Elin Gregory

Not Quite Shakespeare – M A Ford

May 14, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Doesn’t Humpday come around fast? I hope you’re having a good Wednesday but, if you’re not, this interview from another author contributing to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology from Dreamspinner Press might cheer you up a bit. Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a copy of the anthology.

My guest today is M A Ford.

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

I was born in the UK, but left as a child, and only lived there for a short while in my twenties. But despite rarely being a resident, I’ve always been drawn back there, to visit relatives, on holiday or even just to go to the theatre or concerts. It may seem silly to fly to London to watch a recording of ‘Cabin Pressure’, or to watch a Matthew Bourne ballet, but there are some things you just have to do …

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the uk? In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

I’ve lived in Kent, Essex and Derbyshire, mainly in small towns.
It might not be on the general list of must-see things, but when I want people to see the UK I love, I try to take them for a drive up in the Peak District, mainly around Castleton… I also love the New Forest. And it’s not the mainland, but I adore the Shetland Islands, and if I ever have the chance, that’s where I’d love to live.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

Inspiration actually hit at Victoria Station while waiting for the Gatwick Express – not very romantic. I generally write about motorsport, and wanted to try something that could only be set in the UK. And Silverstone Circuit, with its history as a WWII airfield, seemed a perfect backdrop.

Could you tell me a little about it?

Racing driver Chris Bryant has been issued with an ultimatum by his boyfriend, fellow driver Charlie Stebbings: come out and be open about their relationship or the romance is over. At the final race of the season, a sudden rain-shower turns the track into a river, and Chris cranes When he wakes up, everything has changed…

Could you please tell me about your other work?

My first book was published by Dreamspinner at the end of December 2013. It’s called ‘Track Limits’, and is a contemporary story set in the world of motorsport, about a racing team, Randolph Racing, and their drivers. It revolves around the romance between Mark Hunter, team manager and driver, and his team-mate Jordan Matthews. I also had a short story as part of Dreamspinner’s Valentine Rainbow, called ‘Love and an (orange) Lamborghini, and another story in the forthcoming ‘Mended’ June Daily Dose. That’s also set in motorsport, with a driver waiting for his team-mate to come round after an accident.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on two sequels to Track Limits, carrying on the love story between my heroes, Mark and Jordan. The first, Overtaking Manouvres, sees them face tensions and separation as their careers take them in different directions. The third, Unavoidable Contact, introduces a new hero, a young driver struggling with his sexuality, love life and career, who needs some help from Mark and Jordan.

Please could we have an excerpt?

Here’s a short snippet from ‘Track Limits’:

Excerpt from ‘Spa Francorchamps’

