Friskbiskit

Author Spotlight: Kim Fielding

Thank you, Jessica, for letting me visit you today!

I think many of us have a romantic vision of what it’s like to be an author. My version of that fantasy involves globe-trotting, autograph-signing, margarita-swilling, café-sitting, and go-go boys. It looks a little like this:

And like this:

The reality, I’m afraid, is like this:

Slaving at my laptop at the kitchen table. If I’m lucky, my children and husband are gainfully employed elsewhere. Generally they’re hovering nearby, wanted homework help or mediation or chauffeuring or watching loud TV.

One part of a writer’s job that can sometimes be a little tedious is research, especially when it involves researching very specific things, such as the differing types of screw heads or whether jollyboats can be lowered into the water by the jollyboat passengers.

On the other hand, because I write m/m romance, sometimes the research can be really fun. I mean, how many jobs occasionally require one to view porn? Recently, I was doing some background work on men’s underwear. I know. Tough, tough assignment. It involved spending a fair amount of time at the Andrew Christian website (which currently features twerk off video.)  Now I know more about men’s underwear and I get Andrew Christian as I browse the web.

Another benefit of this particular research project was that I found a model who looks just like Colby Anderson, one of the characters in my new novel The Tin Box. The model’s name is Cory Lee, and you can see him here and here. And here, because, well, he’s adorable.

Even if I have to spend most of my time chained to my boring laptop in my boring kitchen, drinking Diet Coke instead of tequila, rest assured I will conduct more in-depth research like this!

To buy The Tin Box:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4196&cPath=55_603

To buy the Ennek audio trilogy, which released last week:  

http://www.cherryhillpublishing.com/   (100% of my trilogy royalties go to Doctors Without Borders!)

Follow me

On Twitter @KFieldingWrites

On Facebook

At my blog.

Blurb:

William Lyon's past forced him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley’s Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office. Unlike William, Colby is cute, upbeat, and flamboyantly out. Although initially put off by Colby’s mannerisms, William comes to value their new friendship, and even accepts Colby's offer to ease him into the world of gay sex.

William’s self-image begins to change when he discovers a tin box, hidden in an asylum wall since the 1940s. It contains letters secretly written by Bill, a patient who was sent to the asylum for being homosexual. The letters hit close to home, and William comes to care about Bill and his fate. With Colby’s help, he hopes the words written seventy years ago will give him courage to be his true self.

An excerpt from The Tin Box:

With the menus gone, William had nowhere to hide. He pretended to be closely examining his surroundings, but in fact the Java Joint was pretty unremarkably decorated, and he couldn’t avoid Colby’s thoughtful stare.

“You don’t like me much, do you?” Colby finally said.

“I… I don’t think I know you well enough to not like you.”

“Yeah, but you sort of make these faces and you keep flinching away.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you homophobic? Afraid you’ll catch my queer cooties?”

If William had been sipping his water, he would have choked. As it was, he coughed rather loudly. “I’m not a bigot.”

“It doesn’t bother you to be seen with a flaming gayboy?”

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” That was true, more or less. Once he’d given up on gaining his parents’ respect, the only judgment he’d feared was his own. Unfortunately, he was a harsh critic of himself.

“So then what’s the deal? Hermit? Confirmed introvert? Asperger’s? Maybe you just disapprove of my stylistic choices.” Colby gave a significant look at his own tight and fairly skimpy outfit, and then at William’s Oxford shirt and sport coat. “Are you the fashion police, Will?”

“William.” He wanted to frown, but Colby was looking genuinely upset, his sunny smile replaced by troubled eyes and a frown. For the first time, William felt guilty for how he’d been acting. Colby seemed like a nice guy. Friendly and cheery. It wasn’t his fault he made William uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Colby. I think I’m just kind of a jerk.”

The grin reappeared, and William was strangely relieved. “You’re not really a jerk,” said Colby. “We just need to work a little on your social skills. Loosen you up a little. ’Cause Will, my man, you’ve got a stick so far up your ass you must be tasting it. Who the hell put it there?”

William felt a little flutter of panic at the question. He intentionally pushed it down and focused instead on the coarseness of Colby’s language, which made him blush. It didn’t help that he knew Colby was right—William was about as uptight as they came. And Colby wasn’t the first to accuse him of it. Even Lisa used to complain and tell him to ease up, and she was wound pretty tight herself.

The coffee arrived, hot and blessedly caffeinated. William burned his tongue but didn’t especially care. Coffee had always been his one true vice, the one thing he wanted, knew he shouldn’t have, and couldn’t quite give up. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the rich, bitter flavor. He imagined he could feel his veins singing in happiness. Oddly, the song sounded a lot like the one Colby had been humming in the car.

“I’ve seen guys look less blissed out than that after a really good orgasm.”

William opened his eyes to glare. He looked around, but if any of the other customers had heard what Colby said, they weren’t reacting. “I need to buy a coffeemaker,” William said.

“Yeah, Frank’s will have one. How come you didn’t bring yours with you to JV?”

“JV?”

“Jelley’s Valley. See, now that you’re a local we can let you in on our secret lingo.”

“Oh.”

“So why no coffeemaker?”

After taking another soothing swallow, William answered carefully. “I didn’t have one before I came. I used to just go out for coffee.” That was sort of true. A few years back he and Lisa had splurged on a really nice Italian machine, the programmable kind that brewed coffee and espresso and probably did your income taxes if you punched the right buttons. Naturally, Lisa had kept it when he left. And during those miserable weeks of living in his office, he did go out for coffee, buying it from a campus vendor when he could afford it, pouring it from the burner in the graduate student lounge when he was broke.

“I guess that’s one of the advantages of living in civilization. You can go out for stuff.” Colby seemed neither sarcastic nor sad, just matter-of-fact.

“Have you really lived here your whole life?”

Colby had been slurping at his soft drink; now he smiled around the straw. “Why? You figure I’m a little too colorful for JV?”

“Maybe,” William answered cautiously.

“I thought so too, when I was a kid. Couldn’t wait to shake the dust from my feet. I graduated high school early, when I was only sixteen. Took off for the bright lights. San Francisco—homo heaven, right?”

“And your family let you go?”

Colby shrugged. “Dad was dead. Mom was remarried, to a truck driver. He has a house up in Redding but he spends most of the time on the road. Mom too. They’ve got their rig all set up like a little apartment, practically. It’s pretty cool. And Grandma and Grandpa, they were a little overwhelmed with me, I think.” He batted his eyelashes, which were unnaturally long. “I was just too fabulous for them to deal with.”

The waitress came to the table and plopped down laden plates. She pulled ketchup and mustard bottles from her apron pocket and set them on the table. “Anything else?”

“We’re good for now,” said Colby.

Author Spotlight: LE Franks and Prodigal Wolves

This may be a relatively small community of writers, though it’s growing in scope all the time, but it certainly has some of the biggest hearts. I met Jessica in person at the Gay Romance Literary Retreat last year in Albuquerque, NM; I’d read her books, followed her on twitter, and meeting her in person was a treat. I was grateful for her advice at the time, and I’m grateful for her generosity now, letting me share the news of my first published novel, Prodigal Wolf--co-written with Sara York--released last week by MLR Press. Thank you, Jessica!

Prodigal Wolf is the first book in a three book story arc that follows wolf shifter Carlo Montefiore back home to South Carolina from a self-described banishment to one of the finest institutions of higher learning on the west coast. He’s got issues, complaints (valid and otherwise) and he just wants to be left alone. Readers be prepared, Book one in the Wolves & Waves series does not follow formula. There is no easy HEA for Carlo at this point, he’ll have to work at it and this book takes place over three days.  Neither Sara nor myself were willing to rush the development of our main characters so we looked to a younger pair for our romantic entanglement. They come in the form of a two humans, twinks Kevin & Grady, still young and exploring the bonds of friendship and their sexuality, and what can happen when you live next door to a couple of wolves on the prowl. –LE

Official Blurb:

Carlo has a problem, after years away he’s finally returned to his South Carolina roots—but instead of peace and quiet all he’s found are nosy wolves, romancing twinks, an out of control roommate threatening to expose them all, and a demanding Alpha who just won’t go away.

All his Alpha wants is to show Carlo who he really is, and where he belongs. But Carlo Montefiore is a man fighting his instincts, memories, and responsibilities. His beachside home was supposed to provide sanctuary, but pack politics, unruly roommates, and human neighbors at risk of discovering that shifters exist, are making life anything but peaceful. Twinks Kevin and Grady have their own problems. Two college freshmen are no match for a couple of hot wolves who like to play chase. If they don’t stop playing games they’ll miss the biggest thing to happen in their young lives—love.

And Now an Excerpt from:

Prodigal Wolf: Book One of Wolves and Waves 

by LE Franks & Sara York

Joey rolled over, burrowing under the covers and pulling the pillow over his head. Stupid wolf hearing. The problem with wolves was that no one had invented soundproofing strong enough to block out the sound of Carlo one floor below. Not even seven in the morning and already Carlo was pacing and spitting and swearing and waking up the house. Well maybe not the entire house, there wasn’t any sign that Ted had stirred next door. The cute blond was always quietly obvious in his morning rituals—so very Malibu with his morning yoga and humming, before hitting the beach to catch what little surfing was available. Hmm...such a nice thought, all that blond hair and warm tan skin. Almost enough to get him to roll out of bed and see if Ted was awake; well, “up” anyway.... He rolled over, pressing his hips into the mattress. That he and Ted hadn’t taken their explorations past a casual pet or kiss wasn’t troublesome at all. Ted wasn’t the type he would settle down with, but it wouldn’t hurt to get to know the guy on a deeper level.

All thoughts of early morning activities were driven out by the violent crash below, followed shortly by more swearing and a slamming door. Great. Another visit by Hurricane Carlo; forecast for the day: stormy with little chance of fun.

He lay there, eyes closed, breathing quietly, listening to the silence that had settled on the house. He toyed with the idea of getting in a ride before the sun got too high. This week’s training had done him in with over a hundred miles biked, it was more than enough, and the warm bed proved too tempting. Better make the most of it while I can, were his last thoughts before snuggling deeper under his duvet and slipping out of consciousness.

Joey woke again to the sound of pacing. If Carlo didn’t knock it off soon the world would be short one Alpha-Beta. Joey snickered to himself at the pun. Carlo would hate that. He had to remember to use it at the earliest possible moment. It was the least he could do if the fucker kept this up much longer. A quick glance at the clock revealed it had been a full two hours since the pacing had first woken him at six this morning; that was an activity proscribed by the Geneva Convention.

There would be payback.

The blessing of being a wolf was that Joey could now smell coffee within two minutes of optimum brewing, and Carlo’s cinnamon rolls of rage would soon be out of the oven. Apparently this was one of those baking kind of problems for his Alpha and friend. That could only mean one thing... Angelo.

Joey silently trod downstairs, noting a shattered piece of black plastic in the corner of the room—Carlo’s fit? He turned his attention to the kitchen, spying Carlo at the kitchen sink rinsing an antique bread bowl—shoulders and neck stiff, espresso untouched at his elbow. Ted was seated at the kitchen table working wax into his favorite short board, the muscles of his chest and shoulders flexing agreeably as he worked. It was always a treat to see Ted in his surfer boy finest, all tanned skin and low riding board shorts. Ted smiled sweetly as Joey wandered into the kitchen, a tiny smear of frosting at the corner of his mouth reminding Joey of his earlier thoughts that involved cream but not food.

