Write On the Edge! with Piper Vaughn and coming up on the show

Have you discovered author Piper Vaughn? Well, here's your chance to find a new favorite person or re-acquaint yourself with her as she answers questions about her favorite words for intimate matters, who is her ideal fictional lover, and how she uses the social security website to come up with the names for her characters. This interview will have you rolling with laughter as we play "Name that song", talked about writer's block, and how she uses google maps in her writing process. Check it out here! 

Piper's Bio . . .She wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing was exactly what she wanted to do. She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put characters of every ethnicity in her stories. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life…even if it’s only in a book.

Coming soon. . . Tonight (Friday, June 7th) we will be interviewing author, editor and owner of Ai press, Sedonia Guillione!!

Sedonia's Bio . . . Multi-published, award-nominated author, Sedonia Guillone lives on the water in Florida with a Renaissance man who paints, writes poetry and tells her she’s the sweetest nymph he’s ever met. When she’s not writing erotic romance, she loves watching spaghetti westerns, Jet Li and samurai flicks, cuddling, and eating chocolate. She writes both man/man and man/woman erotic romances and hopes you’ll find something here you like!

AND NEXT THURSDAY, we will feature our very first " Ask the Editor" with Kris Jacen of ManLoveRomance and FeatherWeight Press. The lines will be open for your questions for this incredibly marvelous woman who has been an editor with these presses for years. She recently edited Lost and Found, the anthology, and will be with us answering queries about everything you can think of regarding writing and the process of publishing. We are taking questions beforehand, simply email us at wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com and we will try to ask your question, as time permits. 

And next Friday . . .C R Guiliano, author of It Takes a Village. 

The Big Picture on mmmMMMonday from Jeremy Pack

Jason, Ellie, and Jeremy Pack

Wt--- Greeting and salutions. This is Wt Prater 
with Just Write and SO Gay,  and I am here
today with Author Jeremy Pack. Thanks for
allowing us the time, good sir.

JP ---Thank YOU for the opportunity.

Wt--- So I feel like I should start off with honesty. . . I have been crushing on you for months, ever since I read your blog for "HOP Against Homophobia"

JP--- Haha. That's very sweet. I had fun with that post--and felt like it was a fantastic event to participate in. One of the cool things about being a part of this community is events like that, where readers and authors come together and make a statement.

Wt--- After visiting twenty or so blogs, I laughed my ass off reading yours and became an instant fan. And I have stalked from a distance since.

JP--- Alas, I'm afraid I must have been a bit of a letdown on that count. I'm pretty dull by most standards. Work, sleep, Ellie and Jason updates, the odd book news....

Wt--- So, in researching for this interview, I glanced over your FB statuses and saw you had watched The New Normal, or at least the first episode. Have you continued watching?

JP--- I'm afraid I haven't. Jason and I were a little offput by the couple in the pilot. I had a really difficult time reconciling the way gay men were portrayed. Our approach to parenthood is very, very different. Probably because I view being a dad as a sacred duty, something I cherish with my very soul, I was sad that it was portrayed in a way that felt disrespectful and vanity driven.

Wt--- I've been watching it with my wife, and our straight and gay friends, and discussing it. We all love it, but then. . .of course, our POV is different because none of us have children. But I love the characters. But I can understand others wouldn't.

JP--- I imagine they would grow on me if I would give it a chance. I just have a hard time with the idea of the "children as accessories" stereotype. I think that sends a dangerous message and probably isn't really a good representation of the reasons a gay couple might want to have children.

Wt --- I know the show is a little "preaching to the choir", but my hope is that there is enough comedy, and reality in it to get the naysayers to understand "Love is love, and being a parent is about that, and not anything else. "

JP--- I hope so too. I think gay men becoming fathers is still a really exotic idea for a lot of people. We encounter some wide eyes and double takes every now and again, even though we live in a very liberal part of the country.

Wt--- I can imagine, and that saddens my heart. Your daughter, Ellie, is six, and you and Jason have been together for four years, is that right?

JP--- Actually Jason and I have been together for just about three years. He is the most amazing partner I could ever have hoped for. Ellie and I are so lucky to have found him. The two of them became immediately inseparable. I adopted her before Jason and I met.