On leaving the pits, Jordan was lying twelfth, his best time on the old tires and two seconds slower than the provisional pole. Immediately, his sectors began to come down. There were only a handful of cars still out on the track, a number of them having decided to forfeit the final session after the rain spoiled the earlier qualifying.
Mika came over and stood behind Mark, following number 63’s progress with a finger. “He’s doing well,” he said, close to Mark’s ear. “Come on, Jordan… yes… I wish we could see what he’s doing… that was a good sector! Come on, yes…. Yes! Fourth!” He thumped Mark’s shoulder and grinned. “Second row. That’s not bad!”
Mark nodded, his gaze still glued to the screen. He knew Jordan could go faster, if he was confident enough. The cars that had taken the time to make the most of the drying track were all improving. It was going to be a case of the last man out with the freshest tires who took pole.
Another lap. First sector suddenly flashed up in pink, as Jordan set the best time so far. Then the Ferrari on provisional pole improved again. Jordan improved his second sector too—green for personal best. It was all down to the third sector….
Mark was still listening, but there was no sound on the radio. Jordan was going for it. As for him, he realized he was holding his breath. “Come on, Jordan,” he muttered, picturing those bright-green eyes focused on the dark. So gorgeous….
Where had that come from? Mark, briefly shaken by the thought, shivered. He stared down the pit lane, trying to recognize the Porsche’s headlights. Was that it? And as he looked back at the screen….
“Pole!” Mika screamed behind him.
“Too soon,” Mark said between gritted teeth. “There’s five minutes to go.”
But suddenly the flag in the bottom of the screen flashed red. “Nissan 23 off at Radillon,” he read on the message screen. And then, a second message underneath. “Session will not resume.”

~~~

You can follow M A Ford at her Website and on Facebook.

Posted in Guests, New Release | Tagged author interview, gay romance, new release | 3 Comments »

New Release – Spring Affair by B G Thomas

May 13, 2014 by Elin Gregory

First of all kudos to Paul Richmond for yet another memorable cover, with shades of Mucha plus a welcome variation on the ‘naked guys getting close’ theme seen on so many M/M romance covers. Good art with implications of sweetness and light, very appropriate.

Secondly, I’ve been asked by the author to make it absolutely clear that this book is a standalone novel. It is the first in the Season of Love series but the books are only loosely linked, much as Ben’s other books are linked by characters who live in the Oscar Wilde apartment block who may appear in subsequent titles. The linking is a little more formal in this case, being the about romantic relationships of a group of friends, but I’m assured that every book will be able to be read independently of the others. There also isn’t too long to wait if you are a B G Thomas completist. The next book will be published in July, with Autumn written and Winter well on the way.

Here are the details:

Spring Affair by B G Thomas

Blurb: Sloan McKenna is going through a tough time. His beloved mother has recently passed away, leaving him her house and beautiful garden. But should he keep the house? Sell it? To make matters worse, he’s in love with one of his best friends, Asher, a man who can’t (or won’t) love him back.

Sloan’s neighbor, Max Turner, is married to an ambitious woman with far-reaching dreams, including moving the family to France. But Max is happy teaching at the local college and living in their nice, quiet town. Then he discovers his fourteen-year-old son is not only gay, but out and proud as well. That throws him into complete disarray, for more than one reason….

When Max’s wife leaves on a two-month business trip to Paris, circumstances throw the two men together. As they become friends, Sloan finds himself falling in love with Max, who is completely unavailable… just like Asher. As for Max, he is discovering that both his son’s coming out and his new friendship with Sloan are stirring up feelings he thought buried long ago. Spring is a time for rebirth—Is there any way the two men can find happiness and a new beginning?

Excerpt:

Sloan was lucky to have all of the dear friends who had gathered here with him tonight, especially after the last month. Month? Hell! Six months. His shoulders sagged, and he felt the tears almost prick at the corners of his eyes. Almost. But it wasn’t happening. And that was a good thing. He didn’t want his friends to see him crying. Not tonight. Even though he could. Even though it would be fine. He wanted to be brave tonight. Impress the hell out of them.

Were they talking about him now, or were they delving into a discussion of whether John the Baptist was real or not? At least Scott wasn’t going on and on about one of his online romances—men he fell madly in love with and rarely met in real life. And when he did? Disaster every time. The last time Scott had actually flown to Chicago and checked into The Four Seasons, a very expensive hotel, so he could meet the man he just knew was Mr. Right. The two of them were supposed to share the costs of not only the room, but the plane tickets as well. That didn’t happen. Scott and his romance du jour met, fucked, wound up having a huge ugly fight, and it was over. Scott had been devastated. For a couple of weeks. Maybe a month. Then Scott was right back online.

Scott, Wyatt, and Asher. They were the best friends a man could have, despite their eccentricities.

Scott was always there for him at an instant’s notice, no matter what. He had actually been the first one Sloan had called on the worst day of his life, not more than a month ago. Scott had had a plan already set and instantly took over so Sloan could just throw himself on the couch and, well, not cry. That hadn’t happened yet. He’d been too afraid to let the tears go until the funeral was over—he had wanted, needed, to maintain a sense of decorum until then. He could cry later.

Except he hadn’t yet. Not really.

Not Quite Shakespeare – Chris Quinton

May 12, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Here we are again with another interview from an author contributing to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology from Dreamspinner Press. Don’t forget to comment because I plan to buy two copies and will give one away to a lucky commenter.

My guest today is a favourite author so my welcome is tinged with a bit of fangirliness 🙂 Hi Chris Quinton, how are you doing?

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

Well, apart from a year in Aden when I was really young – was four when I came home – and a couple of years in South Wales in the mid 1960’s, I’ve always lived in England.

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the UK?

OMG, so many! In my home county alone there’s Stonehenge, Avebury, Wilton House, Salisbury Cathedral, Stourhead House with its wonderful gardens, and that’s off the top of my head without thinking about it. There’s so much packed into this collection of islands, whether you’re a history/archaeology fan or a lover of grand houses and their gardens. Then there’s the wonderfully varied coastline, the lakes and forests.

In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

Born and bred in Salisbury, Wiltshire. When I was first married, we lived for a couple of years close to Cwmbran in Monmouthshire, South Wales, then for about six months we were in Botley, Hampshire before moving back to Salisbury – where I’ve been ever since. Although Salisbury is a city, it’s no bigger than a small market town – but its history spans about three thousand years, give or take *g*. I’d class it as rural living rather than cosmopolitan. Half an hour’s walk and you’re among fields. It’s lovely here…

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

Well, we were walking the dogs, and my daughter in law was chatting about a friend and her rescue greyhounds, and what characters they were. I wanted to write something quintessentially English, and greyhound racing fitted the bill. Then the title popped into my head – In The Dog House. I mulled it over a bit, and Jerry appeared and started talking about his trials and tribulations, and his old crush. So I basically took notes and ended up with just under 10K of 1st person narration.

Could you tell me a little about it?

Jerry Thorne is looking after a racing greyhound for his uncle, and is in hiding from men out to drug Spot, aka Edie’s Lightning, before a big race. Mike Brown is an ex-crush [unreciprocated] who moved away and joined the Avon & Somerset Police. Jerry had a huge crush on Mike from his early teens. The one time he acted on it and kissed him, Mike rebuffed him, saying he wasn’t gay. Soon after he left the area and Jerry didn’t see him for years. Uncle George tells Jerry to stay away while he negotiates with the crooks, and Jerry ends up on Mike’s doorstep…

Could you please tell me about your other work?

I’ve just had Caravaggio’s Angel published by Totally Bound – it’s a contempory paranormal set on the island of Malta – https://www.totallybound.com/caravaggios-angel. Also, having had a handful of titles revert to me from the currently rather troubled Silver Publishing, I’ve reedited them, found new covers and self-published them. Details can be found on my website http://chrisquinton.com …

What are you working on at the moment?

Oh, goodness. My Work in Progress folder is stupidly long. Well, I’m co-writing Heat with RJ Scott, co-writing Against the Tide with Terri Beckett, working on Melusine’s Cats #1 Greymalkin, and I have edits to do on Undercover Blues for Manifold Press. Those are at the top of the list. Below them are at least half a dozen stories waiting to be worked on, all with titles and some with covers ready for self-publishing.

Please could we have an excerpt?

With pleasure *g*. Here’s a short clip from In The Dog House…

I pulled over at the first lay-by I saw, and after I’d let Spot out to stretch his legs and we’d taken it in turns to pee against the same tree, I got out my mobile phone, and was shocked to see it was gone ten o’clock. First I called Uncle George, to let him know where we were and that we’d lost our tail. He had news as well. Pete Mullins, Joe’s dad, had paid him a visit, told him he had two choices.
“Two? That was generous. Not. Is one option the same his thug of a son gave me?”
“Yup. Spot has to compete. But I sell him to them—for a sodding fiver, no less—and keep my mouth shut, or else.”
“What? The bastards! They can’t have him, Uncle!” Then caution set in. “Or else, what?”
“He didn’t say, but it doesn’t matter. You keep our Spot safe, you hear me? I’m taking him out of the race first thing in the morning.”
“But they want him to run,” I protested. “You’re taking a hell of a risk! You’re not going to give him to them, are you?”
“Don’t be daft! Of course not! Just lie low with him for a while—and keep your mouth shut! I think I can get us out of this as long as we don’t involve anyone else.”
“Meaning the police?”
“Exactly. I’ve got a plan,” he continued with a confidence I didn’t feel. “I saw it on a TV cop show and it’ll work for us. Just lay low and leave this to me.”

