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Not Quite Shakespeare – M A Ford

Posted in Guests, New Release, tagged , , on May 14, 2014| 3 Comments »

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.

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Chris Quinton

Posted in contest, Excerpt, Guests, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on May 12, 2014| 3 Comments »

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

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Jules Jones

Posted in contest, Excerpt, Guests, tagged , , , on May 11, 2014| 9 Comments »

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!

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Megan Reddaway

Posted in Guests, New Release, tagged , , on May 9, 2014| 6 Comments »

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

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Sarah Madison

Posted in Guests, New Release, tagged , , on May 7, 2014| 9 Comments »

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.

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Becky Black

Posted in Guests, tagged , , , , on May 5, 2014| 13 Comments »

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/

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Today in the Comfy Chair – Mina Carter

Posted in Guests, tagged , , , , on January 22, 2014| 2 Comments »

comfy chairMy guest today is Mina Carter, renowned for her beautifully produced book covers [I still get a bit of a lump in my throat when I look at the one she made for On A Lee Shore] and for her many romance series. She is here today to publicise the latest instalment of her Lyric Hounds series, Sex, Wolves and Rock and Roll, which has a strong M/M pairing at the heart of it.

Welcome, Mina, and thank you for answering my questions.

###

Elin: Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?

Mina: Nope, no ‘day’ job as in going out to work for someone else, but in addition to writing I’m also a cover-artist and a photographer, so at any given time I can be wearing one of three hats 🙂 Other than that I’m a married mother of one with a bad reading habit and far too little respect for correct amounts of sleep 🙂 I’m also addicted to coffee.

Elin: Normally at this point I would be asking about your other creative outlets but since I first got to know you through your fantastic cover art, I’d like to ask some questions about that. In view of the highly imaginative works produced by artists such as Nathie, Ann Cain, Paul Richmond and yourself, do you think the day of the stock photo nude torso on MM romances may be drawing to its close? Where do you start in designing a cover? The characters? The overall tone of the work? Do you accept commissions?

Mina: Hmmm, it’s possible. I’m getting a lot of requests for more than just a torso. While I understand the thinking behind it (so the reader can imagine the perfect hero), it’s a creative challenge to take the information from the cover art form and create a cover that tells a story in itself.

Generally I start by reading through the form and the information provided by the author. I’ll also go and have a look at their website to see any previous covers, and have a look around the stock sites. Different genres have different requirements so then it’s a case of picking the stock that matches both the characters and the genre. Sometimes if I know I need something specific in advance, I’ll organise a photoshoot with the intent of getting that image.

I do occasionally accept commissions, but it very much depends on my writing schedule 🙂

Elin: What are you reading? Can you recommend something that you wished you’d written yourself?

Mina: Currently I’m reading City of Bones, the Mortal Instruments series. I can heartily recommend Zero Dog War by Keith Melton, which I would love to have written. (But he wrote it WAY better than I could have)

Elin: In that crucial inspiration stage of a new story which comes first? Plot, situation or character?

Mina: Any and all of the above. Sometimes it’s a line of a song, an image in a film, or my brain idly playing ‘what if?’. It’s more a case of trying to turn the ideas off before they drive me mad o_O

Elin: Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them? Do you have a crisp mental picture of them or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

Mina: Some are pretty much fully-fledged, like Sav in the Lyric Hounds series, but he still had a surprise for me in that he used to be a cage fighter. Others are just a thought and a feeling so I need to chip away at their story to reveal their full potential.

Elin: I know that you have written a successful series of books with paranormal theme combined with crime combined with het romance, but that your latest book is M/M. What inspired you to make the change from het sex to same sex?

Mina: Love is love, a heart is a heart. Same emotion whether it’s MF or MM or FF. Sav arrived and told me his story was with Karlan, so I sat down and wrote it as I saw it.

Elin: Do you find there to be a lot of structural differences between a relationship driven story and one where the romance is a sub plot?

Mina: All stories for me follow a certain ebb and flow. I always write romance or stories with a romance somewhere in it, so early on I need to make the choice whether the romance or the action is predominant. Action-heavy stories tend to be longer for me, and more complex in planning to ensure all the players on the board so to speak are in the right places at the right time.

