January 22, 2010
January 15, 2010
All the Colors of Love: Chapter 5
January 08, 2010
January 06, 2010
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.
December 27, 2009
December 22, 2009
December 18, 2009
GLBT Bookshelf
I've been horribly remiss in not mentioning GLBT Bookshelf until now. It's a wiki community dedicated to GLBT books, authors, editors, publishers and readers. Formed in the wake of AmazonFail, GLBT Bookshelf was created by Mel Keegan as a self-sustaining community where GLBT fiction can maintain an internet presence independent of the decisions of major corporations.
The wiki is chock full of information, book listings, author pages, publishers, communities and more. It's a good overview of the m/m community as a whole. (And I've got to get off my a** and put my page up.) They've even got a clever way you can order books from Amazon and earn a few dimes for GLBT Bookshelf in the process.
December 16, 2009
Author Spotlight: Jan Irving
Jan Irving and I have a lot of the same kinks. Needless to say, I love her wounded, brave characters and yummy hurt-comfort scenarios. I've read The Hired Man and The Janitor and enjoyed them both thoroughly. But today Jan is here to talk about her most recent release, Wylde, on sale now from Dreamspinner Press.
(Check out that cover. Aren't they adorable?)
In Wylde, Noah Matthews brings his son Josh to the pristine woods of Washington
State to make a fresh start. The first night in their new home, Noah
meets Kell Farraday when the laconic police chief shows up on his
doorstep searching for two people lost in the forest. It's the start of
a sexy new friendship when Kell decides to pursue the shy but
flirtatious Noah.
But a new beginning won't be so easy. Noah's
former boyfriend shows up to try to reclaim a place in his life, and
worse, Josh is drawn to the growing mystery in the forest. People
disappear and then one turns up dead. There's something haunting the
forest. Something watching. And soft-spoken and confident Kell's
reassurances can't ease Noah's fear when Josh goes into the woods alone.
Don't miss the excerpt from Wylde behind the link at the bottom of the post.
Tell us about your recent publication.
Wylde is a book that was inspired by growing up in the spooky Pacific Northwest. I’ve always wanted to write a story that picks up on the atmosphere here since I grew up in a haunted area. I liked writing about down to earth men who have to deal with an unusual and unsettling mystery.
What gave you the idea for this story?
I think I just wanted to write a contrast of characters, like denim and linen. Noah is a refined city man from Seattle, a single father, and Kell is a rough around the edges small town chief of police who is an ex Army Ranger.
Why do you write?
I guess I have a need to do it, like breathing, but lately I am enjoying the role of reader again. I am not pushing myself as much as I was around the time I wrote this novel, over the summer.
What do you like to read?
I read by author, something I’m sure everyone can relate to, and I also really like a book that is kind of different.
What do you like about m/m?
You can meet some very contained guys in a lot of pain. I like to see if I can help them to a better place within the story.
How did you start writing?
I’ve always written though right now I’m slowing down. I used to have a pretty driven schedule but decided I wanted to enjoy myself a little more and meander rather than stride.
Was there a time when you almost gave up? What made you keep going?
I have felt that way and recently with some tough times for my family have wanted to slow down. I like to write so I suppose that’s why I do it and I do have a work ethic where if I start something, I will finish it. Much of what I do is asking myself questions. How will my characters get there? I take it one step at a time and write from chapter to chapter and it’s an act of faith.
Why do you think m/m is so popular?
I think once you get a taste of it, it can be addictive since you get to write not just one hero but two. I’m fascinated by that. I love men. Typically my stories usually have a contrast of opposites and a lot of hurt/comfort. I just finished a novella that had an arc of finding yourself, of healing, called Sylvan, for example.
Kirk, or Spock?
Spock, definitely.
Click the link below for an excerpt from Wylde:
December 10, 2009
Latest Running Press Titles are Out
Running Press has just published the next two titles in their m/m historical romance line: Tangled Web by
Lee Rowan
and
Lover's Knot by Donald Hardy.
How great to see these out, especially since I heard an apparently unfounded rumour a few months back that the line was closing. So glad I was misinformed.
Here's more info:
http://bookworld.editme.com/runningpress
UPDATE: Stay tuned for an author spotlight with Lee Rowan, coming soon!
December 07, 2009
December 04, 2009
Author Spotlight: Charlie Cochrane
I first discovered Charlie Cochrane's writing with her story Aftermath in the historical m/m anthology SPEAK ITS NAME. I was immediately taken with the combination of understated charm and intense emotion she brings to her characterizations. Then, for a little while I kept hearing that Charlie had other books out but I couldn't find them in ebook editions. So I was delighted to discover recently that she has a whole series of novels out from Samhain, the Cambridge Fellows Mystery series, which feature the adventures of Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, Cambridge scholars, amateur sleuths, and soulmates. They're delightful. Before I even finished the first one, I'd ordered the second.
So it gives me particular pleasure to introduce to you Charlie Cochrane, who is joining us today to talk about her latest release, book four of the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, LESSONS IN POWER:
Cambridge, 1907
After settling in their new home, Cambridge dons Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart are looking forward to nothing more exciting than teaching their students and playing rugby. Their plans change when a friend asks their help to clear an old flame who stands accused of murder.
Doing the right thing means Jonty and Orlando must leave the sheltering walls of St. Bride’s to enter a labyrinth of suspects and suspicions, lies and anguish. Their investigation raises ghosts from Jonty’s past when the murder victim turns out to be one of the men who sexually abused him at school. The trauma forces Jonty to withdraw behind a wall of painful memories. And Orlando fears he may forever lose the intimacy of his best friend and lover.