~~~ Chris Quinton ~ Writing Romance … Where Men Fall In Love With Men ~~~

My website is here http://chrisquinton.com/
and I’m on FaceBook here https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000894893197
Here is my Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/chrisquinton

Posted in contest, Excerpt, Guests, Uncategorized | Tagged author interview, brit author, gay romance, new release | 3 Comments »

Writing Process Meme

May 12, 2014 by Elin Gregory

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these so it was quite nice to be tagged by Sarah Granger, author of A Minor Inconvenience, one of my favourite historicals. You really need to check it out, okay?

I have four questions to answer about my writing process, which is quite hard because my process changes all the time. On this occasion I’m going to talk about a big partially completed, and currently stalled, project called A Fierce Reaping, about a troop of Romano-British cavalry fighting the Anglo=Saxons in post-Arthurian Northumbria and Yorkshire.

What am I working on?

A Fierce Reaping is based on Y Gododdin, a piece of poetry written in Old Welsh in about the 9th century though it deals with events that occurred at the beginning of the 7th century. I’ve got about 60,000 words of it so far, am halfway through and have the most difficult section – needing to kill off a lot of people – still to write. I wrote the first 50k words during Nanowrimo in 2011 and have added to it sporadically since but decided that it might be better to finish a few short projects rather than devote the couple of years I’d need to getting AFR finished and redrafted.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Less romance. Romance is not a genre I ever got into – I just upped the violence levels in the ‘bloke books’ I used to read. Westerns, fantasies, Age of Sail books, military thrillers, police procedural – all focussed on the action rather than the development of a loving relationship. I’ve nothing against romance, in fact I quite enjoy reading someone else’s, but in my writing process I get distracted from relationship angst and introduce the action adventure elements. In fact I’m usually MORE excited about the plot than I am about the romance when I’m reading too. I also don’t write much sex. I use it as a motivator, a reward, or a way of upping the stakes for the characters. BFFs get distressed when the other is in dangers; lovers get distraught! A Fierce Reaping should end up at about 100k words when I’m done and it will have 3 sex scenes. It doesn’t need any more to make the plot points I want to make and since I really don’t enjoy writing sex scenes – I mean I REALLY don’t enjoy writing them and the insistence of the M/M reading community that books with no explicit rumpy pumpy are a waste of pixels hurts my soul – I see no point in adding any more.

Why do I write what I do?

Firstly, choice. More choice in LGBTTQ fiction HAS to be a good thing. Yes I know that contemporary erotic fiction is the best seller but I’m petty certain that there are enough people out there who would enjoy the gay equivalent of Sharpe or Hornblower or James Bond – plot driven historical or contemporary stories with gay protagonists and maybe a little bit of sexiness – to make them worth writing. I don’t expect to sell well but I think it’s very important that the choice is there whether people buy it or not.
Secondly the shameful erasure from history of the tremendous contribution made to civilisation by LGBTQ people. Too often lives have been censored or bowdlerised to remove any reference to alternative sexuality. In most cases we’ll never know the true stories but we can make it clear in fiction that LGBTQ people were there and worked as hard, were as heroic and as competent as anyone else, but without the solace of being able to acknowledge their loved ones.