Elin: Put together your ideal team of men/women – drawing from all and any walks of life, fictional or non-fictional – who you would want to come to your rescue if menaced by muggers/alligators/fundamentalists?

Mina: Ohh, this is an interesting one. How many do I get? I think I’d want Andy from Reaper (nothing gets past a woman who is basically Death personified), Darce from Blood Mate because he can talk his way out of anything and perhaps Calcite from Hard as a Rock/Between a Rock and a Hard Place because a Gargoyle would put a serious crimp in any muggers day.

Elin: What are you working on at the moment? Can you discuss it or do you prefer to keep it a secret until it’s finished.

Mina: I’m currently working on the next PPA story, which will be Duke’s story. All I’ll say is that this story will open up a whole new area of the PPA world, and potentially launch a new sub-series.

Elin: Could we please have an excerpt of something?

Mina: Oh, go on then. It’s a tiny, unedited snippet of my next release, Reaper and the Cop.

~~~
Death is inevitable. For most that means worrying about the how, and more importantly, when. It’s an obsession the marketing industry has latched into like a leech and from one person to the next ranges from the absent worry about leaving loved ones behind through to narcissistic panic at leaving this mortal coil.

For some of us though, death is a job. I would say it’s a nine to five daily grind, but really it’s more of a 24/7/365 deal. Let me introduce myself. I’m Laney Larson, and I’m a Reaper. Yeah, you heard me right. I said Reaper. As in the big, bad dude with the robes and scythe…looks like he could do with a few extra squares in his life? That guy.

Kinda.

Well, not quite.

It’s probably more accurate to say that I’m his great-god knows how many-great grand-daughter. Hard to tell really since no one has seen his Grimness since the middle ages, but each and every Reaper carries a piece of him, their Grimm, inside us. It’s what gives us our abilities and lets us see things that others can’t. Without a Grimm, a Reaper is just a standard human with an interesting family tree. Nothing more, nothing less. With a Grimm? Yeah, even I don’t know everything we’re capable of. I don’t want to think what we’re capable of. Not with how many of us there are.

It’s a bit like the Santa deal, but instead of presents, there are lots of souls to be reaped on a daily basis all over the world. I have no clue how the big dude in red manages it (yeah, he’s real too. And the Easter Bunny? Don’t get me started on that asshole) but us Reapers spread the load.

###

Mina’s latest release is available NOW from all the usual ebook outlets.

Sex, Wolves and Rock ‘n Roll

He’d loved Karlan forever. Now he must face forever without him…

Karlan Rixx is the epitome of the playboy rocker. Sexy and gorgeous, with that feral edge that marked a werewolf, Sav’s been in love with him for years. The trouble is, Karlan’s Mr. New girl every night, as straight as they come, and Sav doesn’t stand a chance. Unable to bear it anymore, he makes plans to leave the band, even though it will break his heart in the process. But anything’s better than seeing the man he loves and not being able to touch. Ever.

K loves being a Lyric Hound. The only time he truly feels alive is on stage, a guitar in his hand and the beat of Sav’s drums flowing through his veins. Despite his image as a womaniser, it’s the other wolf who makes his heart pound and his body ache. Before K can admit his feelings though, Sav leaves and rips his world apart.

Enter Madam Eve and a very special 1NS date. Can she succeed where so many investigators have failed and find K’s lost wolf?

Read an excerpt here

Buy from:
Decadent Publishing
Amazon
Amazon UK
B&N
ARe

You can follow Mina at her:

Website – http://mina-carter.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/minacarterauthor
GR – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2920063.Mina_Carter
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/minacarter77
Twitter – http://twitter.com/minacarter
Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Mina-Carter/e/B002BOH5R4/

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Today in the Comfy Chair – Larry Benjamin

Posted in Guests, tagged , , , on September 20, 2013| 6 Comments »

comfy chairMy guest today is Larry Benjamin, Bronx-born wordsmith for whom writing is a way of life. Author of romance What Binds Us and short story collection Damaged Angels, Larry has agreed to visit today to talk about his new release Unbroken, a book with a very special meaning for Larry. I’ve been lucky enough to read it and can say that it impressed me very much.