“Morning Teddy Bear!” Joey teased, licking the sweetness from the man’s face, enjoying the taste of the man as much as the sugary frosting.

“Ass,” grumped Ted lightly before the brief lean of affection revealed his sweet happy nature. Such a stereotype, their California recruit who’d followed Carlo home from college and set up camp at the beach house. He patted Ted’s head before moving into the danger zone and hurricane Carlo’s reach.

“Mornin’ Carlo,” Joey purred into his Alpha’s ear before snagging his own roll.

“Coffee,” Carlo jerked his elbow backwards to the carafe,

Joey’s favorite mug sitting next to it. Nice. At least they were going to reap the benefits of this morning’s bitch-off with the top dog... he snickered under his breath, which was a mistake of epic proportions. Shit.

Carlo rounded on him sharply. “You two need to keep your shit together. We have neighbors again, and I don’t want you fucking around like you always do. I have enough trouble with Beaufort without getting reamed out about ‘inappropriate behaviors that risk exposing us to humans.” Something sounding like ‘fucking prick’ slid just under Joey’s audible range and he ignored it to focus on the more interesting part of Carlo’s speech.

“Neighbors?” Joey lifted his eyebrows, hoping they were cute and not another family of six packing overloaded coolers of disgusting prepackaged meat to the beach for an all day roast- off with kids that shrieked every time a little piece of sand got in their eyes. It would be fine if they were roasting real meat, but usually it was their pale skin that took the brunt of the sun as they forgot to reapply sunscreen. Humans.

“Moving in now, across the way,” Carlo jerked his head towards the stretch of land that separated their house from a complex of holiday condos. The one closest to them was unoccupied most of the year, apparently not part of the whole vacation rental industry that seemed to drive the local island economy.

Joey moved to stand beside him at the sink. “Whoa! Dude!” he threw over his shoulder, “Ya gotta check this out—twinkies!!!”

Ted tossed his rag on the board and crowded in to check out the scene. “Sweet!”

***

 Web Pages: 

lefranks.com

SaraYork.com

Twiiter: 

LE Franks is @Boxtersushi   

@sarayork

Facebook:

LE Franks Author Page 

Sara York Author Page

Wolves and Waves Book Series Page

Links to Buy:

Amazon.com

ARe - allromanceebooks.com 

Barnes & Noble for Nook

MLR Press

 

The Clockwork Author: An Interview with Steven Harper

Steven and I go way back to when we were both in the Untitled Writer's Group together. He's a great writer and a wonderful friend and it's a particular pleasure to welcome him to the blog today. Steven has a new book out and it sounds terrific, so, Steven, without further ado, tell us about THE DOOMSDAY VAULT. We're in London, 1867.  Alice Michaels is the daughter of a down-and-out baron.  She and her father are social outcasts because the rest of her family died of the clockwork plague.  It was years ago and she doesn't have the disease, but polite society won't touch her now anyway.  In desperation, Alice's father wrangles her an invitation to one last high-society ball in the hope she can break back into the right crowd.  She does meet a rather nice young man, but on the way home, she's attacked by zombies, and-- Wait--clockwork plague?  Zombies? Yeah.  About a hundred years ago, a new plague tore through the world.  It eats the brain and the body, causing oozing sores and dementia.  Out of that, you get zombies.  Everyone calls it the clockwork plague because for maybe one victim in a hundred thousand, the plague makes the brain come together instead of fly apart, and the victim becomes absolutely brilliant--but only for a short time.  For a few months they invent like crazy--automatons, coal-driven computers, clockwork animals--then go completely insane and die. Mad scientists. We call them clockworkers, to be polite.  Clockwork plague.  At any rate, Alice runs into an underground police force called the Third Ward.  They . . . harvest clockworkers and their inventions for the good of the British Empire.  And they want Alice to work for them. Meanwhile, a young man named Gavin Ennock, who is seventeen, works as a cabin boy on an American airship.  En route to England, the ship is captured by pirates.  Gavin eventually escapes into the mean streets of London, but his only other skill is playing the fiddle, and he's in dire straits.  No money, no shelter, no job, and winter is coming.  He has undeveloped talents, though, and he eventually comes to the Third Ward's attention.  Trouble is, the Third Ward has a number of secrets, ones that can topple empires.  Alice and Gavin are in more trouble than they know. How did you get started writing steampunk? I'd read quite a lot of steampunk, and then was invited to submit to a steampunk anthology called THE SHADOW CONSPIRACY at Book View Café.  I wrote a novella called "The Soul Jar," and it was so much fun, I had to do more.  At first I thought about writing more in the same universe as "The Soul Jar," but that was fraught with legal complications--SHADOW is a shared-universe anthology--so I created my own world.  I was glad I did.  THE SHADOW CONSPIRACY is still available, incidentally, at http://www.bookviewcafe.com Where did THE DOOMSDAY VAULT come from? That annoying DHX noise.  You know, that electronic sound they used to play at the beginning of movies?  My son is autistic and that noise causes him active pain--autists process sensory information differently than neuro-typical people.  I started researching sound as a result and learned that the DHX noise is based on something called a Shepard tone.  It's the auditory equivalent of a barber's pole, which has no beginning and no end.  More reading turned up the relationship between the Shepard tone, the square root of two, and a tritone, which is sometimes called the Devil's Interval because it's so ugly.  The tritone is a paradox--its vibration rate is based on the square root of two, an irrational number.  Irrational numbers can't quite exist, but they do.  I wondered if that paradox caused the pain for my son.  His autism gives him perfect pitch, you see, and he's hyper-aware of the impossibility in a Shepard tone. And then the book started to come together.  I created Gavin, a young man with perfect pitch (but who isn't autistic) and a group of mad scientists who can't bear the sound of a tritone.  I created Alice, a woman who wants back into a society she dislikes--another paradox.  The story went from there. You often explore non-traditional relationships in your fiction. Your Silent Empire series, for example, revolves around a gay male couple.  Is that true for THE DOOMSDAY VAULT, too? I can't seem to work with traditional relationships.  (laughs)  It's true, yes.  Alice is in her twenties, and she meets Gavin when he's only seventeen.  They fall for each other pretty hard. A younger man with an older woman. Yep.  It's another paradox, actually.  I ran into controversy with this even before the book was published.  My editor said she wanted to buy the book but felt Gavin was too young for Alice.  My writers group criticized this aspect of the book for the same reason, claiming it was too squicky for a twenty-something woman to get into a relationship with a seventeen-year-old guy.  I pointed out that in the Victorian era, no one would have said a word if Gavin were in his twenties and Alice were seventeen.  Why should there be a problem for modern readers with the reverse?  Aren't we all for equality?  This inequality, of course, causes conflict in Alice and Gavin's relationship, since the Victorians would have objected to the relationship, too.   In order to placate my editor, I did have Gavin turn eighteen soon after he and Alice meet, and a year passes in the book, so he's actually nineteen some time into their relationship, but some of my beta readers still protested.  Interesting, isn't it? What do you do when you aren't writing? My day job is teaching high school English.  And I've recently become a single dad.  Between the day job and three sons, I'm pretty busy.  I ride my bike and play City of Heroes, the on-line video game, when I have a little free time. What's up next? I just turned in the final version of THE IMPOSSIBLE CUBE, the second Clockwork Empire book.  It's due out in May, 2012.  Now I'm working on THE DRAGON MEN, the third book.  Watch for them! Thank you, Steven Harper. Steven Harper usually lives at http://www.theclockworkempire.com and http://spiziks.livejournal.com .  His steampunk novel THE DOOMSDAY VAULT, first in the Clockwork Empire series, hit the stores in print and electronic format November 1.

 

Author Spotlight: Angela Plowman

 

Please Join me in welcoming the delightful Angela Plowman, here to talk about her first novel. A regency paranormal with a young shapshifter who passes himself off as a catamite in order to get close to the man of his dreams. It's delish!

A Wolf in the Fold is available now from Loose Id.

 Here's a blurb:

When dissolute romantic Henry Garrett enjoys a hot night of illicit sex with a hired whore he thinks it will end there. What he does not expect is for his one-night stand to follow him home and turn his life upside down, leading him down a path of self discovery with consequences quite beyond his wildest romantic imaginings.

Gabriel is wild, sexy, knows what he wants and is not afraid to bend over to get it but he could be more of a danger than even Henry thinks. Because there is something dangerous in the woods of Garrett Hall, and it just could be that Henry’s wild lover is a threat to more than his lifestyle. Sado-masochism may not be the only secret pretty Gabriel was hiding.

Angie is giving away a free e-copy of A Wolf in the Fold here today. To enter to win, please leave a comment on this post and include your email address.

And Don't miss the excerpt at the bottom of the post. But first, here's an interview where Angie bares all. Ooooh!

Why do you write? 

I have no idea. 

Because I have to.  Because I am breathing.  I have never  not written.

What do you like to read?

Classical literature – English, Chinese, or American; m/m; and Yaoi manga.

What is your most embarrassing experience as an author? 

I am still waiting for it – I am sure it will happen soon.  I am a wonder for putting my foot in it. It’s an almost pathological condition for me.  I sometimes think I am not quite from the same planet as everyone else – so I am bund to embarrass myself to total death any day now.

I did once think I had accidentally emailed a Frodo/Aragorn story to my father-in-law. 

OMG!

As they say – “To err is human, but to really foul up takes a computer”.  I hadn’t but for a while there I was planning how I could get into the witness protection scheme or if I should just kill myself on the spot.

What is your favourite guilty pleasure?

Yaoi.  I am such a perv.  Katrina Stauss of ‘Blue Ruin’ fame pointed me in the direction of Manga.  It took me a while to get it.  For quite a while I have had a thing for oriental cultures and for m/m.  Then I realised the two could combine. 

Do they say anything worth having is wroth working for?  Well, it took me a while to figure out the appeal of fandom slash – and then I was all for it, especially “Wiseguy” and then “Lord of the Rings”.  Then it took me a while to figure out m/m fiction on LooseID – and I was such a goner.  Then it took me a while to figure out Manga Yaoi – now I have quite the collection.  I just had to pay for excess baggage coming back from New York with a suitcase full of the stuff.I love the stories with humour to them – and if they have hot sex too then I am perfectly happy.  If you can have Yaoi set in a 19^th century English country house then I guess that is what “Wolf at the Door” is.  A cross between Yaoi, Emily Bronte and Saki.  Now there is a ghastly image.  My sister did suggest I call the book “Buggering Heights.”

That's a great title. What was one of your favourite books as a kid?

“The Hobbit”.  Heck – still is one of my favourite books.

Funny, I just reread it for the first time in years. It is charmingly written. I love how he handled the omniscient viewpoint.

But we digress. Back you your interview, young lady.

Now, why do you think m/m is so popular? *Folds arms, taps foot and looks stern.*

Cause we are a monumental bunch of pervs? (Good answer!) Because there are no boring descriptions of female bits?  As a friend said “I have those parts myself, I want to play with different ones.”  Lovely yummy male bits whereever you look.

And do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic?  If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?

Could that most embarrassing thing as a writer be about to happen?  I can hardly believe some of the rubbish I have written.  “Airwolf”, “Battlestar Galactica.”  I really hope that stuff has vanished without a trace by now in the world of zines – ahh, those pre-internet days?  Most recently it was “Lord of the Rings.”  One hundred and sixty Frodo centered short stories to be exact.  That was a busy 6 years, but we had so much fun.  And I do have to blame the hobbit for leading me to LooseID.  I followed the furry feet of a fellow fan fiction writer and ended up in a world weirder than Middle Earth and a lot hotter than the flames of Mount Doom.