How does my writing process work?

Frankly it takes a while. I’ve never been one of those people who can read a prompt and a month later have a perfectly constructed first draft ready to polish for submission. In the case of A Fierce Reaping, it’s a story with which I have been familiar since reading it in translation 40 years ago. The actual poem is a series of death songs for warriors killed on a raid deep into territory held by the Saxons, so hardly a light and fluffy story but one of how pride and ambition lead an army to disaster. Atrocities occur on both sides and the climax is a bloody and tragic one.S o how to wring a happy ending from all that death and despair? I read the text again and figured out a way it might be done in about 2010. Then I wrote about Greeks and pirates instead and didn’t pitch into the Romano-Celtic period until late 2011. I read all the different translations of Y Gododdin I could get my hands on, refamiliarised myself with arms and armour, growing seasons, probable diets, the uber-macho death wish mindset of a culture that deemed it a grand and glorious thing to die in battle. Then it was November and I bashed out 53k words during a daily hour in the morning and another just before bedtime. They aren’t good words but they are there and I added another 10k over 2012 while I got a novella, a short story and a novel published. I was looking forward to carrying on with A Fierce Reaping in 2013 then I had to adjust my daily routines to fit around a newly retired husband and writing went out of the window.
Once a story has lost its impetus it’s very hard to get gong on it again. I find it very easy to go back and revise then find I’m doing a complete rewrite, and that’s a lot to commit to when only managing about 500 words a week, sometimes less. This spring I got my hands on a different translation of the base text that turned some of my ideas on their heads and had to do some replotting. I think the new version will hold water against all 4 translations and I’m looking forward to getting on with it again, but when it will be finished I have no idea. If it’s finished, when it will be published I have even less idea – I don’t know of ANY publisher now that Cheyenne is closing its doors who might be prepared to handle something like this.

For the moment I’m concentrating on the second draft of Eleventh Hour, set in 1920s London, and am still waiting to hear whether Riptide wants A Taste of Copper, a story with an erstaz medieval setting loosely based on the Black Knight sketch from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I keep promising myself that I’ll finish AFR when I have found a home for those, but I could say that about any of the half dozen novels on my had drive, some of which are almost complete. One thing at a time is a lesson I have only recently learned.

Since I have to pass on the baton to other writers I asked for volunteers and Mia Kerrick, Elliott Mackle and R. S. Charles responded. They will be posting their writing process pieces on Monday, May 19th. Links later.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged historical romance, writing | 1 Comment »

Not Quite Shakespeare – Jules Jones

May 11, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Are you having a good weekend?

Well just in case you need something to read here’s the next interview from authors contributing to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology from Dreamspinner Press, that will be published in June just in time for the UK Meet. I am very much looking forward to getting a copy and have decided to buy two, one of which I am offering here as a giveaway. Comment below or to any or the other interviews for your name to go in the hat.

My guest today is Jules Jones. Hi Jules.

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

I’ve lived in several different countries, and long-time readers will probably remember that I was living in the US when I sold my first few novels. But I’m originally from the UK, and currently living in northern England.

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the UK?

Too many for any one visitor to see, and of course it depends on what you like to look at. My current local favourite is the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, because I like steam engines and early computers, and so do a lot of my visitors. 🙂

In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

Four so far. Always in a town or city, although usually with the countryside within easy distance. For several years I lived right in the middle of a conurbation, but with a view of the North Yorkshire Moors.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

It’s actually a story I wrote some years ago, and never found a suitable home for until now. It came from a remark on a tv show years ago about missing toast badly enough to grow the wheat to make the bread. My lead character doesn’t go quite that far, but he does like making bread from scratch.

Could you tell me a little about it?

What better way to get to know a shy new flatmate than offering to share freshly baked bread? And all that dough kneading leads to nice strong hands, which is useful if you also know how to give a good massage.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

Most of my commercially published fiction is m/m romance, and a lot of it’s cross-genre science fiction and fantasy. I wandered in from the sf&f side of cross-genre, which is why my “which authors are you influenced by” list includes writers like Andre Norton and Lois McMaster Bujold. But I also write a fair bit of contemporary romance, including my recently released novel “Nice Tie”. The contemporary romance is all set in the UK, as is some of the cross-genre romance. My silkie novel Spindrift is set on the west coast of Scotland, and my shapeshifter novel Dolphin Dreams is set on the Purbeck coast in Dorset. And for science fiction, there’s First Footer, which is a first contact story set in England. (Never park your spaceship on a peat bog…) The rest of the cross-genre is basically Brits In Space. (No, not Brits In Spaaaaace. Except for The Syndicate.) You can find my full bibliography on my website, along with a lot of excerpts and some free reads.

What are you working on at the moment?

Two very different pieces. One’s a very gentle contemporary short story idea I got from the submission call for the Dreamspinner anthology “Random Acts of Kindness”. The other is a contemporary office romance with caning on one side, bondage on the other, and in-house fraud to investigate for both of them. That one will probably be heading in the direction of my editor at Loose Id once it’s finished. And every so often I poke at my urban fantasy novel.

Please could we have an excerpt?