Thanks, Larry, for visiting and for answering my questions.

###

Elin:  Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?
Larry:  While I’ve always been a writer—that is, I would write and stick my stories in a drawer (or later, a folder called “Larry’s writing” on my computer) —I got serious about it as a career a few years ago when both my partner and I ended up unemployed at the same time. I began to panic thinking I’d never get another job which lead me to wonder what else I was qualified to do. I dusted off the manuscript for What Binds Us and I was on my way. Returning to writing was like returning to a first love long lost.
Yes, I have a day job. I work in Corporate communications for a global chemical company. So writing is both my vocation and my avocation.

Elin: When you aren’t writing, is there any other creative activity you enjoy? Have you ever written about it?

Larry:  Besides writing, I’m absolutely passionate about houses. We’re 6 years into the 5-year renovation of our current house (the 5-year plan on our previous house actually took eight). And most weekends you can find us attending open houses in our favorite neighborhoods. Realtors don’t even make us sign the visitor’s book anymore.
Readers can pick up on my obsession with houses and their furnishings in my descriptions of both in my books.

Elin:  What are you reading? Fiction or non-fiction?

Larry:  I’m currently reading Gerald Durrell’s My Family and other Animals, which is unusual for me because generally I tend to stick to fiction as I find reality to be overrated and often grim. I’m loving the book, though, because the story is quite hilariously told and the writing is very fine.

Elin:  In that crucial inspiration stage of a new story, for instance Unbroken, which comes first? Plot, situation or character?

Larry:  Because my stories are heavily character-driven the characters tend to come first. However, I started writing Unbroken, just after I came across a tweet that asked: when was the moment you first knew you were gay? For me the moment occurred when I was in seventh grade. I was 12. He was the new kid. Jose. One look at him and I knew, absolutely knew I was gay. So in the case of Unbroken, the situation came first. Everything else was built on that defining moment.

Elin:  Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them?

Larry:  It depends. Dondi in What Binds Us arrived in my head fully formed and he never really changed. Unbroken spans 40 years. Lincoln, the main character, is first introduced as a 6-year-old so he definitely developed as I wrote. Same with the other main character, Jose. Lincoln first meets Jose when they are both twelve. He is the new kid in school so a complete unknown. As the story progresses, Jose’s personality is revealed and we watch him grow and mature as struggles to understand himself and the world around him. For me the most astonishing character in Unbroken was Jose’s sister, Maritza. She was meant to be a very minor character but she kept nagging me and whispering her story. I was routinely getting up in the middle of the night and writing out more of her story, which surprised me at every turn. In the end she became the first fully formed female character I’ve ever written.

Elin:  Do you have a crisp mental picture of them or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

Larry:  I generally know what the characters look like but little else at the beginning. I have a feeling for who they are as people but I find by relaxing and listening really hard they will tell me who they are as they reveal their story to me. I don’t outline, or plot out my stories in detail, in advance of writing, I just sort of write. For me writing is an organic—and chaotic—experience.

Elin:  Is there any genre you would love to write, ditto one you would avoid like a rattlesnake?

Larry:  You know when I was submitting Unbroken for consideration for publication, I had to identify its genre. That was a struggle because I tend not to think about what genre I’m writing in. I just write because I have a story I want to tell. Unbroken is part gay romance, part coming of age novel, part love letter to the boy I fell in love with at twelve.
The other day, I came across a reader’s review of What Binds Us and she said, “Yes, it’s love story but really so much more than that. More like a life story.” A life story. I absolutely love that description.

Elin:  When you were writing Unbroken, was there a point where you felt you should pull back a little because you were putting too much of yourself into it?

Larry:  Oh yeah. I tend to reach that point with all my books. My books are all fiction but they are firmly rooted in my experiences. I’m an emotional writer and that emotion is grounded in truth.
