BookWenches

How long have you been writing professionally? Will you share the story of when you sold your first story with us?

Looking back, I suppose I started writing my first original novel in June or July of 2007, and it took months of nail-biting and talking myself into continuing, because I was sure it would never be accepted. In fact, I was absolutely convinced that it would be laughed at. Even so, I finished it.

I'm lucky in that I'm capable of functioning on very little sleep, because at the time I was working around 60 hours a week and writing probably 4 hours a night, afterwards.

That book, Life or Something Scary Like That, was my first accepted original story.

 I sent the manuscript to Torquere Press in… February of 2008, if I recall correctly, and I was a complete wreck for the six weeks or so between submitting it and hearing that they were definitely interested. Can we say that I bounced around my "real job" for days, like a puppy on crack? Because I did.

Do you write full time, or do you juggle an Evil Day Job as well? What do you do when you’re not slaving over a hot computer?

At the moment, I am between Evil Day Jobs, so I try to write at least six hours a day. Sometimes a story doesn't want to cooperate, though, which is why I usually have at least five or six projects in various stages of completion. If one isn't flowing for some reason, I always have another to immerse myself in.

When I'm not writing, I'm usually reading or hanging about on twitter… also trying to scare off the plot bunnies that attack fairly frequently, or spending time with family. I'm a big fan of making my own fun, which sometimes involves throwing water balloons off my balcony, too.

How did you become interested in writing m/m romance? This seems to be a very rapidly growing genre these days. Why do you think this is so?

The boring and entirely true answer to "why m/m" is that I write what I read. I wish I had some wildly interesting reason for it, but really what it comes down to (for me, anyway) is that… guys are hot. Two guys? Even hotter.

The genre does seem to be growing rather quickly, though I'm not entirely sure of whether it really IS growing or if it's more a situation of more people being willing to admit that it appeals to them. For a long time in the "civilized" countries, there was a perception that even thinking about sex automatically made someone perverted or socially unacceptable in some manner. And reading about sex, much less writing about it (even vanilla-het-sex) carried a stigma of sorts.

Speaking solely for myself, I think that as the world has grown both smaller and larger due to the internet, people have come to realize that there are far more degrees of "normal" than were ever suspected before, and that there are far better things to get upset over than what someone's reading habits might be.

Also, and again this is my opinion, I feel that the more accepting environment for gay people (note I said "more accepting", rather than "completely") has led to a bit less shame on the parts of those who choose to read m/m or f/f romance, as well as the other combinations of genders.

I know there are some places -- many places -- where this isn't entirely true, but I'm hopeful that eventually it will be, everywhere.

What do you think makes for perfect chemistry between characters?

That's a tough one, really, because I'm not sure there's such a thing as "perfect" chemistry. I do, however, think that everyone has a type, whether they admit it or not. It could be a physical type, or a personality type that appeals, or even a particular profession. And when two characters find what they maybe never knew they were looking for in each other, there's a certain tension that builds every time they meet; especially if they have some fundamental differences. Like if one of them is a huge slut and the other is a relationship addict. Not that I've ever written THAT. No, really.

I'm fond of the whole "maybe I shouldn't, but I just can't help myself" thing.

If that's chemistry, perfect or otherwise, then bring it on!

Do you allow your characters and story to develop as you write, or do you plan everything out carefully beforehand?

It's something of a combination, really. Sometimes I start with just the characters and let them take the story wherever they want it to go.

Other times, I start with a scene in my head -- often complete with dialogue -- and then figure out who the characters are, where they are, and what led to the moment I see so clearly. Then what happens after.

And every once in a while, I know the ending and the characters, then let the beginning come to me.

Do you ever worry about your characters after the story ends? What motivates you to write a sequel or a series instead of a single title? What would cause you to hang a character up and move on to something else?

Oh, of course I worry! Or at least wonder what's happened to them after their HEA or HFN. And frequently, I find that I have an urge to revisit them; to see where they're going. That's actually what happened with Raj and Andrew from my short story Destiny Drops In.

It had a happy ending and I really thought their tale was finished, but it wasn't, which had me writing the sequel Destiny Goes Spare and a third installment Destiny Takes a Holiday, which should be out sometime later this year. They seem to be giving me their story in smallish chunks, which is kind of cool, really.

I really thought Life or Something Scary Like That was a one-off, so to speak, but Ben (a secondary character in the book) wanted HIS story to be told, too, so that's what I'm working on right now. It seems my secondaries are just as demanding as my main characters, but oddly enough, I'm fine with that!

As for what it would take to hang up a character and move on, well… it really comes down to whether there's anything left for that character to say. Win and Luz (from Win & Lose) aren't likely to appear again. I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered a sequel, but they seem to be very happy living, loving and working together in their tattoo parlor in Upstate New York, so I'm reasonably confident that their story is finished.

Grain of salt, anyone?

Your characters in The One That Got Away and The One That Was Lost (and now that I think of it, the boys in Life or Something Scary Like That also) don’t communicate with each other very well. Or at all. What’s up with that?

Partly, I think it's that they're young. Or Cliff and Jack (Life or Something Scary Like That) are. They're still in college and figuring out who they are, in some ways. It's easy for both of them to make assumptions because they've really just met, and though they're attracted to each other, they don't WANT to be, for very different reasons.

