Please welcome Addison Albright, who's here to answer some nosy questions and share with us an excerpt from her new novella, Cultivating Love, just out from Loose Id.
Tell us about your new publication.
"Cultivating Love" is a contemporary m/m novella that recently came out at Loose ID. The two men in the story, Ed and Joe, move together from a medium sized metropolitan area to a farm in rural Nebraska. The transition forces them to talk about their previously casually defined relationship, as they face a combination of acceptance and resistance in small-town America.
What gave you the idea for this story?
I love the idea of two macho guys falling for each other but feeling awkward about talking about their feelings
or admitting what they like, so I set out to write a story around that
concept. I figured a couple of blue-collar guys in the Midwest would be
most believable in that capacity, as opposed to a couple of guys from,
say, LA or Boston. The setting also helped to naturally develop the external conflict for this story.
What else do you want us to know about your recent publication?
It's got a lot more in the way of external drama than my stories generally have. Ed and Joe face some very real danger. Of course, most of my stories are short stories, so high drama isn't necessary, but still, I'm usually pretty low-angst.
Why do you write?
I've always loved to read, and would tend to imagine
my own stories expanding on stories I'd read. I'd been wanting to try
to put a story down in writing for some time and I finally decided to just do it. I write because it's a wonderful creative outlet, and as a bonus I even get paid for it!
What do you like to read?
Wow, pretty much anything and everything. I read romances, sci-fi, biographies, horror, true-crime, fantasy, historical, contemporary, paranormal, miscellaneous non-fiction, drama, etc. I've got way too many books. My favorite genre for pleasure reading is probably contemporary romance (including m/m). This is the area in which I'm most comfortable writing.
What is your most embarrassing experience as an author?
Goodness, there's always something new superseding the last snafu. Let's see, most recently
I was mortified to discover that I'd accidentally overwritten a how-to
information page on the new GLBT Bookshelf Wiki with the author page I
was setting up for myself. Wiki's are scary like that--you can change and/or screw up pretty much anything. Anyway, I sent off a quick 'sorry-please help'
email to the admin there but figured out how to restore the original
page in the meantime. I hope not too many people consulted that help
page and wondered what the heck I was up to before I got it fixed.
Who has inspired you?
Hmm,
it's hard to say. Ideas just develop, but I can't usually think back to
a particular trigger for them. Occasionally simply wandering through
everyday life, something will strike me as a good setting for a story,
or something someone says will trigger a character sketch.
Oops.
Your question was 'who,' not 'what.' Hmm, I don't think I could name a
single person. Pretty much every author I've ever read has inspired me
to some degree.
What do you like about m/m?
When I first discovered and started reading m/m
I loved a couple of things about it. First, that the stories were fresh
and different. I was getting tired of the same-old same-old that I
was starting to find in traditional romances. Second, the relationship
dynamic between two men is completely different than what you'll find with a straight couple. I guess that really just ties into my first point. It's a big part of what made these stories new and exciting.
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
It's food related. I love popcorn. That's fairly healthy and not much of a 'guilty pleasure' until you doctor it like I do, with a touch of molasses mixed into melted butter (real butter, not margarine) poured over the top. Yum!
To what/whom do you credit your success?
I was *this* close to quitting after getting rejections from pretty much everywhere on my first story writing attempt. I'd reworked the story to death and thought it was as good as I was capable of getting it. Finally I got a rejection letter that actually gave constructive criticism and told me what the story needed. That
letter was from Judith David at MLR Press. I have to admit that I
totally used them. My story had been rejected everywhere, and although
I'd reworked it, yet again, I didn't really feel like I had much hope of it being accepted there. But their submission guidelines said something about how, even if they reject your story, they will give
you a critique. So I sent it in. And sure enough, I got the nicest
rejection you ever did see. It helped that she started out with a compliment, but most importantly she told me exactly what needed to be done to make the story good.
Had
that rejection been like the others, a simple 'sorry, this story
doesn't fit what we're looking for,' I would have quit right then. I'd
already decided that I was obviously not good enough. But her words, "We
were very taken with your writing skills; they are excellent. Your
submission package was also well thought out and professionally
presented," gave me hope. Heck, even though those words
were the intro of a rejection letter they actually sent my spirits
soaring. I took every bit of critical advice in that letter to heart
and totally rewrote the story, once again. It was accepted on my very
next submittal attempt, so I will forever be thankful for that
thoughtful rejection
and give full credit to Judith David for the fact that I have anything
published, anywhere, because that truly was going to be my final attempt. I don't even know where to start regarding how much I've learned over the past year and a half since then.
How did you start writing?
I just started writing in January of 2008. Basically I just decided to finally do something I'd been thinking about doing for quite some time.