With the writing of Unbroken, I had to revisit my past: the bullying, my parents’ disappointment, the innocent longing for a boy I barely knew─It was a painful part of my history and documenting it was to revive that long-forgotten pain, to show a side of me—part hopeful, part stupid—I wasn’t sure I wanted anyone to see. In the end the struggle to share the truth won out.
When I set out to write the book, I didn’t want to just tell the story of one boy’s love for another, I wanted to share details of a first crush and what it’s like to discover the world thinks you’re wrong in that love, thinks that you’re broken. So yes there’s a lot of me in Lincoln, a lot of my own truth in Unbroken. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Elin:  Put together your ideal team of men/women – drawing from all and any walks of life, fictional or non-fictional – who you would want to come to your rescue if menaced by muggers/alligators/fundamentalists?

Larry:  That team would consist of William Morgan—Gar—from my friend Andrew Q. Gordon’s remarkable fantasy novel, Purpose. Gar is strong, extremely rational and practically bullet-proof. Plus he can read and manipulate minds. Second on the team would be Toby, my 9-year old silky terrier.

Toby the Fierce

He’s small but fiercely loyal and extremely protective. And finally Matt Damon. He was, after all, Jason Bourne in the Bourne trilogy; I’m sure he picked up some useful skills from playing that part. Plus he looks like…well…like he does. 😉

Elin:  Villains are incredibly important in fiction since they challenge the main protagonists and give them something to contend with beyond the tension of a developing relationship. What sort of villains do you prize?

I prefer villains who aren’t purely evil, who have some trace of humanity. I also like to believe that every character can become a villain for a moment in a particular situation. In Unbroken, there are many, many villains but only in the sense they give the main protagonists something to contend with, they are the people Lincoln and Jose must battle in their journey to be their authentic selves—parents and petty bullies. And for that reason the villains are unexpected, people well meaning in their own way but narrow minded, some are cruel, others, afraid.
Sometimes though, at least for me, villains aren’t people. In What Binds Us, the main villain was the HIV virus. In Damaged Angels the villain was drugs and desperation and mental illness. In addition to the “people villains” in Unbroken, there is also the villain of internalized homophobia which can makes Lincoln believe he is broken.

Elin:  What are you working on at the moment? Can you discuss it or do you prefer to keep it a secret until it’s finished.

Anyone who knows me knows I am terrible at keeping secrets. When I’m working on something I start talking about it right away. I’m not writing anything at the moment. When I finish a book, I find I need a “fallow” period to rest, to recover, to just be. Then at some point, an idea will form, or a character will introduce himself and I’m off.

Elin:  Could we please have an excerpt of something?
Here’s an excerpt from Unbroken


Brainiac
They hurled words like stones: “Brainiac. Sissy. Faggot.”
I sat on the ground, surrounded by a circle of boys bigger and tougher than I. They’d taken my glasses so I couldn’t see. I could only sit there helplessly, trying not to cry, trying not to hear the names they called me.
I let myself go silent in defense, refusing to acknowledge the hateful words: Brainiac. Sissy. Faggot. I refused to acknowledge their hostility, this hostility, this constant hostility, which seemed to be driven less by the fact that I was almost certainly gay, than by the fact I had never denied their accusations. I knew instinctively that to deny, to lie, was to agree they were right, I was wrong, I was broken. That I would not, could not, do.
Looking back, I realize I’d let them, those savage boys whom I did not know or care about, silence me, take my voice away. It would take years, but I would find my voice. I would learn to make myself heard over the sounds of war.
“Hey,” Jose shouted suddenly. “Hey!” I couldn’t see him through the circle of boys, but I recognized his voice, that deep, thunderous rumble.
“Come on,” I heard Elsie say. “It’s just that faggot. This happens to him all the time. He’ll be fine.”
She’d known me since fourth grade yet still, to her, I was “just that faggot.” “My name is Lincoln,” I wanted to shout. “You’ve known me since fourth grade.” Instead I remained on the ground fighting new tears.
Jose pushed through the circle of boys. “Leave him alone.”