What is your proudest moment as an author?

Maybe it comes along with the most embarrassing moment.  You see, I did tell my parents I had an eBook accepted for publication (just not what sort of eBook).  My dad was very chuffed.  So chuffed, he has been telling everyone about it.  We went on holiday together at the beginning of this year and I found out one night he had told half the blasted boat about it.  On one hand, that is so great – my dad being proud of me; on the other hand, what if he ever found out exactly what I have written?  I think I would go up in a puff of smoke. 

So far I have got away with it by telling my parents it is a romance and so they need not bother to read it as I know it would not interest them.  Neither of them read much now-a-days so I may have got away with it.

Actually – yes, my proudest moment as an author was when dad edited a fantasy story for me and put a post it note on it saying “good story”.  I think that was the first time my dad had ever praised me.

What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on readers?

I hope they like my characters and find them attractive and interesting.  Hey, I hope it gets them all hot and bothered – and gives them a laugh.  I have no idea if the humour will translate.  Brits have an odd sense of humour.  I could not write anything like this without my tongue being firmly in my cheek – but will that have come over? 

I hope people will enjoy it and maybe love Gabriel a little.  He is my 19^th century twink and I am totally in love with him myself.  He’s sensual and gorgeous, passionate and sensitive.  He knows what he wants and is not afraid to go for it.  I just hope he comes over the way I want him to.  He is teasing and naughty but also totally devoted to his Master.  To me he seems so alive.

He seems very alive to me in the excerpt. I had an immediate sense of who he was and I wanted to know more about him.

I will let you in on a little secret no one else knows.  Until he men Henry my Gabriel was a virgin.  That hot night in the inn was his first time.  He fell in love with Henry at first spank.

Kirk, or Spock? 

Easy one that.  Kirk until the end of time and beyond.

Click below for a luscious excerpt from Angela's Buggering Heights A Wolf in the Fold.

Please note, by clicking the link below, you certify that you are eighteen years of age or older, and that it is legal for you to view sexually explicit material.

Author Spotlight: S. Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore

This month I have two awesome authors that taste great together! Uh... Write great together? Yeah, let's go with that. Please welcome S. Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore, co-authors of The Slipstream Con, an m/m/f menage availabe now from Samhain Publishing.

Blurb for The Slipstream Con:

Is love the biggest con of them all?

A Ylendrian Empire story.

For three years, Kellen Frey has led bounty hunters Tal and Vanya on a merry chase, evading capture with flair and style. Now, just when they finally have their pet project—and object of their mutual fantasies—cornered, the elusive con artist turns the tables and gives himself up. A sudden attack of conscience, perhaps? Tal and Vanya know better.

Their suspicions are confirmed when a crime lord comes dangerously close to killing them all, and the rapidly sickening thief is forced to confess the truth—he’s been accidentally dosed with a highly illegal form of nanotechnology.

If Kellen can’t get his hands on another dose, he’s finished. The problem is, the only thief who’s ever broken in to Slipstream Labs is his ex-girlfriend, and she’s allergic to bounty hunters. As he does his best to play both sides, he struggles with his growing desire to be more than a prisoner to Tal and Vanya. Without trust, they won’t survive long. The clock is ticking as they race to uncover a conspiracy that spans the Ylendrian Empire.

Don't miss the excerpt from The Slipstream Con at the bottom of the post. But first, let's find out a bit more about Michelle and Reesa.

Tell us about your recent publication.

Michelle: The Slipstream Con is most definitely a scifi romance.  It’s also a scifi caper story (think “White Collar” or “Oceans 11” in space).  And last but certainly not least, it’s a ménage story.  Apparently a very unusual ménage story in that it’s sweet and all three characters are equal partners.  Well, and it’s not x-rated.  Readers have shared with us that they like this, and that makes me happy.

Oh, the hub and I love White Collar! And I don't know if I've ever heard of a sweet menage story. Way to work the market, ladies!

My favorite reader quote: 

This was my first ménage book, and I was a little leery at first. I go crazy for the "always and forever" kind of romance, so I wasn't too sure how I'd like the emotional side of love being split three ways. But the attraction between Frey, Tal and Vanya was so instantaneous -- so REAL -- that it drew me in right away.

Nice!

What gave you the idea for this story?

M: I think this was a case where the story and the characters developed simultaneously.  Usually I’m a character-first person, so it’s really cool when the characters show up with a plot in tow!  That saves a lot of time, since I'm not sitting around thinking "Oh, wow, these are some awesome kick-ass characters.  Um… what should they do?"  Tal and Vanya showed up with their own agenda, and goodness knows Kellen had his.  The fact that they all collided was sheer perfection. 

How did you start writing?

M: I started writing stories as soon as I learned to read.  The thought of being able to create people and worlds fascinated me then, and the glow has never faded.  My aunt still has copies of stories my cousin and I wrote during a car trip to Florida when we were five.

So even then you were collaborating. Very interesting... (That last bit was in an Austrian accent, and I was wearing glasses, scribbling in a notebook, and smoking a cigar, in case you missed it.)

Thank goodness for Reesa, though!  We’ve been writing together for well over 15 years, and I’m not sure I would’ve ever finished anything I was happy with without her.  We started out by role playing characters we’d created, and our writing styles meshed so perfectly that it was only a matter of time before we started creating stories for a wider audience.  The realization that other people wanted to read what we loved writing is one that still makes me incredibly happy.

How wonderful!

If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?

M: Promoting!  I HATE it.  It’s stressful and I end up getting so tense and anxious over it that I start doubting my writing ability, and end up sitting staring into space with my brain all jellified.  It’s not pretty.  I want to write.  I don’t want to waste creativity and time thinking up marketing schemes that I’m not qualified for.  I doubt I have the skills to sell candy to small children, much less likely my books (however much I love and believe in them) to a potentially indifferent public.  I keep hoping the publisher will do that.  Or maybe my mom… 

Ah, but you're here now, and doing a great job. :)

Who is your favorite character, and why?

Reesa:  Of our own characters, I'd have to go for Kellen Frey at the moment.  He's slick, but not as slick as he thinks he is.  He's handsome, but… well, okay, he probably is as handsome as he thinks he is.  He's got charm to spare, but it's tempered with sarcasm and a bit of an absurdist streak.  Throw in the quick wit and a faulty moral compass, and I'm sold. 

Picking a favourite out of someone else's cast, I think I'd go with Captain Malcolm Reynolds.  For a lot of the same reasons, but also because he rocked a pretty floral bonnet, and understood that family could be created, not just born into.

Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic?  If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?

R:  I've read in fandoms too varied and expansive to list.  My current main fandoms are Pysch (Shawn/Lassiter, Shawn/Gus, or gen), White Collar (Neal/Peter/Elizabeth, or really, anything the fandom throws at me), Merlin (Merlin/Arthur), and my recurring love for due South, Supernatural, and Harry Potter.  I've written for due South, Supernatural, Harry Potter, Firefly, Psych, Buffy, Shelter (movie), the X-Files, and Smokey and the Bandit. (Yes, you read that right.)  I love fandom, and (on its good days) the sense of community and support it provides.  There are things I don't like about it, too, but my 17 years in fandom have been mainly positive, and not only made me the person I am today, but a better person than the one I would have been without it.

I've been dipping into the White Collar fanfic myself recently. Yummy. And I agree that the community is very supportive of its writers. Pretty awesome, really.

What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on readers?

R:  We've now had two readers tell us that they stayed up past their bedtimes because they couldn't put our books down.  That was absolutely one of my goals as a writer, and I'm chuffed to be told about it. 

Author C.B. Potts once asked for people to tell her what story meant to them.  The best answer I could think of was that story was more than what happens between the first line and "the end."  Story, to me, is all the unexplored little broken bits that come before and after, and shape the narrative you're writing.  I guess my hope is that a reader will walk away from our writing with more than just the book they read - that the story before and after will intrigue them and stay with them, too.  In a way, it ties in with the question about fandom.  I think a lot of fans like to explore the places between the story they've been given, and the one they can envision before or after it.  I hope that we've left them those places, and created that desire to explore with us.

Terrific interview, Michelle and Reesa. Thank you! 

Excerpt - The Slipstream Con by S. Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore
He froze, eyes slamming closed, but not fast enough for Vanya to miss the flash of pain. Impossible to tell if it was physical or mental distress, especially when he hunched over, pulling his knees up to his chin, face buried. “Would it be possible to continue this conversation a little later? I’m not—” A ragged breath interrupted whatever he was going to say.

When Frey didn’t continue, Vanya frowned, fingers trailing across the lock pad indecisively. There was a reason it had taken as long as it had for them to run him down—the man had conned the best. She’d also spent a lot of years trusting her instincts, and right now they weren’t flashing any warning signs. Transferring the tool kit to her other hand, she keyed in the code, slipped through the door and waited for it to close behind her before she stepped over to the bed.

“Please go away, Vanya. Please.” There was little left of the cultured voice, replaced by rough desperation.

Vanya sighed and shook her head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” It wasn’t a good idea to be reaching down and brushing a hand through Frey’s hair either, but there she was, doing it anyway.

His skin was hot under her fingertips, hotter still against her palm when he turned his face into her hand with a small, inarticulate sound. “Go. Away.” In direct contrast to his words, he was leaning into her, his weight almost pushing her off balance.

“You’re sending me really mixed signals here.” She let him rest his head against her hip, feeling the heat through her clothes. “On the one hand, Tal was right, the sick-prisoner bit has to be the oldest con in the books. On the other, that doesn’t seem like a fake fever, and we’re not so far from the station that we can’t turn around and get you medical care.”

“No.” Hands shaking, he used her leg for leverage, fingers slipping along the curve of her thigh as he pushed himself back against the wall. “If you want your bounty, the last place you should set foot on again is that station.” He laughed, forcing himself to sit upright, and she admired the fact that he could maintain even this level of composure. “Damn it, Vanya, you’re not stupid. Why the hell are you in here with a prisoner, unarmed? You have no idea what I’ve got, and you’re not in a contagion suit.”

“Did you just try to frisk me? Nice. I appreciate your concern for my safety. What you don’t have is any known communicable disease. The ship’s systems run a scan on all new passengers as they come aboard, and you’re not carrying anything it recognizes as contagious. So I’ll ask you the same thing Tal asked—is this withdrawal?”

“I don’t know what the fuck this is!” The explosion startled her, not for the vehemence so much as the language. Frey was known for his manners, and in all the years they’d spent building their construct of his life, not a single person had ever mentioned him being anything less than polished and elegant. Watching him fall apart was disarming, as she was sure he’d intended if he were trying to work the situation. As authentic as it seemed, he was that good, and she couldn’t discount the possibility.

“Poison? The scan wouldn’t have gotten that.” She folded her arms across her chest. The tool kit was still clutched in one hand, and his eyes tracked it for just a second too long. “Oh, now that’s just cold. She poisoned you?”

“She’s in over her head. She asked me to do her a favor, but I don’t think she knew—” The startled grunt of pain cut off any words, and if he was faking the way his pupils blew wide, he was better than anyone could have ever dreamed. She dropped the kit and fell to her knees next to the bed as he dwindled down into the mattress. Breathing only in rapid, shallow gasps, he looked terrified.