My story in the anthology is fairly short, so not really suitable for an excerpt. Instead, have an excerpt from the WIP. Alas, you’ll have to wait a while before this one’s out. 🙂 The guys have just met for the first time, in the bar of the hotel they both happen to be staying in.

~~~

They’d been quiet enough to be discreet, but Chris could understand why Jason might want to leave anything more detailed than “we’re having sex” to somewhere more private than the corridor. Only when they were inside, with the door safely shut behind them, did he ask, “Just vanilla, or something more?” He looked around the suite. It didn’t run to a four-poster bed, but there were other possibilities. “There’s always the dressing gown belt for impromptu bondage.”

Jason laughed softly. “You’re a sweet-looking young thing, but I’m still not letting a complete stranger tie me up in an anonymous hotel room. Besides, it’s not my kink.”

“So what is?”

“I’m old enough to have been educated at an expensive fee-paid school, at a time when one of the things parents were paying their fees for was firm discipline in the shape of corporal punishment.”

Chris was speechless for a few seconds. Not at the idea that Jason liked being caned, but at why. Then he decided that it was none of his damned business. “Okay. Not sure how practical that is at short notice.” He looked around the room. “Unless you carry something with you on the off-chance?”

“No.” Jason crossed his arms and looked at him. “Not when I was planning to have a quiet drink and then go to bed early.” Then he grinned. “Though I’m rather regretting it now. You’re game for it, and it’s not even really your thing, is it?”

~~~

Jules Jones is a materials scientist with a degree in maths and physics, and as such should really be writing hard sf. The output is in fact more along the lines of political sf, erotica and romance, often all at the same time. The longer examples are mostly published by Loose Id; short stories have appeared in a variety of venues. You can find Jules online at her website, blog, Twitter, Library Thing and Goodreads or you can email her at jules.jones@gmail.com!

Posted in contest, Excerpt, Guests | Tagged author interview, contest, gay romance, new release | 9 Comments »

Saturday Recs

May 10, 2014 by Elin Gregory

I haven’t done one of these for a long time – life has, as they say, been ‘interesting’ – but I recently read a follow up to books I have recced before so I thought I’d give it a mention.

I was very excited to hear that the next one in K Z Snow’s steampunky magiccy fantasy series was out and I’m delighted to say that my excitement was justified.

Machine by K Z Snow continued the story of the relationship of Fanule Perfidor, Eminence of Taintwell, and his ex-carnival snake oil salesman lover, Will Marchman, who has given up on the snake oil and now sells luxury items for personal grooming, with some time spent revisiting other amazing characters like Clancy Marrowbone, vampire, and Lizabetta and her cat, surely the most unusual healer and pet currently in fiction.

Life is proceeding pretty well until a strange wagon arrives at the carnival, then appears in various places around Taintwell, and the citizens begin to exhibit odd behaviours and in some cases disappear. The owner of the Spiritorium is implicated and Fanule has to find out who he is and what he’s doing.

Then epic stuff happens, happy couples are torn apart and everyone’s well-being spirals quickly towards the drain.

This is such good fun and fills in answers to some questions that had occurred to me in book one, Mongrel. Another thing I really enjoy about it is that the lives of the bit part players are treated with sympathy and there are some of that rare breed in M/M fiction – strong sensible female characters who are not interested in getting into either hero’s pants because they have their own thing to do. People in this world have flaws to overcome and conflicts to resolve beyond the main plot and that is as it should be.

But the main plot is compelling and exciting and I recommend this book very highly to any reader who craves a good sound plot and compelling characters.

Posted in Recommendations, Saturday Recs | Tagged gay romance, sat recs | 2 Comments »

Not Quite Shakespeare – Megan Reddaway

May 9, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Doesn’t Shakespeare have a way with words? I tell you who else does too – the authors who have contributed to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology of British themed stories from Dreamspinner Press [cover and links to follow].

Don’t forget – I will put the names of all commenters to all of the interviews into a hat and pick a winner to receive a copy of the anthology in the format of their choice. Comment to win, that’s the ticket!

Today’s interviewee is Megan Reddaway.

Hello, Megan. Have you always lived in the UK?

Mostly. I’ve spent a year travelling and a year living in France. I remember arriving back at Heathrow airport after my travelling year and thinking how low and closed-in the sky over England seemed, like a blanket of cotton wool over my head, but at the same time knowing I was home and not wanting to live anywhere else.

In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

I’ve lived in six counties, all in south-east or central England – in three market towns as a child and three cities as an adult, one of them London. I’m happiest living in small to medium sized cities.

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the UK?

It may sound bizarre since I hated growing up in one, but I think it’s the small towns that are truly representative of the UK – in fact, I think small towns are the most interesting places to stay wherever you go in the world. You pick up on the attitudes and everyday life of the nation at a much deeper level than if you were visiting a big city or going round castles, museums and beaches.

This might be because I’m a writer – I’m more interested in observing people than sights. But I do also love the medieval buildings of Oxford where I live now and the landscape of the west coast of Scotland, among other places. Then almost every village has houses and gardens that are just lovely. To look at, I mean. Don’t make me live in a village. Please.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology? Could you tell me a little about it?