He must have seen my raw, naked face for he turned to the boy holding my glasses. “Are those his?” he asked, pulling them out of his hands. “Get lost!”
The boy, surprised, shrugged as if it made no difference to him, and he and his posse of tyrants turned and walked away.
Jose crouched beside me; bouncing on the balls of his feet, he looked at my scattered books, my knapsack open, empty. His eyes went soft, dark with concern. He turned, and said something to Elsie. Then to me, “You okay?”
I nodded, tried to smile, cried instead.
“Hey,” he snapped.
“What?” Elsie popped her gum, stared at him.
“I said, give me a tissue.”
She sucked her teeth, reached into her purse and handed him a single tissue as if it were her last dollar. He glared at her, dark eyes flashing. She reluctantly handed him a handful more which he gave to me. “Dry your eyes and blow your nose,” he instructed me.
I did as I was told.
“You okay?” he asked again, handing me my glasses. I took them from him, put them on.
“Better now,” I said trying to smile.
The boys gone, Elsie moved closer, hovering at the edge of our interaction. Her eyes darted around; she looked everywhere but at me. She appeared less concerned about returning danger than about witnesses to this.
“Okay,” Jose said. “Let’s get your books, and we’ll walk you to the bus stop.” He glanced at Elsie who said nothing.
At the bus stop, Elsie sulked on a bench, again looking everywhere but at me. Jose talked to me of little things: did I understand that Shakespeare passage we’d read in English today? Why does the cafeteria always smell of fish?
Finally the bus came and we were each released from his prison.
“Thanks,” I said as the bus drew to a halt. I was reluctant to leave him, my dashing young hero, but happy to put the day’s events behind me.

###
Unbroken

Blurb:
My parents, unable to change me, had instead, silenced me. When they’d stilled my hands, they’d taken my words, made me lower my voice to a whisper. Later I remained silent in defense, refusing to acknowledge the hateful words: Brainiac. Sissy. Antiman. Faggot.

Lincoln de Chabert’s life is pretty unremarkable until he comes home from kindergarten and announces he will marry his best friend, Orlando, when he grows up. His parents spring into immediate action, determined to fix him―his father takes him to baseball games and the movie “Patton”―igniting an epic battle of wills as Lincoln is determined to remain himself, and marry whom he chooses, at all costs.

Unbroken is available now from Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Barnes and Noble in paperback and Nook, and from Smashwords in all ebook formats.

You may follow Larry here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLarryBenjamin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterLarry
Blog: http://authorlarrybenjamin.blogspot.com/

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New Release – Unbreak My Heart

Posted in New Release, tagged , , , , on August 25, 2013| 1 Comment »

Unbreak My Heart
by K-lee Klein

Brett Taylor has been doing just fine living in his own little world for the past three years, thank you very much. Losing someone special is life changing, and Brett doesn’t understand why everyone and their damn dog thinks they can get all up in his business about him needing to move on. He managed to make the transition from musician to rancher without relying on anyone else’s opinion or help, and he certainly doesn’t need some city kid coming into his life to disrupt his routine—one that involves grief, isolation, and a whole lot of Jack Daniels.

Moving from one meaningless job to the next, JT Campbell is on a quest to escape his old life and figure out who he is and where he belongs. He’s not looking to save anyone, let alone a secretive, hotter-than-hell rancher who wears his heart on his sleeve. JT likes working for Brett, but Brett’s made it perfectly clear that any relationship between them other than a professional one will never see the light of day.

But when JT’s lust turns to love, and he gives in to his desire to find out what makes Brett tick, will his interest push Brett away? Or will he, through his patience and support, be the one who can finally unbreak Brett’s heart?

Available now from Amber Allure

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Today in the Comfy Chair – Dianne Hartsock

Posted in Guests, tagged , on March 8, 2013| 3 Comments »

comfy chair When I heard that my good friend Dianne Hartsock had written an historical romance I couldn’t wait to plonk her down in my chair again and ask her a few searching questions about her work.

Thank you, Dianne, for being here today to talk about your latest release, Wee Willie Winkie,  and how you came to write it.

