy it.

I think people that treasure complicated character relations and want to yell at the characters for them to get their shit together are going to be happy with ICE. Come for the sex, stay for the relationships.

And, I can at least say as much: ICE will probably be finished after the third instance. But this will neither be the end of Herzkirch and the Gang, more like a prequel. And at the end, at the very end, I want them to be happy

But, just like in therapy: It's a long way, and it's going to be difficult.

Chaos Gays: It's a fun niche though! So on that note, you've talked a little about where things are going in the future, but is there anything in this series that right now, you're dying to write/are really looking forward to writing?

GL: Oh, yes, absolutely!

As I mentioned, Part 3 is already in the works: Daughter of the Biest

This part is going to focus much more on Emilia, the worldbuilding of ICE, and the other characters. Freyja is still there, still important but not the single most important character anymore.

Emilia meets someone new - Theodananda

A reclusive, slightly Autistic coded Dhampir trans woman who struggles under her mother while casually changing the fundamental rules of the power balance between how Biest, Blendlings, and Humans can interact.

They both have no idea about sex or relationships and can discover that together. Their first kiss and the resulting conversation up until their first little make-out session covers a full chapter without them ever doing anything more but kiss. And I can't wait for them to find each other before... well... things are going to happen. Decisions will be made. Rules will change.

ICE will end with a bang. And I am looking forward to that a lot!

Also, there is going to be a super fun Moth-themed character that can look into the future. But as soon as he tells you about it, the future he has seen will not come to pass - He calls it the Moth effect and gets deeply offended if someone calls it the Butterfly effect

Looking forward to him as well!

Chaos Gays: This sounds very fun! So, I was going to steer to this because I know a lot of people who read would be interested and we haven't spoken much about it yet, but... WORLDBUILDING. You saved me a moment of figuring that out! Can you talk a little about the worldbuilding of the series? What were the fun parts for you? Is there anything that made you choose specific worldbuilding elements (story needs, fun character dynamics, etc)?

GL: Oh, well, you are welcome then!

Okay, so I'm a pantser at heart. I don't know where a story is heading when I start writing it. So, what I usually do is keep holes to fill out later.

Herzkirch is a really good example of that.

Most people (in the books) don't know that there is a reason why the Districts are called 'Ventricles'. The German influence in their language (see Herzkirch or the Reinblut Kirche) comes from an old lost language, etc. There even is a reason for all those crazy rules Blendlings and Biest have to follow. Like, why do Vampyrs die in sunlight? Why do Concubi feed on hormones? Why are Blendlings infertile? None of that makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. But there is a reason behind it. There is a whole mythos behind it!

None of this was planned, but works itself out in a way.

Another thing that I like to do is to impose rules on myself and see what those rules force me to do. Limitations build creativity, after all.

Every Biest is created with a very specific Mythos in mind.

Vampyrs come from Vampires, and Skadis are influenced by the goddess of the same name. Satori, for example, is named and built after a Japanese mythical beast called the Yamako. Finding that myth inspired so much about how Prey For The Devil was supposed to go down.

In her case I knew what kind of Ability I wanted/needed and found a specific myth that worked for it, building the rest of the character around that.

ADHD Pantser, everything pings from everything and somehow ends in a coherent and interesting world that hopefully is new to the reader!

While I enjoy my inspirations, I really don't want to write characters or a world that I have seen like this already. I want it to be new in a way.

And I do enjoy puns. If I can work a pun into my world, I will do so. I promise.

Herzkirch is a world I really like. I just finished a first draft for a Horror Romance Hybrid that happens in it.

I even used it as the backdrop for a Roleplay I did with my husband once, where he as a Blendling Werewolf had to solve a crime that revolved around the Puls.

There is just so much to do!

Oh, and, yes, the Puls!

People that know me, will know that I am usually not big on religion. ICE allows me to differentiate between the idea of 'what does my god want' and 'what does the church want' in a very interesting perspective!

Chaos Gays: The puns are all important! And speaking of little bits of fun, time to ask the last, fun/silly question I think? So, imagine for a second you have all the money in the world (believe me, we all want to imagine that. My wallet full of moths is staring at me right now) and could commission artists/creators, anyone for merch. Is there any merch you would make for any of the books?

GL: Ooh! I have to think about that one.

So, if I had all the money in the world, I would ask Moira Quirk, the voice for the Locked Tomb series, to do the Audiobooks for basically everything I write. I adore her craft; it's amazing.

Regarding Merch... I love commissions, so I could Imagine posters or T-Shirts of characters.

A comic would be phenomenal!

Okay, so, I've got Aphantasia, which means I cannot picture anything in my mind, which, sometimes, sucks. So I'd love to get fully rendered artwork for everyone. I think I would make a giant poster with all the relationships between all the characters, fully rendered and designed by Maleyeva. Like, make a full billboard out of it.

If people don't look like this one conspiracy gif when they try to understand the relationship web resulting from this, I have failed as an author .

Chaos Gays: I love this so much! Thank you for talking to me :). For anyone reading, go look! Gwen has added a special author message for anyone who is now interested in reading:

GL: I care a lot more about getting eyes on the series than I do about sales. I want people to read ICE, buying it is secondary at this point.

So, if anyone is interested, I am more than happy to give ARCs if they consider leaving an honest review!

Or, if someone simply cannot afford it, I'm cool with giving out a free copy as well.

Links:

(Mainly active)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SkrivVener

Amazon: https://a.co/d/fORekiP

https://www.amazon.com/author/gwen_leonhard

(Additional links available on Linktree under old accounts):

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/NSFWs_Tales

Hire Gwen to write for you!: https://www.fiverr.com/fumahebi?public_mode=true