Wyatt O’Brian Evans is one of those authors who refuses to be confined to a single lane. A popular YouTuber and podcaster as well as a novelist, Wyatt has been a generous promoter of other Black and queer creators, and I’m delighted to feature this conversation about his newest book, Ruthless!, the latest installment in his Nothing Can Tear Us Apart series that released yesterday.
Wyatt’s fiction tackles some genuinely difficult territory, including intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A), but he approaches those subjects with an unmistakable appetite for drama, sensuality, and spectacle. His books combine psychologically charged situations with plenty of sex, hunks, and twists—the result is fiction that aims not simply to explore difficult emotional realities, but to keep readers turning pages.
In this interview, Wyatt talks about what draws him to these challenging subjects, how he balances them with the more sensational pleasures of thriller storytelling, and what he hopes readers will take away from the experience. I’m grateful to him for taking the time to talk about his work—and for being such a generous member of the Qstack and queer literary community.
Tell us about the book.
For readers who are encountering it for the first time, how would you introduce the story? Who are the central characters, what draws them together, what’s at stake for them, and what do you hope readers will take away from the experience of spending time in their world?
The Nothing Can Tear Us Apart series of novels is the continuing saga of Wesley (Wes) Laurence Kelly and Antonio (‘Tonio) Miguel Rios, Jr., two accomplished, highly upwardly mobile openly Gay/SGL/Queer men of color who are defying the odds to keep their monogamous relationship strong, healthy, and thriving. RUTHLESS! is the latest installment in the series.
Wes is an extremely wealthy African American media mogul, while ‘Tonio is his deliciously muscular Latino Chief of Security. Wes, while battling a split personality born of intimate partner violence and childhood trauma, must confront Ruffkut, a ruthless drug lord—and the deadly secrets within himself—before everything and everyone he loves is destroyed.
Nothing Can Tear Us Apart: RUTHLESS! is a gripping, compelling, emotionally charged psychological crime thriller that explores the devastating consequences of childhood trauma, intimate partner violence, and the enduring power of love, resilience, and redemption.
At the heart of the novel is Wes’s unwavering relationship with ‘Tonio, whose steadfast love and determination become a lifeline in the face of unimaginable danger. Together, they confront betrayal, loss, and seemingly impossible odds while discovering that healing demands extraordinary courage.
What I hope readers take away from spending time in Wes’s and ‘Tonio’s world is twofold: they are experiencing complex, highly upwardly mobile characters of color who have depth, nuance, and authenticity; (2) RUTHLESS! will spark meaningful conversations about enduring love, trauma (particularly intimate partner violence), resilience, and healing.
Making larger-than-life characters feel human.
You’ve shared some wonderfully larger-than-life images of your characters on your Substack—big muscles, intense physicality, and plenty of steaming-hot sexual tension. There’s clearly a strong element of fantasy in how you present them. How do you balance that heightened, almost mythic quality with the more vulnerable, human qualities that allow readers to see themselves in your characters?
Great question! However, when you really dig deep, RUTHLESS! is fully grounded in reality. For example, there are gym rats with better-than-average physiques and massively built bodybuilders in real life. (Actually, ‘Tonio is the only supremely built bodybuilder running around! LOL.) And scores and scores of men overflow with ardent sexual desire and engage in intense, steamy sex! I just present the rawness and realness of it all. Meanwhile, I present and explore the characters’ foibles, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities--like the ones we real folks have. It’s a “balancing act” that I find quite enjoyable!
Writing about IPV/A and its aftermath.
You’ve written about IPV/A in earlier books in the series, while this novel is particularly interested in what happens afterward—the emotional consequences and the process of living with what has happened. What drew you to explore that side of the experience in this book, and how has your work as a subject-matter expert and advocate informed the way you approach these stories?
Man, you keep the inspired questions coming! Okay. Being an intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) survivor, SME, and advocate, I felt compelled to shine a bright light on this dysfunctional and potentially deadly behavior by putting in front and center in the Nothing Can Tear Us Apart series.
IPV/A is more prevalent than we want to acknowledge. Each year in America, about one in four LGBTQ+ relationships/partnerships are abusive in some way. Incidences of IPV/A are increasing. And because of stigma, it can be dramatically underreported.