Why m/m? I wish I could give a noble answer like I wanted to get behind
a genre that was doing something to promote a worthy cause, such as
LGBT rights, because I do believe in those things. But the most honest answer is that, like many readers, m/m is one of many genres I read and enjoy, and
choosing a growing genre that was not overrun with contributing authors
seemed like my best bet to break into the industry. Although I do hope to expand--I'm currently working on an m/f story--I would never want to abandon m/m. I love the stories. If anything, I think--or at least hope--that authors (and even book series) crossing genres will draw more new readers over to m/m.
If there were one misconception about m/m that you could clear up forever, what would it be?
M/M is absolutely not porn, and for the most part it's not even just straight up erotica. It's erotic romance, emphasis on the romance. At least that what the stories I like are, that's what most of the m/m stories available are, and that's what the publishers call for.
What was one of your favorite books as a kid?
I read all the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, over and over.
If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?
Get rid of DRM's. The pirates all know how to crack
them anyway, so it's not stopping that problem, but it *is* screwing
the average reader who switches computers and all of a sudden can't
access books they legitimately paid for (Grrr--I've got a *bunch* of them).
And (sorry I guess this is two things, but they're both ebook related)
wouldn't it be nice if there was just one standard ebook format that
all of them agreed on, that could be used by all ebook readers?
What do you think is behind the popularity of m/m?
Oh goodness, I'm not particularly political--I just know how I feel and what I like. My guess would be that the answer is probably a combination of things? Part of it is readers like me, who stumbled on it looking for something different and discovered it was great reading. LGBT issues are becoming quite popular, or at least prominent in the news. Perhaps that's getting some new readers to take a first look at it. What keeps them coming back for more? A wide variety of wonderful stories!
Who is your favorite character, and why?
My favorite character that I've written? I'd have to say "Larry" in my upcoming (July 8) Torquere novel, "Another Dream." Probably because I drew more out of myself--my own personality--for him than any other character. He's terribly shy and insecure, but he has bold ideas in his head trying to come out.
Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic? If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?
Nope. I know, that's unusual. I'm pretty sure that all of the authors I network with either have written, or do write,
fanfic. I, on the other hand, am so ignorant that I'd never even heard
of it until I had my first stories accepted and was starting to get
into promo and networking. I had to google it to find out what they
were talking about. Sad, eh?
What is your proudest moment as an author?
Probably the proudest moments are when I receive a positive comment from a reader who loved a story. That never fails to completely make my day. Also, the first time getting a story accepted, ever, and then the first times getting accepted/invited by a new publisher rank right up there too.
What kind of impact do you hope your work will have on your readers?
I don't typically aspire to anything too inspirational. I just want to make them smile and finish the story with a warm feeling. My charity m/m wedding sip would be an exception, since the theme of the blitz was GLBT weddings. My story ("Now and Forever") was about a gay couple getting married during that window that was open for a short time in California. The goal there, of course, was to promote that theme.
Kirk, or Spock?
Spock. Although I have to admit I'm not the biggest of Star Trek fans. I love Star Wars, if that helps (For that I pick Han Solo over Luke Skywalker). ;)
What have you always wished someone would ask you? Now answer!
Are
you kidding? Ha! The shy, insecure Larry character in my upcoming
"Another Dream" draws from my own personality. I've spent most of my
life as a wall-flower dreading that someone would ask me a question and I'd
say something stupid. You're talking to someone who came *this* close
to failing Kindergarten because she didn't utter a single word. Apparently, I finally slipped up and answered a direct question with a 'yes' or 'no' (heck if I remember the details) sometime in March, thereby shocking the classroom full of students, who thought I truly *couldn't* talk. I do remember being mortified when they applauded. I'm told I peeped
a few more words during the remainder of the school year, and it was
enough to go ahead and pass me onto first grade. So :-P
Addison's website:
http://addison-albright.tripod.com/CULTIVATING LOVE by Addison
Albright
Published on 6/9/2009 at Loose
ID
Buy Link:
http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Cultivating_Love-972.aspx
Blurb:
A man of few words, Joe is
a hard-working farmhand who likes his simple, uncomplicated life. Ed
is satisfied with his existence as an auto mechanic, but thrilled when
an unexpected development in his life allows him to help Joe realize
a dream.
It forces them, however, to reevaluate the casual, undefined nature
of their relationship. They're too macho to speak of love, and neither
would ever dream of acknowledging he doesn't really mind when it's his
turn to bottom. When life throws them a curve ball, and the rules of
their game get old, Ed makes an effort to take every aspect of their
relationship up a notch. Will Joe be able to adapt to the open sentimentality
Ed's injecting into their relationship, let alone the new spice in their
bedroom activities?
Excerpt Behind Cut:
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