“Tal, get in here.” Trusting the ship to carry her message, she pulled out her notebook, already accessing the nav systems to turn them around to the station.

Frey’s hand fell across hers, and he shook his head, beyond words.

“You want to die? Neither of us is a medic, Frey.”

He still shook his head, and she was ready to pass it off as a seizure when his fingers landed on the screen of her notebook, and he froze.

Thundering footsteps pounded down the corridor, and Tal appeared outside the glass, fumbling the code once before he got the door open and came in, gun drawn and leveled on Frey.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. He’s not,” Vanya said.

Frey’s hand was locked around her notebook, and the lines in his face were smoothing out, the shudders fading little by little. Vanya attempted to pry his fingers loose, dropping both his hand and the computer when it proved akin to trying to yank something out of a vise. Tal pulled her back. The room smelled of burning plastic, and the screen of her notebook cracked under the pressure of Frey’s fingertips. He gave a final shudder, and the device fell to the floor, destroyed. His hand dangled open off the side of the bed, the fingertips as blistered as if they’d been scorched, and though his eyes were closed, his breathing had returned to something like normal.

“What the fuck just happened?” Tal echoed her own sentiments exactly. If she’d had even the slightest idea, she would have told him.

Author Spotlight: Tara Lain

Tara Lain was so delightful last month, I just had to have her back to celebrate her new release, Volley Balls, part of Etopia Press's Beach Bums series. Sounds like a perfect beach read, Tara!

Blurb: David Underwood needs to go to AA – Alpha-lovers Anonymous, but his ogling of two Australian volleyball players on Laguna Beach gets him harassed and terrified he might be in for a repeat of his previous abusive relationship. Australian, Gareth Marshall needs to come out. A lifetime of hiding his orientation from his best friend and volleyball partner, Edge, as well as everyone else around him, has left him hurt and frustrated. When Gareth gets a load of David posing nude as the Michelangelo statue in the famous Laguna Pageant of the Masters, he knows his hiding days are numbered. But Edge has his own secrets, and may just take them out on the two lovers. And David's ex-lover has some nasty plans of his own. With everything stacked against them, can a gay Laguna guy find happiness with an Aussie alpha male – or two?

Don't miss the excerpt from Volley Balls at the bottom of the post, but first, let's shine the spotlight on Tara:

Tell us about your recent publication.

My new novella, Volley Balls, is an M/M/M ménage that answers the question, “Can a gay guy from Laguna Beach find happiness with an Aussie alpha male … or two?” It started out to be a total froth of a summer romance, but I tend to get pretty deep into my characters so I found out that they had a lot of pain. One of them had been in an abusive relationship and the other had been hiding in the closet for his whole life. Consequently, some serious themes crept in. But the story is still fast-moving and fun, I think.

What gave you the idea for this story?

My friend, Selena Illyria, invited me to submit a story for the Beach Bums Anthology from Etopia Press. To lure me, she sent a drool-worthy video advertising Aussie Bum swim trunks. After watching it, I was no longer of sound mind and agreed to write this book in 30 days! My ace in the hole is I live at the beach and that was the theme that ties all the stories together. So I borrowed from my town. Laguna is an art colony, so my hero, David, owns a gallery and poses nude in the famous Pageant of the Masters art show. There’s also a great beach here where people play basketball and volleyball. I conceived of my very gay Laguna guy ogling the volleyball players and launched into Volley Balls.

Why do you write?

I was a writer, even as a young girl. Writing was the skill that got me through school and college because even when I was pulling an all-nighter (that was often, by the way) I could write well enough to express ideas clearly and get good grades. I never studied writing. It was just a part of me, like having green eyes or brown hair. After college, I started writing presentations for trade shows and industrial films, then went into advertising, all using my writing skills. But I never wrote a book because when you write all day it’s tough to write at night and on weekends too.  Then, a few years ago, I started reading EROM. It lit me up. For the first time I wanted to put my long-held fantasies on paper (computer actually). I conceived an idea for a book about an older woman and a younger man, both scientists. Then I read a male/male book and I was HOOKED! I wanted to add another man to the story. Genetic Attraction was born – my first book, a M/M/F ménage that was published this past January.

Who has inspired you, and how?

I sing their praises all the time – the great writers who have inspired me. That first male/male book was by Jet Mykles. It’s called Heaven and I still adore it. From Jet I learned the kind of heroes I wanted to write—beautiful, complex and a little over the top. Then I read Lynn Lorenz and added another layer of inspiration to the emotional depth of characterization I wanted to achieve. And then there’s ZAM. ZA Maxfield writes with a sassy, conversational style. Her language choices make me drool and I love her complicated characters often wrapped in elegantly simple stories. I read these writers before I ever wrote a line and they inspired me. Today, there are so many more I can’t begin to name them. We have some pretty cool writers in erotic romance.

What do you like about m/m?

I love the lack of gender roles in male/male. Since the relationship is undefined by society, my guys can relate to each other as they want to. I love wandering around inside a man’s head and heart. People say “don’t make them chicks with dicks” but I read an interview the other day with a young male model who was talking about his boyfriend. No woman could have been more heartfelt, emotional or sentimental in expression than this guy was. I love exploring that diversity. Showing the depth of feeling men experience trying to break out of the norms of expression expected of them. And I love men! Why not have three?  LOL

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I love chai lattes from Starbucks, nice and cold at this time of year. I can drink one a day. And here’s a real blusher. When I am absolutely fried and can’t write another word (I write in my day job too) I sit in front of the TV and watch “Say Yes to the Dress” marathons. It has no redeeming social significance and it’s impossible to think while watching it. 

To what/whom do you credit your success?

I have to give a huge amount of credit to publisher, Loose Id, and my wonderful editor there.  I submitted my first book to them because they published all my favorite authors. I got an email back telling me the problems with the book and, disappointed, I replied to the editor who sent it thanking them so much and saying I hoped there would be a chance to work together in the future. I was too dumb and new to realize I’d gotten a revise and resubmit! She quickly emailed back saying “Wait! This is a good thing. Revise the manuscript and resubmit it.” Problem was, I had so little experience in fiction writing that I didn’t understand the notes. So I took myself back to school online in workshops on point-of-view and pacing and fiction style. The editor even slipped me a few essays on POV.  I worked hard on the book and resubmitted it. Yahoo! They accepted it in a week. And I have written four more books for them since, all of which have been accepted. Without that encouragement and guidance, I would never have learned what I needed to know to be a published writer.

And here's a yummy excerpt from Volley Balls. Enjoy!

“And then I completely reorganized the accounts payable reporting system and my supervisor was ecstatic. I mean it was a whole redo of the Excel, and she said you can’t have too many Excel shortcuts to suit her, and…”

David stifled his sigh, hoping that his blind date wouldn’t hear. He liked accounting, honest, but Mark had an enthusiasm for the subject that qualified as superhuman. And Rodney, the little turd, had sent his apologies for feeling “under the weather” and unable to join them. Probably became afflicted after spending five minutes listening to Mark extol the virtues of tax records.

Since Mark was now explaining his system by drawing on the white cloth table cover, David let his eyes steal around the restaurant and bar. He caught a glimpse of a very tall man with dark hair. Shit, was that… When he tried to see where the dark man had gone, there was nobody. Hell, he was shrinking from shadows since that guy had yelled at him yesterday.

“David?”

He looked back at Mark who now gazed at him with disappointed puppy eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I got distracted because, frankly, I need a men’s room and couldn’t quite remember where the facilities are in this place.”

Mark looked a little mollified. He pointed toward the entrance by the bar. “I think it’s over there. Shall I order another round while you’re gone?”

If he had the balls of a mosquito he’d say ‘no, I have to leave,’ but he was a wuss. And he’d been kicked in the teeth so many times by guys that he couldn’t bear to do it to someone who was only trying to be nice. “Sure. That’d be great.”

Since he knew exactly where the men’s room was in this place, he walked straight toward it. He could stand to pee and he could stand a break from Excel spreadsheets. He went in, used the equipment, and washed up very slowly. The men’s room door opened and the bar’s music sounded louder.

David grabbed a hand towel, dried, and turned to leave.

Leaning against the wall by the door, blocking his exit, was “the friend.” The delicious, terrifying, dark-haired beach guy, sporting an inscrutable grin.

Holy shit.

David, half-scared and half-angry, demanded, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

The grin got wider showing off white teeth that David kind of wished were the better to eat him with.

What was he thinking?

“I followed you.”

“You what? Jesus, get away from me. Let me out of here.” But David couldn’t force his leaden legs to get out the damned door. In fact, he stepped back a couple feet.

The guy pushed off from the wall and started toward him.

David put up his hands. “You’re nuts. You can’t get away with beating up gay men in Laguna. This isn’t some Neanderthal country. You’ll get arrested, do you hear me?”

The guy paused and frowned. “Who said anything about beating you up?”

“How about your fucking friend?”

The guy started toward David again. Shit, when you didn’t want them there were six guys in line at the urinal. Now? Nobody.

“Hey, he’s not me. Understand?” It sounded like understend.

The guy reached him and David pressed back against the wall. Trapped. Maybe he could slip to the side. David turned his head, but rough, callused fingers touched his cheek, then began a slow, exploratory caress over his cheekbones. “So perfect.”

David gasped. What did the guy say? “What?” He turned only his eyes toward the Aussie and saw him gazing at David’s face like some painting in his gallery.

“I saw you last night. At that art thingy. I thought you were perfect. These cheekbones. That ass. God, I wanted you so bad.”

What? What the fuck? Of all the fucking nerve… David shoved off the wall, hands firmly planted on his hips. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re gay? Running around harassing innocent people with that band of delinquents, and you’re a closet fag? Give me a break!”

“No, mate, give me a break.” And the guy’s hand slipped around David’s head and pulled him straight into strong arms.

A seeking mouth closed over his lips and the first touch robbed him of air.

David would have sputtered if he could breathe. His hands came up to push the guy away, but shit, the Aussie was strong. Those big hands held him still, not hurting him, but not letting him go, and soft, oh-so-soft lips stroked back and forth against David’s closed mouth. Then he felt a gentle tongue teasing at the tight seam of his closed mouth.

He tried to push away, honest he did, but oh my God…He moaned. This shouldn’t feel so good. The guy was a poser, an identity thief. David couldn’t want a man like this. Not again. But he was hungry and those lips were a feast, a meal of luscious, delicious sweetness he hadn’t tasted is so-o-o long.

Maybe never. The tongue teased and pressed persuasively. Resist, resist…

Total surrender. David’s lips parted and that hot tongue pressed deep into his mouth. Every dormant cell flamed to life with heat and feeling, his cock leading the way. He couldn’t think. Too much smoke from the fire.

His hands slipped into that dark, silky mane as David fit his mouth more perfectly to the Aussie’s. That marauding tongue explored until it caressed David’s completely, teasing and dominating. A rough hand grabbed his butt and pulled him onto his tiptoes until his cock could fit beside the bigger man’s. Hard. Hot. They both went nuts, rubbing their cocks together. Oh shit, it felt good. He tasted so good. Pictures formed in David’s mind. Him dropping to his knees and sucking until the man’s eyes rolled up in his head. His body draped over the sink with the Aussie’s hot cock buried in his ass. Oh God, he wanted…

What the hell? What was he doing? Crap. No. No.