When another one of Jonty’s abusers is found dead, police suspicion falls on the Cambridge fellows themselves. Finding this murderer becomes a race to solve the crime…before it destroys Jonty’s fragile state of mind.
Be sure to click the link at the bottom of the post to read an excerpt from LESSONS IN POWER.
And now, the interview:
What gave you the idea for this story?
It seemed like the natural next part of Jonty and Orlando’s relationship, for them to deal with the awful things which happened to Jonty at school. The abuse he suffered – and the hatred he feels for his abusers – has hovered over his life like a black cloud and he and Orlando are never going to be able to really be happy together until Jonty can find some sort of ‘closure’.
I also wanted to use characters from other books who had proved popular, like Matthew Ainslie and Jonty’s amazing parents (who are always a great source of comic relief). Oh, and I was determined to get the lads playing rugby against each other, too.
Why do you write?
It started because I’d run out of suitable fanfic to read in my fandom and I thought “I’ll try my hand at it.” Then it became a really enjoyable hobby (and one I started to get paid a bit for, once I went pro). Now I carry on because I enjoy it so much – I don’t feel I have to write every day (I tend not to if we’re on holiday) but I’m always picking up ideas to use when we get home.
Who has inspired you, and how?
Loads of authors – Austen, Sayers, O’Brian, Jerome K Jerome to name but a few – who’ve taught me that serious writing doesn’t have to be boring and that humour works well in romance, mysteries and adventure stories. I’m grateful to Lee Rowan for nudging me and nudging me into trying to get published. And I have many sporting heroes, particularly paralympians, who remind me never to give up and aim for the stars.
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Ooh, that’s difficult. A whole tin of condensed milk and a spoon would be pretty good but I’ve not done that for a while. Watching lots of rugby on the TV, especially when it’s a Heineken Cup weekend and I can rack up seven or eight matches (part or whole) over four days is a wonderful indulgence. Why do I do it? The games are exciting and the men are scorchingly hot. Simples. *g*
If there were one misconception about m/m that you could clear up forever, what would it be?
That it has to be sexually explicit. There’s plenty of well written, non-explicit romantic books around (not just mine, Tamara Allen’s ‘Whistling in the Dark’ is a brilliant example). Some of them even have covers which you wouldn’t mind your maiden aunt seeing.
Who is your favorite character, and why?
Among my characters, I love Jonty Stewart from the Cambridge Fellows books because he’s worked his way through troubles with an unquenchable spirit and a cheerful smile on his face. He’s also got an impish sense of humour and is drop dead gorgeous.
Among other people’s characters I love Tom Pullings and William Reade from the Patrick O’Brian books and Sutton and Jack from Tamara Allen’s ‘Whistling in the Dark’. All of them heroic, dashing males, who’ve fought for their country and suffered physical and/or emotional wounds.
Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic? If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?
I have. I started off writing Age of Sail fanfic (Hornblower, Master and Commander) which is where I met lee Rowan, before she was published. If it hadn’t been for that I would never have tried my hand at pro-writing.
I’ve also dabbled in Torchwood fic and still produce the occasional piece, which helps keep the creative juices flowing. I’ve always specialized in AU or crossover stories for my fandoms – I think I might be the only person to have written Jeeves & Wooster/Torchwood crossover. (Very Good, Ianto: 1/2, 2/2 Charlie let me link provided I explain her other stuff is not as loopy. That's okay. We don't mind a little loopy around here, do we?)
Please click the link below for an excerpt from LESSONS IN POWER.
December 02, 2009
November 22, 2009
November 06, 2009
Ameranth & Ash 15: The Last (but not final) Episode
Well, here we are at the last episode of Ameranth & Ash to be posted. I say last to be posted because, as you'll notice when you read it, this is not the end of the story by any means. But this rough first draft becomes even more rough, fragmented and sparse after this, so, this seemed like the best place to stop, not to mention that posting only part of the story here improves my chances as I seek publication for the finished product. And, since my first-choice publisher wants the story off of here when they consider it, I will be taking down all of the Ameranth & Ash episodes next Friday (Nov. 13).
I want to thank everyone who's followed A&A through this little experiment. Putting unedited first draft material up online was nerve-wracking at times. (Especially that opening scene. Oy! I can't tell you how many times I wanted to sneak online in the dead of night and take that down.) But overall, I found this to be a wonderful way to produce a first draft. Your suport has really kept me motivated, and I think I'm going to stay motivated through the second draft, because already I'm eager to get this story polished and published so I can share with you how it all comes out.
If you happen to be just tuning in, here's the rundown:
Ameranth is a vasai, born with both male and female characteristics, and the ability to heal. Ash is a chel, a member of the underclass. Ash gets caught where he's not supposed to be and is brutally punished for it, but when Ameranth brings him to his home and heals him, that is really breaking all the rules. What begins as an act of compassion grows into a bond of love and ignites sparks that could set Ameranth and Ash's whole world on fire.
Please note: The Ameranth & Ash segments posted here are from a work in progress. They are entirely raw, with author's notes, missing names, different versions of the same paragraph, and all manner of grisly error. They also include explicit, non-heteronormative sex, and graphic violence. And you should know that I will not post the whole story in its entirety. At some point I will stop and pull the existing excerpts in preparation for submitting the work to a publisher. (Update: All Ameranth & Ash episodes will come down next Friday, 11/13/9.) And now, if I haven't driven you away yet, ;) enjoy!
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