~~~

 

Elin: Hello, Dianne

Dianne: Thank you so much, Elin, for having me back on your wonderful blog!

 Elin: What was it about the nursery rhyme “Wee Willie Winkie” that sparked your interest?

Dianne: When I was little, maybe five or six years old, I remember we had a huge illustrated book of Mother Goose Rhymes. Oh gosh, you’d have to sit on the couch with it in your lap to hold it! My favorite story was Wee Willie Winkie.

Or should I say, my favorite picture was the one that went with the rhyme. It was of a young boy wearing a flowing white nightgown and carrying a tiny lantern. He was running somewhere, blond curls flying behind him. He had such a mischievous grin on his face!

When Breathless Press put out the submissions call for Naughty Nursery Rhymes, I thought instantly of Willie’s smile. That little imp probably got into all kinds of trouble growing up! I began to think of the wild escapades he might have lead his friends into, and so began my story.

 Elin: I know that you have previously written fantasy and horror. Is this your first foray into historical?

 Dianne: Yes it is, and the funny thing, is that when I was writing the story, I never thought of it as an historical piece. It was a straight up m/m erotic love story that just happened to take place in the 1880’s, in keeping with the white nightgown I remembered in the picture. When men still wore nightgowns. Or at least I think they did. Not that I spend my time picturing men in or out of nightgowns…never mind.

Elin: Was it a very different writing process?

 Dianne: It was a little different, but also a lot of fun. Since I mostly write contemporary stories, there was more research involved with Wee Willie Winkie. Also, I had to make a reference to the nursery rhyme somewhere along the way, when with my other stories I usually just start writing and see where we end up. I’ll have a pretty good idea of the beginning, the middle scenes, and how I want the story to end, but things always seem to get a little complicated along the way. In Wee Willie Winkie, some of the things that happened to Fredrick in the course of the story, I hadn’t thought to put in until a bit of research sparked the scene. I love when that happens.

 Elin: Did you find the inevitable research onerous or fascinating?

Boston Harbour in the mid nineteenth century

Dianne:  I enjoy research for its own sake, and with Wee Willie Winkie I had the chance to delve into the politics of Boston and Newport in the late 1800’s. I had the fun of researching the merchant vessels of that time. Many merchant lines had already converted to the steam engine, but that is so unromantic! I had to have the Wilkerson’s still use sailing vessels.

While researching I also stumbled upon the fact that shanghaies were still being carried out. Scary stuff. Some poor guy would get knocked out in an alley or somewhere when they were alone, then would wake up on a ship far out at sea and made to work or starve. They may not see their home again for a good year, if ever. I also got to dig through old photos of Boston Harbor at that time. A bit different than modern days!

Okay, I could go on like this ad nauseam. Like I said, I enjoy research for its own sake. The fact that it helps with my writing is a plus.

Elin:  Without Aiden is a very different atmosphere to Wee Willie. Did you find it a big adjustment to go from one to the other?

Dianne:  I was actually in the middle of writing WITHOUT AIDEN when I set it aside to write WEE WILLIE before the deadline for submissions came and went. While I did have to get into a different mindset for WEE WILLIE, it wasn’t extremely hard. I’m a big fan of romance novels written between the 1880’s-1920’s and have an extensive collection of them. When I sat down to write WEE WILLIE, I was able to take the feel of these love stories and capture it in my own romance. At least, that’s what I attempted.

 Elin: Do you prefer writing contemporaries to your other genres?

 Dianne: I wouldn’t say that I prefer it, but it is the easiest! To me, writing a contemporary story is like telling of something that happened to a friend just the other day. Or retelling a story a friend told me about a friend of theirs who had such and such a thing happen. The story lines seem to flow naturally and easily without too much effort on my part. I don’t have to try to imagine what their world would be like. I’m living it.

On the other hand, writing in other genres is a challenge, and I do like to push my limits as a writer, see if I can make a certain scenario work. Is it plausible? Can I make the magic believable? Or, in the case of the historical, are my facts straight and are my characters acting in the fashion of that time? I have a short sci-fi story on my list of things to write this year, but it’s the science that’s holding me back. Definitely a challenge! *rubs hands together* Time for more research!

Elin: What’s next? What are you working on or would you sooner keep it a big secret?