He ripped his mouth from the guy’s. The sheer unexpectedness of it gave David momentum to break away and take a few quick steps toward the door. “No, asshole. Get away from me. I do not do this. I don’t go with men who aren’t proud of who and what they are. Not anymore. Never again. Go back to your closet and play with your volleyballs.”

Author Spotlight: Valentina Heart

 

Please join me in welcoming Valentina Heart to Friskbiskit's Author Spotlight. Valentina is a relatively new author, but she's busting out all over the place with four releases all within a few months of one another. Dreamspinner published her Eyes of an Innocent last September, and  Sebastian's Wolves in February. And her book Memories will be released by Silver Publishing on Mar. 12.

But today she's here to talk about Looking For Adventure, which came out from Loose Id on Valentines Day. Here's a blurb. Follow the link at the bottom of the post for a free excerpt from the book.

After being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Jonathan looks back on his career-focused life and sees nothing but empty years behind him. His desire for success has left him without a single happy memory, and completely alone.

While shocked by the news, he stumbles into Nino: a man without a steady job, without a permanent home and, as happy as a person can be. On the spur of the moment they set off to an adventure by the sea, with good food, loads of sun, and rising attraction. Only both hide secrets from each other as they fight against the sparks that keep on lighting the flames.

They set out for some fun, but found the adventure of both of their lives...

 

And now, the interview:

Tell us about your recent publication.

Looking for Adventure is my longest published book so far. I would also dare to say it is the best. The idea didn't come from a movie or a book; it was a collection of experiences which I wanted to share with people who have never visited my country, Croatia.

I focused on the beauty of one of the islands here and modified my own memories to better fit the story. But the feeling I had when I spent my summer there was very real and I think I managed to give the characters as good a time as I had.

Imagine what it would be like to let go for one summer, forget about work, problems and all the other baggage we carry daily. And instead experience all those things you never even hoped you would. You have the sun, the sea and a gorgeous man by your side to stir your imagination to heights you never even knew it could go.

That is what this book is about; finding yourself even when you didn't know you were lost, and falling in love next to the whisper of the waves in the heat of summer.

What do you like about m/m?

When I first started reading m/m, I liked the sex best. It was something completely new and intriguing which made me squirm and look around the room even though I knew I was alone.

Now, I like the challenge. Almost every m/m relationship has to fight prejudice, self-conflicts and even violence. It keeps things interesting when compared to m/f romances where you have a lot less to work with. Contemporaries are my favorite but paranormal and fantasy make great refreshment.

Compared to the beginning, sex now has to be surprising, shocking or right down perverse to rock my boat. But that’s the way I like my books anyway, kinky to the bone. ;)

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Chocolates with liquor in them, because they are just too good to be true, and… kinky movies (but that’s all I’m saying about that one).

Was there a time when you almost gave up?  What made you keep going?

I almost gave up the second time Eyes of an Innocent got turned down. It was a rough time for me, because I’d had two more stories rejected around the same time, and Eyes of an Innocent was very dear to me. It was a kick that kept me from writing for a while and there were a lot of those ‘what was I thinking’ moments when I doubted every positive comment I’ve ever gotten about my stories.

There was also the language barrier. The early books are pretty raw; something I notice now when I read them, but couldn’t have recognized then. And I felt like a complete failure.

I allowed myself some time to feel like crap, but I guess I’m a stubborn Leo who always has something to prove. So I decided to send Eyes of an Innocent again until there were no more publishers around. ;) Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary because the next was Dreamspinner Press and they liked the story.

In those difficult moments, my biggest support was my friend Suzana and my boyfriend. They kept pushing and saying all the right things at the right time. Also, my friendship with Jade Archer helped. The two of us had started this thing together and look at us now. ;)

What was one of your favorite books as a kid?

Those were mostly Croatian authors, books that were never published in English. I’m not sure if 14 is young enough, but at that age I’d bought my copy of Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. It was a softcover translated into Croatian and it blew my mind. This was not long after the war, when having a computer at home was only a vague notion and something I didn’t even think about. It was my first vampire book and ultimately the one that changed the direction of my interest when it came to reading. I still have that copy and it was read so many times the pages are falling out ;) But even today it is one of my favorites.

Who is your favorite character, and why?

I’m not sure if this is referring to my characters or those I’ve read about? In any case, it is something to think about.

I can’t say this is my final decision, but a character I’ve felt strongly about was Hsin Liu Vega (aka “Sin”) from Evenfall by Sonny & Ais. It’s a free read on their webpage and quite long.

Why him? He’s so tortured it breaks my heart. But on the other hand, very emotional and compassionate, despite all his training and the cruelty he was raised in. The world is always against Sin, but Sin can handle it and more. Even if I haven’t picked him for my favorite character, he would have been the coolest one. You see, Sin is tough, gorgeous, mysterious and above all deadly. There is just no one like him.

With my books, I like them all, but none of them really jump out. For now, I would have to pick one from the book I’ve just started writing, and unfortunately I can’t even give you a name because it’s not certain it will stay the same by the time I finish it.

What is your proudest moment as an author?

I don’t think I’ve had that one yet. It’s all a lot of disbelief and insecurity. A lot of those ‘people actually like what I’m writing’ moments that never get boring. I might have three published books and two soon to be, but honestly, it doesn’t feel as if I’m someone important, known, or even popular. I’m still just me.

Click below for an excerpt from Looking for Adventure.

Author Spotlight: Kathe Koja

It's with particular pleasure that I welcome Kathe Koja to Friskbiskit's Author Spotlight. Kathe and I have been friends for a long time. Back in the day, when I was a wet-behind-the-ears wannabe and she was a published author, Kathe was a generous and insightful mentor to me. Now I am proud to be her colleague.

When I found out that the new book she was writing included a romance between men, I immediately asked her to do an Author Spotlight. I've been hearing tantalyzing little snippets about Under the Poppy for some time, and now that it's out, I can't wait to read it. You should know that there is also an immersive theatrical production in the works, and be sure to check out the luscious book trailer.

BLURB:

Under the Poppy is the story of orphaned brother and sister Istvan and Decca and their childhood friend, Rupert, set in a Victorian-era brothel called Under the Poppy. The brothel is owned by Decca, who¹s in love with co-owner Rupert, who¹s in love with Istvan, who comes to town, louche puppet troupe in tow. Their desires clash against a backdrop of approaching war, as hearts are broken and lives are lost, and the townsmen seek refuge from it all by watching the floozies of the Poppy cavort with Istvan¹s naughty puppets

. . . It¹s a love story.

BUY LINK:

http://smallbeerpress.com/forthcoming/2010/05/06/under-the-poppy/

INTERVIEW:

1) Tell us about your recent publication.

Under the Poppy is a romance novel, a historical novel, a theatrical novel
of theatre: it's the love story of Istvan and Rupert, from their days as
busking street boy puppeteers to the risky world of highest society, through
war, separation, jealousy, and betrayal: sometimes apart, but never to be
parted.

Under the Poppy is literally hot off the presses as I write this, being
published by Small Beer Press, a well-respected publisher of fantasy and
literary fiction, founded by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.  Small Beer Press
books have been chosen as best of the year by Booklist, Time Magazine,
Salon, Village Voice, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Locus, so my
gentlemen of the road are in very excellent company.  It's my first time
working with Gavin and Kelly, and it's been a wonderful ride.

2) What gave you the idea for this story?

I can never really point to the genesis of any of my novels, but I
absolutely remember a little yellow sticky note that read "les mecs", the
collective identity of Istvan's traveling puppets.  Once I had them, I had
him; and once I had him, I had Rupert. And away we go....Having that
partnership between them of theatre, of passionate performance, since their
very earliest days together, was a wonderful way to be able to explore their
intimate relationship as well.  We all wear masks for our lovers, we all
enact roles, but for these two, the masks are visible. And the stage is a
juicy arena for confrontation and desire, especially at a brothel!

This is also my longest novel ever - by far - and the chance to explore a
long, rich, conflicted relationship between these two men was a marvelous
challenge. We go through stages as we go through life, we change, we
regress, we struggle, and we hurt each other, even the one we love most in
the world. Love doesn't mean everything will always be all right, but it
does mean that the commitment, the daily passion, is always there. For a
writer, this is intensely fertile ground, and I tried to make the very best
of it that I could.

3) Who has inspired you, and how?

I'm always inspired by reading strong and original voices: Emily Bronte,
Arthur Rimbaud, Emily Dickinson, Flannery O'Connor, Christopher Marlowe,
Oscar Wilde; I consider them, if it's not too presumptuous to say so, as
literary patron saints. Reading and studying their work makes me know what's
possible, what heights fiction and poetry can reach, and I can't help but be
inspired to work harder every time out.

4) How did you start writing?

I moved from reading to writing at about age five; as soon as I knew what it
was, I wanted to do it. I didn't start trying to do it professionally until
my twenties, though, after attending the Clarion Workshop (then held at
Michigan State University, since moved on to UC San Diego). Clarion gave me
the confidence to actually get out there and market the work I was doing.
My first novel came out in 1991, and I've been lucky enough to work in all
sorts of genres, from SF to horror to YA to contemporary fiction, now to
historical romance, and even for the stage - I've adapted Under the Poppy
for an immersive theatrical production that will be staged in 2011 at the
Detroit Opera House, so now I'm a playwright, too! My work has allowed me to
dream enormous dreams, meet very cool people, travel, and stretch myself as
a reader as well as a writer - I'm really grateful to Clarion for putting me
on the path, and to Mom for putting those first books into my hands.

5) Was there a time when you almost gave up?  What made you keep going?

I wouldn't say give up - I could no more voluntarily give up writing than I
could give up breathing - but I've certainly had times of confusion and
discouragement throughout my career, times when I wondered why a book wasn't
going at all as I'd hoped and planned, or why a book I'd written hadn't
sold, or what the hell was going on with publishing anyway?! And every time,
what brought me back was love. I love so much what I do, what I attempt to
do every day - remake the world in words - that that pleasure and that
commitment is always strong and vital enough to overcome any momentary
despairs. And what love affair doesn't have its ups and downs, right?

6) If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would
it be?

I would like publishing as a whole to remember that it's a business based on
truthful fantasy and eternal ephemera, and then act accordingly.  We're not
selling tire gauges here, dudes; let's take some chances.

7) What have you always wished someone would ask you?  Now answer!

Would you like Emily Dickinson's private email address?  Yes! Oh hell yes I
would.

Thanks Kathe! Great having you here and all the best with the book.

Here's a link to an excerpt from Under the Poppy.

And here are some upcoming appearances Kathe will be making:

Oct. 28-31 World Fantasy Convention
— Columbus OH

Nov. 10 Common Language Bookstore
— Ann Arbor MI

Nov. 11 Five15 Media, Mojo & More
— Royal Oak MI   

Nov. 17 KGB Bar — New York NY

Author Spotlight: Debra Varva

Please welcome author Debra Varva.  Deb was one of those who responded to my Unpacking the Case Against M/M series of posts last fall.  In passing she mentioned that her first book was coming out in the spring, so naturally, I invited her to do a spotlight. (See what can happen when you comment on posts?  LOL)  Deb loves to write about power exchange, something I think a lot of us enjoy. Welcome to Friskbiskit, Deb, and congrats on your first published book!