Ha. I was hoping you’d ask that. My story, Wrong Number, is about a guy who phones his best friend – so he thinks – for sympathy about his lack of a sex life, telling him exactly what he’d like to have some guy do to him, and finds to his horror he’s called one of his bosses by mistake.

So, the inspiration. I live in an area of Oxford with a big student population. The house next door is always let to students and last year a group of gay guys moved in, which was interesting for an M/M romance writer – especially when one of them decided to make an explicit phone call from outside on the front step one night.

In my street all the houses are joined together and their front door is right beside the window of my living room, where I was sitting quietly reading. It was dark and my curtains were drawn so we couldn’t see each other, but when he started telling another guy exactly what he wanted in very graphic terms, I could hear every word.

Some people might turn on the TV or move to another room, but a writer grabs a notebook 🙂

From there, I started thinking about what might have happened before and after such an explicit call. In my final story the situation and the characters are completely different – it’s set in London, they’re not students and I changed some of his words, but it all grew out of that real phone call.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

I’m a freelance non-fiction writer in ‘real life’. In the M/M genre, I don’t have much else finished and published yet, but there are a couple of free stories available from my website at http://meganreddaway.com

My own favourite is The Luck of the Irish, a paranormal M/M comedy about a guy who’s been cursed by a leprechaun.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have two novels at the first draft stage. The one closest to being finished is a contemporary M/M romance set in Oxford (but not in the University). The main character is a man in his 40s who’s lost his much older partner and now finds he’s unexpectedly attracted to a younger guy.

Not sure when it will be published. I seem to have to leave things, do something else and come back to rewrite or edit them.

Excerpt from ‘Wrong Number’, Megan’s contribution to Not Quite Shakespeare:

I’d had a few drinks, to be honest. I’d had a few drinks, and I got home, and the cramped little studio flat in Croydon where I lived looked exactly the same as when I went out. Of course that was a good thing, really, because if the place looked a lot different, it could only be due to a burglary, flood, fire, unannounced landlord visit, or similar disaster. But there’s something so depressing about coming home and finding everything the same. Especially when you’re simply longing for your flat to contain another living creature such as a boyfriend, or at least a cat.

My landlord didn’t allow cats, or I’d have had one. There was no clause forbidding boyfriends, but unfortunately you can’t just grab the cutest-looking stray man from the nearest gay bar, take him home, feed him twice a day, and expect him to love you for it. All I had was pictures, of both cats and men. It wasn’t the same.

So I decided to call my best friend, Gavin. I knew he’d be awake and alone, because I’d only said goodbye to him ten minutes ago outside East Croydon station. I sat on the edge of my bed and opened the address book on my phone.

“I need to get fucked,” I complained as soon as the call was answered. “I want to feel cock plunging into me. I want to worship a big warm dick. I want to lick it all over and get it all wet and rock hard then take it in my arse, take it in deep and get fucked so hard I’m screaming!”

Then what was supposed to happen was that Gavin would be like, “Oh petal, I know, isn’t it awful to have nothing but silicone to play with at the end of the night, where have all the gorgeous hunks gone?”

Instead there was a short silence, and a dry voice that was definitely not Gavin’s said, “Well, Connor, this is unexpected.”

For a moment I was paralysed. Then I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. Where it should have said “Gavin,” it said “Gary Bayes.”

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

~~~

You can follow Megan at her website or on her Facebook page

Posted in Guests, New Release | Tagged author interview, brit author, gay romance | 6 Comments »

Not Quite Shakespeare – Sarah Madison

May 7, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Happy humpday, and here is the second interview in a series from the list of terrific authors contributing to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology of British themed stories from Dreamspinner Press [cover and links to follow].

Don’t forget to comment – I will put the names of all commenters to all of the interviews/posts into a hat and pick a winner to receive a copy of the anthology in the format of their choice.

Today we have a guest post from Sarah Madison. Welcome Sarah

~~~

I grew up reading stories set in the UK. Horse and pony books. Dog stories. Mysteries. Regencies. My love affair with England in particular was fostered by a steady diet of novels written during the Golden Age of Mystery–so lots of Josephine Tey, Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Dorothy Sayers. I suspect Lord Peter ruined me for many a man, especially considering that I grew up in the Southern US, where the Dukes of Hazzard was king. I find it highly amusing, therefore, that I ended up with a British boyfriend. Last Christmas he took me to meet his family in West Sussex, and I felt like I’d come home after a lifetime of wandering. It’s difficulty to explain the impact that trip had on me. Every footstep, every ‘familiar’ sight, spoke to me.

The towns were so picturesque. I loved how everyone lived among their history and it was just a way of life, not something to be cordoned off in a museum. You learn so much about a country by actually seeing it–the way the ground gives beneath your feet, the sweet mulchy smell of the wet earth and the slickness of white chalk. The cars are small because the streets are small, and they in turn follow the course of public right-of-ways and boundary lines of great estates that have been present for centuries. The choir at the Cathedral at Winchester transported us back in time, as their voices soared into the vaulted hall, and the pasty shop is a black-beamed and dark wooden building that has stood since the fifteenth century. Everywhere I turned, I saw something from my ‘past’, and I suspect my BF got tired of me punching him in the arm and saying things like “Look! A yew garden! Oh! It’s a twitten! A magpie! I saw a magpie!”