Dianne:  Oh gosh, let’s see… It seems that at the moment I have four different projects I’m juggling. I have edits due on another short story for an anthology with Breathless Press, this time based around the nursery rhyme ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’. I’m 7k into a new contemporary romance that I’ve had to put aside—again—to work on the anthology. I’m 9k into a novel I’m writing as the sequel to my psychological thriller ALEX. And I’ve also started writing a Free Read on a friend’s blog, adding between 700-1000wds a week. Which you can find here! *wink* http://leatherandlacereads.blogspot.ca/search/label/Stuck%20on%20Rewind

Elin: Can we have an excerpt of one of your new releases?

 

WEE WILLIE WINKIE

 

Willie has met an old flame, but is he willing to give up the decadence of Boston society for the man he loves?

For the past three years William Wilkerson has led the life of the privileged rich. Head of his father’s shipping business, Willie indulges in the pleasures of Boston’s fine young men to his heart’s content. That is, until he meets Fredrick, the one man who has captured his heart, again.

As his former tutor, Fredrick has been declared off limits by William’s father. Fredrick also believes he’s beneath the attention of Wilkerson’s heir. Willie disagrees, but is he willing to throw away rank and privilege for the man he loves?

 

Excerpt:

 

Fredrick held up his glass and stared at the candle’s flame through the amber liquid. He took a sip, savored the rich, biting taste on his tongue. He welcomed the burn down his throat. This was the very last drink he could afford, and he had to make it last.

A giggle erupted from the booth in the corner, the one whose curtains were drawn against curious eyes. A smile tugged at Fredrick’s lips despite the dire state of his wallet. The laugh had been carefree, joyous, naughty. Fredrick shifted on the cushioned bench. Only a few straggling customers remained in the dining room. He wondered if any of them would notice if he shifted his cramped cock as it throbbed in sympathy with the bright laughter.

Rather than risk it, he watched the fruit vender outside the window beguile a customer. Another giggle and stifled moan swiveled his attention back to the corner. A silk-clad foot and slim calf peeked beneath the curtain. He grinned even as the delectable sight emphasized his own loneliness. It had been far too long since he’d had someone in his bed.

“Excuse me. Sir?”

Fredrick looked up, distracted from his memory of lush lips and white skin and wide, hazel eyes, and blinked at the stout innkeeper at his elbow. “Yes?”

A frown fleeted across the man’s homely face at another bout of laughter from the corner. “If they’re disturbing you, I can have Wee Willie take his guest upstairs. Excuse me, I mean Mister Wilkerson.” The man broke off, flustered by the slip of the tongue.

Fredrick’s heart leaped on hearing the name mentioned. Is William really here? How could that be? The innkeeper coughed, and Fredrick frowned at the intrusion into his thoughts. The man was so damned serious about such a minor indiscretion. “They’re no bother. In fact, I’m almost done anyway.” He lifted his nearly empty glass. Hearing a shout, they looked over in time to see a young man tumble through the curtains onto the floor. Fredrick caught a glimpse of red hair and an embarrassed cheek before the gentleman crammed a hat on his head and strode passed them, face averted. The innkeeper shrugged and followed, likely to be sure he paid for his drinks.

Fredrick stared at the silk-clad foot still protruding from the parted curtains. He loosened his hold on his glass but had no way to stop the wild hammering of his heart. Before he lost his courage, he stood and swallowed the last of his brandy, then walked the short distance to the booth.

A grin tugged the corner of his mouth at his eagerness. It had been three years, after all, and they’d parted in anger. Would William acknowledge him? His hand trembled as he drew aside the heavy curtain and allowed his gaze to travel up the silky hose to bright blue trousers. Blood heated his face when he found the laces undone at the waist and the silk shirt open to expose white skin and rosebud nipples.

A sigh brought his gaze up to the pretty face that stirred his dreams. Rich brown curls surrounded lovely hazel eyes and full, pouting lips. He groaned when a delighted smile revealed the even, white teeth that had nipped his collarbone on more than one glorious occasion. “Freddie, is it you?”

~~~

 

Thank you, Dianne, for being such a good sport.

You may buy Wee Willie Winkie from Amazon and All Romance eBooks  and you can follow Dianne at the links below.

Blog: http://diannehartsock.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/diannehartsock

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/diannehartsock

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4707011-dianne-hartsock

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dianne-Hartsock/e/B005106SYQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1361897239&sr=8-1

 

 

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