Here's a bit about, New Leather, just out from Excessica yesterday:

Bondage is not journalist Carl Guttuso's thing. He has no need to tie a man up or beat the crap out of him and call it sexy. No one is doing that to him either—or so he thought. During an interview, the charismatic BDSM Dom, James Pauly, asks Carl to be his submissive lover to learn about the lifestyle from within and Carl agrees to a six-week contract.

James has not been romantically involved since his last sub left when James refused to whip him beyond what was safe. In Carl, he sees a second chance to connect with a man who wants more than the pain James can give him. He recognizes the sexual interest in Carl's eyes and thinks the handsome young reporter will be perfect.
 
Carl is surprised by the desire he feels for a man who admits to subjugating his lovers, but the intensity of the games they play becomes addictive and Carl wants more¾much more. James, dismayed by yet another sub's demands for pain, refuses to be rushed. He hopes to keep Carl past their contract, but it may be all he can do to keep him for the six weeks.
 

For both men, the arrangement becomes a journey of self-discovery that could tear them apart in spite of their growing attraction.

What gave you the idea for this story?
I belong to a writing group on Myspace called TXT or XXX Treehouse. They suggest a theme and we write something based on that. Last June the theme was BDSM and I wrote a sweet story on two young men who were new to bondage and each other. I liked the idea of "power exchange" so much; I wrote the book about a friend of theirs.

How did you start writing?
Myspace again. A friend started writing f/f erotica and it seemed like such a fun thing to do. I made a secret (not so secret now) profile and started writing m/m. The response was more than I could have hoped for.

If there were one misconception about m/m that you could clear up forever, what would it be?
I am not sick, twisted or a pervert. I do not secretly wish I were a man. The stories have nothing to do with my husband's sexuality. I guess I want people to realize that fantasies are just that.

If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?
There is not enough specialty books in the big book chains. M/M is almost nonexistent. Even straight erotica is very limited and thus not readily available if you don't have a computer.

What is your proudest moment as an author?
A straight male friend read one of my m/m stories in my blog and told he had not known gay erotica could be so beautiful.

What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on readers?
I am not out to educate anyone, but if someone is enlightened to the true nature of love by my stories; that would be awesome.

Kirk, or Spock?
Both together. LOL

What have you always wished someone would ask you?  Now answer!
What would your mother say about what you write?
She would love it! Everything that is good in me came from her.

Awesome answers, Deb.  Here's an excerpt from New Leather, folks. Enjoy!

Author Spotlight: Jeanne St. James

Please welcome Jeanne St. James, who is here today to talk about her new release, Double Dare, a steamy m/m/f menage available from Loose Id and an ebook and a paperback.

Blurb for Double Dare: What could be better than waking up next to a hot guy? Waking up sandwiched between two of them.

Quinn Preston, a financial analyst, is not happy when her friends dare her to pick up a handsome stranger at a wedding reception. What better reason to give up men when her previous long-term relationship had not only been lackluster in the bedroom but he had cheated?

Logan Reed, a successful business owner, can’t believe that he’s attracted to the woman in the ugly, Pepto-Bismol pink bridesmaid dress. And to boot, she’s more than tipsy. After turning down her invitation for a one-night stand, he finds her in the parking lot too impaired to drive. He rescues her and takes her home. His home.

The next morning Quinn’s conservative life turns on its ear when Logan introduces her to pleasures she never even considered before. And to make things more complicated, Logan already has a lover.

Tyson White, ex-pro football player, is completely in love with Logan. He has mixed emotions when Logan brings home Quinn. But the dares keep coming...

Tell us about Double Dare.

 

My last release came out in ebook in January and is now available in print. It’s my first book that has come out in print and I’m a bit excited about it! It’s titled Double Dare and I’ve included the blurb and a small excerpt. I had a lot of fun writing it because it was my first ménage I’ve written (m/m/f) and my first book that had m/m sex in it. It actually started out as an m/f erotic romance with the hero being Logan Reed and the heroine being Quinn Preston. While I was writing, Tyson White popped into the story… and away I went…

 

What gave you the idea for this story?

 

Actually the movie “The Wedding Crashers,” though Double Dare has nothing to do with the movie… But I wrote the opening scene after that movie and then sat on it for a while. (Which is typical for me – I write a scene and then I file it away for the future.) Then one day I just ran with it and it took a life of its own. Movies and books usually spark an idea for me – I just think they put me in a creative mood… my idea usually has nothing to do with the book I’m reading or the movie I’m watching, but my imagination starts running wild.

 

Why do you write?

 

Fantasy. Pure and simple. I can get in my characters heads and make them do what I want. I can put them in situations I want and determine how it ends up. I control their fate. That gives me a lot of power! LOL!

 

What do you like to read?

 

I wish I had time to read. However, I read only the romance genre but different subgenres. I enjoy erotic romance, paranormal, historical, urban fantasy, you name it. M/F, ménages, M/M. I got a Sony ereader for Christmas and I haven’t used it yet. I have loads of books on my TBR pile.

 

How did you start writing?

 

I started writing around the age of thirteen. I used it as therapy during my teenage years, which were full of angst of course. I wrote my first novel about a teenage girl who lived with a gang. It was in first person and I’m sure if I could find it, it would be awful. But I worked on it for a long time and enjoyed writing it.

 

Was there a time when you almost gave up?  What made you keep going?

 

I almost give up all the time! LOL! Writing is a hard business to get into and be successful. And you have to be creative… Some days I just don’t feel that way. I wrote my first published novel, Banged Up, years and years ago. I sent it to contests where it did well and then I sat on it. I didn’t have the confidence to finish it and send it anywhere. So I really didn’t write for a while. When ebooks and erotic romance got popular I dusted it off, revised it and not long after I submitted it, Banged Up was accepted by Liquid Silver Books. It’s gotten great reviews. That spurred me to write Rip Cord and Double Dare, both accepted quickly by publishers. Now I am slacking again and I need a push to get going to finish some other works in progress. What really keeps me going is when I hear from a reader who loved my story!

 

What is your proudest moment as an author?

 

Finding out co-workers FOUGHT (yes, fought!) over my book. And they were close too and then didn’t speak for days. Guess what? Neither got to read it. I told them to buy their own copies. Ok, I don’t know if that SHOULD be my proudest moment but it makes me laugh. I never would have thought people would be fighting to read my stories.

Below is a seductive excerpt from Double Dare:

Author Spotlight: Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my good friend, talented author Victoria Janssen, who's here today talking about her Harlequin Spice release, The Moonlight Mistress, which includes an m/m love story.

Blurb for The Moonlight Mistress: As World War One begins, English chemist Lucilla Daglish finds herself trapped on German soil. She and a French scientist, Pascal Fournier, escape and share a brief, intense affair.

They are reunited as Pascal investigates rumors of werewolves and the rogue scientist who abducts and tortures them. Meanwhile, a group of soldiers, including Lucilla's brother, deal with forbidden relationships, little knowing that one of their own is also a werewolf.

What gave you the idea for this story?

I have a longstanding interest in World War One, and a large research collection, so it made sense to me to set a novel during that period. The m/m subplot came about when I was first creating the characters; I'd had a discussion about homosexuality during World War One with a scholar friend, and decided I wanted to have a character who was gay, and deciding how he was going to deal with it in a repressive society.  For added complexity, the man on whom he has a crush is actually bisexual, but is still in the process of realizing this; he thinks his youthful affair with a close male friend was an anomaly.

I'm not sure why I wanted to also have werewolves.  I know what I did with them afterwards, because it all made perfect sense to me then, but I'm not sure why I thought of them originally.

What do you like to read?

At the moment, I read mostly historical romance and fantasy novels.  I love science fiction, but there are only a few in my to-be-read piles at the moment; I've been wishing for some space opera, lately.  I've got a stash of mysteries, mostly set during historical periods, and a lot of young adult fantasy and science fiction.  I also read a lot of nonfiction, most of it related to whatever novel I'm writing at the time, or the novel I plan to write. 

What do you like about m/m?

I enjoyed including a male/male relationship in my story because it's not something you often get to read about in this historical time period.   

I wanted to remind people that not everyone is straight, that romance shouldn't be limited to straight people, and that this is true for the past as well as the present.  The fact that their relationship is forbidden by law added extra conflict, and made it more poignant when they acted on their attraction.
Plus, I just loved these characters, and I wanted them to be happy.  (Yeah, I know they aren't real, but…happy in my head, I guess.)
 
To what/whom do you credit your success?

I am persistent.  I allocate time to write and then I use that time to write.  I think the only way to learn to write is to actually do it, so if I'd waited for inspiration to rain down upon me, I am pretty sure I would never have published anything.

Also, I like meeting people, and that has helped me to make contacts in the publishing world, which are always helpful.

What was one of your favorite books as a kid?

I absolutely adored Kim by Rudyard Kipling, in which a young boy has a whole series of adventures; I also loved Robert Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy, which had a very similar plot, now that I think about it.

What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on readers?

I mostly want my readers to have a really great time while reading my stories, and to enjoy my characters as much as I do.  I would love to have some sort of literary impact on the erotica or romance genres, but to me that's a lot less important than making people happy.

Kirk, or Spock?

Spock!  I like Kirk, but the Spock crush dates from before I knew what a crush actually was.  Such a great voice he has!  And those hands! 


Here's an excerpt from The Moonlight Mistress by Victoria Janssen

Author Spotlight: Katrina Strauss

I had the good fortune to meet Katrina Strauss at BishieCon this year.  We had a great time hanging out talking about m/m and writing and biz, not to mention enjoying all the great cosplayers at that convention. Today Katrina's here to celebrate her recent release, Off the Beaten Path, and to talk about Darth Vader fanfic and the joys and pitfalls of publishing. Please join me in welcoming her to Friskbiskit's Author Spotlight.

Off the Beaten Path, by Katrina Strauss:

Travis Bell is openly gay to family and friends, but as a college athlete, he chooses not to define himself by his sexuality. When he covers for a friend's misdeed, he's forced to renegotiate his future. Carefully. Or he's going to lose his coveted lacrosse scholarship.

The last thing Travis plans on is a “volunteer vacation” in the remote wilderness with members of Omega Beta Pi, aka Off the Beaten Path, a fraternity devoted to gay rights and environmental causes. To make matters worse, he must share a tent with Kyle, an opinionated activist who also happens to be the hottest guy Travis has ever met.

Kyle Schafer is a proud activist who disapproves of Travis's ignorance on issues affecting the environment and the gay community. To his even greater annoyance, Kyle finds himself attracted to his shallow tentmate on a purely physical level. Travis goes against everything Kyle believes in, but that doesn't dampen the chemistry that sparks between them. Pretty soon, it looks like Travis isn't the only one who'll be going off the beaten path.

Don't miss the yummy excerpt from Off the Beaten Path at the bottom of the post. And now, a  few questions.

What do you like about m/m?

When I read or write het romance, I’m constantly aware of an underlying battle of the sexes. As an author, I take pains to ensure my heroine isn’t dominated by the hero outside of the bedroom, yet still, I worry my heroine will be viewed as either a doormat or a ballbuster. With M/M, in spite of any conflicts between the lead characters, even if one male is more Alpha than the other, I see these men as united and equal in their stand against an anti-gay society. M/M frees me, as both author and reader, to simply explore and enjoy the relationship in and of itself, rather than worry if my characters’ interactions will somehow be viewed as one partner repressing the other.

That was my intellectual answer. On a visceral level, it’s just plain HOT to describe two (or more!) beautiful men making love together. 