Wt--- And do you both work full time?

JP--- Jason stays home with Ellie, and I have a day job. He works 100 times harder than I do. I could never do what he does, certainly not with as much love and care. I'd be a wreck inside a week--not to mention what would happen to the house, the yards, the dogs, and Ellie. Talk about utter disaster. Shudder...

Wt--- Do you want writing to become a full time job, or are you happy as is?

JP --- I have to be honest, I like the social stimulation and the challenge of my work. I have a very interesting day job that I love. That being said, I would love to be able to write full time because I have so many stories in my head wanting to get out. There's always retirement, right?

Wt--- That is true. So you currently have two books out: The Heart of the Jungle, which one reviewer compared to an Agatha Christie classic, and To Touch the Stars, which Poppy Dennison, author of Mind Magic, calls "The best book I've read all year!" Are you excited with all the raving people are going over your books?

JP--- I'm still so new at this and learning to believe in myself, so I have to tell you, I cry every time I read a review or someone emails me to tell me they liked my work. True story: I almost didn't write To Touch the Stars yet. I didn't believe I had it in me to do it justice. I'm glad I manned up and gave it a go because I grew immensely as a person in the four months it took to write it.
I am so grateful for all the kindness and welcome I've been shown since being published. I am a little teary thinking about it right now. This is an incredibly supportive community. The publishers, the writers, and especially the readers.

Honestly, that kindness and Jason's support--those are the things that made me believe in myself enough to keep writing after The Heart of the Jungle was accepted.

Wt--- Well, the only thing I've read beside the blog is Brianna, your short for The Heart of the Jungle, which hooked me so I definitively plan getting your books soon. Do you have any conventions or anything planned to promote your books?

JP--- My plans to attend GayRomLit this year were unfortunately sidelined by a business trip to the UK that will occur during the same week. I would like to attend some events next year. I'm actually very shy so I'm hoping the extra time getting my legs under myself will help me come further out of my shell.

I have had the opportunity to meet a few of my fellow Dreamspinner Press authors in a social setting and enjoyed getting to know them immensely. I felt like a commoner among kings--they're all so talented and well known--but they made me feel so welcome. Bless them.

Wt --- Thank you again for taking time to do this. One last question before we go: Is there a question you wished I had asked and/or are there any questions you wished do never be asked again?

JP --- The one question I'm asked often and always like to have come up as a discussion point relates to the lack of erotic content in my work. I bring it up regularly because I don't want readers to feel as if I've failed them somehow by not including it in my stories. As a person, I don't have any moral objections to explicit content. As a writer, it just isn't what I write. One reason I love Dreamspinner Press is that there is room for a lighter touch in their catalog and they're willing to indulge that particular idiosyncrasy of mine. Hopefully, my stories will be strong enough that it won't be missed.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to get to know you and spend some time with you! I have had a great time! 

 

Jeremy Pack is a writer of fiction about men who happen to be gay. You’re as likely to find him thrilling to a midnight release of the latest popcorn actioner as weeping in the greeting card aisle to a particularly touching Hallmark card. It is these tastes that inform his storytelling. A fan of car chases, heartmelting sentiment, and head scratching puzzles, he strives to pepper his stories with all three.

Born and raised in a small-town in Idaho, Jeremy now resides in the Pacific Northwest with his partner and their weak-in-the-knees-cute, but teenager-precocious six-year-old daughter. Jeremy believes the best part about writing is making connections with readers! Find him on the web at:

E-mail: http://www.jeremy-pack.com/contact/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JeremyJPack
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JeremyPack1973
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/JeremyPack

Behind the Camera, an mmmMMMonday interview with Blaine D Arden!!

My name is Wt Prater, and I'm writing this for my blog, Just Write and So Gay. And I'm interviewing Blaine D. Arden for MMMonday. Greeting and salutions.

Blaine --- *waves and settles butt into comfy chair and looks around* Nice to be here

Wt --- So, first question . . . I'm sitting here watching a movie about J K Rowling, named Magic beyond Words starring Poppy Montogomery. What is the name of your movie and who is it starring?