I’ve blended my research, interviews with victims and survivors, and my personal experience to present IPV/A as authentic and real as possible in RUTHLESS!
Breaking the fourth wall.
You occasionally step outside the conventional boundaries of narration, addressing the reader directly with asides, observations, or little authorial notations about what’s happening in the story. It’s a device we’re seeing more in television and film, but it remains relatively unusual in fiction. What does that direct connection with the reader allow you to do that a more traditional narrative voice wouldn’t? And, since we're seeing more of this kind of storytelling on screen, have you ever imagined these books making the leap to television or film?
Great question! First, my writing is fully immersive and includes vivid sensory details; I believe the reader will see, feel, taste, and smell the characters and what’s transpiring.
This is a major way I establish that direct connection with the reader; I’m in communion with him/her. I want the reader to feel as if we’re old, good friends sitting across from one another. That’s extremely important to me! Also: I was a standup comedian back in the day, so that helps! LOL.
I actually wrote RUTHLESS! (and the preceding installments) as a screenplay because I see it on the screen--but more so as a TV series.
The evolution of the series.
This book comes with the weight of everything that has happened in the earlier novels, but it also has to stand on its own. How has your understanding of these characters and their world evolved as you’ve moved through the series, and did writing this particular installment change your perspective on any of them?
These characters and their world have become such an integral part of me, that they evolve and grow like I do. The characters remain fresh because of that growth and evolution. Before I wrote a single word of RUTHLESS!, I performed a character analysis/assessment. I wanted to ensure that these characters remained authentic and grounded in reality, because you can’t fool the reader! They can “smell something that just ain’t right, that doesn’t quite make sense.” Writing this installment didn’t make me change my perspective on any of them; I believe that they reacted organically and believably to what was going on in their world.
Fantasy, desire, and emotional truth.
There’s an interesting tension in your work between the things readers may fantasize about—strength, masculinity, sexual chemistry, larger-than-life characters—and some very real, sometimes brutal and painful emotional territory. What interests you about putting those two things alongside each other? Is there something you think fantasy can reveal about people that realism sometimes can't?
Ahh, interesting! We fantasize about those things because they’re reality. We just might not be able to have them at the exact moment we want them. I put all of those things together, because again, it’s real life. In my writing, I try to present and showcase side by side the good, the bad, the ugly, etc., etc. I believe that fantasy can sometimes reveal what’s truly in someone’s heart—that burns strongly and brightly at it’s very core.
What do you hope stays with readers?
When someone reaches the final page of this book, what do you hope they’re still thinking about—or feeling—the next day? Is there a particular idea, question, character, or emotional experience that you’d especially like them to carry with them?
Well, I hope the reader says to himself, “Wow! When you think everything’s okay, good, or great, life, out of the blue, can throw you one helluva big-ass curveball you didn’t see coming!” That’s when you’ve gotta fall back on faith, courage, resilience, and most importantly, the power of love. You have to ask yourself, “Do I have all of THAT to make it through the storm?”
Who am I?
Tell us a little more about yourself - where you're from, where you've been, where you are and where you’re going.
Arguably, I’m the quintessential Renaissance man: journalist, author, radio personality (WYATT! podcast), voice-over (V/O) instructor/talent, and Intimate Partner Violence & Abuse (IPV/A) subject matter expert (SME)/advocate/motivational speaker.
Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, I earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism and political science from George Washington University. I’d like to be in Maui right now, or thereabouts…but soon.
You can visit me at my online home, wyattevans.com.
You can follow me on:
TikTok, @wyattoutloud
X, @MisterWOE
Facebook, @wyattobrianevans
Instagram, @sir.wyattofficial
YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/@WyattOutLoud
Mr. Ford: Thanks so much for a MAH-VA-LOUS interview! Your probing, insightful questions really hit the mark on "RUTHLESS!" and my writing style. Much appreciated, my friend!
Great interview, you two. RUTHLESS! has such big screen vibes, can't wait to see it there and/or Nothing Can Tear Us Apart serialized on some lucky streaming service or other. Congrats, Wyatt! 🎉❤️🔥💥🎉❤️🔥💥🎉