What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I read entirely too much yaoi. Hey, it’s illustrated! 


Was there a time when you almost gave up?  What made you keep going?

I almost gave up a few months ago, actually, due to a vicious cycle of writer’s block, finances, mediocre reviews, and personal issues. Then, a moving e-mail from a reader reminded me why I do what I do. I went back and re-read other positive letters I’ve received since my first publication. (Yes, I save them all!) I realized I just needed a break to recharge my brain cells and reassess my direction. Once I recovered from the creative crisis, a completely different issue kicked in and forced me to extend my hiatus, but I’m gradually resuming writing as my situation improves. If my work touches just one reader out of a hundred, it’s worth the time and effort. 


If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?

Only a year ago, I would have said a more open attitude toward e-books. But overnight, we see that’s changed! Now, I’d like to see the e-book price wars level out in a way that benefits readers and authors alike. The erotic romance industry paved the way for e-publishing at well below $9.99 a book! 


Who is your favorite character, and why?

Derek from my Blue Ruin series. I’ve written him as my ultimate fantasy man, the “caring Alpha” who knows when to be firm but how to be soft. He exudes an inherent confidence that I’ve personally had to work for in my life. And he has sexy hair! 


Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic?  If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?  

I used to write Vader/OFC fic set in a Star Wars AU. In making a point to un-Mary Sue my heroine, I ended up with a dark, twisted tale that, to my surprise, gained a following and my first ever readership. (Although I suppose we Vader fangirls tend to be a bit dark and twisted!) 


What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on readers?

I want readers to see that people from all walks of life and of all sexual orientations can fall in love, grow together, and face the challenges of the world hand-in-hand.

Great interview Kitty, thank you for your intriguing answers!  And now, how about a nice, steamy excerpt from Off the Beaten Path:

Author Spotlight: Ann Herendeen

I've been following Ann Herendeen's career since she published Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander with HarperCollins in Spring 2008. This was before Running Press started their m/m historical romance line and Herendeen's m/m, m/f combo (with one of those 'm's being the same gent) was the nearest thing I'd seen to m/m romance breaking into mainstream publishing. Now, Ann's back with Pride/Prejudice, also from HarperCollins and published just yesterday! I happen to know that the '/' in the title is no happenstance. Let's hear what Ann has to say about it, shall we?


Oh, and don't miss the excerpt from Pride/Prejudice at the end of the post.

Tell us about your recent publication.

Pride/Prejudice is what I call “the hidden story” of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It takes the same characters and plot and brings to light the homoerotic subtext. Most of us are familiar with the central romance, of proud Mr. Darcy and prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet, and how they learn the truth behind their mistaken “first impressions” (Austen’s original title). But I see a similar development in the relationships between Mr. Darcy and his “gentlemanlike” friend Mr. Bingley, and between Elizabeth and her friend Charlotte. In both cases, one of the partners has to learn to respect the other’s choices and to treat him or her as an equal. 


This is a bisexual love story: the same-sex relationships are in addition to the m/f ones, not instead of them. I’m not changing the story, only showing a part of it that couldn’t be seen in Austen’s time. I don’t think Austen was consciously writing “bisexual” characters; that’s a modern way of categorizing people. But the kind of friendship she portrayed between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, the affectionate but domineering control that Mr. Darcy wields, can very easily support a sexual interpretation. Elizabeth’s sense of betrayal at Charlotte’s marriage to the loathsome Mr. Collins also carries an implication of jealousy. And the exploitative relationship between Mr. Darcy and Wickham practically requires a sexual aspect to make sense of it.

What gave you the idea for this story?

Writing my first novel, Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander. That story took a traditional Georgette Heyer form of the Regency romance—a witty, drawing-room comedy of manners—sexed it up, and queered it by making the hero “slightly bisexual” (as I described him in my presentation for a conference—see below). The idea was to use all the clichés or standard tropes of these m/f romances—the alpha male rakish hero, the marriage of convenience, and the Bertie Wooster-ish group of the hero’s friends—to tell an m/m/f romance, giving the hero a hea with his wife and his boyfriend. 


Phyllida has a minor subplot in which the hero thinks his wife is the author of Sense and Sensibility, which was published anonymously. (She actually writes trashy gothic novels.) And it got me thinking about Pride and Prejudice, because I saw the possibility in that novel for a similar m/m/f situation. Because P&P was published in 1813, it’s usually read as taking place in 1812, so it was a natural progression from writing an m/m/f love story set in 1812 to telling P&P as an m/m/f story—or slightly m/m/f/f.

Why do you write?

When I started, it was to write the kind of thing I wanted to read but didn’t see anyone else writing: an m/m/f love story in the form of a traditional m/f romance novel. I think of Phyllida as my fantasy autobiography—what’s sometimes called a “Mary Sue.” If I could go back into the fictional past and be the heroine of a Regency romance, this would be it.

Working on P/P was a very different experience. I wasn’t writing “my” story; I was writing Jane Austen’s story, trying very hard not to change it, but to bring out some of the hidden aspects. Writing about other characters, as opposed to a version of me and my fantasies, changed how I felt about writing. 


Now I think it’s more like what real writers do: they look for truths—about the world, about themselves, about relationships—by telling a made-up story. I see writing as a conversation with readers. It’s not just me talking to my computer. When we write something intended for publication we hope other people will read it and be moved by it. I’m still writing for myself, in the sense that writing fiction allows me to be completely honest—or as close as anyone can get. But I’m also putting this candid viewpoint out there and saying, “This is what interests me, what turns me on, what makes me laugh. What do you think?” Naturally I’m going to get negative responses as well as positive ones, but that’s what it’s all about—a way to reveal, through my fiction, the true self that feels hidden within my physical being and day-job existence, and see how other people react to it.

To what/whom do you credit your success?

First: to the fact that I write comedy within an old-fashioned narrative style. People can enjoy my stories on different levels: as genuine romance or as a humorous take on a familiar genre or story. Most of the books I read growing up were written at least fifty years ago (I’m almost 55), and many of them had a style that’s deceptively easy. The reader assumes it was as easy to write as it is to read. Only when you try to emulate it do you find out how hard it is to achieve. But I keep trying. 


Second: my editor at HarperCollins. He’s the one who, in his words, “came across” the POD Phyllida and liked it enough to give it a chance at real publication. It was the humor that attracted him. HC published Phyllida as regular fiction, not as romance, and I think my editor was surprised that some readers took it seriously as a love story. Many people assume I was one of the select few to be picked out of the slush pile, and want to know my secret. The truth is even stranger. I did send my manuscript to publishers and agents, but gave up after six months and did print-on-demand instead.

Third: I also have to thank some influential bloggers, especially Michelle Buonfiglio and her blog, Romance B(u)y The Book, and the Smart Bitches, Trashy Novels. They both gave the POD Phyllida great publicity, and I suspect this was one of the reasons my eventual editor decided it was worth a look. 
 


How did you start writing?


I had read a number of Marion Zimmer Bradley Darkover novels years ago. I especially liked The Heritage of Hastur with its homoerotic coming-of-age story and the villain, Dyan Ardais, who is primarily same-sex oriented but admits to being “a man of impulse”—desiring a woman, even marrying, on one or two occasions. Then, much later, I found a book of Darkover fanfiction. Like all overconfident neophytes, I thought I could do as well as some of those writers, and I sat down and wrote a story, told in the first person, about being one of Dyan Ardais’s “impulses.” (Yes, reader, I married him.)


The story sucked, but at the time I was quite pleased with it. I wrote several more, chronicling the adventures of the little family I created with Dyan, his boyfriends, and our two children. Eventually the stories became longer, then novellas. I had written two full-length novels and was halfway through a third when I realized two things: 1) Bradley had stopped permitting fanfiction, so all this work was unpublishable; and 2) while my first efforts were atrocious, I had gotten better with practice and could perhaps try to publish something. That’s when I switched to Regency romance. The comic mood of most regencies suits my voice, and it was a genre I felt comfortable working in. 



If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?

Publicity. I would make it possible for new, marginal writers to get publicity, like readings, interviews—ideally, a book tour—if they want it.

When the big publishing houses pay an enormous advance to a celebrity or bestselling author, they obviously don’t want to lose that investment, so they’re willing to put additional money into publicity to make sure the book performs up to expectations. Authors like me, who get very small advances, aren’t worth the extra expense. If our books don’t sell, the publisher hasn’t lost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, only a very few thousand. There’s no point in throwing any more money down the drain after that initial small loss.


Blogging is just about the only way new authors have to promote ourselves, and I’m not very good at it. Public appearances and interviews are much easier for me. It’s something I enjoy doing, and I think most books sell better when the author is right there with readers, face to face, answering questions and sharing her pleasure in her work. But it only happens now for the few authors who already have the big sales or get a big advance, and can be counted on to fill seats. I would be willing to set aside some of my minuscule advance for PR instead of taking it as cash, but since I would need help making the arrangements and getting gigs, I suspect the publishers would still consider it not worth the trouble.
Of course, being featured in a special segment like this Author Spotlight is much, much more fun than trying to be a conscientious blogger or Twitterer—and I thank you for giving me the opportunity! 
 


What is your proudest moment as an author?


Being invited to be a panelist—a speaker—at the conference held at Princeton University last year called “Love as the Practice of Freedom? Romance Fiction and American Popular Culture.” My proudest moment was meeting the other panelists: multiply-published romance novelists like Jennifer Crusie and Eloisa James; and scholars like Stephanie Coontz, author of the pioneering nonfiction work, Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage—and then standing up and speaking about my one published book (at the time), and realizing I was, however briefly, part of this group.


Kirk, or Spock? 


Spock. I figure he must be bisexual, as it’s the most logical orientation, being open to relationships with both (or all) sexes ;)

Here's an excerpt from Ann's newest release, Pride/Prejudice:

Author Spotlight: Donald Hardy

Please welcome Donald Hardy, whose historical m/m romance, LOVER'S KNOT, just came out from Running Press a few weeks ago.

Set in Cornwall in 1906, LOVERS’ KNOT tells the story of Jonathan Williams, who came to Trevaglan Farm one long lost summer a heart-broken young man in need of healing and peace. The hot days were filled with sunshine, the nearby ocean, and a new friend, Nat. Jonathan and the farmhand quickly grew close, Jonathan needing comfort in the wake of his grief, and Nat basking in a love he didn’t know could exist. But feelings of love and passion were soon mixed with darker currents of rumor and suspicion, jealousy and doubt. As the summer faded, Jonathan was devastated by another death, and fled to Cambridge to forget.

Fourteen years later, he is determined to start anew at Trevaglan. Until he sees Nat’s figure in the shadows of a darkened library. Until lost mementos of that summer idyll reappear. Until lives are in danger and Jonathan learns that ghosts are real.

Inspired by the stories of E. M. Forster and E. F. Benson, LOVERS’ KNOT is a haunting tale of love and loss, betrayal and redemption.

Tell us about your recent publication.

Lovers’ Knot actually has an interesting history.  It was originally intended to be a short story for an anthology that never worked out.  The stories were to be gay themed and involve spell-craft; it was to be a speculative fiction sort of thing.  The stories were supposed to be between 3,000 and 5,000 words long.  I had an idea for a story, and started to write it.  When I hit 10,000 words, and the main characters hadn’t even arrived at the Cornish farm that figures largely in the story, I thought maybe – just maybe – this wasn’t going to be a short story.   It was going to be at least a long novella (my writing friends joke I am incapable of writing anything short).  And it was going to be a ghost story.