Blaine --- A movie about me? Well, I'd love to title it 'Welcome to my world', but I need a moment to think about who I'd like to play me. Molly Ringwald, I think. And yes, that's because I just browsed IMDb for actresses around my age. I loved 'Pretty in Pink'. It had my first teenage actor crush in it, so, yeah. Molly Ringwald.

Wt --- Awesome. I love Molly Ringwald. Are you a "chick flick" kinda girl?

Blaine --- A bit... yeah. I confess. I love silly romantic movies and dance films. I watched both of those with my boys for years, especially the dance films.

Wt --- What is your fave current chick flick?

Blaine --- Current chick flick? You're not asking much, are you? Lol *goes off to scour IMDb again*

Wt --- I love asking questions others don't. I would say sorry, but I like the digging . . . LOL

Blaine --- One thing about chick flicks is that I never watch them in the cinema, not counting 'Titanic'. So, all I can say is that a couple of nights ago, I saw cute little thing called 'My Life In Ruins'. It's about a travel guide who rediscovers her romantic side on a trip around Greece. Actually, I think I took my boys to see 'Mean Girls' in the cinema, too. So I watch them there more often than I think. 'Titanic' in the cinema was a mistake, though. Far too many giggling teenagers during the last scenes. I can't believe people would giggle at seeing dead people floating in the water *sigh*

Wt --- Have you seen "Easy A" ?

Blaine --- *shakes head* No, sorry. Never heard of it, I'm afraid.

Wt --- It's a great retelling of "The Scarlet Letter" Starring Emma Stone, and the parents are very memorable characters. One of the best movies of 2011 for me.

Blaine --- I had to look it up. I've never seen that one. Might have to look for it now.

Wt --- What makes a memorable character for you, as a writer or as a reader/viewer?

Blaine --- As a writer, I'm not sure I can answer that one. I pretty much just write the characters that live in my head--or rather, that let me live in their skin for a while--they're all memorable to me, though, perhaps, not the evil ones.
As a reader, it's all about characters that resonate in my heart. They don't have to be good or perfect, but something about them grabs me and makes me root for them.
Of course, I'm also the one who tends to fall for the underdog, or broody 'misunderstood' type, so... Snape is one of those memorable characters for me.

Wt --- I love being shocked and/or surprised, so I definitely loved that reveal. Are there characters you've written that you loved to hate or that surprised you with their intentions?

Blaine --- Well, Jason from 'Aliens, Smith and Jones' is one of those love to hate characters. He surprised me by staying longer than I expected him to. He was supposed to be a blind date gone wrong, but... well... he wasn't as easy to get rid of, not once he made his intentions known to me. Without Jason, it wouldn't have been the story it's now, it would have been a sweet little short. So, in a twisted way, I'm glad he stuck around.

Wt --- Very cool. And that's your latest book, right?

Blaine --- Well, actually, a short of mine was released as part of a Storm Moon Press anthology on Friday. To date, 'Aliens, Smith and Jones' is my only novel, though.

The anthology is called 'Carved in Flesh' and is part of a set. This anthology is all about scars and scarification, while it's sister anthology 'Written in Flesh' is all about tattoos.

My contribution is called 'Oren's Right' and is about Veld, a tree elf who has known for years that his mute friend Oren is spoken for; the design of scars spanning Oren's torso reminding him with every look. When Oren's vowed, Haram, is killed, Veld must not only help to prove his own innocence, but also tread carefully as he discovers Oren's Right and Haram's last request.

The other authors in this anthology are Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks, Kaje Harper, Logan Zachary, M.A. Church, and T.C. Mill.

Wt --- So you are published by how many different houses?

Blaine --- Right now, just the one, Storm Moon Press, and I've been very happy to work with them. I do hope to submit to other publishers at some point, though, venture out into the wide world, so to speak.

Wt --- When you were deciding where to get published, why did you choose SMP?