And yes, there were pheasants on the lawn.

At one point, my boyfriend pointed out that since our trip was of necessity a short one, that I wouldn’t be able to go see all the touristy landmarks. I know I must have gaped at him. “I’m in ENGLAND. Do you see that? That’s English mud! I don’t need to see anything else.”

We did, however. We walked the South Downs, toured Winchester, and took the train up to Oxford to meet friends (and I admit to a little bit of fangirling as I ran around pointing out places that Lord Peter and Harriet Vane met and did things in that city of dreaming spires). It was, without a doubt, one of the best weeks of my life. I would go back again in a heartbeat. I’d love to see more: go to Cornwall, and Yorkshire, and Wales. See Scotland. Go pony-trekking across Ireland. I loved every minute of it.

I loved my time there so much that when I saw the call for the Not Quite Shakespeare Anthology, I knew I had to submit a story–a love poem to the UK as much as a tale of two lovers separately by circumstance who reconnect again after many years. My UK memories were so vivid in my mind, even a year later. My main character, a young American named Denny, spent a summer as a young man with relatives in the South of England, where he met and fell in love with Tarquin. But they were hardly more than schoolboys at the time–and once the summer was over, Denny went back to the US and they had no further contact.

But Denny never forgot his first love. Over a decade later, circumstances bring him back to Chanctonbury Ring, where some of his fondest memories were made. When Tarq shows up almost like a ghost conjured from Denny’s imagination, Denny has to decide if there was more to that glorious summer than first love–and if there is enough between them to try again.

Bio:

Sarah Madison is a veterinarian with a big dog, a big horse, too many cats, and an extremely patient (and supportive!) boyfriends. She writes because it is cheaper than therapy.

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sarah-Madison-Author/106445646104338
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMadisonFic
Tumblr: http://sarahmadisonfiction.tumblr.com/
Website: http://www.sarahmadisonfiction.com/

Links and information for specific stories:

The Boys of Summer
Genre: Contemporary/Historical M/M Romance
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00CCUVR7G
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/306320

Blurb: David McIntyre has been enjoying the heck out of his current assignment: touring the Hawaiian Islands in search of the ideal shooting locations for a series of film company projects. What’s not to like? Stunning scenery, great food, sunny beaches…and a secret crush on his hot, ex-Air Force pilot, Rick Sutton.
Everything changes when a tropical storm and engine failure force a crash landing on a deserted atoll with a WWII listening post. Rick’s injuries, and a lack of food and water, make rescue imperative, but it takes an intensely vivid dream about the war to make David see that Rick is more than just a pilot to him. Will David gather his courage to confess his feelings to Rick—before it’s too late?
Finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Awards. Nominated Best Historical in the Goodreads M/M Romance Reader’s Choice Awards. Selected as a Best Read in 2013 by Jessewave. Winner of Best M/M Romance in the 2013 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards.

Crying for the Moon
Genre: Paranormal M/M Romance
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2422
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B005DZPNYU
Blurb: Vampire Alexei Novik may have the teeth and the coffin, but he’s given up the lifestyle for an old fixer-upper in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Weary of his past, Alex plans to keep to himself, but it seems his sexy, new neighbor, Tate, can’t take the hint—a good thing, since it turns out he’s handy for all kinds of things around the house. Tate even gets along with Alex’s werewolf friends, though one of them pointedly reminds Alex that their friendship is a bad idea.

If a platonic relationship is a bad idea, the growing attraction between Tate and Alex is a disaster waiting to happen. Loving Tate will draw him into Alex’s dangerous world, and Alex is torn between having the relationship he’s always craved and keeping Tate safe. Tate won’t take no for an answer, however, and seems to handle everything Alex can throw at him without blinking. Just when he thinks things might turn out all right after all, Alex’s past catches up with him—forcing him to make a terrible choice.
Winner of the Coffee Times Romance Recommended Read Award. August 2011 Recommended Read by Reviews by Jessewave. First Runner Up in the Love Romances and More’s Golden Rose Awards for Best Paranormal of 2011.

Unspeakable Words (novella)
Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal M/M Romance
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2058
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B004CRTD4G

Blurb: Special Agent John Flynn is everything Jerry Parker is not: dangerously handsome, coolly charismatic, and respected by his peers. Special Agent Parker is dedicated and meticulous, but his abrasive personality has given him a reputation for being difficult. When new information on a cold case appears, Parker is assigned to work with Flynn, and the sparks fly as their investigative styles clash. Contact with a strange artifact changes everything when it bestows unusual and unpredictable powers on Flynn… and the two men must learn to trust each other before a killer strikes again.
Part One of the (planned) four part Unspeakable Words series. Part Two, Walk a Mile, will be released by Dreamspinner Press in Oct 2014.

Posted in Guests, New Release | Tagged author interview, gay romance, new release | 9 Comments »

Not Quite Shakespeare – Becky Black

May 5, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Here we go with the first author interview of the roster from the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology of British themed stories from Dreamspinner [cover and buy links to follow when available!] And our first brave interogatee iiiiis Becky Black.