I set it aside for some time, and then a little over a year ago started again on it.  Erastes told me of the Running Press M/M series, and strongly encouraged me (read, strong armed me) to submit it.  In spite of the fact that I hadn’t set out to write a classic Romance novel, it had strong, strong Romance underpinnings. And Running Press liked it.    My editor told me that she particularly liked the supernatural layer, and the fact that the story has two timelines.  The reader starts the story in 1906, when Jonathan Williams, the main character, inherits the farm where he’d spent the summer of 1892.  Even before he arrives, however, memories rush back, told as a parallel narrative, each flashback triggered by a face or an artifact.  The flashbacks are not quite half the book, but a very sizeable portion.  The editor found it very interesting, and atypical for romance, as was the ghost story part.  She liked that RP was going to shake things up a bit.  

What gave you the idea for this story?

This sounds a little silly, I suppose, but I had a dream one night about a rather peculiar little incident, involving a woman telling a young man that he had to do a specific thing.  I woke up, and thought “That’d make a good story for that anthology.”  I typed the two or three sentences I remembered of the dream’s dialogue (only one of which actually made it into the book).  Then the story around it…well, just sort of appeared full blown in my head.  I knew I wanted it to be in Cornwall, at the end of the Nineteenth Century, that there would be two timelines, just who the main characters were, and what the arc of the story would be.  It grew, of course (a lot), but the basic framework was there from the beginning, all from three lines of dialogue in a dream.

Why do you write?

Because I love words.  I love the English language and its thousand plus years of history right there in the words themselves, in their irregularities, their spellings, their clearly foreign origins.  They are beautiful things, and I would resist to my last breath those who would try to change and dumb down the way English is written or spelled.

What do you like to read?

Lord.  Well.  I’m a pretty rabid Austen fan, I’m afraid, and a bit of a purist about it.  I’m not keen on Austen fic, nor do I like most of the film versions of her books.  I’ve read all the works (including the juvenilia) um, mumblety-mumblety times.  And all of her letters.  Four times.  And the footnotes.  For fun.  And I’m now starting on biographies and critical analyses.  Actually, there’s a reason for that: I’m adapting Pride and Prejudice to the stage for a theater company I work with.  I’m going to bury myself at the cabin where I did most of the work on Lovers’ Knot over the coming holidays and try to bang a lot of that out.

I love E. F. Benson, and this book owes a lot to the atmosphere and tone of his ghost stories and was very heavily influenced by some of them.  I revisit them all the time.  Some folks might recognize that, if they’re familiar with his work.

I’m reading a lot of Raymond Chandler and Rex Stout – I have an idea for a 1940s series of mystery novels, rather like the Thin Man movies, that I’m going to work on with a friend (so stay tuned). Chandler’s particularly brilliant.  Phenomenal prose.  C.J. Cherryh and Barbara Hambly are my favorite Sci Fi and Fantasy authors, respectively.  I’ve been reading a lot more history and biography lately, things like Devil and the White City and The Verneys. 

So I’m kind of…all over the map. 

How did you start writing?

I’ve always liked words, and I’ve always done fairly well at writing essays or long chatty emails, but any original stories I tried were disastrous.  There’s a failed fantasy novel/world that is so appallingly derivative that I’ve buried it deep, deep, deep in a box in the attic.  It’s embarrassing.  I have always been good at telling stories that really happened, though.

Then about eight years ago I had a very, very odd event happen to me, something that I couldn’t explain, and it triggered a week and a half of utter bizarreness that I couldn’t understand.  I can’t go into it too much, because, well, they’d lock me away in an asylum.  =-D

Anyway, so much happened that my friends suggested I write it down so I didn’t forget any of the details.  It turned into a 30,000 word first person manuscript (see what I mean about brevity not being the soul of my wit?) By chance some months later I read a story by an author that…echoed the events that had happened to me very closely, and what’s more, listed sources.  I also got the impression that she believed the things she wrote.  So I sent my manuscript to her, asking her if she thought my event and her research for her story were related.  She thought it possible, but the thing that bounced it for me was that she said at the end of the email “You’re a very good writer.  You should turn this into a novel.”

I didn’t, but that fall I decided to try NaNoWriMo, and write a 50,000 word novel, if I could spin a story out that long.  Heh.  It was 140,000 by the time I finished it in April.

After that, there was one false start (which I’ve not given up on yet), and then I started Lovers’ Knot. 

Was there a time when you almost gave up?  What made you keep going?

Not writing, but I almost gave up on Lovers’ Knot.  I got about one third of the way into the novel, and I just locked solid.  I couldn’t come up with a thing.  I’d stare at the computer screen for hours, and nothing would happen.  That state of events lasted from January until November of 2008.  I wrote a novella in the summer, 35K words, which was, heh, supposed to replace Lovers’ Knot in the anthology, but was, oh, ten times too long.  By then I was pretty certain that Lovers Knot would never be written.  It really upset me, because I liked the characters and the story a lot.  Then Erastes, who very much liked the story as it stood (she was being Brit Crit and beta), started nudging me to pick it up again.  I buried myself for two weeks in the woods.  For several days, I didn’t get more than 100 words in a day.  And then it ramped up and broke loose, at least a little.  It was a difficult book to write.

In a broader sense, there are times that it is hard to buckle down and write.  I love words, but a novel has a lot of them.  I’m afraid some people might think I’m a bit too much of a dilettante.  I love to write, but I don’t seem to be driven to it. 

It’s the same with my other interests.  I’m very active in a theater company out here in the Bay Area, and we do excellent work.  And I’m quite busy throughout the Renaissance Faire season, usually portraying Shakespeare – people are fascinated to watch me write with a quill pen.  I suppose I spread my time too thinly amongst many interests, and there are moments when I wonder if something should go.  Unfortunately I like them all.

And that’s what makes me keep going.  I really like writing.  It’s work, make no mistake.  The Oscar Wilde story of his spending half a day trying to decide if he should put in a comma and the second half of the day trying to decide if he should take it out isn’t that far off.  Almost everyone I know who writes tells me “Just get it down.  Don’t self edit.  Don’t worry about that first time around.” 

I can’t seem to do that.  I love sentences and I love paragraphs.  I very much love dialogue.  I’m most at ease writing that.  The characters in the stories are always talkative.  In fact, they often don’t shut up.  And sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, I’ll come to the end of a long day, turn off the computer, and next morning re-read what I’d done, and think “Who wrote this?  This is pretty good stuff!”  And I really don’t know where it came from, or where the characters came from, or where the words came from (my characters are far cleverer than I)…but they’re there, and I love that they are.

And that’s why I do it.

What have you always wished someone would ask you?  Now answer!

Why, yes.  I’ll marry you.  =-D

Aw, way to butter up your host, Don. 'Fraid I'm already hitched but if you want to be my bit on the side, maybe we can work something out. ;>

Everyone, I want you to know that Don was quite nervous about his spotlight, the goose.  He did great though, didn't he? I particularly liked the story of how the story began as a dream. It's got me wondering which line from the novel is the one Don dreamed.

Please click the link below for an excerpt from Lover's Knot.

Author Spotlight: Lee Rowan

Please welcome historical m/m author Lee Rowan. I loved Lee's book Ransom, so I was thrilled to learn that one of the new Running Press titles, Tangled Web, was penned by her.  Running Press, by the way, is a print publisher who has launched a line of historical m/m novels aimed at the romance market. It's a project I'm excited about and I hope you'll support it as well.

Here's a blurb for Tangled Web.  And don't miss the link to an excerpt a the bottom of the post.

England 1816:

Brendan Townsend fell for Tony Hillyard's seductive ways when they were college roommates, but out in the real world Brendan is dismayed to find Tony's youthful indiscretion has turned to dangerous recklessness.  When Tony's thrill-seeking behavior at a private club for gentlemen of unusual inclinations puts them both at risk for sexual blackmail, or worse, Brendan can't confide in his family. His only hope is his brother's old commanding officer Major Carlisle, who has a near-legendary reputation for solving impossible problems.  But Brendan finds himself in even deeper trouble when he is smitten by the handsome older man the moment he lays eyes on him.

Society ladies with eligible daughters lament that the widowed Philip Carlisle buried his heart with his wife.  Carlisle lives what appears to be a quiet life, but unknown to Society, he is actively assisting the authorities in solving a case of smuggling and murder in a sleepy Kentish village. His knight-errant instincts are touched by Brendan's dilemma, and he soon discovers the appealing young man is useful to have at his back in a tight spot. Neither of them expected to find love in a tangle of blackmail, smuggling, and murder.. and neither can be sure where the deadliest danger lies.  

What gave you the idea for this story?

I really enjoy Georgette Heyer's Regency romances (though I don't like all of her heroes), and I've wanted to try writing a Regency for some time. I was at the Queer Lit festival in Toronto a couple of years ago, and many of the gentlemen who stopped at the booth asked if I had anything that wasn't about war, or any stories that featured older men.  So when Running Press asked if I'd like to submit a book proposal, I thought this might be a chance to do something a little different, and contrast the emotional extremes of a younger man versus the steadier, more realistic attitudes of a man who's had more life under his belt.   I've researched Britain's old Molly Houses, clandestine establishments of the day where men could meet other men, but since the only record we have of these places is mostly from prison records – those who were caught and couldn't evade prosecution – I speculated that there might have been the occasional very discreet, high-class establishment that passed unnoticed.  But anytime you have secrecy, you have the opportunity for blackmail… so enter the naïve Brendan  and his randy, idiotic boyfriend Tony, who doesn't understand the meaning of discretion and probably couldn't spell it if he tried.   

Who has inspired you, and how?

An elderly lady who used to be one of my massage clients.   She ran away from home to join the Army Air Force when she was 18, had a long, eventful life, a marriage that ended too soon when her husband died suddenly, and some horribly painful health problems – but she was always brave, interested in life, and funny.  I want to be like her when I get that old.  Lots of other people have inspired me, but she really stands out. Someday I'm going to fictionalize her life and give her a happier ending.

What do you like about m/m?

The equality.   I have never much liked gender roles – Man Is Brave, Woman Is Soft, etc…  I think we all have many qualities in different measure, and m/m lets the characters define themselves.

If there were one misconception about m/m that you could clear up forever, what would it be?

That every same-sex love story is automatically porn.  Or, even more basic, that there's something drastically different about same-sex love as opposed to opposite-sex.  There isn't—I know this from experience.  Love is love.

If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?

The same thing I'd change about all business… the idea that every piece of creative work has to make enormous profits or it isn't worth doing.   Not every book can be a best-seller.  There's nothing wrong with modest, sustainable profit. 
 

Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic?  If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?

I started writing Man from UNCLE fanfic at about 12, and have gone through many different fandoms .  Oddly, though, I wrote very little slash, or even het romance—just adventure stories, like unfilmed episodes.

What is your proudest moment as an author?

Winning the Eppie for Ransom, and being able to acknowledge how much my wife has done to help me – materially, as well as moral support and inspiration.

Kirk, or Spock?

Spock.  (Of course, Spock—I'm married to a mathematician!  And I don't think Kirk is very good spouse material.)   

Behind the link below is a lovely excerpt from Tangled Web.  Please note: this excerpt contains mature subject matter.  By clicking the link below, you certify that you are eighteen years of age or older.