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

The Question Game, Chapter One

This entire short story is available on the Goodreads M/M Group (I can help you find it, whether or not you're already on Goodreads) . . . or you can read it bit by bit here. Keep in mind, this is my first PUBLISHED work, so give it love. Let me know what you think good, bad, but hopefully not too ugly. Because I value every opinion who takes the time to read my writing. . . Thanks in advance, and hope you enjoy . . .

PS The story is also available in EPUB, if you want it that way, let me know !!

THE QUESTION GAME
by Wt Prater

　
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     You know your sex life is boring when you start counting the tiles in the ceiling, or worse, the pimples on his back. And that, sadly, described mine even before Zach and I broke up. I was about to flip open one of the many books on his night stand and start reading when he finally came, which meant that I could stop acting like I was enjoying myself and get the fuck out of there.

     But as he flopped onto the bed and turned over, he pulled me down into his embrace and because I am not a heartless prick, I laid with him while he went on and on about how much this meant to him. Meanwhile, I was playing The Question Game in my head.

     “What are you thinking about?” I heard him ask after a couple seconds of silence.

     “Well, I ---” I started, but before I could speak more than a few words, he interrupted me, talking about this and that, nothing of which I cared about, until eventually, he talked himself to sleep.

     I took the opportunity and left. Normally, I would have written a note but I didn’t figure he cared. Why? Because the only question he asked me, he never let me answer.

     This is why I started playing the question game with all my friends. The question game is about give and take. It’s pretty simple: Ask a question, and wait for an answer. There is no rhyme or reason for the game, except for curiosity. It's how I could show that I was interested and cared about my friends. I wanted to know them, and love them. I didn’t know what kind of questions they would ask or where it would lead.
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Chapter 1. First Things First, What a Boy Wants

     As Jonathan Grant walked through their house, he had the wedding invitation in one hand and his vodka straight up in the other. He admired and simultaneously hated all the pretty things he walked past that he and his partner, Ian, had collected over the past three years. As he walked around the living room, looking at the pictures of celebrations, and the souvenirs they had collected from their various trips, Jonathan found himself getting more upset.

     On top of the mantle sat one of the biggest reminder of their differences and the time they had spent, or at this point Jonathan felt wasted together: a silver picture frame. The frame was carved with the words “I love you’ in different languages and it contained a picture of the two of them on vacation in Hawaii for their two-year anniversary. Jonathan always stared at that picture, because it was so beautiful. The way his already brown skin contrasted with Ian’s lily-white complexion so much more even after Ian had been in the sun for almost a week haunted Jonathan.

     Other memorabilia surrounded him. Bowling trophies they had won together in their league. Pictures of their families and social circle. Black and white. One of them always stood out, whether they were with his friends or with Ian‘s.

     But at this moment, in this emotion, Jonathan could not find himself anywhere in this place. He couldn’t find any happy or good memories that he wanted to keep. How was that possible, after three years?

     All his rage and anger had been building up and now, now it was surfacing because of this damn invitation. After three fucking years, why couldn’t he get Ian to commit to him? The question he kept asking himself, how much shit can one relationship take? He had dealt with Ian spending all of their savings on a boat. A boat that Ian had lost interest in after three months, that they then had to sell for half the original cost. He had dealt with Ian cheating on him not once, but twice with different men. Jonathan had even suggested that they try having an open relationship, but Ian had declined.

     And then disappeared for three days, saying he was on a “runaway weekend with Deanna”. What Ian didn’t know was Deanna had called a day after Ian left, wondering where he was.

     “Has he forgotten his Spa day with me again?” she asked, sounding so heartbroken.

     Jonathan had grown to love a lot about Ian. He had even grown to love his in-laws. But Ian was still dodging the bullet. Every time Jonathan brought up the “Marriage” word, Ian jumped into the nearest book or car, whichever was closest and provided the quickest getaway.

     Jonathan glanced at the invitation again, and felt his emotions once again go up on the spinning wheel. He was happy for Zach and Ann, and a little confused for them. And he was sad for himself, and angry and hurt about Ian. Of these emotions, he chose to go with the anger once again. He fixed himself another drink, and started to march to the exercise room where Ian was.

     He thought, “Even Zach and Ann were getting married in six months, and they weren’t even a “couple”. So why not them? They lived in Washington DC, and it had been legal for over a year, and still nothing. Maybe if I threaten to leave him. No, I don’t want a proposal as an ultimatum.”

     Jon watched as Ian exercised on his stationary bike pedaling on and on but getting nowhere. He could relate to that. He stood there comparing Ian’s small but built body to his larger frame, and got angry at yet another difference between them, another reason for them not to be together. How opposite could two people be and stay together? This was becoming a very serious question in his mind. .

     He watched through the glass door that separated the exercise room from the dining room, clutching his glass tightly and the invitation to the wedding tighter still. He wanted to storm in there and tell Ian it was over. He was unhappy and tired of waiting. He wanted more than great sex and a fabulous house. He wanted a husband.

     But he knew he shouldn’t talk to Ian when he was this emotional, so he swallowed the rest of the drink and headed back to the living room to make another one. Knowing Ian’s routine, he had almost completed his cycling for the day and would be moving on to his weight lifting routine. As Ian dismounted the bike he glanced at Jonathan through the glass, forgot to remove his other foot from the petal, and landed hard upon his ankle.

     Jonathan thought he heard a crunching noise even before the scream. He turned around and threw the glass door open and found Ian had somehow twisted his ankle and his foot so much so that he could not move. Running to him, he wanted to help but was afraid to touch him. He knew Ian well enough to know that when he was in pain, he became a drama queen. The slightest scratch or cut became a reason to visit the emergency room. Jonathan both loved and hated that, mostly because it was the only time Jonathan got to see Ian’s softer side, and really feel that he was needed.

     Ian was still on the bike, cradling one ankle while his other feet appeared still caught in the protective cuff. Jonathan went to him, and tried to figure out how he could help. Ian had tears running down his cheeks as he tried not to move any more than he had to. As Jonathan looked at the foot trapped in the cuff, he started to move toward Ian’s foot. But as he moved, but Ian screamed.
     “Please don’t touch me, Jon. Oh God, please don’t!” Ian partly moaned, and partly screamed, with tears streaming down his face.

     “What can I do?” Jon asked, still shocked by the sight and unsure of how to help.

     “I don’t know. Call Juan, he’s a nurse. He’ll know. Please hurry.” With tears still streaming down his face, Ian tried to move into a more comfortable position and screamed more. Jon ran to the phone in the kitchen and called Juan.

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