Blaine --- I chose SMP because of one of their anthology calls. I read their 'Weight of the gun' call, about gun porn, and my first thought was "So not going to go there." But... as brains are wont to do, my brain wouldn't let go of the idea and 'The Fifth Son' was born. I submitted it for that anthology, and while they didn't feel it was a good fit for it, they wanted to publish the story anyway. I was at a campsite in the UK when I received the email, and I think the whole campsite could hear me screaming. And so my career as a writer was born. Of course, in the end, because I wrote it for their Christmas call, 'The Forester' came out first.

Wt --- So, when did you start writing, professionally and/or recreationally?

Blaine --- When I was about 12. Little stories and plays about love. I still have most of them. I became more serious about writing when I was about 17, and started writing my first gay fiction. After that, I wrote on and off throughout the years. Didn't finish a whole lot, though, not until I started to do NaNoWriMo in 2005. I failed that year, only wrote 27,500 words, but I finished that novel during the Summer Holidays in 2006. It's still in dire need of editing, but of all my drafts, it's the only non glbt novel in the bunch, so I keep pushing it back.

Wt --- I have been writing since my teens as well, mostly poetry. My greatest inspiration to write "professionally" was GayRomLit last year, where I got to meet a ton of writers who were successful on a variety of levels at writing my kinda stuff, and of course NaNoWriMo every year. Do you have other M/M writers you read fanatically?

Blaine --- Cool. I've written some poetry as well.

I went to the UK Fic Meet last year, before I was officially published and had only one free short under my name. I really loved being together will so many like minded people in one room In two days I'll be travelling to attend this year's UK Fic Meet. Really looking forward to that.
I hope to do GayRomLit at some point, but crossing the ocean isn't in my budget, yet. And I religiously go to the Dutch NaNoWriMo meetings in October and December to celebrate the start and the ending. Met some great friends there.
As for fanatically reading other M/M writers... pfew... How much time do you have? Lol.
I love the works of (not in any specific order): Josh Lanyon, Aleksandr Voinov, KA Mitchell, Kirby Crow, Harper Fox, Jordan Castillo Price, JL Merrow, Amy Lane... err... this list'll be quite long if I keep going. I read a lot, and there are a lot of gems out there, too many for me to list.

Wt --- I really enjoyed investigating your website, www.blainedarden.com  and I know there are lots of juicy bits, other interviews, reviews of books, and stuff. As we wrap up this conversation, are there any questions that you've never been asked that you want to answer or are there any questions that you never want to be asked again?

Blaine --- What I like about living in my country is that I hardly ever get asked why I write gay romance. Oh, some might. But often, just learning that I write, am published, and write in English, evokes admiration more than a need to know why I write what I write. They don't really care what I write. And I like that.
I don't like to be asked what themes I write about, because I really don't know. I hated analysing books in school, and I just write the stories in my head. I don't consciously set out to write a theme, it just slips in as I try to tell my characters' stories. I do like reading what readers get out my stories, themes or otherwise. Every reader picks up something else, and that never fails to make me smile.
As for questions I'm never asked but would like to... there are probably plenty, but none I can think of right now. One thing.... I'm a bit surprised you never asked me who that actor crush was. lol

Wt --- Fair enough. I want to thank you, Blaine, for being the very first author I interview for my blog. And if you're anything like me, I assume it was James Spader. Lol.

Blaine --- LOL Good guess, but no. James was a bit of a bitch in that film, so I didn't take to him until later, much later. My family and I like watching 'Boston Legal' during dinner, and I LOVE him in that. No, I was ever so taken with Andrew McCarthy. Saw him in some recent stuff, still not looking too badly.

Thank you, Will, for this wonderful interview. I had a lot of fun answering your questions. Nice to know I popped your interviewing cherry :p

_______________________________

Blaine is a purple haired, forty-something, writer of gay romance with a love of men, music, mystery, magic, fairies, platform shoes and the colours black, purple and red, who sings her way through life.

Right now, Blaine is working on the second part of her 'The Forester' trilogy, in which the reader will find out a bit more about Taruif, Kelnaht and Ianys as Kelnaht investigates the case of a missing boy.

You can find Blaine at: http://blainedarden.com, @BlaineDArden on twitter, and https://www.facebook.com/BlaineDArden. You can also email her at blaine@blainedarden.com