Hi Becky.

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

I’ve always lived here, and in fact I’ve never travelled far away from the place. I live in the north east now, which is where I was brought up. I did live in London for a few years as a student. But the north is much nicer!

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the uk? In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

London is the most obvious must see of course. But I think the best part of the UK is our amazing coastline. And it’s especially beautiful up here on the north east coast, with our golden sands and sights like Bamburgh Castle.

I think I’ve lived in six counties over my lifetime, all of them urban. I am a city girl at heart.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

I’ve always wanted to write a story about rival ice cream sellers – right back to the days when I wrote fan fiction. When this anthology came along, called “Not Quite Shakespeare” then it seemed to fit perfectly to do a story about star crossed lovers of rival Italian families – who happen to sell ice cream. The fact there are a couple of famous Italian family owned ice cream firms in the seaside towns near to where I grew up and where my mother was from was in influence too, I must admit.

Could you tell me a little about it?

It’s called 99 Problems and is about two young men who have taken over the running of their family ice cream businesses, one of them very reluctantly. With their families having been rivals for years them having a romance would be a really tricky situation for them – so of course they fancy each other at once… It’s a story of forbidden romance and family rivalry, but nobody is going to stab or poison themselves at the end – because hey, it’s only ice cream!

Could you please tell me about your other work?

Mostly I write science fiction m/m erotic romance novels. I currently have eight published with Loose Id. I’ve also got another short contemporary published with JMS books. I’ve also self published a couple of non-romance science fiction stories, which are available free.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I’m drafting the third in my Red Dragon space-opera series. It’s planned to be the final book, but I do have a possible spin off in mind. And I can never leave characters alone, so who knows if more ideas for those guys might come up? But I’ve got lots of other plans on the go – including possibly a f/f story, which would be a departure for me.

Please could we have an excerpt?

Here’s a snippet from the first scene of my anthology story 99 Problems.

“Chez?” he said, approaching them, holding out his hand. “Is that you?”

“Rob?” Chez said.

A briefly startled expression crossed his face. His frankly gorgeous face. He had not been this pretty when Rob saw him last, almost a decade ago when they were both sixteen, and Chez had gone off to one sixth-form college and Rob to another. His skin had cleared up, for one thing.

“Mrs Bianchi,” Rob said to Liliana. “We have met before. Rob Catteneo.”

“Oh,” she said, eyebrows raised. “From the new firm.”

The new firm, yes, since the Catteneo family had only been selling ice creams in this town since 1973, a mere forty years. Unlike the old firm, the Bianchi family, who’d come over from Italy in the early 1950s.

“I was at school with Chez,” Rob reminded her.

“Chez?” She looked up at her great-grandson. “What is this ‘Chez’ he calls you, Cesare?”

“It’s what my friends call me, Nana.” Chez swept wavy black hair out of his eyes as the strong wind off the sea blew it across his face. “They called me that at school.”

“School? This is not school. This is church.” She looked at Rob again with recognition in her dark eyes. “Ah yes. Roberto. The cheeky one.”

“Nana!”

Rob grinned. “You do remember me.”

“It’s Robert, Nana,” Chez said. “Not Roberto.”

Her snort told Rob what she thought of that. The Bianchis hung onto the old ways, the old names, and, whenever they could, the old genetics. His last name might give him away, but since his dad had married a local girl, Rob looked as Anglo-Saxon as most other men in this town. Chez looked like he’d just stepped off his Vespa in Milan to go buy a cappuccino.

~~~

Many thanks, Becky for answering my questions.

Readers – don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a copy of Not Quite Shakespeare.

You can follow Becky at the links below:

email: beckyblackbooks@gmail.com
website: http://beckyblack.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/beckyblackbooks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BeckyBlackBooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4557505.Becky_Black
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/beckyblackbooks
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/beckyblackbooks/

Posted in Guests | Tagged author interview, brit author, gay romance, new release, uk meet | 13 Comments »

Bollocks!

May 4, 2014 by Elin Gregory

No, that’s not me being gratuitously rude!! That’s the title of the forthcoming anthology of stories that will be published by Wayward Ink Publishing, a brand new initiative that will be accepting Gay Fiction as well as romance titles!! Links to their website as soon as it’s available but you can follow them on Facebook right now.

Bollocks! is a collection of British themed stories that plumbs the depths of our very broad and earthy sense of humour. I’ve chipped in with a story of angst, passion and Mars Bars. Here’s the official blurb and stuff!

Bollocks as a word is a little naughty. It’s a little cheeky. It’s a little rude.
And it’s the tongue-in-cheek theme for this collection of short stories celebrating all things English.
You’ll discover a bonk is not a typo for somewhere to keep your money.
A shag isn’t something thick and plush under your feet to keep them warm, though it is guaranteed to heat you up!
And as for a snog, the boys of Bollocks! can assure you it’s worth finding out what that Brit term means.
The stories will make you laugh.
They’ll make you snort.
They’ll make you blush.
Sigh—they’ll probably make you shake your head.
They may even make you want to catch the next flight to England to find something a little British of your own!
It’s not just cricket, or jolly hockey sticks, it’s more… it’s the very British, Bollocks!