As for Michael and Jim (The One That Got Away), their lack of communication was based mostly on fear, I think. Jim's fear that he wanted too much and would lose Michael if he said so, and Mike's that he wasn't good enough. Fear is a hell of a demon to fight all alone. Some handle it better than others.

Elliot (The One That Was Lost) is also young, plus had a difficult past, so it's hard for him to express his feelings. And Jamie, while older and wiser, worries that pushing will have an adverse effect on Elliot. So he doesn't say a lot of things that he could.

Ultimately, I suppose they don't talk because so few people do. Whether from concern over how their declarations of emotion might be met, or because it's not the right time or place, or even just because they don't know they should.

It's very easy to assume that you know what someone else is thinking. God knows I do it all the time. And sometimes, it ends up biting me on the ass. But I still assume. It's common to do so, I think.

Do you have a muse? What motivates you?

What I have is an entire pasture of particularly determined plot-bunnies. And they're pushy, loud and often annoying.

I suppose the characters are my muses, in all honesty. They invade my brain and try to take over, only offering a modicum of peace when they feel like I'm taking them seriously.

Motivation… usually I'm motivated by wanting to READ the story unfolding in my mind, and I can't read it until it's written, so… yeah. The desire to sit down and read the story of whomever, from start to finish, is what motivates me to sit down and write it.

Sounds a bit strange, I'm sure, but there it is!

Will you give us a peek into what you’re working on right now? What can your readers expect to find over the next twelve months or so?

Well, as I said earlier, I'm working on Ben's (secondary character in Life or Something Scary Like That) story at the moment. He was rather instrumental in getting Cliff and Jack together, and he seems to feel that his good deeds mean he deserves some true happiness of his own. As I'm inclined to agree with him, I can't really complain.

I'm also working on a trilogy that remains unfinished at the moment and may never see the light of day. It's the story of a gray-ops organization and its agents. I'm hoping to find it a home in the near future.

As for the next twelve months, at the moment I have the third "Destiny" short story coming, a novella called Conventional Wisdom coming out toward the end of July, a novelette called Trine that should make an appearance in August…  

Two more books in the One and One universe, a stand-alone novel… and possibly a few more things.

Did I mention that I write a LOT?

What is your favorite waste of time?

DVDs, computer solitaire, cruising my flist on LJ, twittering (or is it tweeting? Whichever).

I'm not actually good at wasting time. I just lightly abuse it, then pet it when it gets upset with me.

What do you collect – spoons, elephants, lint?

Books, books and more books. Print and electronic. Also stuffed animals, tech devices I'll never understand… and pajama pants, for some reason known only to somebody who's not me. Seriously. I have like 15 pairs of pajama pants and no clue as to why. And I just bought another pair today.

Who have you always wanted to meet, and why?

Gordon Merrick, because he was one of the pioneers of gay fiction, starting back in the 1940s, when such a thing was almost unthinkable. In fact, Gordon Merrick's books were the first m/m stories I ever read (well AFTER the 1940s, just to be clear), and yes, they were romantic.

I was fourteen at the time and there was just something about his books that resonated with me. Hot sex, beautiful men, exotic locales (or exotic to me, as I'd never been out of the United States back then).

I would love to sit down with him over lunch or drinks and hear his stories. Hear what it was like to be openly gay and proud and writing what he wrote (and getting published!) in a time when virtually nobody was that brave. I'm sure he would be fascinating. I'm sure that just one conversation with him could change my world in ways I can't even imagine.

Please complete this sentence: When I win the lottery, the first thing I’m going to do is…

I'm assuming you mean "when I win 200 million dollars in the lottery" because I actually play and have won up to ten bucks at a time! That assumption stated…

When I win the lottery, the first thing I'm going to do is…

Buy a bigger condo, where I can have a second room just for writing and entertainment!

After that, I'll likely set up a trust fund to pay for my nieces' educations (I have three of them and they're all wonderfully bright).

And I'll buy two brand new cars, as well. A smart car (because they're so damned cute) and an antique of some kind, from back in the days when you could look at a car and know who made it without even seeing the emblem. Oh, and a motorcycle. I miss riding.

Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t think to ask.

Well, I have green eyes. I love sushi. And I have two moles on the side of my neck that are spaced perfectly to look like a vampire bite! Yes, they come in handy for Halloween.

Where can our readers to go learn more about you and your work? And to buy your books?

Well, I have a bloggy-thing at word press (http://tcblue.wordpress.com/ ) where I post very sporadically about new releases and such. It also has a free reads section, where mini-short stories can be found. This exists thanks to my good friend (and fellow author) Meg Leigh.

I'm also on live journal (http://tc-blue.livejournal.com/ ) which I tend to remember about updating more often than the word press. I've been known to rant and ramble there, so fair warning.

On twitter, I'm tc_blue (http://twitter.com/tc_blue ), and I've been known to twitter (Tweet? Twootle? Whatever.) in the evenings. I also post links to reviews and such there.

And finally… all my stories are currently available from Torquere Press, and this is my author page there.

On a separate note… many thanks to Bobby & Teagan, the Book Wenches, for offering the opportunity of an interview, as well as all their hard work reading and reviewing.

You guys rock!

Thanks so much, Tis, it's been a pleasure chatting to you. We wish you all the best in your writing career!